This lovely challenge is hosted by Erin from TexErin-in-Sydneyland and I love the idea of reading books you already own but haven’t read. Let’s face it: we all have a few books collecting dust for one reason or another. And I found out my reason was because they were crappy books. Normally I immediately devour a purchased book, but there was a brief period, when Borders was going out of business, that I went a little cuckoo and not in a good way.
It is smart to buy good books at a steep discount; it is dumb to buy books because you feel compelled to buy something, even though all the good books are gone. This is what financial bloggers would call emotional spending. Or just being dumb. Sigh. There are an abnormally high number of DNFs, but now I can donate them with a clear conscience.
The Books that I Don’t Regret Buying
In other words, these are the select few that were worthy of my time and money.
Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen
Book Description: Trust fund baby, Twilly Spree, is an eco-terrorist who has targeted a political fixer with plans to destroy a piece of unspoiled land in Florida.
Book Review: This is my first Hiassen book and won’t be my last. Twilly is the kind of guy who shoots at the wings of the plane his then girlfriend’s father is on because he told Twilly that shooting something fast and beautiful out of the sky is the essence of bird hunting. I laughed so hard because that is Twilly in a nutshell. This is a fast-paced book with lots of crazy characters who kept me smiling throughout the book.
To Read or Not To Read: Read it. It’s the perfect book to bring to the beach this summer.
Black Out by Lisa Unger
Book Description: Annie’s happy life turns upside down when past demons reappear and reality becomes distorted.
Book Review: I bought this book eons ago and forgot about it, which doesn’t happen often! After giving it a much needed dusting, I discovered it is a really good thriller. We slowly learn about Annie’s past and why everyone treats her very delicately. It kept me guessing and some things revealed surprised me, which I like a lot. There were also a couple of over-the-top surprises at the end that were eye-roll worthy and kept it from being a great thriller, unfortunately.
To Read or Not To Read: Read it. It is a solid thriller that will keep your attention.
Books I Could Not Finish
I tried. Really, I did but nope. I couldn’t make it through them.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
Book Description: A retelling of the Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice, with some zombie action.
Book Review: I like Pride and Prejudice but I’m not a P&P purist so the inclusion of zombies sounded fun. But for me, it was boring. I didn’t expect it to be Pride and Prejudice with a zombie occasionally thrown in, which is exactly what it was. I think the dialogue in many places was the same. If I wanted Pride and Prejudice, I would reread the original. Apparently, there were some eventual changes but at 30% I was rooting for the zombies and quit.
To Read or Not To Read: Nope. I suggest watching the movie (which I haven’t seen) because it won’t take up as much of your valuable time.
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Book Description: An awkward, emo girl meets a sparkly vampire. They fall in love. A werewolf is envious.
Book Review: When I moved to LA, all my #booknerd co-workers were big into Twilight. I was not. I loved Harry Potter. They did not love him. I’d like to point out that I still do not like Twilight, but they have all come around to loving Harry Potter. So why do I own this book? It was a gift from one of my co-workers who felt very strongly that I should give Bella and Edward a chance. I graciously said “thank you” and threw it in some dark corner where Edward’s sparkles could not annoy me. I decided to give it a try and even made it to page 191 before abandoning it, which I think is very big of me or shows how bored I was on a Sunday afternoon.
But — to be fair — we had some good times. Like when I rolled my eyes so hard that I worried my eyeballs might fall out when Bella told Edward that she “falls down a lot when she runs”. And then when I finally got my eyes to stop rolling, I laughed so hard I almost peed when I read, “His breath blew into my face, stunning me. It was the same exquisite scent that clung to his jacket, but in a more concentrated form. I blinked, thoroughly dazed.” It’s good to know that vampires in Stephanie Meyer’s world not only sparkle but have great breath. Personal hygiene is important, after all. To be clear, I know scent can be very erotic and appealing but not when written like that.
To Read or Not To Read: This was definitely not for me and I mean no disrespect to those who love it. I prefer romance to take a back seat in my YA books. I prefer less annoying female protagonists. Most importantly: I prefer my vampires to not sparkle. Ever.
Accidentally Dead and My Way to Hell by Dakota Cassidy
Everyone knows you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I forgot that little rule and ended up with these books. These books were solely chosen based upon their very pretty covers. To be fair, I was really into vampires at the time. But these very pretty books sat on my bookshelf for years. I must have known instinctively they were not really my kind of book. Because they are not. It’s not that the main characters are unlikable, but they are the kind who really annoy me for their stupidity. Now I know to avoid chick lit vampire/supernatural books because they give me bad headaches, even when they have really pretty covers.
