You will, you will, you will…
15 October 2013
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: The Broke and the Bookish, Top Ten Tuesday
Nice quick post – Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish (with thanks to MegaMad4Books for the intro). This week, 10 books you’ve been forced to read. I’ve chosen 10 books that I’ve been ‘encouraged’ to read – or were ‘must reads’ from friends and bloggers plus a couple of book club choices. In no particular order and with acknowledgements where I could remember! (the first three were no/nos but the rest were all great!):
- General Dann, Mara’s Daughter, Griot and the Snow Dog, by Doris Lessing – read this for my book club – I really didn’t like this although I can see that the author has many well loved books out there – this just obviously wasn’t the best choice, for me at least.
- 50 Shades of Grey, EL James – one of my very good friends (gave me a copy of this to read and twisted my arm to make me read it) – No. Not for me – and it probably wins the award for most annoying book in the universe (although opinion seems to be divided), not to mention the only book I’ve wanted to throw against a wall. Review here in case you feel like reading something negative.
- My Soul to Take, Rachel Vincent – I actually made myself read this one (result of hype) but it wasn’t for me – which I realise goes greatly against popular opinion but sometimes that’s just the way it crumbles.
- I am Legend, Richard Matheson – this is a fantastic book, nothing like the film by the way and my very brilliant friend Jenny at Wondrous Reads put me onto this (she absolutely made me!) as it’s one of her all time favourites (along with the Book Thief)
- Positronic Man, Isaac Asimov – Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings got me into Asimov with his Foundation readalong. Seriously I don’t think I would have picked this up otherwise. A great example of book bloggers aiding and abetting my book education!
- The Troupe, Robert Bennett – a ‘must read’ recommendation by Andrea at Little Red Reviewer – I really enjoyed this and have read all of RB’s other books as a result (except for American Elsewhere – which I will read!!) – LRR – you have a lot to answer for (massive TRB!!)
- Assassin’s Apprentice, Robin Hobb – read this as part of my Worlds Without End Women of Genre Fiction reading challenge and adored it. How come nobody told me about Robin Hobb before! Plus I love this challenge and site – go them it out.
- Miserere by Teresa Frohock – same challenge as above and another great book that I would have missed out on.
- The Hobbit by JR Tolkien – which I really do love, but, first read this at school and hearing this read by a bunch of 14 year old, highly embarrassed 14 year old boys and girls was a bit like torture taken to a whole new level. I had to reread in later life.
- Lord of the Flies, Williams Golding – ditto the above comment. A school book – I’ve never revisited this although I realise I probably should.
That’s all – for now.
Books and travelling with Lynn 
I Am Legend! Yay! You’re welcome 😉
Yeah, not to mention about a thousand other books you’ve recommended over the past few years! Not least Gillian Philip, Sarah Pinborough, Catherynne Valente, Gail Carriger, Patricia Briggs – to name but a few! (queue big cheesy grin)
Lynn 😀
I’m glad you have books on your list that you actually liked after you were forced to read them. : )
Yeah – I had a few more like those. Sometimes people just nudge you in a good direction. All the books from school though were a disaster – primarily because they made us read them out loud!
Lynn 😀
Haha, 50 Shades is one of the most annoying books that I’ve ever read. I also read it because friends told me that I just had to.
It just goes to show how you can have such similar tastes to your friends with most books but then there’s this other percentage that you really don’t agree upon!
Lynn 😀
It turns out that my friends said I should read it because they also thought it was atrocious and wanted to see my facial expression as I reacted to how bad it was. Now I know to be careful when listening to their book “recommendations.” 🙂
I know your comments are to discourage people from reading it, but now I really want to. I saw a copy in the charity shop–maybe 😉
Haha, you’ll see lots of copies of this in charity shops. I actually really encourage people to read it because I want to see their reactions. Plus at the end of the day we’re all very different – I also suggest you read some of the reviews, particularly on Amazon.com. Some of the one star reviews on there are so funny and actually little mini works of art in their own right!
