Tuesday 15 May 2018

Top Ten Tuesday | It's not you, it's me (but also you)


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Books I Disliked/Hated but Am Really Glad I Read'. I thought this would be a tricky one because usually if I really didn't like a book I wish I hadn't wasted time on it, and most of the time these days I don't! If I'm really not liking something I'll DNF it. I did manage to find ten books that fit this week's theme, though!

Five I had to read for school or university, and therefore needed to finish, while others I didn't hate enough to put down while I was reading them but I definitely wouldn't say I liked them either. Anyway, on with my list!


Hamlet by William Shakespeare: I had to read this in school and then again in university, and it's probably my least favourite of Shakespeare's plays because I had to read it so much and also because I just find it boring. Hamlet's irritating and the whole story feels like it should be on an episode of Jerry Springer, which I suppose could be said for a lot of Shakespeare's plays. It is said to be the most quoted play in the world, though, so I'm at least glad I can say I've read it. I'd much rather see it performed, though.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: UGH I hate this book so much. I had to read it in sixth form and I despised every minute. The only reason I'm glad I've read it is so I can tell people I don't like it when they tell me I should read it.

The Were-Wolf by Clemence Housman: This one I read for my Victorian Gothic course at university and I found it really interesting! It's one of the earliest examples of werewolf literature that sparked the love for monster stories in the 19th century. I enjoyed studying it, but the story itself I didn't like; the titular character is a woman, interesting when so many werewolves in modern fiction are men, but she's also the villain and to be honest I was rooting for her. The protagonist is so boring in comparison.

Regeneration by Pat Barker: I had to read this one while studying the First World War in literature during sixth form. This is another book that I enjoyed studying more than I enjoyed actually reading, when it comes to historical fiction I'm just not all that interested in modern history, but it's stayed with me a decade later so I guess it can't be that bad!

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie: I read this one for my Popular Victorian Fiction module at university and didn't like it at all, it's so sinister, but I'm glad I know the origins of Peter Pan!


What We Left Behind by Robin Talley: This was Talley's second novel after Lies We Tell Ourselves, which I loved, and sadly I didn't like it very much at all. You can check out my review here if you'd like to know why! That being said I do like that it included a genderqueer protagonist and I'd like to read about more non-binary protagonists, especially characters written by non-binary authors.

Angelfall by Susan Ee: There was so much hype around this one when it came out but I just found it really boring? I also wasn't a fan of the way the protagonist's mother's mental health was portrayed. This book did help me realise I'm just not into angel books, though, so I'm glad I read it.

Among Others by Jo Walton: This is my biggest disappointment on this list, because I put off reading this one for the longest time thinking it was going to become a new favourite when I got to it. I was very wrong. You can read my review here, if you like.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire: I love the concept of this book SO MUCH, I just didn't like the plot. Why it had to become a really obvious whodunnit I don't understand, because I think it would have been far more powerful as character study.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer: I'm not going to sit here and pretend I wasn't swept away by the Twilight craze, because I totally was, but I remember finishing Breaking Dawn and being so disappointed that nobody important had died. What kind of finale was that? I'm glad I followed the series to the end, though, and whatever we think of it now it played a huge part in getting publishers to take YA publishing seriously.

Which books made your list this week?

23 comments:

  1. The Were-Wolf sounds so interesting, I was not aware of that book! I like that the werewolf is a female too, that's nice to see! Every Heart A Doorway is one I wondered about, having seen it around quite a bit.

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    1. I think it's worth reading Every Heart a Doorway because I'm definitely in the minority, a lot of people loved it! I'd recommend reading The Were-Wolf, too, if you're interested in the origins of werewolves in literature, just be prepared for its preachiness.

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  2. I love how they did the end of Breaking Dawn in the film - gave us the end that should have been while also not going off book or killing any favourites! I wasn't a fan of the Great Gatsby either - at least it was short, which is more than you could say for Catch 22 (which I also had to read at sixth form) :/

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    1. It's always nice to know someone else doesn't like The Great Gatsby, sometimes I feel like the only one! I didn't see either of the Breaking Dawn films, but I still might one day - sometimes those movies are fun to return to as the guiltiest of guilty pleasures.

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  3. OMG! I loved Angefall! But unfortunately I could not finish the sequel :(
    My TTT.

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    1. I remember a lot of people really enjoyed it! I'm just not a fan of angel books, unfortunately.

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  4. Oh nooo! I loved the Angelfall series so much! I can definitely see why you might not have though.

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    1. Haha yeah I remember it being really popular, but for some reason I don't get along with angel books.

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  5. Ugh! I'm not a fan of The Great Gatsby either. Although, I do love the movie aesthetic.

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    1. I mean the 1920s are always fun, right? I just don't like The Great Gatsby and I'm not a big fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald as a person, either.

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  6. I have Angelfall on my TBR, so I'm glad to see the warning about the mother's mental health issues not being portrayed in a great way, I'll bear that in mind when I read it.
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/15/top-ten-tuesday-159/

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  7. All of Shakespeare’s works should have been on my list. I was forced to read a lot of them in school, and I don’t think I liked any of them.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. Ah, that's a shame! The problem with Shakespeare is that his plays are meant to be seen, not read, and sadly so many of us aren't introduced to him in the right way in school.

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  8. I'm kind of in a similar situation with Every Heart a Doorway... there's a lot that I really like about it as a concept but there were so many things about the execution didn't work for me.

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    1. It's such a shame, isn't it? I love the idea, I just didn't like the plot.

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  9. Ok, love the title of your post, Jess. So cute and fun. :)

    I haven't read The Great Gatsby but considering I don't love the story (thanks to Hollywood, I can step inside for the world for a couple of hours and be done with the story), it's probably not a book I'll pick up.

    Thanks so much for visiting Finding Wonderland!!

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    1. Thanks, Rissi!

      I'd be lying if I said I recommend it, because I hated reading it, but so many people love it that it could be worth checking out if you're ever in the mood to see what you think of it. It's not for me, though!

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  10. You know what? I feel the same way about Peter Pan. I was super surprised when I read the original and found out how odd it was compared to what I was expecting-- but also, I'm glad I know what the Disney version is based on.

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    1. It's so strange, isn't it! It really creeped me out - especially when Hook and the other pirates were calling Wendy 'mother'.

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  11. I think I tried to read Peter Pan and I got boredm LOL.

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  12. Oooh these are great choices! I think every book I read for school would have made my list basically hahah. And I use the term "read" very loosely, because I got so bored that skimming would have been a win. Anyyyway. Angelfall was one I really liked, but then the third book was underwhelming so maybe you're better off hah.

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