Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme that was created over at The Broke and the Bookish! This weeks topic is books that you struggled with. I decided to talk about five books that I struggled with at first but ended up loving and five books I struggled with and ended up not enjoying!
Books I Ended Up Loving
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
Definitely a slow-paced read and beautifully written, but it was difficult to get in to. Not a lot happens, and it took me awhile to really appreciate the story for what it was. By the time I finished this book I was completely in love with it, but I recognize it is not for everyone. There was a point where I thought I might DNF it but I am so happy that I didn’t! I grew so attached to all of the characters and became invested in them.
The Martian by Andy Weir
At first I thought The Martian was too repetitive and too scientific, but I eventually got really in to it. I was laughed out loud at the humour, and really loved all the chapters back at NASA! I will admit that I still did skim a lot of the science stuff!
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
I was so confused when I first started this book! There were so many characters and we got chapters from all of their perspectives. It was a lot to keep track of. Once I got all of the characters straight I really enjoy it! I have seen a lot of mixed reviews but I think I liked it even more than The Girl on the Train.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
I have never read anything by Vonnegut so it took me a while to get used to his writing style and I was a little bit confused by the story. I eventually started to understand where he was going with the story and I now adore his writing style. I want to read more books by him so please give me some recommendations!
The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
This was my first Ernest Hemingway novel, and much like with Vonnegut, I had to get used to his writing. The story also seems so boring at first but once I started to read in to all the symbolism I grew to appreciate the novel so much more. Hemingway is now one of my favourite authors!
Books I Ended Up Not Enjoying
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
I wanted to love this book but that she never happened for me. I found it to just be boring. The story had so much potential but it just never reached it, in my opinion. I was also not a fan of the romance! There were many sections of this novel that just dragged on for me and I almost put it down.
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
The nature of the story means that it is bound to be repetitive, but I was just so bored! I did not like any of the characters and I truly wanted to pull my hair out reading about the same day over and over again. I kept reading because I thought there would be more character development, and there was, but not enough to redeem the story for me.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Rigg
I was so excited to read this book but it just dragged on for me. This was another story that I didn’t feel like lived up to its potential or its hype!
The Girls by Emma Cline
Emma Cline is a fantastic writer, and I would read another book by her but I was again bored by this book. I was expecting more action but the main character of this book is not even present during the climax of the novel which was such a disappointment! I struggled reading The Girls because I just wanted to see what would happen and it felt like such a let down.
The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
The author of this book is a naturalist, and boy could you tell! I did not expect to be reading so much about animals and animal behaviour, but that is what I got! It seemed to me that the book was less about the lives of Jan and Antonina Zabinski and the amazing things they did during the war, and more about educating the reader about zoos and animals. I ended up skimming a lot of it.
I would love to know what books you struggled with! Did you end up liking it?
