NOTE: So I just realized that this is NEXT week's topic. Oops! Umm.. Well I guess I'll do the two topics the wrong way round. Sorry!
This weeks Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, deals with those books that are hard to get through for whatever reason. So without further struggle let's get through it - i.e. here's my list!
1. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov: The writing is stunning but I became increasingly more disturbed as it went on and had to eventually put it down without finishing.
2. Russian Literature in general: My impression and limited experience is that a lot of it is bleak and hopeless and I have no desire. If some one has a different take, I'd love to hear it. One of the few books I have read, Crime and Punishment, made me feel sad and sick for days after a scene of horrific animal cruelty. Just not interested in tackling any more of the Russian canon.
3. The Stand by Stephen King: I am still suck on page 800 and something with this book, and determined to finish it at some time. There are a few reasons. It's huge (1300 pages) and while I liked the first half to 2/3rds of the book, I'm bored and made a little squirmy by the second "half". I find the character of Harold, as he develops, really disturbing to the point that I don't want to spend any time with him.
4. The Son by Philipp Meyer: It's a great book but some scenes and things that happen are really tough to get through, particularly in Eli's story.(My Review)
5. In the Woods by Tana French: The main character in this book, Rob Ryan, undergoes a transformation from decent guy to huge, ginormous, chauvinist asshole - it is difficult to watch and he is hard to take after this transformation. I came close to putting the book down but am glad I stuck with it as I think in the end it's pretty fantastic and the character in question is quite fun to pick apart psychologically.
6. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote: This is a very recent read that I had to briefly put on hold because I happened to be listening to it during a time I was living way out in the middle of nowhere by myself. The book is the true story of a family in the middle of nowhere Kansas being murdered rather senselessly by two disturbing young men. It wasn't really setting the correct tone for me to enjoy my time in the country:).
7. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson: Marilynne Robinson is a truly astonishing writer but I found this book so incredibly lonely and melancholy that it was hard to get through. I obviously have trouble with books that are too steeped in true bleakness. I've been wanting to pick up one of her more recent books Gilead which sounds like it is not quite so dark in tone and atmosphere but I'm nervous.
8. Devil's Teeth by Susan Casey: This non-fiction book about Great White Sharks in the waters around the Farallon Islands was fascinating and interesting for about the first two-thirds. Then the author become childish, irresponsible and horrible and it was very hard to read on. If you've read it you will likely know what I mean.
9. Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton: The Anita Blake series started off so strongly - I adored the first three books in the series. Sadly by book 7 the series had taken a turn into unreadable nonsense at least for me. I only got a third of the way through this one. Seriously, it felt like someone else had started writing the books. Just too disappointing
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling: What's this you say??? A HP book you had trouble getting through?? Only because I was so very sad this was to be the last book of the series I didn't want it to end so I kept dragging it out.
So what books do you find it hard to get through?
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