This month’s prompt for Spell the Month in Books — hosted by Jana of  Reviews from the Stacks —is Something to Savour OR books that have been on your TBR for a long time.

Though I have a reasonably large collection of recipe books they’re not going to match very well to the letters of September. It was much easier — and more fun — to delve into my TBR spreadsheet. Some of those featured below were bought before I started blogging and I’d forgotten I even had them.

S

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Carson’s book documented the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of certain chemicals. I bought in 2011 at a time when I worked for a multinational chemical company. I got as far as reading the first chapter…

E

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Bought in 2013 as a result of joining the Classics Club. It’s now in my second Classics Club list and still waiting to be read.

P

Dr Pascal by Emile Zola

I was full of optimism when I bought this in 2013 that I’d read the entire Rougon-Macquet series within a couple of years. Based on my current rate of reading, I’ll be lucky to get to this final title in the sequence before the end of the decade.

T

To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

According to my spreadsheet, I bought this in 1975. I know I read it in 1979 because it was on the university syllabus for my final year. Time pressure meant I could only skim read it so always intended to return to it one day.

E

The Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang

It was a surprise to find this 2014 purchase still on my TBR list. I thought I’d given it away (unread) a couple of years ago.

M

Man Tiger by Eka Kurniawan

Another one I’d forgotten about. I don’t recall buying this or what it’s about. A quick check on Goodreads tells me its the story of two interlinked and tormented families in Malaysia. Could have been a good one for Women in Translation month. Oh well too late now. Maybe next year

B

Belinda by Maria Edgeworth

This 2012 purchase is still on my Classics Club list. Will I rate Edgeworth as much as Jane Austen did? I suspect not…

E

Eden’s Garden by Juliet Greenwood

I have a vague recollection that I bought this one just after finishing (and enjoying) another Greenwood novel, The White Camellia. Eden’s Garden is set in North Wales making it a perfect candidate for Reading Wales Month 2026.

R

Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

It’s a mystery why I haven’t read this since buying it more than ten years ago. I’ve not only enjoyed some of Gaskell’s other novels but the plot of this one, about a fallen woman, sounds fascinating if rather complicated.

.If you fancy having a go at Spell the Month, you’ll find all the info you need on the website of the host, Reviews From the Stacks. The October theme is “Trick or Treat – Books that you feel strongly about, whether positively or negatively.“