Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Ten Books We Almost Put Down But Didn't



To learn more about Top Ten Tuesday or see the list of future topics click here


 Jamie's Picks:

1. Pride & Prejudice: YEP. One of my favorite books. I almost put this down because I was so not into it at first. I ended up pressing on because I didn't want to be the only girl in the world who didn't know who the swoonworthy Mr. Darcey was. Glad I kept going because I fell in love!

2. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman: I had bought this on a whim at a used book sale and read it many years ago because I had heard of the great Neil Gaiman and I wanted to give him a shot. It so wasn't my typical kind of read (especially at that point in time) and I almost put it down but I'm so glad I didn't. I need to read more Gaiman despite ending up enjoying it!

3. Eve & Adam by Katerine Applegate & Michael Grant: I wish I would have once I realized that this book was not at all what I thought it would be. Instead I kept going. It ended and I was like WHY DID I READ THIS.

Kimberly's Pick

4. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray:  I couldn't stand the narrative style at first. I want sure if I wanted to even try reading it. But since I had already bought I decided to read it. And I ended up loving it!

Bridget's Pick

5. The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling: It took me forever (aka about a month and 200 pages) to get into this book, but I'm so glad I pushed through and finished it! For those of you who weren't able to get into it, I totally understand--it took a while for it to all come together. But I would recommend giving it another try, I think it was worth it in the end.

Paula's Pick

6. The Town That Forgot How to Breathe by Kenneth Harvey - I pushed through this book but I wish I had the capability of putting books down because I would have my three weeks back...

 Jana's Picks

7. Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally - I kind of wish I had just stopped this one, because I really did not enjoy it. I've read another book by this author and didn't like it either, so I'm thinking this author might not be for me. 

8. Black City by Elizabeth Richards - Call it morbid curiosity if you'd like, but I honestly stayed with this one only because I was curious as to how on EARTH these people were going to pull themselves out of this situation. But the book was just way too dark and disturbing for me, and there's one part in particular that has scarred me for life. So... I should have quit! Haha.


What about you guys? Which books did you almost put down but then didn't? Is it normally a good or bad experience when this happens?



Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly link-up in the community where we provide a prompt and other lovers of listmaking join in on it with their own top ten list. Feel free to have less than 10 or more if you need to at times and put a spin on the topic if you need to! Just please link back to us if you are participating :)

To join, link up below with the URL to your blog POST (not your blog), your name and your email (which will remain hidden). Then bounce around the Linky!

