Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  For this latest Top Ten Tuesday, participants are tasked with listing the books with the earliest publication date that is currently sitting on their to-be-read (TBR) pile.

Like most book lovers, I have a huge backlog of novels out there that I want to read but I haven’t been able to fit into my schedule due to lack of time or other books I needed to get through first.  As such, this is a rather interesting list to pull together, and I hope that it inspires me a little to go back and read some books on my TBR pile.  I also love the shoutout to the older TBR books I have, especially as I am easily distracted by new and shiny things.

I must admit I struggled a little to pull together some really old titles, so my list is most made up of books from the 80s and 90s.  Still, this ended up being a rather interesting, if slightly predictable list if you know who some of my favourite authors are, although I made sure to limit myself to one inclusion from each author.  Despite these limitations, I really like how it came together, so let us see who made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

When the Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman – 1985

A classic crime fiction book from an author still going strong.

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Space Marine by Ian Watson – 1993

An old-school Warhammer 40,000 novel I currently have on my shelf.  While not the first Warhammer 40,000 novel ever written, it sounds bonkers, and I’m curious to see original universe from before they established the current canon.

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Killing Floor by Lee Child – 1997

The first book in the epic Jack Reacher series.  I loved the television adaptation of this book and I’m curious to read the series from start to finish.

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Excavation by James Rollins – 2000

A fantastic older thriller I have sitting on my shelf. 

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Top Ten List:

Carrie by Stephen King – 1974

After some awesome recent experiences with Stephen King’s writing, I’ve been meaning to read more of his amazing books and there is no better place to start than his first novel, Carrie.  A classic piece of horror fiction, Carrie is a bloody and complex read that I hope to check out one day.

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Sharpe’s Eagle by Bernard Cornwell – 1981

I’m a massive fan of Bernard Cornwell, who is one of the biggest names in historical fiction.  While I have read a couple of books in his iconic Richard Sharpe series, I need to read more, including the first book he published, Sharpe’s Eagle.  A compelling historical adventure, Sharpe’s Eagle was the book that introduced the world to Richard Sharpe and Cornwell’s vision of the Napoleonic War.  Thanks to Cornwell releasing his books out of chronological order, Sharpe’s Eagle is now the eighth book in the series, but it remains a key entry.  I look forward to reading Sharpe’s Eagle one day and it sounds like a lot of fun.

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Magician by Raymond E. Feist – 1982

I am slightly cheating by including Magician here, as I have read it a couple of times before.  However, I really want to do a big re-read of Feist’s entire Riftwar Cycle and Magician is the best place to start this series.  A particularly iconic fantasy novel, Magician sees a young boy discover his destiny as a mighty mage after the kingdom he lives in is invaded by soldiers from another world.  This is a really, really good book and I cannot wait to read it again at some point.

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The Black Company by Glen Cook – 1984

I have long wanted to read the epic The Black Company fantasy series by Glen Cook, which started back in 1984 with this book of the same name.  Generally considered to be one of the best dark fantasy novels/series of all time, The Black Company follows a band of dangerous mercenaries as they find themselves drawn into a bloody and all-consuming war.  I already know that I am going to love this book, and I will hopefully be able to make time for it at some point in the future.

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The King Beyond the Gate by David Gemmell – 1985

A few years ago, I had the great pleasure of reading David Gemmell’s classic fantasy debut, Legend, which is honestly one of the best books I have every read.  Gemmell was a very skilled author, and I have been meaning to check out more examples of his work.  The obvious next step would be to read The King Beyond the Gate, which is the second novel in the series that started with Legend.  Another compelling read that follows a small band of aging heroes as they face a seemingly unbeatable foe, The King Beyond the Gate sounds awesome, and I need to dedicate some time to getting through the rest of Gemmell’s books.

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The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis – 1989

Long-term readers of this blog will know that I am a huge fan of historical fiction author Lindsey Davis, who has greatly impressed me over the years with her Flavia Albia series, which follows some deeply unique murder investigations in ancient Rome.  However, the Flavia Albia books are only the latest series from Davis, who originally started back in the 1980s with her Falco novels.  Following the father of Flavia Albia as he solves his own crimes, the Falco books have been on my radar for a while, and I fully intend to read them at some point.  The obvious starting point for this would be The Silver Pigs, which introduced the world to Falco and Davis’s distinctive style.  I have a copy of The Silver Pigs sitting on my bookshelf, and I look forward to the day when I get around to reading it.

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Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn – 1991

Some of my very favourite Star Wars novels were the recent Thrawn trilogies written by legendary author Timothy Zahn.  A complex and compelling collection of books, the Thrawn and Thrawn Ascendancy trilogies follow Zahn’s best original character, Grand Admiral Thrawn and help to reintroduce him into the new Disney canon.  However, Thrawn first appeared back in 1991 when Zahn released the iconic Star Wars novel, Heir to the Empire.  A sequel to Return of the Jedi, Heir to the Empire was one of the very first proper Star Wars tie-in novels, and it set the stage for the massive Star Wars Extended Universe that followed.  As a massive Star Wars fan, I have been remiss in not going back to check out this important novel, although I hope to change that in the future.  From all accounts this book is extremely epic, and I am very curious to see the novel that first introduced Grand Admiral Thrawn to the galaxy.

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The Black Echo by Michael Connelly – 1992

The next entry on this list is The Black Echo by Michael Connelly.  The very first book from Connelly to feature his famous detective character Harry Bosch, The Black Echo set up the author’s shared universe which would later expand to feature so many memorable protagonists.  I have had an exceptional time reading all of Connelly’s most recent works and I have been meaning to go back and explore his universe from the beginning, starting with The Black Echo.  Like The Silver Pigs, I have a copy of The Black Echo sitting on my bookshelf, and when my reading schedule opens up, I hope to grab it and power through it.  I have no doubt that I will love The Black Echo, and I am curious to see what Connelly’s writing style was like in this first book.

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The Demon Awakens by R. A. Salvatore – 1997

I am a huge fan of R. A. Salvatore various additions to the expanded Forgotten Realms universe, having read nearly all of them over the years.  However, I am also keen to read more books in Salvatore’s original Corona universe.  I had a ton of fun reading the latest trilogy set in this world (The Coven books made up of Child of a Mad God, Reckoning of Fallen Gods and Song of the Risen God), and I felt that this was an excellent fantasy universe that I’d like to see more of.  As such, I will try to explore this series from the beginning, which means starting with The Demon Awakens.  An exciting adventure novel with some great characters, The Demon Awakens should be a ton of fun and I am keen to read it in the future.

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A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin – 1998

The final book on this list is A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin.  The second book in Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Clash of Kings doesn’t need a massive introduction.  I have been meaning to continuing this series after reading A Game of Thrones a few years ago, which means going through A Clash of Kings next.  I am sure I will deeply enjoy this major book, and I am curious to see how it differs from the television show.

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And with that, my list concluded.  I felt that this latest Top Ten Tuesday post came together well, and I like the intriguing collection of books I listed above.  It turns out there are a ton of older novels on my to-be-read list, and I hope I get the opportunity to get through them soon.  In the meantime, let me know what older books are on your TBR lists in the comments below.