Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Book Shame - Books I didn't finish (Lots of controversial ones in here!)

See how Buffy's trying but doesn't quite look convinced?
That was me reading these books.
Today I thought I would show you my worst DNFs*. These are either books that I didn't finish and never plan on picking up again or books I just might end up finishing one day. The funny thing is that many of those books are actually quite popular and have hordes of fans. So if you see a favorite book of yours here, don't feel in anyway that I'm trying to bash your beloved book. We all have such diverging tastes so what may work for me might not work for someone else and that's totally fine :) 

So let's start...

(*DNF - A book you Did Not Finish)

1. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien


This is the first book in the Lords of the Rings trilogy and while I did read and enjoy the Hobbit (twice!), I just couldn't finish this one. Like I said in a previous post, the fact that the characters are constantly singing is what turned me off with this one. However, this is one of those 'might finish it one day' situations. I really want this to happen. I just don't really feel like picking this up again anytime soon. We'll see how it goes! 

2. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini


OMG this series... I thought the first book was quite good. It was fast-paced and had lots of adventure and magic. And of course, there was an awesome dragon too. Then beginning with book two, it kind of totally went downhill. Aside from the not so subtle Star Wars and Lord of the Rings similarities, the books were unnecessarily long with passages that could have easily been cut down and events that could have been skipped altogether. I mean, book three has whole chapters dedicated only to dwarf politics!!! I really struggled to finish books 2 and 3, mostly because I had actually spent a good portion of my savings on them. But when I got to book 4, I just couldn't do it anymore. I stopped 100 pages into it and honestly, I don't thing I'll ever pick up the book again. 

3. Emma by Jane Austen


This might come off as a shocker to fans of Jane Austen but it's true, I couldn't finish this book. First off, I never really liked romance and comedy as book genres and those are the genres that primarily fit Jane Austen's books. Now just because a book is a classic doesn't mean you necessarily have to like it, especially if it's from a genre you don't enjoy. I've tried several Jane Austen novels now, including Mansfield Park, Emma and Pride and Prejudice, and I still don't enjoy her works the way I enjoy the works of other classics authors. I guess I just prefer books that have a more serious or dramatic tone. That's probably why I love Jane Eyre so much. Again, it really boils down to personal preferences. I do plan on re-reading Pride and Prejudice one day to see if my opinion has changed. And despite having abandoned Emma about midway through it, I also plan to read it again one day and actually finish it. Jane Austen is just not on top of my priority reads for the moment with regards to classics.

4. The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare


As a great fan of The Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices series, when I saw that Cassandra Clare had released a new book, I immediately got my own copy and started reading it right away. That book was The Iron Trial, which she had written with Holly Black and... I hated it. It's a middle-grade book but I don't think that's why I didn't like it. I mean, I love the Percy Jackson books and these are also mid-grade books. The Iron Trial was super cheesy, even for a book intended for kids. And despite trying very hard not to, I couldn't help but note the similarities with Harry Potter. I really tried to give this book a chance but in the end I just gave up. I'm really looking forward to Lady Midnight, Cassandra Clare's next release, but I don't think I'll ever pick up a middle-grade book by her again. 

5. Unravel me by Tahereh Mafi


I read Shatter Me, the first book in the series, mostly due to the hype it was getting in the book community. Despite it having a rather weak plot and lots and lots of cheesiness, I did quite enjoy Shatter Me, mostly because I saw it as a guilty pleasure read. With Unravel Me though, the guilty pleasure element kind of wore off and I was left struggling with yet another cheesy and weak plot. I really hated how hard the author was suddenly trying to make us sympathize with Warner when in book one he had been such an asshole. And to make us like him, the author found no other way than to turn book one's love interest, Adam, from a sweet and loving guy to a jealous guy with anger issues. These character developments were so random and sloppy and that pretty much killed the series for me. I know this series has lots of fans, but it just wasn't for me I guess. 

