Top Ten Tuesday, More or Less.

/ beckmank

Top Ten Tuesday

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

February 21: Ten Books I Loved Less/More Than I Thought I Would (recently or all time) — or you could do something like books I liked more/less than everyone else.

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I don’t think anyone picks up a book and thinks, “I really don’t think I’m going to like this book, but let’s give it a go anyway.”

Well, except required reading in school. And for me, the classics. I feel like I have to read those, even though I know it probably won’t be on my list of most favorite reads of all time. Take Jane Eyre, which I finally buckled down and read a few years ago. I’ll admit, there were parts of that novel I really enjoyed. But a lot of it was a snooze fest. I apologize to all you Jane Eyre fans out there. Just not the book for me. But I digress.

For me, the list this week is all about books I picked up that I thought I would love, and I either loved it even more than I could have possibly imagined, or it was just not living up to my hype. At first I thought I would just make the list all books that I absolutely loved, but a little diversity felt in order this week. And just because the book was a bit of a let down for me doesn’t mean it didn’t make someone else’s I loved it even more! list. (See: Jane Eyre.)

And that my friends is the beauty of books. There is something for everyone.

But you already knew that.

Top Ten Tuesday, More or Less.

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Even Better than I Thought

These six books turned out even better than I’d hoped they’d be.

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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I am actually listening to this book right now and I just love it. The descriptions are amazing.

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride by Cary Elwes. I opted for the audio book on this, and I really enjoyed hearing Mr. Elwes tell his stories from the making of this beloved film.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I knew I would like this story, narrated by Wil Wheaton, and set in the future but nostalgic of the 1980’s. I ended up loving it.

Curious Minds by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton. I went into this book a little leery – after all, I was tired of Ms. Evanovich’s standard Stephanie Plum repeats which had carried over into the first two books of her Lizzy & Diesel series. Curious Minds turned out to be fresh and enjoyable.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I expected a Harry Potter-esque wizarding story. I loved the approach and direction Ms. Rowell had for her take on the fantasy genre.

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy. I knew I would love this book. And I loved it even more than I thought I would.

Not Bad, But I Was Hoping for More.

I went into these four books really wanting to love them. They were all fine, but I think I had my bar set too high going in.

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Inferno by Dan Brown. When you’ve written a blockbuster like The Da Vinci Code, can you continue to keep up the puzzles and interesting historical twists? Not with this latest Robert Langdon outing.

A Study in Charlotte by  Brittany Cavallaro. I loved the idea of this book. Descendants of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in boarding school together. And Holmes is a girl. But this first outing fell a little flat. The second in this series has just been released, and I am going to give it another try.

A Murder of Magpies by Judith Flanders. The cover drew me in, and the characters were great, but the mystery just wasn’t quite there for me.

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware. I figured out the twists and turns in this book pretty early on, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as some of the other thrillers I’ve read in the past couple of years.

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Your turn! What books have you loved even more than you thought you would? What books might be on my TBR list that in retrospect you think I should skip? Sound off below, and link up to your own TTT if you’ve got one!

22 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday, More or Less.”

  4. I have the audiobook for Ready Player One coming up and I’m really looking forward to it! Night Circus is another one on my list that I was hesitant about but it sounds like I shouldn’t be! I really liked In a Dark Dark Wood but I can see where it didn’t work for you. I think I loved the atmosphere more than the actual mystery.

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    • Yes, the atmosphere on In a Dark Dark Wood was terrific. It just felt so predictable for me. I hope you like Ready Player One and The Night Circus! RPO was one of my favorite reads last year.

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  6. Ready Player One was great! I’ve always wondered if I should read The Night Circus. I think two of the most surprising ones on my list were The Storied Life of AJ Fikry and the Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Society (or something like that). Both are loved by many but too “sweet” for me.

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    • Oh my gosh. The Princess Bride is just one of my favorites and I loved listening to Cary Elwes tell how it was filmed. AND they have little asides from other actors along the way. It was a love letter to the fans. 💕

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