This week's Top Ten Tuesday on The Broke and the Bookish is: Ten Books I'm Not Sure I Want To Read. Oh, what a good topic!
1. Allegiant - Veronica Roth
2. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
I read somewhere that there's a horrendous scene in this book involving a horse, and even though it has been highly recommended to me in the past, I know I can't handle it.
3. Unravel Me/Ignite Me - Tahereh Mafi
I really did not enjoy the beginning of Shatter Me. The writing style rubbed me entirely the wrong way - I found it pretentious, tedious and just plain irritating. By the end of the book I had either gotten used to it or the writing had improved, so it was somewhat redeemed for me.... but still, I've been putting off the rest of the series for months.
4. The Shiver Trilogy - Maggie Stiefvater
I love Maggie. She's one of my favourites on Twitter, these books have coloured print (how cool is that???) and I have heard wonderful things about this series. I have tried to read it twice, and not made it very far. The I read The Raven Boys, which I really wanted to love. And in certain ways, I did. The writing was amazing - to the point where I seriously considered underlining, which I NEVER do. But I wasn't satisfied by the end of the first book, and I was left with all sorts of questions and bits that confused me. So I haven't felt inspired to pick any of these up.
5. Dear Life (etc.) - Alice Munro
Confession time: I've never read any Munro. *Hangs head in shame* I should. I really should. Not only did she recently win the Nobel Prize, but she's Canadian - and the namesake of one of my all-time favorite bookstores growing up, Munro's. So I know I need to give her a shot. I even have a box set of her books. But I'm not generally a fan of short stories or of Canadian fiction, and so somehow I just never get round to it.
6. The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova
I got about halfway through this book and while part of me was intrigued, another part of me felt quite exhausted by the whole thing. It's a lot of effort, this book. I'm still on the fence as to whether I'd like to give it another go.
7. Trainspotting (etc.) - Irvine Welsh
Between the dialect and Welsh's knack for creating incredibly evocative portrayals of the most dreadful elements of the human condition, I'm not entirely sure it's a good idea.
8. City of Lost Souls/Heavenly Fire - Cassandra Clare
Oh, this series. Such a strong start, some great characters and elements, but it ended up being far too much whining about boyfriends and girlfriends and I got rather peeved and gave up. Part of me wants to just get it over with and finish it already - but another (so far stronger) part just can't be assed.
9. The Circle - Dave Eggers
I started this one and it seemed pretty interesting, but it didn't reach out and grip me by the throat and I got distracted. Doesn't help that my dad tried to read it and didn't find it up to much.
10. The Leftovers - Tom Perrotta
Okay, so Karen over at One More Page said this is good, but that it is similar to the TV show in that the plot doesn't really.... plot. It's kind of more about people dealing with impossible circumstances as best they can and that that's sort of the point. Based on the show, which I'm not sure I can handle watching, I'm iffy on this one.
I'm sure there are plenty more, but those are the first that came to mind. What about you guys? And have you read any of these? If so, yay or nay?