Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
There are very few things in this world that I'll say a definitive NEVER to, because I'm a pretty big fan of trying everything at least once. Then again, these books weren't too hard to brainstorm (and I also know I'm going to get quite a bit of heat for a few of them!).
Moby Dick, Herman Melville. A little too long and dense for my taste, unfortunately. This one narrowly edged out Ulysses by James Joyce in the list-refining process... because at least I like James Joyce.
War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy. Anyone who knows my reading habits knows that one of the books I'm most proud of reading was Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, which really widened the scope of how I think about literature from different parts of the world. I'd love to read it again one day... but don't think that I could take it upon myself to take down this particular behemoth.
50 Shades of Grey, E.L. James. Over-glorified and ill-constructed. My younger sister condemns its movie adaptation, and my mother literally recycled - my English-major mother actually sent it out of the house in the recycling bin - the copy she had been given, so it's a family consensus.
Absolutely anything written by James Frey or his associates, put forth by Full Fathom Five (especially Kathleen Hale). I got some flack for my round dismissal of Dorothy Must Die last year, but I'm sticking to my guns: the guy has an unsound practice, and he produces books at the expense of the people who write them... and the people who write them aren't exactly great people, either. Besides, anyone who's on the wrong side of Oprah ain't on the right side of me.
The rest of the Lord of the Rings series, J.R.R. Tolkien. I made it all the way through Fellowship, and I consider that a great effort, on my part. Probably tougher than Anna Karenina, at the very least. There's just so much epic poetry.
The rest of the Divergent or Hunger Games series, Veronica Roth and Suzanne Collins, respectively. I'm lumping these two together for good reason: overhyped YA dystopian that didn't bring the stakes to make the grade. Boring, mostly. And just so many plot holes...
The rest of the If I Stay series, Gayle Forman. Ugh.
The rest of the Maze Runner series, James Dashner. Double ugh.
The Vampire Academy series, Richelle Mead. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I was the creepy vampire book girl in middle school. I've trod that path; I shan't return to it. Unless it's in the form of one of the Amelia Atwater-Rhodes paperbacks I've still got stocked somewhere.
The Heir, Kiera Cass. This is less of a reality, or brutal truth, or more of just well-wishing on my part. I full acknowledge that The Selection series is a pretty terribly written one - and I'm not the only one to admit to it! - but I have bought every single book of this series the day it was published. Darnit.
What's YOUR Top Ten?
I feel exactly the same about every book listed here, other than the YA Dystopian. Love your "anyone who's on the wrong side of Oprah ain't on the right side of me." Following you via feedly now!
ReplyDeleteI love YA dystopian, so I disagree on The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Maze Runner, but that's my own personal opinion. 50 Shades Of Grey was on my list too (it seems to be a popular choice this week, wonder why? Not! I love that your mum recycled it!) as was Kiera Cass's The Selection. I don't think I'd read Lord of The Rings, but it wasn't on my list.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2015/05/05/top-ten-tuesday-3/
Baha! Oh I am so with you on The Heir. Why do we do this to ourselves? It's a shame about the rest of Lord of the Rings, but I agree with you on almost everything else. Plus full marks for your mother actually recycling 50 Shades!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT
I feel such guilt when I say I'll never read a book like Moby Dick. But, the truth is, why should I read a book that does not appeal to me?
ReplyDeleteHere's mine!
Moby Dick made my list too! I had to read it for a class when I was an undergraduate and it nearly killed me trying to get through it in time. I did an awful lot of skimming, I'm afraid!
ReplyDeleteHere's my full list:
http://insearchoftheendofthesidewalk.com/2015/05/05/top-ten-tuesday-ten-books-i-will-probably-never-read/
I have a lot of the similar books on my list. I've never read The Lord of Rings but it doesn't seem like something I'd read.
ReplyDeleteTina, The Bookworm
I am a major Lord of the Rings girl, but I agree with most of the rest :)
ReplyDeletehttp://rlhendrian.blogspot.com/2015/05/top-ten-tuesday-ten-books-i-will-never.html