Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday - Books I'm Totally Avoiding

 
 
Happy Tuesday everyone! Did you all enjoy your nice extended weekend? This was my first holiday off since I started working full time at an office in my field (as opposed to working at the mall which only closes for three holidays a year)! It was glorious - aside from the fact that I had to cart my 9-year-old brother around to the town fair because I apparently "promised" that I'd take him. (Yeah right, but who am I to argue with the cutest 9-year-old to ever grace the earth?) What did you guys do this Memorial Day?
 
Anyhow - this Top Ten Tuesday is a FREEBIE!!! Which many of you are thrilled about, but me and my type A personality love structure and I am not the spontaneous type. Guess I should've looked at the topic beforehand like I normally do, so I could have started thinking. So in my panic, I decided to list the Top Ten Books that I Bought, but I Refuse to Read whenever it is time to read s new book.
This is similar to one that Broke and Bookish did called "Top Ten Books I Just HAD To Buy...But Are Still Sitting On My Bookshelf". The difference here is that I'm listing the books that are still sitting on my shelves because I don't WANT to read them anymore, not that I just haven't gotten around to.
 
Top Ten Books I Bought but Now Refuse to Read:
 
1. The Casual Vacancy - This made my list on the similar TTT topic, but since then I've come to dread reading this book. I've heard such horrible things about it that I literally cannot bring myself to pick it up and commit several weeks (because I know it will take weeks) to reading it. Whenever I'm reading a crappy book, I am really just miserable, and I don't know if I can do it to myself with this one.
 
2. The City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare - I read the first three books in this series with fervor unmatched by many I've read before, then I got to book four and I didn't like it much at all. I keep telling myself I will finally read this fifth installment so I can put it away and wrap up the series for good, but its been so long, I barely remember what happened in the first four books. Looks like I am going to have to read them again before I get to this one. :(
 
3. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory - I heard about the movie which my mother raved about, but my mom is not a reader so she doesnt know how the book was. I picked it up because I cant ever see a movie without having read the book first and now every time I look at it, my throat closes up. Its a large book and the plot just doesnt interest me that much when I read the blurb. :/
 
4. The Condition by Jennifer Haigh - I don't even know what this book is about or who the author is. I think I bought it at Borders when they were closing and everything was a million percent off. I have absolutely no desire to read this book. I am disappointed in myself for even buying it, regardless of the ridiculously cheap price. Shame on me.
 
5. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - I was on this kick of reading classics and since I was super into romance at one point, I looked up classic romance and this is what came up. I thought - perfect! I'll read this. And now I'm so intimidated by it, I cant even bring myself to pick it up.
 
6. Eldest by Christopher Paolini - I read Eragon and it was okay, though incredibly long for seemingly no reason. Don't get me wrong, I admire the kid for being able  to come up with something like this, but I CANNOT commit myself to this book for as long as I know it will take me, knowing already that it isn't my cup of tea.
 
7. Insurgent by Veronica Roth - I know I know. Don't start throwing stones, but after the first book which I actually did like (though I didn't love it by any means), I completely lost interest. I even read about a quarter of this book and I was so bored I had to put it away. Crazy, right!? I know I'll want to read it along with the final book, but I just didn't love it as much as everyone else did. I'm sorry :(
 
8. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld - Been wanting to read this one for a while, but then the negative reviews get to me and now I think I'll end up hating it, and again, I don't want to invest my time into something I think I will hate.
 
9. Losing Isaiah by Seth J. Margolis - I also got on an Oprah's Book Club kick and ordered this book for dirt cheap. Now I'm convinced I'll hate it because I'm so into YA and dystopian novels lately. I even picked this book up to read about a week or two ago, chickened out and picked up a YA novel instead.
 
10. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett - I read another classic story by Burnett, Secret Garden,  and frankly I didn't enjoy it at all. A Little Princess, the movie (not the Shirley Temple one, the more recent one from the 90's) is MY FAVORITE MOVIE EVER and I am absolutely terrified that reading this book will ruin the movie for me. Isnt that backwards? Usually it is the other way around haha.
 
So what did you choose for your TTT Freebie today? Do you have any books that are sitting on your shelf that you now refuse to read?
 
A.


20 comments:

  1. I love the 90s Little Princess movie too! I have the book but just can't bring myself to read it either...

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    1. My cousin, after seeing this post, told me that it is very different from the movie but still a great book. Maybe I will have to try it. Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  2. A Little Princess! Loved that movie. Wow what a throwback. Thanks for the nostalgia : )

    CeCe @ Steaming Mug of Books

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    1. I know right! I might just have to go home and watch it, haha. :)

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  3. I wasn't a fan of City of Fallen Angels, either! I loved the first three books and I really wish that Clare had stopped there. By book four, the things that I liked about Jace, in particular, had started to wear. They were less rakishly charming and more the whinings of an adolescent. I mean, I may be a adult who likes YA, but that's pushing things a bit too far.

