The Intimidating Book Tag

Hi guys! Today I'm doing The Intimidating Book Tag. The original tag was created by YouTuber Lindsey Rey, and I was inspired to do the tag after watching this video by Yesy from the channel thebookvagrant.

As much as we love reading, sometimes we come across books we just can't get through. Maybe they are too big. Maybe it's just not the right time to read a particular book. More often than not, we just find that we are simply not in the mood for a particular title. 

1. What book have you been unable to finish?

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge. Okay, first let me say that I love this cover. Seriously, it's gorgeous. For those of you who don't know, Cruel Beauty is a Beauty and the Beast retelling taking place in a fantasy setting. I love me a good retelling so when I saw this book, I immediately decided I needed it in my life. The problem though, is that I overhyped the book in my mind. So when I actually started to read the book, I was underwhelmed by it. I thought the beginning was a little clichéd and honestly, I wasn't a big fan of our leading lady. So after struggling with it for a few days, I ended up putting it down. Now, I might finish this book at some point, since I'm very curious by nature and I actually want to know how it ends, but right now I just have other books I want to spend my time with.

2. What book have you yet to read because you just haven't had the time?

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I love reading classics and the Scarlet Letter is one I've been meaning to read for a while now. I've had it for almost 2 years on my shelf but haven't simply found the time to actually read it. I'm planning to bring it with me to Malaysia though so I just might read it during the year. Hopefully!

3. What book have you yet to read because it's a sequel?

Prince Lestat by Anne Rice. You may not know this about me but I'm actually a huge fan of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, whose main character, the vampire Lestat, also happens to be both my favorite male character of all time and my first and biggest literary crush. A few years ago, the series seemingly came to an end with the tenth book, Blood Canticle, being the last. And then, to all the fans' surprise and excitement, in 2014, a new book was published in the series. This book, Prince Lestat, supposedly sees the return of Lestat and a bunch of other characters, although I don't know much else since I've been avoiding spoilers about the book. Now, I am super excited to read this book but I've decided I wanted to read the first ten books first so it'll be a little while more before I finally pick it up. I'm on book 9 though so that shouldn't take too long now.

4. What book have you yet to read because it's brand new?

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan, the first book in his new Trials of Apollo series. Okay, I'm actually pretty pumped about this book but I have no idea when I'll be able to get my hands on a copy so for now, I'm just trying to be patient and avoid spoilers online XD. 

5. What book have you yet to read because you read a book by the same author and didn't enjoy it?

The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. I read Angels and Demons by him a few years ago, expecting to discover a cool and complex story with lots of mystery and secrets and more importantly, some great writing. When I did read the book though, I was a little disappointed by the writing which I found rather immature to be honest. The story felt rather clichéd, I disliked the female love interest or perhaps the very presence of the female love interest and just managed to finish the book. I've heard that Da Vinci Code is much better but so far I don't feel very inclined to pick up another Dan Brown.

6. What book have you yet to read because you're just not in the mood for it?

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North. It's about a guy who gets reborn over and over again and who actually remembers all of his previous lives. It definitely sounds intriguing and when I first got this book, I was quite excited to read it too but I've since then not really been in the mood to actually pick it up. I know I will probably really enjoy it since it's been getting awesome reviews and the plot, too, sounds awesome. I just don't feel like reading it at the moment. Maybe soon though.

7. What book have you yet to read because it's humongous?

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I was very excited to read this book at the time and honestly, I'm still quite excited to read it. It's just that at the time I first tried to read it, things were pretty hectic and it was basically really poor timing to pick up a book of this size. I do plan to read it at some point, although that would probably have to wait for after my return from Malaysia.

8. What book have you yet to read because because it was a cover buy that turned out to have poor reviews?

Okay, I don't actually have anything for this question simply because I tend to look up reviews before I buy books. That being said, I do occasionally let a pretty cover coerce me into making unplanned purchases, the later probably being The Time Traveler's Wife. 

9. What is the most intimidating book in your TBR pile?

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I've had this book for almost 3 years now and each time I look at it and tell myself now's the time to read it, I eventually chicken out and move on to another book. I did try to read it once but I put it down after 30 pages or so. It's not that I didn't like what I did manage to read. For some reason, the book just intimidates me XD. 

So that's it for this tag guys. I hope you enjoyed it and if you want to also do it on your blog, feel free to do so. Happy Reading! 


Cover art by Of Stacks and Cups via Pagemodo