expr:class='"loading" + data:blog.mobileClass'>
Knowledge of our past is our inheritance. What we do with that knowledge will shape our destinies...

Monday, September 29, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Hard to Read Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top 10 Books that were Hard for Me to Read (all covers courtesy of goodreads.com unless otherwise linked)






10. Driven to Kill -- This was a subject matter problem. I really like true crime and I've read several of Gary King's novels, but this one was about a pedophile and it had some really graphic (read: nasty) descriptions that gave me a horrible feeling while reading. Not my favorite true crime to read.




9. Wicked -- This was a personal preference thing. The characters were good. The writing was good. But there were just some things about the plot that turned me off to the story, and I never finished it.




8. Seraphina -- I had such high expectations for this one, but like many YA novels, it just seemed a little trite to me. That's just me. I like edgier stuff and so am not always impressed with YA. I did finish this one, but I was supremely bored.




7. The Neverending Story -- Loved the children's movie from the eighties. Practically grew up on the thing! But the book was translated from German, and it was very hard to stay in the story because the translation was so bad. Still liked the story, but...




6. World War Z -- I've mentioned this one before. A whole bunch of completely unconnected stories made it impossible to root for anyone or look forward to anything. Despite the zombie element (which I usually love) I just couldn't get into it. Snooze fest.




5. Monstrous Beauty -- I was bored with the plot on this one, the writing wasn't terrible but was a bit choppy, and then they did this weird mermaid-rape thing that was both bizarre and turned me off to the book even more. Of all the mermaid books I read last summer, I liked this one least.




4. Anna Karenina -- Like #3, this is a translation which makes it choppy and passive, but Anna's character is also one that's very hard to identify with, which makes it hard to root for her.




3. The Man in the Iron Mask -- This is a classic but it's also a translation, which makes it choppy and all in passive voice. Very hard to stick with.




2. L.A. Noir -- I got this one because it's about Mickey Cohen and the organized crime of L.A. as a young city. I thought it sounded interesting. Yeah, dry. Very dry. I really do want to finish it, but I fall asleep nearly every time I pick it up. :/


1. The Millenium Trilogy -- Just. So. Boring. I really liked book 1 because it had an excellent whodunit mystery. The second and third book degraded into semi-espionage novels, but they weren't done very well. And I've ranted about this before, but the author set us up for something and then changed his mind 50 pages before the end. Ugh. I only finished because I kept hoping it would get better and because I have something of a finishing complex.

What books were hard for you to read?

12 comments:

  1. Nice variety here! Almost thought the Wicked pick was the one about the Broadway play! As I have that book in particular! And thought, you meant that at first and then I read what you wrote! Maguire's books were a little hard to get into it. I enjoyed most of them but at times felt like I was reading them only to read them.

    Hoping I won't struggle with Seraphina or have the same issues. Been hearing good things and then I found it for a steal at Half Price Books!

    Here's my Tuesday Post

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice. I think you'll like it. I think my problems with it have mostly to do with my issues with YA. Great that you found it at half price. Always awesome! :D

      Delete
  2. Ugh, that's sad about World War Z. I loved the movie...though I heard it's so different it's kind of laughable they have the same name...but I still want to read the book!! I own Wicked buuuut, for some reason I just haven't gotten to it. >_< It sounds so good but I've had a few bookish friends tell me it wasn't the best.
    Here's my TTT!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah I liked the film, too, though yes they are very different. I liked the movie better than the book (which is VERY rare) because the film actually had, you know, a plot line throughout. :D Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. I had trouble reading Wicked as well. It didn't help that I adore the musical. The book was a bit of a disappointment compared to it! Great list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't seen the musical, but I'd like to. Thanks Chrissi! :D

      Delete
  4. Agreed about Wicked. I was surprised to find that the writing (character development, wordplay, and just general... coherence?) was so much better in the musical than in the original book, which raised too many questions it never answered.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Guess I really need to see that musical. Thanks Jessica! :D

      Delete
  5. Hmmm, I had a similar experience with Wicked, and thought it really suffers by comparison to the show.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, guess I really need to see the show. Everyone says it's much better than the book. :D Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  6. I've heard that about Wicked.. never picked it up because I loved the play so much

    Teresa @ Readers Live A Thousand Lives

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Probably a good thing, as everyone says the play is much better. Thanks for stopping by, Teresa! :D

      Delete