Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Top Ten Books I Will Probably Never Read


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, created due to a fondness for lists. Each week they post a new Top Ten topic. After that, it's bloggers UNITE! Participate with your own Top Ten post, have fun, and get to know your fellow bloggers.


As one who loves books, I struggle somewhat with writing this post. This week's topic is the Top Ten Books I Will Probably Never Read. Granted, there are a lot of books on my TBR and most of them will probably never be read by me, but it hurts to just flat out say no to a book.

As an example of my struggle, The Odyssey was originally on my top ten because it's so incredibly dense and old and who knows if I could manage to slug through it. But...it's a classic. And I do have a piece of me that thinks that some day I really will want to read through it for my own sake. I don't really know. And truly, with the exception of a couple on this list, there is a chance that I could some day desire to read them. But...when it comes down to it, these are the ten where I'm most likely to just say no and move on to something a little more appealing from the thousands of books on my TBR.

Unlike other weeks, this week's choices are not necessarily in any real order. They're numbered solely so I could keep track of them.


1. Beowulf



As with the majority of the books on this list, Beowulf was chosen purely out of a desire to not torture myself through the completion of another book just to say I have read it. It's notoriously difficult to read and comprehend and I have no desire to put myself through that.


2. Swann's Way by Marcel Proust


See #1. Despite the fact that this one is on the Rory Gilmore Reading List, much like Lorelai, I will likely never read it. Sorry Rory. It's not for me.


3. Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce


Ah, a theme. Nope. Nope. A thousand times, nope. I like the tune, but have no desire to read the book. By the way...James Joyce's The Dubliners also almost made this list, but I decided to be nice and not embarrass the poor guy by making him show up twice.


4. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke


Science fiction is not my thing. Fantasy, yes; sci-fi, no. I'm not a fan of space or alien stuff and I just plainly have zero desire to read this one. I'm aware that it's a classic and that the sci-fi junkies may just be heartbroken, but if I'm going to read sci-fi, I'd much rather take on something like Ender's Game or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I'm much more apt to watch Kubrick's film version than I am to read this book.


5. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy


This is a prime example of why I don't watch a movie before I read the book. This movie was rough for me. The screenplay was well done and the acting was really good, but whoa. It was just a bit much. I'd take a Stephen King novel any day of the week over this. (Okay...I admit, I quite enjoy Stephen King, but still...no.)


6. War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy


War and Peace is one of a couple of books on this list that I actually tried to read and will never return to. This one was assigned in my Western Civilization II class back in my sophomore year of undergrad. I didn't finish it. In fact, I think it gave me PTSD. I got tangled up in the names and gave up about 150 pages in. Darn Russkies, I can't make sense of your name structure. I ended up using SparkNotes to write my term paper. I had never done that. (I also haven't done it again since. Because I'm just that nerdy of a student.) I still got a B. Thank you, Professor Berger. I know you probably could tell by paragraph two that I was full of crap, so thank you for keeping my GPA in tact. I tried to read it, I really did.


7. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka


I consider myself a fairly smart person. But Kafka is very much not for me. I'm highly intimidated by it and...frankly, mildly grossed out. I don't really feel the need to torture myself with this craziness, regardless of the political and/or social implications of the piece.


8. Left Behind by Tim F. LaHaye


Nope. This series is totally off my radar. I don't like most religious based stuff to begin with, but Kirk Cameron's support of this series completely removed this as an option. This is probably the one book on this list that is 100% never going to happen. Meh. Moving on.


9. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey


I freely admit that this book is actually currently on my TBR. In fact, I'm pretty sure most of these books are--simply because I hate to ever give up on a book. But in principle, I don't really want to read it. Sure, I want to read it from a literary standpoint, but I can't lend my support to a book based on lies. The distinction between fiction and nonfiction means a great deal to me as a reader and a writer, so I don't really want to lend my support to his fraud in any way.


10. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez


Ah...the other book I tried to read and gave up on. I just don't get the fuss on this one. I wanted to read it, I really did. But it just seemed so freaking boring and dumb to me. I had to walk away. Maybe some day I'll be convinced to try again, but for now...there are better choices on my TBR. It'll stay at the bottom of the barrel for the unforeseeable future.



Gah. This list has made me grumpy. This was not an easy post to write and now I just feel angry. I need to go find a good book to soothe my upset.

Have I dissed any of your favorites or do you agree with me that these ones are okay to remain unread? What's on your Top Ten "No Read" List?