 Sofia Li @ Loving the Language of Literacy   Sophia @ Ravens and Writing Desks   Jen & April @ The Starry-Eyed Revue  
 Cecelia @ Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia   Ricki and Kellee @ Unleashing Readers   Breakfast at Andrea's  
 Danica @ Rainy Tree Reader   Anna @ Anna's Reading List   Alex @ AlexinBookland  
 Sarika @ The Readdicts   Cassi @ My Thoughts Literally   Melissa @ i swim for oceans  
 Mara A. @ The Reading Hedgehog   Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight   Nemo @ the Moonlight Library  
 Aly @ My Heart Hearts Books   czai @ the Blacksheep Project   Matthew LeDrew @ Engen Books  
 Michelle @ Book Hangovers Blabs Books   Jessica @ Just Another Teen Reading Books   Liesel @ Musings on Fantasia  
 Katrina @ Chased By My Imagination   Miguel @ The Quirky Reader   Jess & Tom @ Reading Nook Reviews  
 Shelly @ Raindrops and Pages   Mariko @ The Storybook Kingdom   swytla  
 Vilia @ Backchatting Books   Margaret @ JustOneMoreChapter   Lori @ Ficwishes  
 Chelsea @ Books for Thought   Sandie @Teen Lit Rocks   Marianne  
 Heena @ The Reading Bud   Elizabeth   Amy @ Read What I Like  
 Sara @ Just Another Story   Stephanie H. @ Her Reviews...   Christina @ A Reader of Fictions  
 Rory @ Fourth Street Review   Stefani @ Caught Read Handed   Finley Jayne's Going to the Library...  
 Ashley@Chronicles   Keri @ IV League   Teresa @ Readers Live A Thousand Lives  
 Melbourne on my mind   Joey @ thoughts and afterthoughts   Jorie's Reads by Starry Night Elf  
 Lisa@ReadBreatheRelax   Kimberly @ Turning the Pages   Lori @ Writing My Own Fairy Tale  
 Nikki & Keira @ Lazy Book Lovers Book Club   Carola @ brilliant years   Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know  
 Alison @ Hardcovers & Heroines   Jess @ Gone with the Words   Kristin @ Promises to Read  
 The Other Watson @ Wanton Creation   Trisha @ eclectic/eccentric   Aimee @ Aimee in Wonderland  
 Anah @ Turtles In My Soup   Trisha @ At Least We Made It This Far...   Sofia @ Raining Books and Words  
 J.C @ Pop Arts   Katie @ INKK REVIEWS   Elisabeth @ The Dirigible Plum  
 Megan@YA? Why Not?   Carrie @wvredreads   Ellis @ The Random Transliterator  
 Lois@You, Me, and a Cup of Tea   Mights @The Bookish Bookkeeper   Carrie-Anne's Magick Theatre  
 Brittany @ The Book Addict's Guide   Luna's Little Library   Jillian @ Jillian's Books  
 Vicki @ Good Books and a Sleepy Conscience   Katherine @ I WIsh I Lived in a Library   Ali @ No Money 4 Books  
 Maura @ The Whimsical Mama   Stephanie @Don't be Afraid of the Dork   Cate @ RGB  
 Victoria @ Chapters on a Page   Jess & Loren @ Such a Novel Idea   Sifra @ Brilliant Bookshelf  
 Jennifer @ YA Book Nerd   Lynn   Jazz @ Jazmin Jade Reviews  
 Amy @ bookgoonie   Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner   Megan @ Leafing Through Life  
 Jennifer @ Feminist Fairy Tale Reviews   Anne & Ashley @ Lovely Literature   Shannon @ Rex Robot Reviews  
 Lavinyaa @ the screenbook. blog   Shae/Shelver @ Shae Has Left The Room   Nemo @ Books with Bree  
 Maggie Prater   Brooke @ Brooke Reviews   Aman @ Enticed by Books  
 HeatherAnne@Words,words,words   Milka @ ReadReadRead   Casey @ The Write Words  
 Anna's Book Blog   Jody @ A Spoonful of Happy Endings   Annette & Rachel  
 Nobody @ The Story Goes...   Savannah @ Playing in the Pages   Alex @ The Book Banner  
 Jenny @ Book Sojourner   Nicole @ WCW   Kei @ The Lovely Pages Reviews  
 Stormy @ Book. Blog. Bake.   Cristina @ Girl in the Pages   LillyLilac  
 Tiffany @ Beneath the Jacket Reviews   Chrissi Reads   Kritika @ Snowflakes & Spider Silk  
 Emily at Strawberry Blonde Books   Nicole & Ashley @ The Quiet Concert   Karin @ My Life...  
 Nikki H @ Take Me Away...   What Aimee Read Next   Ellen M @ The Canon  
 Emily @ Follow the Yellow Book Road   La Coccinelle @ The Ladybug Reads...   Josette @ Books Love Me  
 Reviews from a Bookworm   Juliet@Living In Our Own Story   Michelle @ Pink Polka Dot Book Blog  
 Jen @ Jenuine Cupcakes   Jazzie @ The Book Dancer   Gaby @ Queen Ella Bee Reads  
 Paulina @ The Little Book Pixie   Ren @ Words in a Teacup   Christina @ Allodoxophobia  
 Elena@My world in English   Christina @BookTasty   Cait @ Notebook Sisters  
 Cait @ Book Love   Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity   Rose & Julie @ Chapter Break  
 KayCee K's Blog (A Writer)   Brenna @ Esther's Ever After   Alma @ Journey Through Fiction  
 islandgeekgirl @ Overflowing Bookshelves   Sarah @ Exploring All Genres   Leah @ Girls Love To Read  
 Rachel @ Bookish Rachel   Andi @ Estella's Revenge   Jaime @ The World for the Reading  
 Becky @ No More Grumpy Bookseller   Deb Nance at Readerbuzz   Brooke @ i blog 4 books  
 Busy Mom Enjoy Life   Rachel @ ObsessedWithFairyTales   Hannah @ Broc's Bookcase  
 BookCupid   Alysia @ Fiction Addictions   Nessa @ October Tune  
 Denise @ The Next Read   Caitlin @ caitlinsternwrites   Great Imaginations  
 kelley   Maggie @ Just a Couple More Pages   Ula @ Blog of Erised  
 Angie @ Angieville   Lauren @ Books, Tea & Me   Cornelia @ Lonestarch  
 Heather & Christie @ Turning Pages   adi @ adiReads   Katie at Page212  
 Angela @ Angela's Library   Tessa @ Crazy for YA   Fi @ Bookish Outsider  
 Amy @ Pages of Starlight   Katherine @ Neon Yeti Reads   Mali  
 Ella @ Once Upon a Bookish Time   Abbi @ Christian Novels   Lanaia @ The Temporary Escape  
 Jessica@The Bathtub Reader   Holly   Stephanie's Book Reviews  
 Jen @ Watching The Words   Jennifer @ A Librarian's Library   Liza @ Reading with ABC  
 Teisha @ Girl Writes Reviews   Maggie @ Mrs Doctor Dear   Christianna @ The White Unicorn  
 Becca & Lisa @ Lost in Literature   Gillian @ Writer of Wrongs   Brittany @ This is the Story of My(Reading) Life  
 Booboo Blogs   Megs @ The Teen Book Addict   Stephanie @ 300 Pages  
 Rachel @ Confessions of a Book Geek   Caitlin @ Written Between Covers   Cheryl @ The Book Connection  
 Kristen @ The Book Monsters   Claudia   Karissa @ Hidden in Pages  
 yahira @An imperfect World   Tea in the Treetops   Lipsy@ Lipsyy Lost & Found  
 Caitie @ Plays Well With Books   Genevieve @ The Reading Shelf   jen and em @themarkofabookfan  
 Jessica @ The Psychotic Nerd   Samantha @ The Secret Life of a Bookworm   Keeley  
 Clair C.   Rachel @ Beauty and the Bookshelf   Joel @ The Library Rat  
 Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard   Katelynn @ Unlucky Primes   Andi @ Andi's ABCs  
 Kate @ MadButMagic   Ariane @ Aquamarine St.   Brin's Book Blog  
 Abby @ Books and Things   Disappear Into Reading   tiffany @ Avid Reader  
 I Believe in Story   Aisha @ Adventures of a Reader   Kate @ Fictional Thoughts  
 Alicia the Awesome   Ana @ WhatYAReading   Kathy @ The Female Scriblerian  
 Moonglint @AKernelofNonsense   Jaime & Erin @ Fic Fare   Pamela D @ Reading Is Fun Again  
 M @ Backlist Books   Collene   Quinn @ Quinn's Book Nook  
 Nichole @YaReads   There will be books  
 She @ She Read   Amy @ Ode to Jo & Katniss  