A Few More Unread Books to Go
I still have a few (maybe 5) dust-covered books that still need to be read and at least two involve vampires. I’m pretty sure none of them sparkle though, so maybe they will be okay. I’ll get to them … eventually. I am linking up with Erin’s Read Your Books Challenge and be sure to head over and see how everyone else did.
Do you have unread books sitting around your home? Are they good books you just have gotten around to reading or bad books like most of mine were?
Tanya
for years, i was totally against anything twilight. all of my friends had read it and raved about the books but i was all “ugh, i’m beyond that”. then one day, i wanted something to read, picked it up from my friend thinking that i was going to hate it and three hours later, went back to her house and borrowed the rest of the books LOL. when she opened the door, i straight up said “don’t judge me and don’t say a word. give me the rest of the books please”. LOL
LOL! I love it! It’s so funny when you end up loving a book (or series) you don’t think is one you’ll enjoy. I honestly wondered if that might happen to me. And I think it maybe would have, if I had it read it when I was younger. Back then I enjoyed romance books more. Now days, I like my romance to be more in the background, then front in center, especially in YA books.
Clearing out books, even if you didn’t like them, was a good accomplishment. Typically, I do not read the overly hyped YA series books, especially fantasy or dystopia ones. Not The Hunger Games. Not Harry Potter. But. I have a confession to make. I did read the Twilight series, and I can not tell you what worked for me. Seriously. No idea.
Thanks for participating!!
LOL! I read Hunger Games and Harry Potter instead and enjoyed both series! One of the reasons that I think Twilight didn’t appeal to me when all my friends were reading it was because of the whole Kristen/Robb thing. They annoyed me and I transferred some of that annoyance to the books.
yeah.. i was shocked about pp&z being literally p&p with an occasional zombie. it was weird. there were a few changes – (spoilers ahead…) charlotte marries collins because she’s been bitten and is going to die anyway, wickham ends up a cripple (i think darcy almost beats him to death to make him marry lydia) aaaaand whatsherface.. lady catherine is some badass zombie hunter. but other than that, literally the same book. i was kind of disappointed. that being said, the movie is completely different, different story line and everything.
sparkling vampires got me out of a ‘i hate reading’ phase in my teen years so i will forever love that series, breath sparkles and annoying protagonists and all.
Okay, I’m glad that I wasn’t the only who was a bit surprised that it was essentially word-for-word P&P in parts with the occasional zombie throw in. It was a big bummer because I was expecting something completely different and fun. Any book that gets people to read is an awesome book, even if I didn’t enjoy it personally. One of the outcomes from the success of Twilight, Harry Pottery, Hunger Games, etc is how many people it turned onto reading. And I love it. Even though I will always stand by my belief that vampires should never, ever, sparkle, I love that millions of young girls found books because of Edward and Bella.
Ha, ha, ha! 🙂 You are so funny about sparkling vampires, etc… I admit, I have read all the Twilight books and I have seen all the Twilight movies. But, I am not a super die-hard fan or anything. For the record, I sold all my Twilight books before I moved to Oregon a few years ago and honestly, haven’t missed them. I liked the Twilight movies better than the books, and I liked the soundtracks even more! Also, Harry Potter and the books/movies are the best things EVER!!!
One of my friends was a pretty big Twilight fan but she liked the books better. But I think it had something to do with the special effects versus the actual story-line. And an AMEN to the Harry Pottery love. 🙂 I also laugh because I had no interest in Harry Pottery until a friend dragged to me to the movie and I fell in love with all things Harry Potter.
That’s such a bummer that there were a ton of duds. I’ve slowly, but surely improved on my emotional, impulse buying. . .in regards to books. My best friend in high school loved Twilight, so I finally gave in and read the first 3 (the 4th wasn’t out yet) after a bad breakup. I think that’s the only time to read them. I tried reading the 4th book when it came out, but had to stop when the baby was clawing out of her stomach. It was in that moment that I finally realized just how ridiculous it all was.
Yeah, I’ve been at the point where a series suddenly jumps shark for me and I quit cold turkey. There is a point where you just hit your limit, and you’re like, nope. I’m normally very, very good about not impulse buying books (clothes are another story). I buy a book and read it right away. My biggest problem is that books take up so much space and I’ve had to give away books that I would have liked to keep. It’s why I finally got a Kindle, which I love now, but was slow to adopt. I like browsing bookstores and libraries and how a book feels in my hands. But I love not worrying about space when I buy a book now.
I have so many books i had to buy a new shelf! :/
I hear you, Kayla! I store books in my linen closet because I got more books than linens! LOL!