Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Julia's Top Ten Books That Were Totally Deceiving


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Hey everyone! Julia here with this week's top ten list:

Top Ten Books that were Totally Deceiving

1. Three Nights of Sin by Anne Mallory
Why: The summary had NOTHING to do with the actual story
This was so true, that in my review I called it out. It wasn't a bad story, just not the story they were selling.

2. Bossypants by Tina Fey
Why: Creepiest Cover Ever
Seriously, I still can't look at this thing. If I didn't get it on audiobook, I would have avoided this forever. The book was really funny despite the unfortunate cover.

3. The Lady Most Likely...: A Novel in Three Parts
Why: Premise Deception
Three romance novel authors got together to write a novel. I was stoked. In high school, my friends and I used to pass around a notebook where each of us would write a page or so and the next would just pick it up. It was quite fun. I pictured this as something of that sort. But it really was just an anthology loosely held together by a houseparty theme. I was disappointed.

4. Cycler by Lauren McLaughlin
Why: Premise Deception
A girl who turns into a boy 4 days a month? Yes please. But then you read a story filled with stereotypes? No thank you.

5. The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne
Why: Chesty Cover
Oh this cover. It put me off the book once, and I missed out.

6. This One Time with Julia by David Lampson
Why: Cover and Summary Deception
It pulls m in with the nice cover and the interesting premise, but I could not read it. The unnatural prose and dialogue was what did me in.

7. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Why: Fantasy-esque Description
Well it was fantasy and I knew that, but the description made me keep putting it off. Finally, I gave in and was amazed at what I was missing

8.The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
Why: Cover and Summary of Win
Man this cover was soooo cool. Lots of hidden clocks. Steampunk fun times all through the description too. I couldn't get three chapters through. I fell asleep every time I tried. Sad day.

9.The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Why: Fantasy Cover + YA slant
This book is awesome, but that was almost overshadowed by the marketing to the younger girls. I thought that it couldn't be for me too... well I was wrong. It is awesome.

10. Lots and lots of romance novels
Why: Almost all romance novel covers a cheesy
Thus it is hard to judge a book by it's cover in this genre. Good thing or not, it makes things a bit rough when at the checkout counter. Usually the stuff inside is not bad at all.


44 comments:

  1. Totally with you on Bossypants, Julia! I haven't read it yet, but man - that cover is certainly something. DUDE and so with you on The Girl in the Steel Corset. I could not read that book, but it looked and sounded totally awesome!

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  2. Lol, I love that you thought to put romance novels on your list because it is SO TRUE! I just started reading some this year, and the biggest reason it took me so long? The embarrassing covers. Thank goodness for e-books is what I have to say.

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  3. The cover of Bossypants creeped me out too. Those man hands are no joke.

    JJ iReads
    Check out my Top Ten Picks This Week

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  4. Romance novels-- why didn't I think of that?!

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  5. Hey Julia great list, you've listed so many books that I had never thought of!

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  6. I am with you on the man-hands on the front of Bossypants and glad to hear that I'm not the only one who can't read the darn thing because I'm so creeped out by those hands. I will definitely have to rent it on e-book!

    My top ten: http://cullenstoclassics.blogspot.com/

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  7. Agree about the romance novel covers! Some really are just oozing so much fromage, I can't even. For some reason, I wasn't too creeped out by the Bossypants cover- it just made me laugh as it seems so appropriate for Tina Fey.

    As always, awesome topic :)

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  8. Ugh. Bossypants and the man hands! I am glad I removed the dustcover to read that one, because I really enjoyed the book. I wonder who though that cover was a great idea? I guess, at the very least it's memorable.

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  9. I completely agree with Cycler! It's actually on mine too. It was extremely gross in some parts too, not that I have a problem with boy cooties (oooooooh) or anything but, yeah.

    http://quixoticallyuncharted.blogspot.com/2012/04/top-ten-tuesday_10.html

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  10. Wow...I'm so sad you couldn't get through The Girl in the Steel Corset! It is literally my favorite book EVER! I completely agree on the romance novels though...why do they have to do that!? Golden Compass too! I would have never picked it up if it hadn't been a required book in an Adolescent Lit. class in college...but that series is SO good! Check out our Top 10

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  11. Bahahaha I am always so creeped out by the Bossypants cover when I walk by it in a store. If I didn't love Tina Fey so much I'd be tempted to walk around to bookstores, turning the covers over. So creepster! In an awesome way, but I just can't look at it! Thank goodness for Kindle =)

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  12. Hahaha, My thoughts EXACTLY about Bossypants. The cover weirded me out. The only way I read it was because I could check out a digital copy. I ended up with the audiobook also.

    I hear you on romance novels. Looking through the bargin section of the Nook books at BN is....special because of them. Some of them look like something pulled off of Cinemax late night.

