Top Ten Tuesday | Books I DNFed

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. 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 Ten Bookish Things I Want to Quit Or Have Quit, so I thought I'd talk about some of the books I've DNFed over the years. I don't tend to DNF books that often anymore because I'm a lot better now at picking up books I'm going to enjoy, but when I first started out blogging I felt as though there were certain books I had to read that I just couldn't force my way through, and there were some books I had to read for uni that I couldn't make myself finish either.

On with my list!

Divergent by Veronica Roth: I love The Hunger Games trilogy, and dystopian YA was the craze. Everyone who loved The Hunger Games seemed to love Divergent, and even though I wasn't completely sold on the idea of the world I found a copy in my local library and thought I might as well give it a try. I gave it a really fair shot, guys. It was a fast read - if I'd pushed myself I probably could have finished it - but I just didn't care. The world building made no sense to me whatsoever, and I thought Tris was so dull. I couldn't do it.

Kim by Rudyard Kipling: I had to read this one for my Victorian Popular Fiction module at uni and it was brutal. In the end I couldn't force my way through it, it was boring me to death. Thankfully I still came out with a first in that module because I wrote about two other books on the course, The Moonstone and The Secret Garden, which I loved!

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen: Another one I had to read for university and another one I hated. I was so bored. So in the end I gave up, and I have no intention of going near it again any time soon.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini: I always get such strong reactions when I tell people I didn't like this book. I really didn't like it. I managed to force my way through 2/3s of it and then I had to give up for the sake of my sanity; I could feel myself falling into a reading slump.

Matched by Ally Condie: Gave up after the second chapter. Rubbish world building, irritating main character, and a love triangle that consisted of the best friend and the 'bad boy'. Nope, not for me.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld: Another irritating character, this time described with pretty rubbish writing. The concept of this world was fascinating, but I can still remember reading three paragraphs describing a sneeze. A sneeze. I gladly gave up.

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse: I forced my way through half of this book, desperate to like it, but half way through nothing had happened and I just couldn't do it anymore. Like Eragon, I could feel this book leading me towards a reading slump.

The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory: This was the second time I gave Philippa Gregory a try, but her writing and I just don't get along. I only read the first couple of chapters before I gave up.

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin: This was another one I'd really hoped to like, and the one book on this list I'm most likely to give a second chance. I love historical crime, and I love it even better when the protagonist is a lady, but I couldn't get into this novel. What irritated me most was that parts of it were far too modern; this book is set during the reign of Henry II, and yet the protagonist was warning people about obesity. I may give it another chance in future, though!

The Running Man by Richard Bachman: Otherwise known as Stephen King. I read a lot of dystopian fiction during my third year of university because I ended up talking about dystopia for my dissertation, so I thought I'd give this one a try. Unfortunately I didn't like it enough to finish it, and I ended up giving my copy away. In fact I've given the majority of the books on this list away.

What did you talk about this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | Books That Were Hard to Read!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and Bookish. 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 'Top Ten Books That Were Hard For Me To Read'. So, without further ado, here are my ten!

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë: I love the Brontës, always have and always will, but when it comes to their novels it's Emily's I've always struggled with. I think the main reason I struggle with Wuthering Heights (and often find the book a little boring!) is because of the narration; first we're told the story through Heathcliff's lodger and then it's Nelly. Personally I'd have found the book a lot more enjoyable if I could read from Cathy or Heathcliff's POV.

The Withered Root by Rhys Davies: To be fair I didn't read this book properly. I had to proof-read an edition of it in the summer during my publishing internship and I despised it. If I hadn't had the enjoyment of correcting all the little mistakes (yep - that's how boring the actual story was) then there's no way I would have read it to the end.

Green Rider by Kristen Britain: I tried reading this book earlier this year and I'd like to give it another try in the future. I bought it a few years ago because it had a pretty cover, and while I enjoyed it when I initially began to read it, it quickly began to drag. Maybe one day I'll try again!

Eragon by Christopher Paolini: I'm sorry Eragon fans, but I hated this book. I managed to get through about two thirds of it before I had to put it down and I have no intention of picking it up again. It was so boring. And before anyone tells me 'the second book is when it gets really good', I shouldn't have to wait until the second book in a series to enjoy the story.

Kim by Rudyard Kipling: This book was on the reading list for my Victorian Popular Fiction module at university. I tried to read it - I really did - but I had to give up after a few chapters. I found the writing style so difficult to read and I wasn't all that interested by the story either.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: I liked this book a lot and I did finish it, but gosh it was a challenge. It's not even a very big book, but it's so description heavy, even though the description is beautiful, that reading a couple of pages felt like reading a chapter. Finishing this book felt like an accomplishment, and while I did enjoy and I do think it's gorgeously written, I think it's pretty over-hyped.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: I tried reading The Count of Monte Cristo at the start of the year, but it's one of the few books I own that intimidates me with its size. I really want to read it, though - I've heard great things about it and I think it could become a favourite of mine if I could just get into it. If any of you are interested in reading The Count of Monte Cristo with me I'm going to host a read-a-long starting November 1st - there's a group that you can check out here if you're interested!

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin: This is another book I'd like to try reading again one day. I tried reading it last year and I was very excited by the premise; I love historical fiction and historical crime is a lot of fun, so the prospect of reading a historical crime novel with a female lead sounded fantastic to me. Unfortunately I found the book pretty disappointing; for a book set during the reign of Henry II there were a lot of modern ideas and terms being thrown about which threw me off a bit, so I felt more like I was reading a book about people in historical costumes rather than people in Medieval England.

Dante's Inferno: I enjoyed this read and I'm glad I can say I've read it, but it was hard work! It wasn't so much the language I found a problem (though it wasn't easy!) but the inclusion of people from Dante's life; I had to look at the footnotes a lot to understand the significance of various scenes, but it was worth it!

Persuasion by Jane Austen: This is another book I'd like to try reading again some day, but I first had to read this book when I was in sixth form and I really, really didn't like it. I had to force myself to finish it so that I could use it in my English coursework, and since then I've disliked Austen's novels. Now that I'm older, however, I'd like to give her another try - it's just hard to talk myself into reading the an author whose books I associate with boredom!

Which books made your top ten?