books i want on my shelves

My shelves being full and bending under the weight of all the books I have doesn't stop me from wanting more. The more I read and take off my physical TBR, the more I want to buy because I want books like the ones I just finished reading. But! I am officially putting myself on a book ban so I can only daydream about adding these to my shelves.

I am currently unemployed (thoughts and prayers for your girl) so I've had a lot of time to read. I don't know why I decided to but I made a list of classic books I owned that had screen adaptations. I spent some time looking online to see where I could watch them and found out that quite a few of Jane Austen adaptations were available to me. I watched the 1995, 2007, and even the 2022 adaptations of "Persuasion". I then read the novel and loved it so I decided to do the same for 'Emma". I watched the 1996 version with Kate Beckinsale, the 2009 mini-series (my favorite), and the 2020 film. I just finished the novel and wanted to continue reading more classics. 

I wanted to read novels from Austen's contemporaries and found articles talking about authors that influenced her writing. I loved "Northeranger Abbey" when I read it a few years ago and that novel satirized the Gothic romance "The Mysteries of Udolpho" by Ann Radcliffe so of course I want to read to the original novel that inspired Austen. A couple of the authors on the lists were Frances Burney and Maria Edgeworth, who also played a part in "Northanger Abbey". Honestly all of Frances Burney's novels sound interesting and I want them all. "Evelina" is an epistolary novel and the full title is actually "Evelina: or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World", which really tells you what you need to know about the story. "Evelina" is Burney's first novel while "Camilla", subtitled "A Picture of Youth", is her third. The novels follows Camilla along with her sisters and their cousin as they navigate "matrimonial concerns". "Belinda" by Maria Edgeworth was a controversial novel in its day because it included an interracial marriage. It seems that the marriage appeared in earlier editions which were then edited so I don't know if modern editions include that. "Mansfield Park" is the Jane Austen novel I know the least about. I've seen the 1999 film adaptation but it didn't stick out to me in comparison to her other novels. As I'm writing this, I'm remembering that I have a box set of Austen's novels so I do already own a copy of Mansfield Park but I specifically want the Penguin Classic edition because 1) aesthetics and 2) I like collecting different editions of Jane Austen novels. 

So many people were reading chunky books during the summer and if I had participated in that, my chunky book of choice would have been "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes. I've been wanting to read this book for years because my favorite word is "quixotic" and the word comes from "quixotism" which is a term that appeared after the publication of the novel. Every video I watch of people reading it says that they weren't expecting to enjoy it as much and that it's funny. Because I've been looking at novels that inspired "Northanger Abbey", "The Female Quixote; or, The Adventures of Arabella" by Charlotte Lennox was recommended by the algorithm. The novel is a parody of the ideas in "Don Quixote" and it would be interesting to read the two back to back. 

My first real introduction to Edith Wharton was when the TV series adaptation of "The Buccaneers" premiered. I don't have Apple TV so I haven't seen it but the premise sounds fun. It's about five young women who are daughters American nouveau riche and they travel to London during the season hoping to get husbands amongst the English high society. "The Age of Innocence" is probably Wharton's most famous novel; it won a Pulitzer Price, making her the first woman to win the prize. Set in 1870s New York, it's about a young couple's upcoming marriage and how the presence of the bride's cousin threatens their plans. Aside from books I had to read for school, I haven't read a lot of historical fiction set in America so I'm very interested in these two books. 

There's only one book on this list that's not a classic and that's "May We Feed the King" by Rebecca Perry. The plot summary really doesn't give you a lot to work with:

"The story consists of dual timelines: one following an obscure and somewhat reluctant medieval king, and the other focused on the modern-day curator charged with preparing some of his rooms – in particular, the tables at which he dined – for public display."

I first heard about this book because it had won Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize and then it felt like the book was everywhere after that. It's one of the 13 books on the 2026 Booker Prize longlist so clearly people like it. What really sold it for me though was Jen Campbell putting Troy Sivan's Party music video on her IG story and saying that it's what reading "May We Feed The King" feels like. Watch the music video and tell me you're not interested in reading the book. 

Edit: A few hours after I posted this, the shortlist was announced and "May We Feed the King" is one of the six!

Of course my real wish list is never ending but these are the books that have been in and out of my cart as of late. Aside from finding a job (again, thoughts and prayers), my goal for the rest of the year is to read a good chunk of my unread books. I have way too many and some of them have been on my shelves for way too long. Gotta make room for all the books I want to buy next!

iscelle robee