Top Ten Tuesday | Books I'm Not Sure I Want to Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly, original meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

I love this topic because there are a million books I have on my to-be-read list, but I'm not sure if reading them is the right path for me. To clarify, not all of the books listed below are ones I don't want to read. Most are books I'm hesitant to read or have to be in the right mood to read. Alas, some are books I most likely have no plans to continue reading.

1. Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door, Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

I want to read these but a part of me doesn't. If that makes sense. From the moment the first two were released, I had no desire to read them. With my growing bookstagram account, as always, I am feeling the pressure to read all three thanks to my followers. I guess it wouldn't hurt to try!

2. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I'm about fifty pages into this book and I was beyond excited to start this series. I'm liking it but I decided to take a break. I'm not really connecting with the characters, however, there is much more to be read.

3. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane

I walk into one bookstore or another, pick this book up, and put it back. I have this weird “radar” feeling where I know exactly what books I want to buy before I check out and which ones I should put on the back burner. I've heard some really good things about it, but I can't commit. Maybe one of these days.

4. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

I have a deep appreciation for C.S. Lewis, as he wrote beautiful prose time and time again. The Chronicles of Narnia is addicting but I started reading this in between type of story, and I'm not feeling it. I pause every five minutes while reading it and I don't know if it can get me hooked the way other Narnia stories have.

5. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Why I have not read this yet is a mystery to me. It sounds super interesting but I need to go out and get a copy of my own. I mean, it won some hefty awards so it must be good. According to Regan from PeruseProject, it's a must read. Definitely going to give it a go!

6. Red Handed, Blacklisted by Gena Showalter

I bought these both in seventh grade once I realized I was interested in reading. It was honestly a blind buy. I turned a corner, picked these two at random, and off I went. Now that I'm older, I am strongly considering revisiting these to see if there's anything there.

7. The Merciless by Danielle Vega

I'm not even going to lie, I'm nervous to read this one. I've heard mixed reviews. Not sure I'd be making the right decision. 

8. Linger, Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

I read Shiver during my “After Twilight Phase” and I doubt I will return to the last two in the trilogy. Some people like Maggie Stiefvater's books, some people don't. I am sadly in the latter group.

9. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

A friend gave this to me after they finished their Gothic Literature course and I am so unbelievably anxious to read this. I've heard that you either love it or hate it because the in between is the visual equivalent of white noise. I'm determined to knock this one out before I'm old and gray. You see what I did there? 

10. Shimmering Gods by James Dudas (Not Pictured Below)

I personally know the author, for he was my mentor I mentioned in a post awhile back. He read some of his fictional work to my class and it was one monster of a book. I thought it was amusing. He put so much effort into writing it. I believe a good portion was based off of his personal life, slightly non-fictional, but still worth reading. My resistance stems from the fact that his book is Harry Potter book length. Not sure I want to pursue that, not at this moment in time. Although he isn't currently selling this book, I do know that he has a published poetry book, but copies are limited. The picture above is his poetry collection cover. We shall see if I can manage to snag a copy of Shimmering Gods within the next year or so.