Top Ten Tuesday #2: 10 Books I Almost Put Down But Didn't

 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

 

This week's meme is dedicated to those books that we've had mixed feelings over but for whatever reason powered through all the way to the end regardless. For the most part, my list is comprised of books that I finished but really had a hard time refraining from giving up on or setting aside indefinitely. Since I couldn't think of ten books just on that topic, the last part of my list is dedicated to the books I did put down for one reason or another. Nothing is numbered in any particular order though.

 

 

1. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - I sincerely don't understand the hype surrounding this series. I finished City of Bones but really, it was a struggle. I thought the characters were all over the place, there were parts that just seemed unnecessary, and then the end just defied logic. I thought Jace had more sense than to just believe Valentine - a known enemy - on practically no grounds. I loved the Infernal Devices but I will not be continuing The Mortal Instruments.

 

2. Tithe by Holly Black - I was maybe twelve or thirteen when I read this book. I was really into faeries at the time so I thought it sounded pretty cool. About ten years later, I don't remember the full plot details but I remember apologizing to my mom because she bought this book for me and I thought it was a waste of $20.

 

3. Hawkes Harbor by S. E. Hinton - I read this book because it was a random pick out of my TBR jar of books that have been sitting on my shelves for years unread and unloved. It took me forever to get through this book but I felt like I had to for the sake of keeping my jar's purpose. I will always love S. E. Hinton for The Outsiders but I wish I could get the month back that it took me to get through Hawkes Harbor.

 

4. Seeing Redd and ArchEnemy by Frank Beddor - I'm counting these two books as one because they're sequels to a trilogy. The Looking Glass Wars was fantastic and imaginative but getting through the next two books was a very tedious task indeed.

 

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman - Technically speaking, I did put this book down but I picked it up again a year later, started over, and finished it and I'm definitely glad that I did.

 

6. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien - Can you believe I almost put these books down?? I'm counting all three as one book because they were meant to be. I'll admit it takes some getting used to in order to get into Tolkien's language but it is well worth it. I haven't finished The Return of the King though so maybe this doesn't entirely count as a completed book. I have a reason for not finishing the last part though. My copy got rained on by accident.

 

7.  The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger - I had to read this book for summer reading my sophomore year in high school. I finished it somehow but I did not enjoy it at all. I thought Holden was annoying and I couldn't stand that he kept using 'phony' all the time. I understand the meaning behind the book but really, I just didn't like it. I had to read The Bell Jar that same year and I absolutely loved that though. (The correlation I'm making between the two is both have severely depressed main characters. I just don't like Holden.)

 

Now for a few books that I unfortunately did put down:

 

8. The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin - I really just couldn't get into this book. It's such a short book and I almost made it but around the time I got to the last 50 pages or so, I put it down for a different book that was demanding to be read.

 

9. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke - I truly wanted to like this book. The idea behind it was amazing and I thought the characters were pretty interesting. My theory as to why I couldn't get through it is I think something was lost in translation. It was originally written in German and I think some of the magic of Funke's original writing was lost when it was translated to English. The end result: I found it very long winded for no reason and I just got tired of reading it. I kept a bookmark in it so maybe one day I'll finish the last hundred pages.

 

10. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - I wholly intend on finishing this book one day. I started it twice and both times I didn't put it down for lack of interest. Classics just take longer for me to read because I tend to analyze them like the English lit major I am as I'm reading. I don't do that to the same extent when I'm reading YA or just regular non-classic novels.

 

 

Did you have problems with any of these books too? Are there any here that you think I should give  another shot? Let me know what you think!