6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green


Okay, please don't hate me for this one guys! Look, I do enjoy John Green's writing. I mean I read Looking for Alaska and Will Grayson, Will Grayson by him and I genuinely love both of these books. However, I truly feel that Looking for Alaska was a superior story than the Fault In Our Stars. I think my main problem with The Fault is that is had been overhyped for me. So, when it didn't end up living up to the high expectations I had developed, it just came off as disappointing and I had to put it down. So I guess overhype is what truly ruined this book for me. I'm not saying it's a bad book. In fact, I agree with most people in that it has a beautiful story but I honestly think this book was overhyped. If someone would ask me for a John Green recommendation, I would totally recommend something else than The Fault in Our Stars.

Okay so let the debates in the comments begin! Did I mention a book that you loved in this post? Or maybe you read one of these books and you, too, didn't like it? Comment down below and tell me what you liked or didn't like about the books I mentioned. Looking forward to your comments!

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12 comments:

  1. I think TFIOS is actually the only halfway decent novel John Green has ever written. I only made it halfway through An Abundance of Katherines and Looking for Alaska. I'm surprised that you couldn't finish it. As for Unravel Me - I'm already glad I managed to finish Shatter Me, sooo
    Don't ever apologize for your taste and preferences!

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    1. I really wanted to like Shatter Me and TFIOS but I guess they just were not for me. I haven't even watch TFIOS movie although I'll do watch it at some point to know what all the hype was about. Thanks for dropping by :)

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  2. The one I loved was FIOS. I agree with Jen, it's his only viable read. Tolkien is a pretty good, albeit long read. Paolini I hated. I abhor AustEn, and the others aren't just my cuppa. Never EVER apologise for anything

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    1. There was a time when I wanted to read all of John Green's books. Now... Not so much. I do plan on reading the LoTR at some point. I'm hoping to get to it by the end of the year. We'll see how it goes :p Yeah I hated Paolini. His books felt like rip-offs of other popular series and it got to a point where I could practically guess what would happen next based on my knowledge of the series he had copied from. One day maybe I'll get back to Jane Austen. Maybe. Thanks for commenting Andrea :)

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  3. Darn. I wanted to read "Unravel Me" and the "Iron trail", I'll have to check this stuff out. Haahhahaha, I love buffy. I cant believe you dnf'ed the LoTR's series xD do you like the movies?

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    1. Hey if you like Shatter Me, go ahead and try reading Unravel Me. You might end up enjoying it. I know lots of people did really enjoy the book. The Iron Trial though... I don't feel I can actually recommend this to anyone :p Yeah I love Buffy too! Probably my favorite TV show :) The LoTR... I loved the movies. I've watched them many times and could still watch them again without ever tiring of them. I guess the books didn't work for me because I expected them to be just like the movies. I plan on reading at least the first book this year. I'll be my little book project of the year XD

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    2. Actually, havent read that book yet. So, I'll probably just skip them,lol. HAHA! I'll keep that in mind if I ever try that book. I always loved Black's fae books but if you think they're that bad, yikes. Might need to side-step those. Me too, Orlando bloom is so hot..and the new movies...daaaaaamn. All I gotta say on that. I get that though, we see the movies and they're incredible but the books are lengthy and tedious. Definitely not for everyone, don't force yourself to read it xD!

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  4. Is it bad that I haven't read any of those books? lol. I guess DNF'ing is better than not trying at all. To be fair though I tried to watch LOTR's movie but had absolutely no interest in it. As for Jane Austen I read a bindup of a few of her books and was so bored.. You are right just because its a classic doesn't mean you have to like it.

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    1. Lately I've decided to focus on things which really appeal to me rather than what's popular and trending. Maybe my reading tastes have just evolved a little bit but it's really nice to read things just because you like them rather than because 'everyone is reading it right now'. Thanks for visiting Melissa :)

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  5. [Audible gasp here]... Emma is my most favorite novel of all Austen's novels (I read them all). So much spank! And I thought it was funny too.

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    1. I'm glad you liked it. I will read and finish it one day, I don't know when, but it'll happen :p

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