11.06.2012

Top Ten Tuesday: books I waited too long to read


I've been crazy busy and on vacation, so the blog has taken a back seat the last few weeks. But I miss doing the Top Ten Tuesday posts, so I'm jumping back in. It looks like today's post is a freebie post, so I'm calling mine "Top Ten Books I waited too long to read."

1. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Seriously. I read this book in a day and loved every moment of it. There is soo much to this story that I wasn't expecting. It's beautiful, tragic, scary, romantic... everything at once. And I just realized that the second one is already out. Must get my hands on that ASAP.

2. The Raven Boys. There was something in me that expected to not like this book for some reason. I don't know why. I've really loved everything I've read of Maggie Stiefvater, so it shouldn't have surprised me that it was good. But, it was so different than her other stuff. I just loved it. I cannot wait to read more.

3. The Rivals. I really enjoyed The Mockingbirds when it came out, but I let The Rivals sit on my shelf for way too long before deciding to read it. I think I thought the first book was a good, complete story, and I didn't want to take away from that by reading something I didn't think I would like as much. I still like the first one better, but I'm so glad I read the second.

4. Mistress Shakespeare. This one just seemed to take forever to get through. But, if you love Shakespeare history and don't mind the fact that the author has to make up several things about his life, it's a good book. Well written and interesting, that's for sure.

5. The Other Boleyn Girl. I seem to have a problem reading books when they're super popular. I guess part of me expects them to disappoint me. So, I read this one long after the movie and everything came out. And was pleasantly surprised. Very well written and an interesting interpretation of a fascinating time period.

6. Wolfsbane/Bloodrose. I didn't love Nightshade. Actually, I really enjoyed it, but I was a little annoyed when Calla chose wrong, in my opinion. I decided I was tired of the good guy who does what he's asked to do getting rejected for the new, mysterious, guy. It wasn't until Rift came out and I read it that I decided to give the second and third installments of the series a chance. And, I'm glad I did. They were good, even though I still prefer the other guy.

7. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass. Granted, I probably read these at some point growing up, but I don't remember it off the top of my head. So, I read them again as an adult and realized just how different they are from the cartoon version - and just how much better. There is more to love (and abhor) about each character than can ever come out in a 90 minute retelling of the story!

8. Les Miserables. Hands down my favorite musical, and one of my favorite stories, I didn't really know if reading the book would ruin or enhance my passion for the story. The book is huge. It takes time to sit and read. But wow, it's so very, very good. And, it makes me just love the story as it is told via the musical so much more!

9. She's Come Undone. I didn't want to read it. And, I probably wouldn't have if my friend Liz hadn't encouraged me to do so. It sounded depressing, and violent, and horrible...and it was all those things. But, it was also beautiful and epic and human and redeeming.

10. Percy Jackson. For some reason I thought loving Percy would be going against my love for Harry, so I just chose not to read them. But really, they are different, great books, too. Worth loving and exploring.

What books did you really enjoy and then felt bad because you waited so long to read them??

4 comments:

  1. Oh She's Come Undone... There were moments when that book wrecked me so deeply I wasn't sure if it was redeeming. (Absolutely beautiful and epic and human always though.) It really takes incredible writing to create such response with readers. Loved it.

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  2. Anonymous4:41 PM

    Oh Percy, I do love you! Have you read the spin-offs yet? I think I like them even more than the first series. I am waiting for the Mara Dyer series to be complete, but it's on my list. Here is my Freebie list http://wp.me/pzUn5-1i2

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  3. Good list. I love Alice in Wonderland and the Percy Jackson series, the Percy Jackson series is my favorite book series. I want to read The Raven Boys so it's nice to hear it was good.

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  4. I love this list idea!

    Wow, it's been a long time since I read Alice. It would definitely be worth reading again, since I read it when I was so young. And I'm definitely a Percy Jackson fan. ;)

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