Top Ten Tuesday: Struggle Bus
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and it's a way to share what you're loving in list form. The topic changes every week, so there is always something new to discover!
This week's topic is: Ten Books that Were a Struggle to Get Into But Turned Out Awesome. I have always been a champion for books that start out difficult. My thinking was that they had to get better at some point; push through and give it a fighting chance! I rarely, if ever, DNF a book...though I've allowed myself to finally embrace the DNF in the past year or so...
Regardless, here are ten books that resided on my struggle bus until they became pretty awesome:
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Once you get past the first 100 pages, this is a fantastic book and it's now among my favorites. I wish I could read it again without knowing how it ends...it's that magical.
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
I think I was expecting the awesome that is The Lunar Chronicles when I picked this book up, but the LC it was not. I had a difficult time investing in the characters and was underwhelmed by the story until the very end. That was its redeeming quality.
The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante
There are four and they're amazing! What makes getting into the first, My Brilliant Friend, so difficult is the number of characters that you have to keep straight and the fact that some characters are referred to by their actual name and a nickname by various characters throughout the books. Thankfully, Ferrante provides a cast of characters at the beginning of each book. Also, the translations are beautifully done.
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright
Non-Fiction is always a little difficult for me to get into, and this one was no exception. However, the content is so freakin' bat-shit that it sucks you in. I'm pretty much obsessed with Scientology and how crazy it is!
The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling
I waited a long time to read this one and it's a good thing I did because I probably would have hated it if I had read it when it first came out. It was hard to get into and keeping the characters straight at first was challenging, but I really came to enjoy the story about halfway through. The chapters from the kids' perspectives were my favorite.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Having to set up the tone and background of this series took a lot of the intrigue out of the beginning of this book. However, once you move into the meat of the story (about 100 pages in), the pace picks up to lightening speed and it sucks you right in!
Austerlitz by WG Sebald
What makes this novel so difficult to get into is the format. Spanning over 400 pages, the entire novel is two paragraphs. TWO! Not to mention the fact that scattered throughout the text, often breaking up sentences, are pictures that "illustrate" the narrative. It's disjointed, disruptive, and absolutely brilliant!
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
I love me some Nabokov, but this one is definitely a little more interesting to get into than most of his work. The first hurdle is getting through the 999-line epic poem that opens the book, which is sandwiched between a foreword and commentary by the deranged character who tells the rest of the story. You then move into that character's literary analysis of the poem, broken down line by line, that weaves the story into a complex novel of suspense. It's genius. Seriously.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anything by Russian writers during this time period is a struggle. The names are ALL the same. There are a ton of characters. The translations can feel a little clunky (depending on when they were done). And the size of the novels tend to be intimidating. Those were true for this, but this book is one of my favorites. It's brilliant and shocking and oh so delectable. Read it!
Sentimental Education by Gustav Flaubert
There are no redeeming qualities to ANY of the characters in this book. That makes it difficult to read. It was translated from French in 1869. That makes it difficult to read. Despite these obstacles, this book is so good. It's decadent, seductive, naughty, and beautifully written.
I can totally come up with a few more that fit this category, but I'm cutting it off at ten (you're welcome). What are some books that you struggled with? Were you able to push through or did you DNF them?
Also, look for next week's Top Ten: Throwback Freebie!
Happy reading :)
This week's topic is: Ten Books that Were a Struggle to Get Into But Turned Out Awesome. I have always been a champion for books that start out difficult. My thinking was that they had to get better at some point; push through and give it a fighting chance! I rarely, if ever, DNF a book...though I've allowed myself to finally embrace the DNF in the past year or so...
Regardless, here are ten books that resided on my struggle bus until they became pretty awesome:
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Once you get past the first 100 pages, this is a fantastic book and it's now among my favorites. I wish I could read it again without knowing how it ends...it's that magical.
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
I think I was expecting the awesome that is The Lunar Chronicles when I picked this book up, but the LC it was not. I had a difficult time investing in the characters and was underwhelmed by the story until the very end. That was its redeeming quality.
The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante
There are four and they're amazing! What makes getting into the first, My Brilliant Friend, so difficult is the number of characters that you have to keep straight and the fact that some characters are referred to by their actual name and a nickname by various characters throughout the books. Thankfully, Ferrante provides a cast of characters at the beginning of each book. Also, the translations are beautifully done.
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright
Non-Fiction is always a little difficult for me to get into, and this one was no exception. However, the content is so freakin' bat-shit that it sucks you in. I'm pretty much obsessed with Scientology and how crazy it is!
The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling
I waited a long time to read this one and it's a good thing I did because I probably would have hated it if I had read it when it first came out. It was hard to get into and keeping the characters straight at first was challenging, but I really came to enjoy the story about halfway through. The chapters from the kids' perspectives were my favorite.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Having to set up the tone and background of this series took a lot of the intrigue out of the beginning of this book. However, once you move into the meat of the story (about 100 pages in), the pace picks up to lightening speed and it sucks you right in!
Austerlitz by WG Sebald
What makes this novel so difficult to get into is the format. Spanning over 400 pages, the entire novel is two paragraphs. TWO! Not to mention the fact that scattered throughout the text, often breaking up sentences, are pictures that "illustrate" the narrative. It's disjointed, disruptive, and absolutely brilliant!
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
I love me some Nabokov, but this one is definitely a little more interesting to get into than most of his work. The first hurdle is getting through the 999-line epic poem that opens the book, which is sandwiched between a foreword and commentary by the deranged character who tells the rest of the story. You then move into that character's literary analysis of the poem, broken down line by line, that weaves the story into a complex novel of suspense. It's genius. Seriously.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anything by Russian writers during this time period is a struggle. The names are ALL the same. There are a ton of characters. The translations can feel a little clunky (depending on when they were done). And the size of the novels tend to be intimidating. Those were true for this, but this book is one of my favorites. It's brilliant and shocking and oh so delectable. Read it!
Sentimental Education by Gustav Flaubert
There are no redeeming qualities to ANY of the characters in this book. That makes it difficult to read. It was translated from French in 1869. That makes it difficult to read. Despite these obstacles, this book is so good. It's decadent, seductive, naughty, and beautifully written.
I can totally come up with a few more that fit this category, but I'm cutting it off at ten (you're welcome). What are some books that you struggled with? Were you able to push through or did you DNF them?
Also, look for next week's Top Ten: Throwback Freebie!
Happy reading :)
I quite liked Heartless, and wasn't so keen on the first book of The Lunar Chronicles, though I've yet to read the rest.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/05/top-ten-tuesday-123/
I did end up liking it...maybe I was in a book slump (as I am right now) and it effected my view of the story. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteWow. You like long books.
ReplyDeleteI saw the movie for GwtDT.
I've read several from Nabokov, but I'm skipping this one.
I read Justine but DNFed Balthazar. I read some Nin but DNFed one of her short story collections. DNFed a few others that are less famous.
Hahaha...I guess I do! I'm not afraid of a 1000+ page book (clearly), though sometimes they can be very intimidating ;) GwtDT was so good, though. Did you watch the American version or the original? Thanks for stopping by!
Delete