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  13. I picked up The Golden Compass waaaaay back in the dark ages (shortly after it first came out, I think) because of the gorgeous polar bear on the cover. I don't think I read it through all the way the first time I checked it out because it was a little old for me. Plus Miss Coulter freaked me the hell out. I did pick it up again, as well as its sequels, and loved them all, though I will admit that all the religious matter was a bit out of left field for a middle-schooler ;)

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  14. Hated the over of bossypants too and my friends I otally had a journal we old pass around and do the same thing!

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  15. Good point, that's pretty much why I hardly ever read romance novels...

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  16. Yes, I agree with the romance novels which is also exactly why I don't read them! I totally didn't go with this theme bc I had a difficult time with it. Instead I went with fairy tales. :)

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  17. Total agreement with This one time with Julia. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had had an idea what I was getting into, but they really didn't make it clear that the narrator was going to be so unreliable and would skew everything else in the book.

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  18. "by it's cover"

    it's=it is. its=possessive

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  19. Haha, you could make up an entire list based on romance novels alone. Here's my top ten: http://authorheather.wordpress.com/

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  20. It should be interesting to see which books end up on these lists! Great theme this week.

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  21. I completely agree about Bossypants. Loved the audio, but there is no way I could ever own this book. I'm afraid to touch it.

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  22. I enjoyed The Lady Most Likely, but I will admit that it wasn't structured the way I thought would be. Love that you mentioned romance novels in general...so did I!

    Jennifer @ Feminist Fairy Tale Reviews
    http://feministfairytalereviews.blogspot.com/2012/04/top-ten-tuesday-21-books-that-were.html

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  23. The Girl in the Steel Corset was my first steampunk book ... it was fun, but I don't think it'll be my favourite. The cover is crazy gorgeous, though. I love it still! Oh, and Bossypants was just 'meh' for me. I read the book and didn't find it funny at all. Maybe the audio would be better (and then I wouldn't have to look at the creepy cover!).

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  24. I agree with the BossyPants cover...lol! Beyond freaky!

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  25. I totally agree with you about the romance novels covers. Too cheesy for me to handle x3
    The cover to Bossypants is also creeptastic ughh.Nightmares anytime I see it in stores.

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  26. Agreed about the Bossypants cover! So creepy and weird. I read it anyway, but I always avoided looking at the cover when at all possible.

    The Spymaster's Lady is on my list as well! Cover and title? Horrible. Book itself? Amazing!

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  27. I have "The Girl in the Steel Corset" on mine as well...the cover was absolutely beautiful and I just did NOT like the story at all!!

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  28. Great list! I haven't read Cycler, but I heard a similar complaint about it.

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  29. Romance novels are always deceiving. I try not to judge books by their covers, but I always ending up doing just that.

    I must admit that I started The Golden Compass my senior year in school, but I couldn't get into the book. I blame it partly on the fact that it was close to exams when I started it so my interest was focused elsewhere. Maybe I will pick it up again at some point.

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  30. I agree with your picks. Mostly I also thing that The Golden Compass was awesome too :D

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  31. The Russian Concubine. I liked the story but the title and the cover did not describe the book at all. There was no concubine and the nude lady on the cover did not describe any scene really.

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  32. I agree with you about the romance covers. Most of them I'm okay with but I always skip over the ones that have a shirtless man on the cover. It looks too erotica to me, and whether it is or not, I never bother finding out. Just the thought of holding a book with a cover like that (and the judgment from others I know I'd get) is enough to turn me off those books completely.

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  33. I like how you formatted your post--giving your reasons for why the book deceived you. nice job today. kaye—the road goes ever ever on

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  34. I totally agree. I want to read bossypants, but the cover is so odd.

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  35. I so agree about the romance novels.

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  36. Hahaha I totally agree about Bossypants! That is one creepy cover...

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  37. Oh my gosh! I totally laughed out on your comment about the Girl in the Steel Corset. That's on my tbr but I've been holding it off for some time now 'coz I've been seeing several negative feedback from it.

    Janus @ The Blair Book Project

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  38. I totally agree with number 10. If I'd gone based on the incredibly embarrassing cover for Kiss of Snow (bare chested guy, complete with water droplets), I never would have discovered Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series. And I'm so glad I did.

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  39. Ok, I totally avoid Romance genre because of the bad covers. Perhaps I need to buy one on my Nook.....

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  40. Ha ha, I love that you put "all romance novels" on your list - its so true! I'm a fan of many a romance novel, but the covers are just awful!

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  41. Completely agree about The Name of the Wind, it's part of my list too! :)

    BTW I hope it's OK that I'm readding my entry for this week--I renamed my blog so the old URL is wrong =P

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  42. great.
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