If you think about it, books you never read because somebody else thought they were good, but you had no particular interest in, really don’t matter.
What you need is a list of books you might not have ever heard of, but are great reading, and when you are done, you really wish there was more like them to read.
My list of books like these:
1) The Long Ships, by Frans G. Bengtsson. It is all about the life and times of Vikings in the 10th Century, and has been a best seller in northern Europe since it was written in the 1940s. Translated into 23 languages.
2) Flashman, by George McDonald Fraser. The first in the series of historical novels, in a format of a biography of the main character discovered by the author. So historically accurate of 19th Century events that some historians assumed it was a genuine work. Flashman is an anti-hero, a coward, a scoundrel, a braggart, who always seems to come up smelling like a rose.
3) The Horatio Hornblower series, by C. S. Forester. Just rollicking good fun for when you just want entertainment.
4) The books of Carlos Castaneda, which pretty much have to be read in the order they were written. Whether fact, or fiction, you will either love them or hate them. Large volumes have been written trying to debunk them, but neither he, nor his companions, ever disavowed them until their rather bizarre exit from public life. Determined people of faith should skip this one.
5) The Prejudices series, by H.L. Mencken. One of the sharpest tongues ever produced in American journalism, Mencken experiences a revival about every 20 years. The six volumes of the Prejudices series cover a large slice of Americana, his life as a newspaper reporter in Baltimore, and his criticisms of those he considered scoundrels. His command of the English language was superb.
If you like Flashman, go look up his McAuslan books - the first is I think "The General Danced at Dawn" - the others are "McAuslan in the Rough" and "The Sheik and the Dustbin". Very fun and semi-autobiographical.
I read most of the Hornblower books, but eventually came to realize that Hornblower is simply a 20th century man full of angst and neuroses, dressed up in Napoleonic War fancy dress. If you want to read the real deal by somebody who was actually there and not just recreating "history", get hold of Captain Marryat's books - "Mr. Midshipman Easy" for starters.
I'll look up The Long Ships - sounds interesting.
Yes, I have heard of the Flashman books, I might like those I think. I read one Casteneda, it freaked me out. Your warning should be heeded!
I have Mencken’s “The American Language” which I inherited when my brother died, but I haven’t read that either!
I'll have to read it. I do remember a corny but fun movie by that name from the 60s.
I would add to your list anything by Bernard Cornwell. Real page turners and you can learn tons about history. I love the historical notes at the end, because he separates out the fiction from the history, and lets you know what he has changed (not much). I really knew very little about Wellington's campaign in Spain and Portugal until I read his Sharpe's series. He gives an accurate description of every battle fought there.
Have you read the Master and Commander series by Patrick O’Brien? Wonderful books.... about 20 of them about the British Navy during the Napolianic wars. One was made into the movie of the same name. Also well done.