It's been a long time, friends!  But I thought today's Top Ten Tuesday topic (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) was an interesting one, so it's time to jump into the fun.  This week's focus is...


You know, books you bought but now aren't sure you want, books that get tons of hype and you feel like you SHOULD read them but are kinda iffy about, etc.  We've all got books on our lists like that!

1. World Without End by Ken Follett

Several years ago, I read Pillars of the Earth, back when EVERYONE was reading Pillars of the Earth.  And it was...okay.  I liked it, but it was kind of slow and tedious and OMG LONG.  And now I feel like I have to read the sequel...even though I kind of don't want to.

2. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Or really any David Sedaris book.  I read Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim a few years ago, and was so excited to laugh out loud, like everyone told me I would.  Aaaaand...I didn't.  I just did not get the Sedaris hype at all.  I feel like I need to give him another try though, because SO many people adore his work.  I'm just not super pumped about giving it a second chance.

3. 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James

I have read just enough excerpts from this book to feel like I can comment on my opinion of it with some authority.  (If you are unclear on my opinion, please feel free to go over to the search bar on the right side of my blog, search for 50 Shades, and enjoy the biting commentary that I have shared here over the years.)  However, there is a part of me that feels like I should read it, because EVERYONE has read it, and if I'm really going to pan it, shouldn't I read it cover to cover?  Even if it might make me die a little inside?

4. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

This is a tough one to admit!  I've owned this book (and the next 4 in the series) for something like 5 years now, and never touched them.  I bought them because I heard so many rave reviews, how could I not read them?  But...historical fiction (especially LONG historical fiction) is really hit-or-miss with me.  (See book #1 in this post.)  And it's such a long series...am I ready to commit?  It all seems so daunting.  (Katie from Words for Worms, I see you bursting at the seams over there, please feel free to unleash in the comments.)  :)

5. A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin

See: everything I said about Outlander.

6. The Dark Tower series by Stephen King

So hard for me to admit!  Because everyone knows I just adore Stephen King.  However, I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of his books that have a heavy sci-fi bent.  Like, Insomnia was kind of painful for me.  Even The Stand was a little tough at times (but was saved by the more solid "real life" story of those that survived Captain Trips).  King says this series is his magnum opus though...how can I avoid it?

7. Extras by Scott Westerfeld

I read the Uglies trilogy a few years ago, and overall I really enjoyed it.  I saw that Extras is a companion novel to the trilogy, taking place after Tally's story is over with a new set of characters.  I feel compelled to read it because it's related to the Uglies trilogy...but I'm not sure I'm on board with a totally different protagonist after following Tally for 3 novels.  I feel this way about pretty much any "companion" novel to a solid trilogy.  Sometimes authors need to quit while they're ahead.

8. MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood

This is book #3 in the MaddAddam trilogy.  I read Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood a couple of years ago.  I liked them, but didn't love them.  Honestly, I read The Year of the Flood because I felt like I had to after finishing Oryx and Crake.  Now I feel the same about MaddAddam.

(This post is teaching me that I have a lot of guilt issues to get over regarding my tendency to not finish series.)


9. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Or pretty much any Philippa Gregory that I haven't already read.  Back in 2008, I discovered her work with The Other Boleyn Girl, and got fully ADDICTED.  I ripped through a ton of her books and adored them.  However, I think it was a case of burnout, because after a while I felt way overloaded on her stuff.  A lot of it reads somewhat similarly, so I got a little tired of her material.  Since then, I've looked at her other releases with a vague sense of yearning, but also a bit of uncertainty...will I enjoy it, or am I going to think it's too much of the same again?

10. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

This is described as the Japanese version of The Hunger Games, which is why it's been on my TBR list.  It actually came out a few years before HG, but is way, way gorier (so I've been told).  Hence my hesitation.  I am outrageously curious about this novel, but not quite sure I'm ready for the blood and guts.  Same goes for the movie version!

Readers: what books are YOU unsure about reading?

Top Ten Tuesdays is hosted each week by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's top ten are your best bookish confessions...oooooh scandalous!

1. I have a VERY difficult time giving up a book once I've started it, even if I really can't stand it.  People have told me "life is too short to read bad books," but I still get agita over leaving one unfinished.  I actually "gave up" my first two books, ever, this summer, because they were both very long and getting quite painful (1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, and Middlemarch by George Eliot).

2. I gave up on Middlemarch by George Eliot.  Book connoisseurs the world over are writhing in agony at this confession.  In my defense, I tried to finish it for almost a YEAR!

3. I staunchly resisted the idea of an e-reader for a very long time, insisting that nothing could be better than a real, honest-to-goodness, book-smelling book.  Then my darling husband gifted me with a Kindle in May 2011, and I saw the light.  Real books are still amazing, but my Kindle is basically a third arm at this point.

4. This is my only confession that borders on criminal behavior, but hopefully the statute of limitations is up.  In my book collection are at least 3 books that somehow made their way to my home, but may or may not have originally belonged to my high school.  What can I say?  We had really good reading assignments in high school, and I didn't have a lot of money for books back then.  **hangs head in shame**  If Mrs. Roth is reading this, I apologize and beg for mercy in the name of good literature.

5. I won't take the Borders Rewards key fob off my key ring.  I CAN'T DO IT.

6. If my son grows up and doesn't enjoy reading for fun, I will probably feel a little bit (a lot?) like a failure.

7. I do not care if people have different reading tastes than I (heck, go forth and READ, I don't care if it's a shampoo bottle), but I have made an exception for 50 Shades of Grey.  I've read enough excerpts, reviews, etc. to know what I think of it.  And if this ranks up there on your list of favorite books, you can rest assured that I am silently judging you.  It's not so much the content (though that's part of it)--it's the writing.  'TIS SO BAD.  I could go on about this, but I'll spare you my standard diatribe.

8. There are many things that scare me about death, and one of them is the fact that I have 616 books on my TBR list.  There are few moments more depressing than when you realize you will never READ ALL THE THINGS.

9. I have had late library fees exactly twice in my life (both times in the months shortly after my son was born--not a fast reading period for me).  In each instance, I brought the book back as soon as I could, and paid the fees that very instant.  One time the librarian said, "You know you don't have to pay right now, right?"  I said, "YES I DO" with a terrified look of shame, and handed over my 50 cents.

10. I have read while driving in traffic before.  (Hey, at least it was heavy traffic...)  In the same spirit that Mythbusters tells their viewers not to try this at home, I do not recommend this.  Audiobooks are an admittedly safer alternative, but you know, I get desperate if I don't have one available.