Top Ten Books I Thought I'd Like MORE/LESS Than I Did
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
This tuesday our task is to browse trough best and worst bookish memories and remember the books that surprised us by either exceeding or failing to reach our expectations.
☹ Top Five Books I Thought I'd Like MORE Than I Did ☹
I usually have high expectations from books that have either received a lot of awards or were recommended multiple times by my bookworm friends. Sadly, sometimes my taste does not match the public opinion. Here are some books that I expected to like much much more than I did. In fact all of these are my DNFs (did-not-finish).
 
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1. Among Others by Jo Waltonmy review ◊ Goodreads ◊ AmazonAmong Other won a pile of awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (2012), Nebula Award for Best Novel (2011), ... I liked the writing style and idea for this book, but the main character kept making references to a lot fantasy and sf books and as the book progressed the references became more obscure. Without reading all the referenced novels in this book, I really could not understand some of her metaphors and became very frustrated because I felt like I am missing out. |
 
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2. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostovamy review ◊ Goodreads ◊ Amazon Another popular book featured on a lot of 'best fantasy novel' lists. Sadly I found the narration confusing and boring. In my review I compare it to movie Inception: Narrator is a woman who is talking about a time when she was a little girl and about a stories that her father used to tell to her. Her father (in his stories) is talking about a time when he was young and about conversations with the one of his professors at the university. In those conversations, this professor Rossi is talking about a time when he was young and about... |
 
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3. Spin by Robert Charles Wilsonmy review ◊ Goodreads ◊ AmazonAnother winner of Hugo Award for Best Novel, this time in 2006. I really liked the premise and scientific background behind the story. My problem is that this is book more about human drama and social problems in the future. For example: while present during a speech about terraforming of Mars, our hero thinks about the girl he loves and problems related to that. I wanted to shake him and yell: "Pay attention, I want to know what are they talking about!" |
 
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4. Worldsoul by Liz Williamsmy review ◊ Goodreads ◊ AmazonAwesome cover. Fantasy. Heroine works as a librarian in a magic library... But sadly chapters in this book jump between characters without any connection and I was so bored that I kept falling asleep while reading it. |
 
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5. God's War by Kameron Hurleymy review ◊ Goodreads ◊ AmazonMiddle-eastern flavored imaginary world sprinkled with organic tech and interesting magic system. Realistic kick-ass heroine. And a ton of BUGS. Fly, you fools! |
♥ Top Five Books I Thought I'd Like LESS Than I Did ♥
Of course there is always the opposite. In this case, those are books that for some reason you didn't expect anything special when you started to read them and they just blew you away.
 
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1. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. MartinGoodreads ◊ Amazon This probably sounds funny now with all the hype around the tv show, but 10 years ago when I bought Game of Thrones paperback on a book sale all I knew about it is that it was thick and cheap. I have never heard about George R.R. Martin before. When I started reading, A Game of Thrones blew me away. I was back tomorrow at book sale to buy all of the published sequels for this series. :) |
 
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2. The Final Empire by Brandon SandersonGoodreads ◊ AmazonHonestly, I don't even remember how this book got on my Kindle. One day I finished my previous book, I was too lazy to go and check out Goodreads and contemplate for hours what will I read next so I noticed The Final Empire and started reading it. Mistborn is the series that de-throned George R.R. Martin and put Brandon Sanderson on pedestal as my favorite writer. |
 
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3. Graceling by Kristin Cashoremy review ◊ Goodreads ◊ AmazonThis was Book of The Month April 2012 at Fantasy Book Club Group. I started reading it and didn't expect much because it was labeled as young adult, and I thought that I am too old for that kind of books. But Graceling was a total mindblow. Kick-ass heroine, original world building. This is the book guilty for me boarding the ya-fans-train. :) |
 
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4. The Testing by Joelle CharbonneauGoodreads ◊ AmazonI just finished reading The Testing today and all I can say is: "me likey". I received an invitation to download review copy from NetGalley and I automatically accepted without even reading much of the summary. When I saw that they don't have 'Send to Kindle' option for ebook I was seriously pissed off, but I decided to read a couple of chapters on my computer before declaring it just another Hunger Games rip-off with clear conscience. When - surprise surprise - I liked it very very very much. :) |
 
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5. Nefertiti's Heart by A.W. Exleymy review ◊ Goodreads ◊ AmazonI read a couple of very bad self-published books in a row so when I started reading Nefertiti's Heart, because I never heard about the publisher or writer before, all I could think was: "Not another one." I was prepared for a lot cliches, bad writing and boring narration. Instead I got realistic kick-ass heroine, hot romance and a lot of interesting side characters. I'm so glad I joined the blog tour and discovered this series. Can't wait to read more! |
Well that's it from me. Don't hate me if I didn't like the book you love. :) Do we share the same opinion about some book? What books are on your list today?
Share your thoughts and links to your lists in comments! :)
12 comments
Oh man, The Historian should've been on my list this week. I thought I would've loved it because of all the history (Eastern European history, no less!) and stuff but it just dragged on and on for me. Too bad.
ReplyDeleteI know I say this all the time but yay Mistborn! =D
My TTT
Yeah I thought I will love it too I like all Dracula related stories, but Historian was sooo boring...
DeleteAnd yay for Mistborn :D
I was pissed when I realized you couldn't download the Testing onto your Kindle, too. What is that? It's awesome it turned out to be a good book, at least. I think I'm going to wait until print, though. I always mean to read the Historian, but have never gotten around to it, I guess maybe that's a good thing!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT
Yeah, it was very frustrating that I had to read it on my computer, maybe they will fix the problem later?
DeleteI have a lot of friends who loved The Historian, I think that it's personal preference. It may not be boring to you.
Cool list. I haven't heard of some of these books but I'd like to read them all :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you manage to read them and enjoy them all Shane. Thanks for stopping by. :)
DeleteAwww great books!! I'm gutted I messed up my Testing download and couldn't read it!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT :)
Awww so sorry to hear that. :( Maybe you could send them or NetGalley tech support an email?
DeleteI was going to put MISTBORN on my list, too, because man, was I skeptical when my friend recommended it to me. And yet, it totally blew me away. Lots of people complain about Sanderson's need to describe EVERYTHING, but I love it. His world-building is incredible.
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT!
Yes, Sanderson has one of the best and most original worlds I have read. I don't mind his descriptions either. :)
DeleteOmg I love Sanderson :D I had a very similar experience with Mistborn, except I do remember my friend handing me the book. For some reason I didn't get into it the first time I started, probably a weird mood ;-). But now I love that trilogy and all the other books he has written!
ReplyDeleteOo, I also just read The Testing a couple weeks ago and loved it!
My TTT
Yay I am so glad to hear we share some bookish favorites. Thanks for stopping by Anya. :)
Delete