Lynn 😀
Yeah, I felt the same way about 50 Shades. I read I Am Legend while I was in prison and found that I liked it much better than the Will Smith movie. I think I liked the older Vincent Price movie better than either, though. But then, I’m a sucker for Vincent Price movies, no matter how terrible.
I’m also a bit of a sucker for Vincent Price movies! The ending of I am Legend the book is so much better than the film – didn’t need to be tampered with! I can understand them bringing it a bit uptodate but keep the ending.
Lynn 😀
Fun list of books, and very cool to see Asimov on there! I’m glad I finally got over my own preconceived ideas and decided to give him a try several years ago. Now I’m hooked.
I’m also glad you gave him a go! Plus I loved Foundation which I never would have attempted without your readalong. I just felt daunted by it.
Lynn 😀
Robin Hobb is amazing. Haven’t read 50 Shades–I have read it is terribly written. Just because it’s popular, doesn’t mean you *have* to read it. 😉
Well, that’s one of the lessons isn’t it, but then sometimes your friends can be very persuasive! I also loved this first book (to me) of Robin Hobbs. I have no.2 waiting to be read and I’m really looking forward to it.
Lynn 😀
I’ve only watched the film of I Am Legend and only the start of it but I should read the book one day. I just… the dog… I couldn’t handle it!
Hah, well the dog side to things is slightly different in the book, although now I think about it still fairly sad!
Lynn 😀
Accept books at school I’m not sure I’ve ever really been made to read a book. The school’s choices varied but now you mention it I might enjoy a lot more of them if I got to read them on my own and not read aloud by my former classmates 😛
I think we’re only loosely applying the term ‘made to’ here to be honest. So, bookclubs – because you feel you have to, or challenges, or must read recommendations. Classroom reading was absolutely awful – I just don’t know what teachers made us all read aloud – painfully embarrassing not to mention enough to put you off a perfectly good book.
Lynn 😀
I also loved “I am Legend” and was subsequently disappointed by the movie. I even recommended the book to my then boy-friend who actually did read it – Wow! (Not a big reader that one.) And it became his favourite book… Admittedly it’s not my favourite but I’d reread it any day. A slow burner but totally worthwhile.
Cheers, Katarina 🙂
Plus I love the significance of the ending and the fact that for the time it was written it was groundbreaking and inspired so many other novels. It’s probably not the most beautifully written story but definitely stays with you.
Thanks for visiting.
Lynn 😀
Fifty Shades is one of those books where after I’ve read it I feel like I deserve the time back – such an awful book! A friend has told me that I have to read I Am Legend and I’ve been seeing it on a few of these lists as books people loved – may have to finally give in and give it a try.
Well I’m going to take it for granted that you will like I am Legend a hell of a lot more than 50 Shades! It’s not a soft and fluffy book and probably even a little bit dated (in terms of the explanations more than anything else) but it’s definitely ground breaking and the style it’s written in is to make you sort of go through what Neville is going through – plus, the ending which is so relevant to the title and was missed completely by the ending of the film – a great pity!
I hope you enjoy it.
Lynn 😀
Valente, RJB, Asimov. . . you’ve got good friends!
and you’re not the first person to be, um, irked with me for making their TBR list explode. 😉 American Elsewhere? SOOOO GOOD! get to it!
It just came yesterday. Finish The shining first then I’m on it!
There were quite a few “had to reads” in school, most of which I did NOT enjoy. Part of the joys of being an adult/out of school is being able to read only what *I* want to read!
Exactly. Book freedom. Plus reading in school was so embarrassing!
Lynn 😀
I read The Hobbit at school. I loved it then and i love it now, after re-reading it last year.
There were two classes when i was at school, one of them studies The Lord of the Flies on one studied An Inspector Calls. I was in the latter class, and i was so miffed, because even at that age i wanted to read The Lord of the Flies. I rectified that recently and i loved it 🙂
I like both these books but school reading was almost like a cringeworthy exercise. Everyone was just too embarrassed to read it in a way that carried the story properly. I do love the Hobbit though.
Lynn 😀