Top Ten Tuesday 31 - bookish confessions
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
This week's theme: Bookish confessions
1. I do not like John Green novels.
Before you shoot me, hear me out! I have heard so many amazing things about how heartwarming and realistic and intelligent his books are, so I've read...almost all of them. I appreciate his wanting to portray teenagers as intelligent and complex beings, but I feel like he's so heavy-handed with it that it's just pretentious. I hate when authors do the whole "LOOK AT ME BEING SO CLEVER" thing. (cough cough Patrick Rothfuss cough)
2. I have no problem with dropping series halfway. Sometimes it's not even that I really hated a book in the middle. For example, I really liked Cynthia Hand's Unearthly and Hallowed, but I've just never gotten around to Boundless. Frankly it's been so long since I read the first two that I'll probably never get to Boundless. That's a rare example - usually I drop series when I hate how the main characters are acting/changing (or when they're dead...ahem hem Game of Thrones)
3. I eat while I read my books. Not all the time, but it happens often enough that some of my books (especially the ones I read when I was younger) have chocolate stains on them. Oops...
4. I skim. A lot. I get really tired with giant descriptions (I'm looking at you, epic fantasy!), and I've gotten very good at figuring out what paragraphs are not imperative to understand the story. I find myself skipping paragraphs almost automatically, which is a problem because sometimes I skip something important and then I have to go back and figure it out. It's a terrible habit, which gets me into trouble when I try and read from my textbooks before an exam...
Of course there are some authors and some books where the writing is so good that I don't feel like any of it is skimmable and I savor every. single. word.
Of course there are some authors and some books where the writing is so good that I don't feel like any of it is skimmable and I savor every. single. word.
But that doesn't happen very often.
5. If I don't like the MC, I won't like the book. A lot of people have pointed out that an unlikeable main character is sometimes the point and you aren't supposed to like them, just try and understand them. I'm sorry, if I cannot empathize or if I am not sold on the main character's reasons for their questionable actions, I'm out. An unlikeable protagonist is the number one reason I will DNF a book.
6. Some classics I read because I wanted to, but some I read because I feel like I should. Everyone has had to read classics in school for English class. I've hardly ever liked books I've been forced to read (Lord of the Flies, Le Petit Prince, and Crime and Punishment are some exceptions), but sometimes I think I will like other classics that we didn't read in school. So I pick them up. But sometimes I read a classic because everyone who's anyone has read it - Wuthering Heights, anyone? - and I usually don't like those. But I smile and nod and say "Oh yes, I've read that one, interesting discussion on so and so."
That's all I can think of for now, although I'm sure there are more!
Woohoo! I'm happy to find someone else that isn't a massive John Green fan. I've been a bit underwhelmed with a lot of his books.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit.. I am surprised at your skimming! My mom skims books a lot too.. she will even glance at the last page!! I have only read one John Green book. I liked it.. but it didn't make me a fan girl, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteOh wow! Finding out a lot about people today! I find that I skim sometimes as well. Totally forgot about it because I only do it so rarely. Like when the book is getting on my nerves or boring me but it is a review book and I feel like since I'm over 1/2 way through I should finish it.
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Wow, that GoT picture haha. I still need to find the time to read that series ha.
ReplyDeleteBut I also kind of want to read classics, only to say that I've read them. Yet I don't really want to read them because they just don't appeal to me. Oh well.
And I definitely end up skimming somewhere throughout a book, just because I desperately want to know what happens next, or something embarrassing is going to happen that I want to skip.
haha well you've been warned - don't get too attached to ANYONE.
ReplyDeleteYeah, with classics I usually just read them because I think I should, but sometimes I actually really like them! Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised?
OH MY GOSH YES embarrassing things! I can't - they're so painful to imagine. I'm always half covering my eyes as if it's a movie scene or something haha
haha I've stopped plenty of series after the first book. No worries :)
ReplyDeleteIt is! It just makes the books seem more cozy :)
ReplyDeleteI'm currently dealing with the problems of getting cookie crumbs and chocolate on my kindle. whoops...
I definitely skim review books that I don't end up liking. I think those might be the ones I skim the most!
ReplyDeleteWhoa I don't look at the last page before I get to it! I always flip to the back to find out how many pages are in the book though. Some books are deceptively slim haha
ReplyDeleteUnderwhelmed is exactly the word! They're not terrible, but I don't really like most of them. Hooray, I'm not alone!
ReplyDeleteI'm with ya on
ReplyDelete1. Actually haven't read his books, but just from what I've been told it seems like he tries too hard?
2. I drop series left and right. Unearthly been one of them too lol. Never made it past the first one xD.
4. I actually only skim when I'm bored with the book and just want to be done with it or find out if it does get any better before I DNF it. I find that even in descriptions there could be clues hidden. *I'm looking at you Sanderson!*
and
5. Characters make it or break it for me. I can deal with a crappy plot for the most part but if I can't stand the MC I'm done.
1. I totally understand that. I've read The Fault in Our Stars when it came out and I loved it, especially the funny and clever characters. Now I would probably think Green was manipulating with my emotions too much (I hate that!), plus I've read one other book of his and his characters all sound the same.
ReplyDelete2. I have a big problem not reading all books in series, except when I really don't like the first book. That's why I have so many ongoing series I need to finish..
3. I sometimes eat when I read, but usually when I read on kindle. I just don't want to make stains on my physical books, I want them pretty and intact.
4. I never skim! Never ever, except when I hate the book and I'm going to DNF it anyway.
5. Funny, I love characters that I hate :). Those characters that the reader is meant to hate. Like in Gone Girl: The two main characters are total psychos and it's painful to be in their head, it makes you sick. But that's why I love that book so much :).
6. I agree with this, I don't feel good when everyone's read certain classics, everyone but me..
Great list! :)