Books I'm Glad I Didn't Put Down
1. The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson - I'm totally into the whole family saga thing, so this one reeled me right in. Then I realized it was a bunch of interconnected short stories, which is often a dealbreaker for me since I don't find that short stories really connect into much of anything for me. This one was different, and really worked for me - an excellent picture of a family weathering the changes of the late 20th century with an ending that's like one of those songs that starts in a minor key and then suddenly transforms to a major one in the final note. Hopefully you're musically "educated" enough to know what I mean by that...but even if you aren't you know it when you hear it. And read it.
2. Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh - Between the rough subject matter and the written Scottish accent/dialect, Trainspotting is nothing if not challenging. I had to read it out loud until I got the hang of it (thank goodness no one was around), but once I got it down, I could hear it in my head and surprised myself by really liking this one.
3. Here Comes Mrs. Kugelman by Minka Pradelski - The narrator of this one, and the premise of a stranger coming to the weird narrator's door to tell her stories all about her Jewish town in the run-up to World War II, is all a bit too much on the weird side, but then Mrs. Kugelman started bringing her town to life in a way that seemed to mix the mundane with legend and myth, and I was sold. Sure, it was weird and outside the box, but it also happened to be really good.
4. We Sinners by Hanna Pylvainen - Here are those interconnected short stories again, which is apparently something I expect to hate, but don't always. The stories from the perspectives of the many members of a large fundamentalist Christian family combine to create a picture of all the pleasure and pain of living life or leaving life steeped in religion. I didn't realize until I wrote the review how much I admired the well-balanced, loving perspective Pylvainen brought to her story.
5. In the Beauty of the Lilies by John Updike - I read this book for a book group meeting, and I'll admit it was occasionally kind of a slog, not to mention that the first segment is about a minister losing his faith, which is kind of too depressing, even for me. The book has 4 huge chapters that take on one character's life journey each, and I struggled to understand it at times. But it was great for discussion, and I found that having discussed it and thought it over that the story and ideas Updike brought together in this book really stuck with me.
Books I Finished and Sorta Wished I'd Put Down
6. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen - In hindsight, with all the scandal and everything, I wish I had put it down. Mortensen's was an interesting story so drawn out and dryly told that I could have put it down a dozen times.
7. Crossing the Heart of Africa by Julian Smith - This book has a cool premise bringing together the stories of Ewart Grogan who made the first crossing of the African continent in the late 19th century, braving innumerable hazards to earn the uncle's blessing that would allow him to win the hand of his true love alongside Smith's own story of traversing the continent before marrying his wife-to-be. Grogan's story is pretty cool. Smith's side of the story is more about escaping marriage than embracing it, and his weird commitment-phobia and over-sharing about his own relationship look that much shallower when set against Grogan's impressive feat.
8. Enjoy Every Sandwich by Lee Lipsenthal - Interesting memoir about a doctor facing death with dignity takes a bizarre turn for the metaphysical and self-helpy.
9. From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant by Alex Gilvarry - Bizarre satire features an impossibly naive high fashion designer turned accessory to terrorism. And, yes, it was as weird as it sounds. And also unexpectedly...boring?
10. The Very Thought of You by Rosie Allison - I pressed on with this one because it got an Orange Prize list nod, but I wish I hadn't. The novel is about the dissolution of a marriage during World War II while the couple hosts numerous evacuee children on their country estate. Therefore, impressionable young Anna is on hand to witness marital drama far beyond her years. Kind of creepy, really.
What books did you almost put down but turned out to be good? Or do you usually wish you would have gone with your first instinct when you finish a book you thought you should've put down?
I struggle with putting a book down so I rarely do it. It's something I need to get better at.
ReplyDeleteI've gotten much better at abandoning books since I realized the utter hopelessness of my TBR vis-à-vis my lifespan. LOL! I've got less than no time for books that don't grab me anymore.
DeleteI've got Trainspotting on my list as well! I definitely agree that the Scottish dialect was hard at first, but I read it out loud, too! Once you get used to it, it's actually pretty easy to read. Such a good book.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT!
Funny that we both got the hang of Trainspotting by reading it out loud!
DeleteGreat list, Megan! I am struggling to come up with titles for both categories, but I know there have been several over the years. I think I'm just not ready to think yet.
ReplyDeleteThe Falls by Joyce Carol Oates is one I am glad I didn't give up on, although I thought about it. There's one, at least, I can think of right now!
Like Kathy, I am reluctant to give up on a book because so often I end up liking it. Since having a child though and having my reading time cut by a large margin I've become a lot more ruthless though. Usually it's more a matter of me setting a book aside for later rather than totally giving up on it, but it's happened.
I've got The Falls on my TBR pile. Good to know it'll be worth persevering through. My book abandoning has become much more ruthless as my TBR pile has gotten more and more out of hand!
DeleteI haven't read any of these on your list (though I've always wanted to read Trainspotting). I almost put down Rachel Joyce's "Perfect" when it wasn't living up to my expectations. My love of her first novel was really harming my ability to accept her second. I'm glad I finished it, though.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely tough to adjust your expectations when an author's other work doesn't quite live up to the best.
DeleteThis was a hard list for me to create as for the past few years, I've really had no problem giving up on books.
ReplyDeleteI've been having so much fun reading people's lists for this one. I've never read any of the books on your list. And while I'm inclined to think that first one isn't really a book for me, I'm actually quite intrigued by what you had to say. Sort of tempted to give it a try. :)
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