I was so excited to do a top 10 this week of whatever I want. I have been wanting to do this list for a while, and it was nearly impossible to narrow it down to only ten. See, I have so many books I want to read that if I start reading one that I just can't stand, it doesn't bother me to stop reading it and move on to something else. But then I don't feel right about reviewing them, since I didn't read the whole thing, and that wouldn't be fair. So they just hang out in this middle space in my mind, and I just need to tell you why I quit them. So here are 10 books I gave up on.
10. The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch-- This book was all the rage last year, but once the daughter turned into some stereotype of a girl who's obsessed with male attention, I got annoyed and quit reading, even though it's one of the few full-priced books I've bought for my Kindle.
9. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith -- For some reason or other, I just couldn't get into this book, which is in total contradiction of Ingrid's top ten last week, when she said that anyone could. Maybe it was just the timing. I'll probably try it again some day.
8. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston -- I think I need to get an audiobook of this one. I am a fast reader, so reading in very strong dialect annoys me because it forces me to read too slowly. I think I'd like it otherwise.
7. Bossypants by Tina Fey -- I was prepared to love this book, but I gave up after a few chapters when it just became all about how it's ridiculous that gay marriage isn't legal nationwide. It was seriously like 5 of the first 6 chapters. Sure, you can write your opinion about it, but don't try to pawn it off as a comedic memoir. I still love you though, Tina Fey.
6. Moby Dick by Herman Melville, though I'm hoping to remedy that right now with our Moby Dick read-along. And let me tell you, if it weren't for this read-along, I probably would have quit again, probably when Melville all of a sudden started writing a play about random sailors.
5. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey -- I was right in the middle of this one when it came out about it all being totally made up, which was annoying, so I ditched it. The writing style was pretentious, anyway.
4. The Two Towers by JRR Tolkein -- I know, crucify me. I got weary of alllll the lengthy descriptions of nature or of a gate or whatnot, even though I loved The Hobbit and enjoyed Fellowship.
3. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy -- I enjoyed The Road so much, I was really excited to read another McCarthy, but boy oh boy was I bored.
2. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah -- I feel terrible admitting this. It makes me sound like a terrible person, but even though I am really interested in learning about the various revolutions in Africa and have even hosted fundraisers to help child soldiers escape, I couldn't finish this book. The premise is very appealing, but because English is not Beah's native tongue, he uses a ton of cliches to describe his experience, which made it difficult to find it very compelling. That makes me a total snob, doesn't it. For example, this is not necessarily directly from the book (though it could be), he might say something like when he and his brother got separated, he felt his heart break. Man, it feels worse admitting this than I expected, but, well, there it is. I have crazy respect for the guy and what he's gone through and what he has subsequently made of himself, but I wasn't very impressed with the book, she says sheepishly.
1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer -- Yes, I am a proud Twilight non-reader. It only took me about two pages to realize how terrible the writing was and how dumb I was going to find the rest of the book. So why continue? Non-Twilighters, unite!
