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This week we're talking about the books we struggled with in some way.
Jana's Picks
1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling - *dodges tomatoes* Wait! Listen! I tried so hard to read this as a kid the year it came out (I was 11 then) and I found it in my school's Scholastic book fair. The second book hadn't even been released yet, I had heard nothing about it, and I just thought the cover was cool. So I tried to read it, made it a few pages, and donated it to a local charity. Fast forward about 18 years. It was an assigned reading in my YA lit class during grad school, so I had to go re-buy it for way more than I paid at that book fair... and I LOVED it. So magical and sweet! So, a happy ending.
2. The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye - I loved The Crown's Game, so this breaks my heart more than it does anyone else's. It was almost a DNF for me. The story went in the worst possible direction, and the magic was gone for me. :(
3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Don't get me wrong. I loved this book. But it took me two years to read it because I didn't want to get too attached and cry too much. Basically, I was Joey and put the book in the freezer. A lot. And for your viewing pleasure...
Jamie's Picks
4. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender: SOO I tried to listen to this via audio on my commute and I just could not get into it AT ALL. I really struggled to stay engaged with it which normally I am really into audios on my commute to make me forget how horrible it is. Should I try this again with a physical book??
5. Preacher by Garth Ennis: I had heard good things about this comic series and then I heard that AMC was making it a tv show so I tried to pick it up...once in 2015 and then again right before the show was premiering and I could NOT get into it. SAD. I still haven't watched the show yet. TOO MANY SHOWS TO WATCH.
Lauren's Picks
6. Feed by M.T. Anderson: I wanted to DNF this one so bad, but I just had to finish it. I am not a completist by any means, but I don't know... with this book, I just felt obligated. I was just plain bored. It had such a promising plot and I can't get enough of anything remotely dystopian, but this one just missed the mark for me.
7. The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson: Unless you've read this book yourself, you're probably not going to believe me. BUT... damn it was awful. It was like a kid writing a horror book. I couldn't finish it. There's just no way. The writing was all over the place, there were was not a continuous flow of what was actually taking place in the house, and once again... I was bored. Oh well... there's plenty of other horror novels out there that are just waiting to scare the heck out of me!
8. Lucifer's Flood by Linda Rios Brook: This one only received one star from me, but it honestly might be my fault. I think I set my expectations way to high for this one. It could've been so much more, quite literally celestial, but it just fell flat.
Julia's Picks
9. A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin: This book was painfully long to get through. After all of the excitement of Storm of Swords, then getting to a book where half of my favorite characters were not there? Brutal. It literally took me two years to read this book.
10. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett: I saw this book on so many lists when I was big into reading and doing challenges. It had a solid summary, but for some reason when I started reading I just couldn't connect. Like at all. I had to just give up and stop.
Which books have you really struggled to get through or completely given up on?
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Audio books can be tricky. I can't get into most of them as the narrator can make or break it and I am kind of picky about what kind of voice I want to hear reading me a book. Maybe it was the narrator? Maybe reading it yourself with your own voices in your head will make it more enjoyable?
ReplyDeleteWas 11 year old Jana okay? Harry Potter?? I understand Julia with Feast for Crows a lot more, that series is hard to get through!
ReplyDeletelol. In my defense, I just really didn't like reading as a kid. :P And I REALLY hated fantasy. So it was just the totally wrong timing. Hehe.
DeleteJana, I get you with The Book Thief. I'm reading it right now, and have been for about two years. It's an intense story. - Katie
ReplyDeleteSO intense! It's beautiful and I'm so glad I read it, but small doses are easiest on the heart.
DeleteWell, I'll admit when Harry Potter first came out and everyone was reading it a few years later I wasn't too interested at first. Then our teacher started reading it to us for fun and I found myself getting interested and it was later that Xmas when I received a copy!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
Aww. Another happy ending!
DeleteI also listened to The Particular Sadness on audio, and while the audio was definitely not the best, most of my dislike was the book. For me it just got weirder and worse and more boring as I went along.
ReplyDeleteThe Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake sounds so good! You have me intrigued. I want to try it.
ReplyDeleteI have Feed on audio to listen to as well. It was a freebie from SYNC YA.
Too bad about The Amityville Horror! That one is on my Wishlist.
Here's mine:
http://darlenesbooknook.blogspot.ca/2017/09/ten-books-that-were-chore-to-get.html
I also didn’t love the first two Harry Potter books when I was a kid. I read them, and they were okay, but I didn’t start loving the series until book 3. After that, I was hooked.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I have The Book Thief on my list too. It's such an emotional book that it does take a long time to get thru. But I am so glad I finally finished it, it is definitely worth it!
ReplyDeleteSO worth it! It's emotional and beautiful and wonderful, but very hard to just sit down and read in long spurts.
DeleteI've started The Crown's Game three times now but have never gotten further than chapter 3. I'm thinking I should maybe not bother now if Crown's Fate is a let down.
ReplyDeleteI did really enjoy Bel Canto but can definitely understand why it would be a struggle
If you're struggling with The Crown's Game that much (it does start out slow, but I ended up LOVING it), then I think deciding to skip it all together might be a good idea. lol
DeleteJana, don't feel bad I struggled with The Sorcerer's Stone as well. In fact it's the only one of the books I haven't read all the way through.
ReplyDeleteI've heard from a few people that the first book is definitely not the strongest. I'm glad I'm not the only one who struggled with it! :)
DeleteI struggled with Philosopher's Stone first time too, I almost gave up but I'm so glad I didn't. Even when I reread now though I usually skip the first few chapters and start at the hut on the rock
ReplyDeleteI am currently making my (very slow) way through A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin. It's a slog. I'm about halfway through it now, and I'm determined to finish it, but. . . Do I want to read it all? Or do I want to skip ahead 200+ pages and just read the end? I'm already skimming it in parts. :-/
ReplyDeleteAnother book I slogged my way through, only to be bitterly disappointed by its ending, was Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. It took me 10 days to read 843 pages. Honestly, I only made it through it because A) I find it impossible to DNF well-written books; B) I limited myself to reading 85 pages per day (some days I read less, but still! I finished it in 10 days!); C) I was reading it (along with other books once I read my allotted amount for the given day) for the #TomeTopple Round 4 Readathon; and D) I had hoped it would redeem itself in the end (it did not). Had I known I was in for disappointment, I would have DNFed it, but how can you know that if you don't read the book? So it's a vicious circle. :-/
;-)
I haven't read most of these (except Harry Potter) which I, luckily, didn't struggle to get into! A popular series I did struggle to get into, though, is The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments! I LOVED them but I did struggle to get into them. :)
ReplyDeleteMy TTT post!