    As for Rebecca--nah, don't be intimidated. Or, if you can't get past that, I suggest listening to the audio version. It's not really a romance, anyway. At least, I don't think it's romantic, though it's definitely a Gothic.

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    1. You are not the first person to urge me to read this! Also, shame on Google for misleading me, and shame on me for not researching further. This one not being quite a romance might be a good thing though, because I'm not a huge romance fan anymore. Thanks!

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  4. I hope you take a chance on Rebecca, it's such a great book. I read it a really long time ago but I've never forgotten it, it's so spooky and creepy and atmospheric, and the ending completely took me by surprise! It's kinda a play on Jane Eyre, and as Rubita mentioned, it's not very romantic really.

    I really enjoyed Uglies, though the next two were a bit silly. I know what you mean about Insurgent - I did finally read it a few months ago but I felt zero rush and I can say the same for many other YA sci-fi books I've added to my home library. I'm finding I've become really hard to please these days!

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    1. Jane Eyre wasn't my favorite but I keep hearing great things about Rebecca so I might have to finally bite the bullet and read it! I'm glad someone else agrees with me about Divergent/Insurgent though! :)

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  5. Please read Rebecca! It is an absolutely amazing book, one of my favourites :).
    My TTT :)

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  6. Greta topic, there are many books that I am avoiding. Although I think you should try Uglies, because I think you would like it.
    Old follower
    my TTT
    http://kimberlysnovelnotes.blogspot.com/2013/05/top-ten-tuesday-21.html

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  7. I definitely have some books on my shelf that I just had to have, but haven't read yet. I wouldn't say I refuse to read them necessarily, but they definitely get pushed farther and farther down my TBR list. The Poisonwood Bible jumps to mind. I don't really want to read it, but I own it and know that I should...someday. Great post!
    Natflix&Books' TTT

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  8. I must say I was also apprehensive about The Casual Vacancy. But, I was so surprised and pleased that I LOVED it! I really hope that if you decide to read it, you feel the same!

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    1. Wow, only you and one other trusted reader have told me this, but I value the opinions of fellow bloggers and friends, so hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised by this one!

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  9. Oooh! I can relate to Casual Vacancy. I also have Rebecca and it's on my TBR but I haven't picked it up yet!

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  10. I don't think I'll ever read The Casual Vacancy. Too much hype.
    A Little Princess is wonderful. I loved it and the movie. Hope you do decide to give it a try.

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  11. I flip flop between wanting and not wanting to read 'Uglies'. I think I've just left it off my list now as there is too many others books I genuinely want to read. I also agree on the second half of the Mortal Instruments books. She should have stopped at three. I didn't find 'Lost Souls' as bad as 'Fallen Angles' but I still don't think it was great.

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  12. My Memorial Day was great... I sat at my laptop and wrote all day! Pure bliss!

    As far as your list goes... don't be afraid of Rebecca! It's great! If it could hold my attention in high school, I think you'll like it now. I understand about Insurgent... it does start off slow. The ending is interesting though... it made me glad I read the book. A Little Princess is one I want to read because of my love for the movie too, but I agree that I hope it's actually good! I haven't read The Secret Garden yet either but I have kind of wanted to read it as well.

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  13. A fair few of the books you mentioned are sitting on my unread shelf waiting to be read: The Other Boleyn Girl, Rebecca and Uglies. I've read the first two in the Uglies series but I can't bring myself to read the final too... It all just got a bit blah for me. I know I will finish them at some point though, I can't stay mid way through a series. As for Rebecca, I fully intend to read that but I'm waiting for a more fitting time, say Halloween. The Other Boleyn Girl, I've picked up countless times but never got past the first 50 - 100 pages. I'll give it a 'real shot' one of these days.

    A great topic to pick as a freebie.

    Also, I think I may late on this, but your design layout looks different. I like the update :-)

    My Book Bubble

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  14. Great idea for a list. I'm kind of avoiding the Casual Vacancy too. I have such a deep love for Harry Potter that I am certain that any other JKR book will disappoint. I've avoided The Other Boleyn Girl too, mostly because when I was a child, I was OBSESSED with Queen Elizabeth I so I am super-nitpicky about historical fiction from that time period.

    Thanks for stopping by my TTT. :-)

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  15. Great idea for a list. I loved The Other Boleyn Girl so much¬

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A.