20 comments:

  1. I think I'm with you on these. No desire to read them, although, I do feel minor nerd guilt at avoiding classics like "War and Peace." I read some other Russian author that I can't recall now (in French. Does that make it better or worse? Dunno) and it was so boring and depressing that I gave up on it and, by association, all his countrymen. Bad me. I shudder to admit that I have read the Left Behind series (at someone's recommendation). The writing style was so stupid and out of touch (I'm not discussing content, just the writing) that I want to hunt that guy down and rip him a new one. Not many books make me so irrationally angry. Again, that was all just based on the crappy writing! Gah. Also, I have a copy of The Odyssey that I keep telling myself I will someday read. I bought it 12 years ago, so... we'll see.

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    1. Yup...I'm awful at lumping them all in together, but Russian authors and I just don't get along well. I will be tackling Anna Karenina at some point though. We'll see how that goes. I'm glad to hear that I'm not missing anything with the Left Behind series. I have zero need for crappy writing. If you read The Odyssey, you need a medal. I don't know that I'll ever brave up to it, despite any good intentions I may have.

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  2. I agree with all the books you listed, with the exception of Love in the Time of Cholera. I hope to get to that one someday.
    Who would have thought that writing a post about things we don't like, would be so difficult? It took me some time as well.

    -Melissa Lee (http://mlsmanyreads.blogspot.ca/)

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    1. It's hard to dislike books when you're an avid reader. I will say that I'm pretty solid in my list though, I don't really regret any of my choices. I had high hopes for Love in the Time of Cholera, it just didn't do it for me. We'll see if I ever go back and try it again. Thanks for visiting!

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  3. James Joyce is NOT for me. Neither is War & Peace. I don't do religious stuff either. I do like Kafka, though. The Metamorphosis is weird, his other books and short stories are MUCH better. The Trial and Amerika are fantastic (and not as weird). I've never read 2001, but I love sci-fi. Great list!

    Michelle @ Michelle's Minions

    My TTT

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    1. I've had a lot of friends read Kafka. I don't know why I find him so intimidating. Maybe one of these days I'll stop being a chicken!

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  4. I've read a few of these, but I doubt War and Peace will get ready any time too soon.

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    1. It's such a LOOONG book. I couldn't handle it. If they would have had simple names maybe I would've faired better, but I had no idea who was who and it just got terribly confusing.

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  5. Ah, no love for Tolstoy in these lists! I will say that I adored Anna Karenina when I read it last year but haven't tackled War and Peace. I will have to one of these days—it's on my Classics Club list!

    I enjoyed 2001: A Space Odyssey, but you can get by with just the film.

    And I am TOTALLY with you on Finnegan's Wake. No way in heck, ever.

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    1. Haha. Yes...poor Tolstoy. I will try Anna Karenina...we'll see, but War and Peace was pretty well torture. I just couldn't do it.

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  6. I did slog through War & Peace. Mainly because I wanted to be able to say I had read it. But don't ask me about what happened. I don't remember.

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    1. Haha! Exactly. I don't remember much out of what I read, mostly trudging through snow if I recall correctly. Of course...I could be blending that with Doctor Zhivago. I can't keep my Russian literature straight.

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  7. I loved Beowulf! I don't know whether or not you like Tolkien but if you do you'd love Beowulf. If not... okay maybe you should read it. ;)

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    1. I have not tackled Tolkien yet. It's on my list (both The Hobbit and LOTR), so maybe I'll change my tune on Beowulf after I take that one.

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  8. LOL, GUESS AM LIKE YOU
    you have a lovely blog,
    FOLLOW?
    http://melodyjacob1.blogspot.com/ #MELODYJACOBS

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    1. Thank you so much for visiting! I really appreciate it.

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  9. I wouldn't want to read any of those books either. With the exception of A million Little Pieces, which I have read. I read it right before the whole "Oprah thing". I don't know how she fell for it. It just didn't ring true to me as I read it. Recently I tried reading Wuthering Heights and just could not get into it. I never quit on a book. But I did quit on that one.

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    1. I very rarely bail on books. I think my "abandoned" shelf currently sits at three -- one of which I will most likely return to at some juncture. I think I probably need to start enforcing a more stringent bailing out policy though. Some books just aren't worth my time when there are so many great ones out there!

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  10. I'm just catching up on blog posts I missed at the end of the A to Z Challenge so I'm late to commenting here, but I can definitely agree with your inclusion of Love in the Time of Cholera. I read it, but I hated every minute of it (I can't just leave a book unfinished so I had to keep going). I don't blame you for not wanting to try it again. ;-)

    Cait @ Click's Clan

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    1. I can totally understand the catching up thing. I realized this evening that I hadn't replied to comments for almost two weeks! I feel like a horrible blogger. I'm so glad someone agrees with me about Love in the Time of Cholera. Usually I feel like I should shield myself from tomatoes!

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