Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Top Ten Books I almost Put Down but Didn't

I rarely start books that I don't mean to finish. In fact, I don't think I ever have. Before reading a book I normally know enough about it to know if I'll like it and if for someone reason I don't enjoy it as much as I thought I would then I finished it anyways because I don't like leaving things uncompleted. So there are several books that I wanted to put down but didn't because of that. Some of these are books that I read when I was younger back when my Dad made me reading lists. I am so thankful he made me those lists because I read a lot of books I might never have picked up if he hadn't assigned them to me. Most all of those I enjoyed but some of them not so much as is evidence on this list. So here goes!

  1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy- It's a great book but I just don't like it. I don't like books were, in my opinion, there isn't a single good character. This is one that my Dad had me read. It is a classic and I'm glad I read it just to say I read it but I did not enjoy it. 
  2. The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne- It was just confusing. Probably I read it too fast too but I remember wanting to just get done with it because I didn't like it.
  3. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne- Another book were I just don't like a single character. Both of these Hawthorne books I made the choice to read so I guess I got what I deserved.
  4. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott- It's long and not like the movie. I hate it when I watch the movie before the book because I never enjoy the book as much. That's rarely happened but this was one of those cases. I mean to re-read it this year and I'll see if I can handle it better then. 
  5. Lorna Doone by by R.D. Blackmoore- Another of the few that I read after watching the movie. It's really long and pretty detailed and honestly I just wanted to get through it as quickly as possible... which was hard to do due to above description. 
  6. The Odyssey by Homer- It is LONG! And hard to read in the format it is written. I read this one for school and oh my if it hadn't been for school I probably never would have finished it. 
  7. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux- I did want to read it just to see how it compared to the movie but it wasn't fun to read. The story does not appeal to me.
  8. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens- While I do enjoy Dickens' books, this one was spoiled for me by the fact that while I was reading it my family was watching a film version of it and Miss Havisham just CREEPED ME OUT in the movie so I had a hard time enjoying the book. I was younger when this happened by the way! I'm sure if I watched the movie now it wouldn't bother me. So anyways, I remember dragging through this book and not really wanting to read it. Someday maybe I'll reread it to see if I could enjoy it more because that is the only Dickens so far that I haven't liked so I'm sure it was just that movie. 
I know I ended up with eight but that's all I can think of right now and in just a few hours I'll be taking my nursing final so... 

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19 comments:

  1. All of the books on my list were from my book club, otherwise I never would have chosen them. I have read and enjoyed quite a few of the books on your list but I can understand that some of them are hard to get into.

    Marianne from Let's Read

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. Most of those I did enjoy to some extent and I recognize them as great works of literature but they weren't my favorites. :)

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  2. I've heard of a lot of books in your list, but haven't read them yet. I thought Phantom of the Opera was really good since they even have a play adaptation. And also Great Expectations as well!! I first heard of that book in Matilda by Roald Dahl! Hope you find more books to enjoy! :)

    Jillian @ Jillian's Books

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I do love the music from the musical of Phantom of the Opera, I just can't enjoy the story.

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  3. It is interesting that they were all books you were forced to read. I adored Scarlet Letter when i read it in school, but it helps that I had the best teacher I ever had teaching it. House of Seven Gables was pleasantly surprising, but it was not a book I could rush through.

    I need to read Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy but I am so intimidated by the Russian authors.

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    1. Well, I forced myself to read Phantom of the Opera but besides that yes. I can appreciate the themes of Scarlet Letter and House of Seven Gables but I have a hard time enjoying books where there isn't a character I like or is a "good character".

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  4. you made it through some really tough books. I've always felt the same about "Last of the Mohicans". The movie is so romantic and the book is a bear. kelley—the road goes ever ever on

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    1. I've seen part of the movie of "Last of the Mohicans" and then I wanted to read it but now you make me question my want to. ;)

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  5. Scared of The Odyssey. Still keep it tucked in my bookcase. My TTT

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    1. It should be read sometime in ones life... but still... not the most enjoyable thing. :)

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  6. I love the musical 'Phantom Of The Opera' but the book looks hard to get into. I'd like to give it a try though!

    Check out my TTT!

    Katrina @ Chased By My Imagination

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  7. Good list, I hated The Odyssey and I wouldn't have finished if it wasn't for school as well although he only read selections from it so it didn't end up making my list.

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  8. Lots of classics!

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  9. We are kindred spirits! I love Dickens, but Great Expectations is the only book of his that I don't like. I tried to re-read it a few years ago to see if I like it any better, but I still disliked it.

    I actually loved Anna Karenina, but I was studying abroad in St Petersburg at the time, so I think walking the same streets and seeing the palaces made up for the lack of likeable characters, plus I really liked Constantine Levin, so his parts made up for the depressing nature of the rest of the book.

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    1. Wow! We are kindred spirits. ;)
      I guess Levin is a good character but even he frustrates me. Anna Karenina is just a sad book and I'm not fond of sad books but it is good in its own right.
      Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  10. Nice list! I read Great Expectations in 10th grade and remember enjoying it - my high school read LOTS of Dickens! I haven;t read any since, though, and would like to again.

    Like you, I usually know I will like a book when I start because I choose my books based on what I know I like and/or recommendations from those w whose tastes I admire.

    For me, the push to finish a difficult book usually comes from one of my book groups...though there have been a few rare times when i still just couldn;t finish one!

    Sue

    Book By Book

    Book by Book is now on Facebook!

    Follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! It's great you were able to read Dickens in school! High school is a good age to read it and enjoy it.

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    2. Lorna Doone is worth the read. The book is different than the movie we have in some respects. You get a fuller picture of the time period, what people are thinking, the loyalties in play and the ramifications in choosing a side. It is difficult to be patient with Blackmoore as he likes to give a great deal of description of nature. He is not Jane Austen.

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