TTT: Ten Books I Will Probably Never Read

/ beckmank

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday (TTT) brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish.

Ten Books I Will Probably Never Read

readinglistIt is a tough thing to say no to a book. But let’s face it – there are many, many more books out there than any one person has time to read. So you’ve got to make some cuts from your reading team. Not everyone can make the squad.

In general, I never read pure romance novels. I’m not big on non-fiction adventure stories either. These are just not my cuppa. I could randomly pick some titles from these genres and call the list good. But instead I’ll pick ten titles that I have given thought to, ones that really could make the team, but for whatever reason didn’t make the cut. Some of these I’ve just decided I really don’t want to read. Others I’ve picked up and tried, but was unable to finish for one reason or another. So here’s my list. The ten are in no particular order, just as they came to mind.

Take it away, Benedict.

Side note: I was going to put an animated “Shall we begin?” gif in here, but it’s just so much better to hear Benedict actually say it…

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I know I am going to get a lot of flack for this. Everyone loves The Hunger Games. My friends love it. My husband loves it. My oldest son loves it. It just really isn’t my cuppa. Sorry.

2. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James. I tried to read this book to see what all the hype was about. I really did. After making myself read it each night (and falling asleep), and only making it to page 40 in 8 days I gave up. I had no interest in the story. No interest in the characters. Sorry Christian Grey, I’m just not that into you.

Rejection

3. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I believe it was in high school that I gave this book a try. I’d seen the movie several times, and the book is always better than the movie, right? I hung in there with Scarlett O’Hara through the beautiful dresses and fun balls at the beginning, but when the civil war kicked in, this book hit my “did not finish” list. Maybe as an older and (possibly) wiser adult I may enjoy it now, but I always pass by my grandmother’s copy in favor of something else on my shelf.

Frankly, My Dear...

4. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. Poor Les Mis. I love, love, love the musical. Fantastic. I’ve tried to read this book many times over the years. I begin at the beginning, and I make it to the part where Jean Valjean and Cosette seek shelter at the Convent. And then I put it down, only to pick it back up years later and restart the cycle. Maybe next time I’ll try starting where I’ve left off instead of the very beginning once again.

France, Marius. FRANCE.

5. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Again, another one I have tried and failed to finish. This one has many similarities to Les Mis. Frenchman (possibly wrongly accused, I can’t remember that part) who escapes from his prison and goes on the run. It’s been so long since I’ve tried this book, I can’t remember if I got to the part where he’s set up in his new, rich life. If I ever make it back to this one, I will definitely have to begin at the beginning.

6. The Gunslinger by Stephen King. I’ve read a lot of Stephen King in my day. But I’ve never had any interest in his Dark Tower series.

7. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. I know this series is really popular right now. I’ve looked at it, but the book hasn’t peaked my interest enough to even crack the cover.

NisforNo

8. Redwall by Brian Jacques. My oldest got into this series a few years ago, it must have been when he was in second grade. He loves it. I read a lot of the same books that he does so we can talk about them, but this one just does not appeal to me at all. I just have no desire to read a book about battling war rats/mice/furry creatures. Let alone the entire series.

9. Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose. I do enjoy reading books about history. Many authors make the history come alive while you are reading. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t read books about the men on the front lines in WWII. It is just too upsetting for me.

10. Moby Dick by Herman Melville. There are many classics out there which I have not read but I would like to. Moby Dick is not among them.

What do you think? Am I crazy? You’re probably still upset with me rejecting The Hunger Games, aren’t you? (I get it. I have a friend who absolutely refuses to read Harry Potter.) But this is what makes books so wonderful. There is something out there for everyone. My husband can read his non-fiction adventures, my boys can read about wimpy kids and superheroes in underpants, and I can enjoy everything in my to-read list. If only I had time to get to all those books.

Pass along your thoughts or link up to your own TTT below!

41 thoughts on “TTT: Ten Books I Will Probably Never Read”

  3. Don’t feel bad about “Les Mis.” I’ll one-up you: I couldn’t even make it through the movie. I think I lost interest after about 20 minutes. SoOoOo much singing! (I’m not a fan of musicals… I almost fell asleep during the new “Into the Woods,” which would hold my attention if anything would. To each their own! 🙂 Also, I love that quote you have up at the top of your post. Truer words were never spoken!

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    • I could have easily made the list all classics. There are so many that I really have no interest in reading. Or I give them a try, but I just cannot get into them.

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  5. Les Misérables, loved the movie and musical (musical is still my favorite) and yeah didn’t read the book either. I should have added that to the list. This post makes me smile, you’ve got some great picks that I wish I had though of when I was struggling. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by today.

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  7. 50 Shades of Grey is one I’d never read either. (AND YES, BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH!) And actually, don’t feel so left out with The Hunger Games. I liked them at first, but I can easily see why some don’t. Also I found the series to be way too overhyped.

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  10. It is so much better to hear him say it.

    The Dark Tower is one of my favorites of King’s and so is Game of Thrones. As for Gone with the Wind, I just couldn’t get the appeal of it – same goes for 50 Shades.

    Check out my TTT.

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  11. I have never read The Hunger Games either and probably never will. I enjoy the movies and I am ok with leaving it at that. The Dark Towers is a King series I have never gotten into either, even though I love him. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  12. I also haven’t read The Hunger Games yet! I’m not sure if I want to…some people rave about it, others say it’s “okay”. There are just too many great books on my TBR list to spend time with Katniss right now 🙂
    Great list!

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  13. 50 Shades almost made my list. It was the next book I would have listed. I, like you, attempted it, but gave up after about 50 pages. Definitely not for me.

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  14. High five on the Moby Dick avoidance! I’m with you all the way. I personally am not upset about your Hunger Games rejection. I’ve read the series and really enjoyed book 1 – so much so that I forced my way through books 2 and 3 though I kind of hated both. The Les Mis tweet had me laughing hysterically – thank you for including it:). I have Les Mis on my list to try and read this year – we’ll see how it goes….

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  16. Aw, no Hunger Games? 😦 I still need to read the third book…. I’m glad to see 50 Shades here! That book, ugh. I want to read Gone With the Wind. I think. 🙂

    OMG LES MISERABLES, COME ON, YOU HAVE TO START IT SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE. I LOVE the musical. I have the 25th anniversary dvd, I’ve got the recording from it, I have the anniversary recording, I’ve listened to all of the recordings (Symphonic, original, French Concept album, 10th anniversary) a million times. Practically literally. ❤ I still need to read the book, I started it, and I liked it, but it was long and I didn't feel like reading a long book…

    Game of Thronessss<3 Same thing as Les Mis, I started it and I liked it, but it was long so I didn't want to continue (long books scare me).

    Great list! It's true, there are books out there for everyone and not every one of them is going to work for everyone. 🙂

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    • I used to feel that way about children’s books too. Than Harry Potter changed my mind. ( that came out when I was in my 20’s.) I’ve found I still enjoy a good children’s book. 🙂

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  23. You recently liked one of my reviews, and I followed a link to this post on your blog. Enjoyed it very much. And I totally get not liking some of these books. In fact, there aren’t many on your list that I haven’t had the same reaction to years ago or recently. Thanks much for visiting my blog!

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