Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Look Forward to Returning to Finish

June 5, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme originated by The Broke and the Bookish now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is: Top Ten Books I Might Have DNF Regret About

I like this theme conceptually quite a bit. I fully believe people should be DNF’ing books. Life is too short to read bad books! That said, there are many books I’ve started but left unread for one reason or another. Either it’s a book club book I didn’t finish in time, or I had to return it to the library, or some such.

In honor of the fact that I DNF books in two categories (those which slip through my fingers and those which I never want to read again), I will be modifying this TTT a bit. I am going to select the Top Ten Books I Look Forward to Returning to Finish. Those books which slipped through my fingers? It’s time to be reminded of them!

It’s worth noting that I wrote a similar post for TTT in September 2017 for TTT, so I won’t be repeating those books. Why repeating the theme? Well, this is similar but not *quite* the same, and I need to be reminded about these books I abandoned!

All titles below are links to the book’s Goodreads page.


 

Top 10 Books I Look Forward to Returning to Finish

 

Being Peace by Thích Nhất Hạnh

 

Being Peace is a collection of essays written by Thích Nhất Hạnh, a Buddhist monk. This was recommended to me by my husband after other Buddhist literature didn’t connect well with me. I love these essays, but they give me a lot to think about. So, I read one and end up putting the book down for months before picking up the next book. It’s a great collection. Someday I’ll finish it!

 

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

 

This is a book we read for my Science Fiction Fantasy book club. However, I just wasn’t able to get the whole book read before we met for book club. With other books needing to be prioritized for other book clubs, this one somehow just fell by the wayside. Also, as it is Pratchett’s first published work, it honestly didn’t grip me. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t read it. I should read more of Discworld before I jump back into this particular book to help hype me up.

 

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

 

Oh man. I want to read this book IMMEDIATELY. I am completely in love with Jack London’s writing. This was my first experience with London’s works and well… I’m in love. That said, I was listening to the audiobook narrated by Ethan Hawke. And disc two (out of three) was scratched beyond listening. So, alas. I will wait until the discs are cleaned, repaired, and I can pick up with Hawke again. Because I cannot possibly listen to it any other way.

 

Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska

 

Speaking of horribly scratched discs… the audiobook from my local library is so badly damaged that when I returned it they retired the discs. Beyond repair. And I had only gotten to the third track on disc 1. Like, 15 minutes into the book. Alas, no more audiobook for Shadow of a Bull. I guess I’ll have to get the physical book now.

 

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

 

This book sadly met a fate many books meet in my care: Being picked up from the library, reading 1-10 pages, and completely forgetting it. The pile of library books at my house is far larger at any given time than I am capable of reading. Being a mood reader, this, sadly, happens often. But I am super excited to eventually read this series for real. Eventually.

 

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

 

I don’t really know if this book counts as a DNF, honestly. I was at the spa with my girlfriends and I finished the book I was reading (we are not permitted eReaders. No technology whatsoever. It’s a mixed blessing) and needed a new book to read in our downtime. I read… like 4 pages? Still on my TBR, I only had this book in my hands for about 10 minutes.

 

The Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

 

Same as FablehavenActually, I think The Keeper of Lost Cities was in the same collection of books when I picked up Fablehaven. I’m fairly certain this is Krysta’s fault…

 

Mechanica by Betsy Cromwell

 

This book suffered from a case of, “Oh, I’m sure I can fit a middle-grade novel in between my book club books which are over 500 pages…” WRONG. I read about 6 pages, loved it, and had to return it. Sad Jackie. Perhaps book clubs are a problem? (Nah.)

 

The Rabbi’s Cat by Joann Sfar

 

Same as above. I didn’t expect this graphic novel to be so complex! And, honestly, it’s super popular at the library. I’m constantly shuffling book club books to try and make space for this book in my immediate reading list. But, I’ve requested it so much, I already know the library has purchased another copy.

 

Sweet Bean Paste by Dorian Sukegawa

 

This story is a typical tragic tale of poor library coordination. I wanted to read the book and watch the film. Do a comparison. However, I didn’t realize how new both of these were so I had this silly farce of requesting them both and they kept coming in at weird times and having to be returned in such a way I never had them both simultaneously! That’s all I wanted. Them at the same time. Nope. I finally gave up. In two months, both the DVD and the novel will be available for 4 weeks instead of two. And I’m ready for it.

 

Holy buckets. This is so embarrassing. The MAJORITY of these books are not only books I didn’t get to before I had to return them to the library, but they are also almost ALL recommended by my blogger friends! Well, I had good intentions, didn’t I? Apologizes to Krysta @ Pages UnboundDani @ Perspective of a Writer, and Melanie @ Grab the Lapels for being neglectful with their recommendations!

I am glad this prompt came up. It’s nice to review the books I DNF’d with the intention of returning to them. A few of these books are more visible to me now! Perhaps I’ll actually get to read them soon?


What do you think?

  • Did you participate in Top Ten Tuesday? Share your links below!
  • Which books from this list have you read? What are your favorites?
  • How do you think about your DNF books?
  • What books have you DNF’d you want to continue reading?

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