Top Ten Tuesday – The Last Ten Books I Abandoned
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is The Last Ten Books I Abandoned (this could be books you DNFed, books you decided you were no longer interested in, etc.). I used to struggle with DNFing books and would make myself finish them even if I wasn’t enjoying the experience at all. I’ve been getting better about abandoning books that aren’t working for me, but I admit the temptation to keep going is always there. Below are some of the most recent books I’ve given up on and why.
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The Last Ten Books I Abandoned
1. CURSED by Thomas Wheeler
I loved the idea of a King Arthur retelling that focuses on the Lady of the Lake, but just couldn’t get into the book at all. I didn’t feel any connection to the characters and thus didn’t feel invested in their story at all so I quit the book. It’s supposed to be made into a Netflix series so I may give it a second look then. We’ll see.
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2. THE BOY AND GIRL WHO BROKE THE WORLD by Amy Reed
I thought I would enjoy this story of two outcasts who become friends, but I just couldn’t get into it at all. While I liked the two main characters, Billy and Lydia, Billy came across as way younger than Lydia and they felt sort of mismatched to me, so much so that it kept pulling me out of the story until I finally gave up on it.
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3. PLEASE SEND HELP by Gaby Dunn
I don’t know that there was necessarily anything bad about this book but when I originally requested it from Netgalley, I had no idea that it was a sequel. I tried to read it anyway but wasn’t a fan of the text and email format. Sometimes that works for me, but here it wasn’t, perhaps because I didn’t know enough about the two main characters not having read the first book. I wasn’t invested enough to go back and get the first one, so I chose to DNF.
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4. LIFE AND LIMB by Jennifer Roberson
When I read the blurb for this, I thought it sounded like such an original premise: “A biker and a cowboy must stop the apocalypse in the first book of the Blood and Bone modern western fantasy series.” Actually, even reading that now, it still sounds amazing. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t settle into the story at all so I gave up. The only notes I made about it were “OMG, get on with it already.” and another scribble about the characters just saying the same thing over and over again.
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5. NAMELESS QUEEN by Rebecca McLaughlin
I didn’t connect with the main character at all in this one. I went into the story hoping for an underdog I could really root for, but instead, Coin was one of those too good to be true protagonists, who just knows how to do everything and do it well, which I just found annoying. I was also in the middle of a big fantasy slump so that probably didn’t help matters.
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6. THE DOLL FACTORY by Elizabeth Macneal
I knew going in that this was a dark tale of obsession, but I found it very slow moving at the beginning and dark and twisted in a way that made me very uncomfortable. I was not a fan of the taxidermy angle at all, so I quit the book.
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7. SONG OF THE ABYSS by Makiia Lucier
I DNF’ed this one because I didn’t realize it was the second book in a series when I requested it from Netgalley and didn’t have time to go back and read the first. They both actually have quite high marks on Goodreads though so I’ll probably read this series at some point.
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8. THE VANISHED BIRDS by Simon Jimenez
I was unfortunately in the midst of a big fantasy slump when I tried to read this book. It’s another that has high marks on Goodreads so I may actually revisit it at some point and give it a fair shake since I’m pretty sure the problem was me and not the book.
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9. AMERICAN GODS by Neil Gaiman
I don’t know what it is about this book but I’ve tried to read it twice and DNF’ed both times.
I’ve loved many of his other titles but just can’t seem to get into this one at all.
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10. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
I think this book is probably amazing based on Murakami’s other books but I honestly just got lazy and decided I didn’t want to read a 925 page story of magical realism. Maybe someday I’ll revisit it.
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Question: Have you read any of these?
American Gods was on my list too — as much as I tried and wanted to get into it, I just couldn’t. I was surprised Cursed was on your list — the Netflix show brought the comic to my attention and I was hoping both were fabulous!
I’m still very hopeful for the Netflix series. I was so disappointed that I didn’t love the book because I fully expected to.
I hope the Netflix version of Cursed is better.
My TTT .
I do too!
Great list! It can be so frustrating when it’s not clear that books on NetGalley are the second or third book in a series.
Yeah, it really is.
I haven’t read any of these; I know I had Life and Limb and maybe even The Doll Factory on my TBR at some point, but I deleted them. Looks like maybe I wasn’t missing much!
Nope, good call!
I’ve heard similar things about Cursed. I am interested in the adaptation, so we’ll see. The Doll Factory sounds super creepy. The taxidermy angle would just make me want to stop reading.