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)



19 comments:

  1. I had wanted to list down Pride and Prejudice too! I admit that I skipped certain parts, the conversations, because I thought they were too lengthy. *guilty look*

    Ah, A Great and Terrible Beauty is one of my favourites! I'm glad you didn't put it down, Kimberley. :)

    As for The Casual Vacancy, it's on my reading list! I like J.K. Rowling.

    Josette
    Books Love Me

    ReplyDelete
  2. I know what you mean about Eve & Adam, it was a little different from what I thought it would be but I enjoyed it.

    Here's my TTT post
    -Kimberly @ Turning the Pages

    ReplyDelete
  3. I feel you about Neverwhere. It turned out to be one of my fave books, but I almost put it down too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It took me over ten years to read Pride and Prejudice. I found it boring and annoying at first. It does take a while to get into it and maybe I was a little too young to truly appreciate it when I first started. But now - I've read it many times and I really love it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm glad you mentioned The Casual Vacancy. I think there are a lot of people who didn't get into it for a long time (myself included) but I'm glad I persisted. I ended up, well, not liking the book exactly, because that book wasn't terribly enjoyable, but I ended up seeing the value in it, and appreciating it. I'm glad I read it, though it did take me a while to get through.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I know what you mean with Pride & Prejudice. I still haven't finished it, but I finished Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. . .

    ReplyDelete
  7. I hadn't heard of several of these. There was a disturbing book that made my list too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Neverwhere is a great book, I'm actually reading one of Gaiman's books, Anansi Boys, later this week :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jane Austen really is hard to get into, but her stories are so good once you actually get through them!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm with Bridget on The Casual Vacancy - except I still wish I'd put it down! I never got into it and probably only stuck with it b/c it was by J.K. Rowling and I was curious how she'd do adult fiction.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think today's prompt should be called "Bottom Ten", at least that's what I called mine. LOL.

    Jane Austen is definitely not on my list because I really love her. But I can see that she's not for everyone.

    Marianne from Let's Read

    ReplyDelete
  12. Eve & Adam was one of those books which I didn't exactly like but I never actually thought of putting down... and I really have no idea why. all I know is that I didn't like Eve and her bestfriend all the way, but the ending I guess was kind of good, in my opinion..

    czai @ the Blacksheep Project

    ReplyDelete
  13. great list. I agree it's usually a good or bad experience when we push through a book we almost put down. kelley—the road goes ever ever on

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'd never even heard of Eve and Adam but it does sound intriguing so I might have to check that one out!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wicked. I put it down after a few chapters, but when I picked it up again I was SO glad I did.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Casual Vacancy made my list, too. I can see why people, especially people who picked it up because of the author, would have a hard time getting into it. It's a slow, complex, and big book.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Neverwhere was the first Gaiman book I ever read as well. It surprised me and I ultimately enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete
  18. It's funny to see what other people struggle with at first, because I really loved A Great and Terrible Beauty from the beginning! From the summary on the book jacket even! I knew it was the right book for me, but I could see how others wouldn't be as hooked right away. I feel that way about Neil Gaiman's writing. I read The Graveyard Book and had to force myself to finish it (it was one of the state award books) so I could recommend it to students who might enjoy it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libbra Bray is definitely one of my favorite books, but I loved her style from the very beginning. The second book was probably my favorite of the three, and the last one was terrible! Way too long. Even Libba said that it should have been four books, but she couldn't since it was marketed as a trilogy from the beginning.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails