Top Ten Books I Almost Put Down (but didn't!)
1. Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox – Mortal Fire is a complex, intelligent onion of a story. It has an unusual setting, an observer-extraordinaire of a heroine, and a magic that remains mysterious and awful. My reaction upon finishing the book? Impressed!
2. Sidekicked by John David Anderson – The reason this one made the list is because it had the bad luck of being in rotation when I fell into a reading slump - nothing to do with the content itself (delightfully gray, instead of black & white).
3. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – I almost put this one aside because it made me weep on an airplane. The flight attendant pretended not to notice, but I was WRECKED and the cocktail napkin couldn't begin to mop up all of my tears. An emotion-packed and beautiful book, for all that.
4. Larklight by Philip Reeve – I should perhaps have done a bit more research on this one before picking it up. I saw 'middle grade steampunk' and immediately braced myself for adventure. The only thing is this one starts weirdly, and is narrated from an odd perspective, with a decidedly old-timey accent.
5. Rot & Ruin by Jonathna Maberry – Teenage angst boiled up all over the first few chapters of this one before it got down to business. I'm glad I kept on reading!
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling – I started reading the Harry Potter books just before book 7 came out, so the publishing hype was mostly lost on me. I probably would have given up on this book if I hadn't heard that you had to 'get through the first one, then they're a LOT better.' I've since learned to appreciate it for itself.
7. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angelberger – I finished this book because it was on audio and I was on a roadtrip with my brother Lincoln. He made me press play when I got too awkward. *sigh* Sometimes siblings are the best.
8. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai – I started this story and was immediately struck by the free verse that Lai employs rather than prose. I wasn't sure if I wanted to finish the book. Very good decision to keep reading!
9. Plain Kate by Erin Bow – There wasn't anything wrong with this one. It was just that I could tell within the first few pages that main character Kate was a very lonely girl. I had a few moments of indecision before I convinced myself to live along with her and that loneliness for the duration of the reading experience.
10. Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede – I waited patiently for this release. I've never NOT liked a book Wrede has written. But then it arrived, and I was all, 'What is going ON?' It took a couple of chapters to decide that I did, in fact, like it.
What books would make your list?
9 comments:
Oh wow, I never had trouble reading HP! True, I started the books when I was eleven, but I still love them to this day, rereading them every year.
I must start A Monster Calls soon, I got it ages ago. :)
Happy reading!
Fun list! There's books I need to pick back up or reread because they were started at a bad time too so I completely understand Sidekicked! I hate when I pick emotional books to read in public! I would've definitely considered putting it down too!
I feel that way about HP too, I read the first book (just recently)and liked it but wasn't blown away by it- but I've heard they just get better and better as they go. I might have given up too for the same reason.
Great job -- I actually gave up on putting together a TTT list this week. Either I read it or I don't, for the most part, so I couldn't come up with any books that were almost DNFs. Glad to hear you liked Thirteenth Child! I'm in the middle of it now (w/my 11yo) and we're enjoying it, although I agree, it takes a bit for the world to really come together. I loved A Monster Calls, but I can see why reading it on a plane would be a big mistake! I've had the experience of being all weepy over a book during a flight -- I was too upset by the story to realize that I should have been embarrassed... at first. :)
Oh man, there's a distinct embarrassment to crying in public due to a book.
And there's plenty of books I've picked up again because I know I probably didn't give them a fair chance due to my mood.
Mortal Fire sounds interesting. I read another book by Elizabeth Knox that I really enjoyed; it was complex and imaginative.
I've only read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Inside Out & Back Again from your list... but I've got Plain Kate in my TBR pile. I've heard good things about it!
I kept on nearly giving up on Harry Potter because of the popularity. I started reading around the time the third book came out, and I thought I was too good for the goofy covers. :p But I'm glad I persisted -- I ended up getting very into them and waiting for the books at midnight and everything, and that was great fun.
So many good ones. Some I've read and others I need to.
I reallly like Origami Yoda.
This is such a good idea for a list! I'm a big DNFer of books, but when I push past something that's making me want to stop reading and end up loving a book, I wonder if I missed something with all those other books I didn't read? I like to think my instincts are good, but who knows?
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