Yeah, it made me close that book real fast and run away, lol.
Nameless Queen has such a gorgeous cover. But a MC who is good at everything, never makes a misstep, and is basically perfect, is just totally unrelatable.
It was really disappointing because I really liked the premise of the book itself.
I have a friend who keeps telling me 1Q84 is his favorite book of all time, so at some point I want to try it. And I couldn’t finish Life & Limb either, it bored me to tears!
Life & Limb was probably one of my biggest disappointments last year. It just sounded so good but fell totally flat for me.
I went down this list fearful I’d see something currently waiting to be read on my shelf but thankfully none of these are. I admire your ability to call it quits on a book you know isn’t working. Still can’t do it.
I still struggle with it sometimes. It’s hard to just give up on a book.
The only one I recognized from your list is The Nameless Queen as I had my eye on it when it released, but what a bummer! I can’t enjoy books when I can’t connect with the characters so I feel you.
That one was disappointing because the premise of the book sounded so good and it just didn’t deliver for me at all.
I had read the first book, I Hate Everyone but You, and it was just ok for me. Probably too angsty, just not my thing. So, I passed on the second book.
Sounds like I made the right call then bypassing both.
American Gods seems to be a popular unpopular Gaiman book if this week’s TTT is anything to go by 😂 I personally enjoyed it but I had only read one of his other books before that and I ended up loving it despite how absolutely bizarre it is. 1Q84 has been sitting on my TBR for ages and it intimidates me so much, I don’t know if I’ll ever read it, especially when I’m not all that big on magical realism in the first place! Great list 🙂
I’m pretty sure I’ll never tackle 1Q84. I actually packed it in a box and put it in my basement, lol.
Sorry you had to DNF these. I haven’t even tried to read any of them yet.
You’re probably not missing much with most of them, lol.
I love American Gods – very cultish which seems rather apt! 1Q84 should be on by list too: it was the first audiobook I got and I chose it simply because it was really long for one credit (and also Murakami!) – never quite finished it!
My TTT is here https://bookloverssanctuary.com/2020/05/12/top-ten-tuesday-the-last-ten-books-i-abandoned/
I don’t know why I struggled so much with American Gods. I’ve loved several of his other books but just can’t get into this one.
I’m not a huge fan of DNF’ing but I do do it. American Gods is a book I’ve been really curious about, especially when they developed a show, but I don’t know I guess I just never get to it lol? It hasn’t really grabbed me… but then I’ve had trouble with Gaiman too a little bit…
The Doll Factory does look kind of twisted!
I’ve been really hit or miss when it comes to Gaiman. I’ve read 3 or 4 books that I absolutely loved, but then there are others like this one that I keep trying and quitting.
Huh, I hadn’t even heard about Cursed — and I normally hear about all kinds of Arthuriana from my friends, since I wrote my MA dissertation on Arthurian myth, haha. Doesn’t sound encouraging, though! 🙁
I really wanted to love that one so it was disappointing to have it just not click with me.
It’s always frustrating when you can’t connect to the main character in a book.
The Doll Factory seems very creepy!
Here’s my TTT list.
Yeah, if you’re into really creepy reads, The Doll Factory might be a good pick for you. I think it has good ratings overall. It just wasn’t for me.
I don’t mind DNFing a book in the sense that I will do it, but it’s always a bummer when a book you thought you’d enjoy just is not working for you. I have not read any of these, but thanks for sharing why you DNFed.
-lauren
It’s a bummer. I know it’s not realistic, but in my heart, I just really want to love ALL of the books.
Interesting post, Suzanne. I’m more likely to DNF a book as I’m getting older. I guess I’m running out of time lol. I DNF’s Bel Canto by Ann Patchett and a few other renowned literature 😛 I have read The Wind Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki and quite enjoyed it.
Great and honest share.
Maybe that’s why I’ve gotten better about DNFing, lol.
I have seen a lot of people abandoning Cursed so it definitely won’t be one I pick up. I am sorry you didn’t like the Reed novel! Her debut, The Nowhere Girls, is absolutely fantastic and I would recommend that one if you don’t mind giving her a second chance. Ah yes, you have to be in the mood for a novel as long as the Murakami one. I have Amrican Gods but haven’t tried it yet. Let’s see how it goes for me…
I hope American Gods works better for you than it did for me. It has great reviews overall so I think it’s just me, lol.