Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’ve Decided I’m No Longer Interested in Reading

February 20, 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: This week the theme is: Books I’ve Decided I’m No Longer Reading.

It’s hard for me to look at books on my To Read list and decide to cut them. I prefer to talk to my friends and get recommendations I trust rather than trust the reviews and rating on Goodreads. That said, I am certainly capable of deciding on my own whether or not I wish to pursue a series. My twist on this week’s TTT is I will focus on what series I have decided to stop reading. Without further ado…

All titles below are links to the book series Goodreads page. All book covers are for the next book in the series I would be picking up, should I continue reading.


 

Top 10 Series Books I’ve Decided I’m No Longer Reading

 

Cirque Americain by Gwenda Bond

The first book in the series, Girl on a Wire, is a Romeo and Juliet retelling. I was really looking forward to this Kindle First book. However, it just fell short for me. While I enjoyed the concept, it didn’t quite get pulled off in a way which hooked me. Series dropped.

My Review: Girl on a Wire

 

The Diviners by Libba Bray

 

The Diviners was a strange read for me. I was waiting for the main story to happen until, well, close to 70% before I realized what I was reading was the story. I didn’t get it. The whole story felt like a prologue. It certainly didn’t inspire me to read more of Bray’s works, let alone the rest of The Diviners.

My Review: The Diviners

 

 

The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry

Speaking of series I don’t want to continue… The Giver is a book I love. Absolutely adore. I refuse to pick up the rest of the Quartet because I fear the remaining books will ruin my love for the first book. I cannot risk that.

 

Ender’s Saga by Orson Scott Card

My love for Ender’s Game is similar to that of The Giver. But in this case, I won’t continue the series because I DNF’d the second book, Speaker for the Dead twice. I cannot bring myself to try a third time.

 

Southern Reach by Jeff VanderMeer

Book 1, Annihilation, received a rare 1-star review from me. After that “glowing” review, it’s not worth my time to continue the series. Thankfully, I’ve found some people who share my sentiments, so I no longer feel like a bad person (as much) for that poor review.

My Review: Annihilation

 

Siren by Tricia Rayburn

Oh, wow! I completely forgot I read this book. Another 1-star review of mine. …I didn’t even realize it was a series… Let’s just say it’s not even worth remembering. O_o

 

Fox and O’Hare by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

A few years ago, I was trying to expand the genres I was reading. At the time, I reach out for some Janet Evanovich novels at the recommendation of some friends. The pacing didn’t work for The Heist. We didn’t start heisting until around 65% and even then I wasn’t engaged. Plus, I couldn’t get into the writing style. It felt unpolished. 

My Review: The Heist

 

Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich

The Heist was co-written with Lee Goldberg. When I didn’t like Fox and O’Hare, I reached out for another Evanovich series. While I found humor I could relate to more, I still struggled with the writing style. That’s not what stopped me, however: One for the Money gave me nightmares for WEEKS. Sorry, Evanovich. I understand why people love your writing, but you aren’t for me.

My Review: One for the Money

 

Fever by Karen Marie Moning

25% into Darkfever, the first book in the series, and I still didn’t care about anything. I didn’t care about the plot, the characters, the writing– nothing. I know many people rave about this series, but I just don’t get it!

My Review: Darkfever

 

Sandman by Neil Gaiman

I absolutely love Neil Gaiman’s works. It took me a while to understand them, but now I love to read them all. That said, I have to stop reading Sandman. It’s too graphically violent in this format. I love how Gaiman writes violent texts without the gore– it’s not graphic. But in graphic novel form… well, I’ll pass. #Nightmares

 

I am a bit shocked that I could keep going for this whole list. Honestly, I probably have another 10-20 other series I will leave incomplete. Never stopping to think about this before, I am also a bit proud. I find that I am becoming more and more discerning which selecting what I read. After all, there are only so many hours in the day. Why read books I’m not that invested in?


What do you think?

  • Did you participate in Top Ten Tuesday? Share your links below!
  • Which books from this list have you read? Which are your favorites?
  • If I had to pick only one of these books to keep reading, which would you recommend?
  • What series have you stopped reading?

15 Comments

  • ofmariaantonia February 21, 2018 at 7:07 am

    I agree with you about Ender’s Game. I did manage to finish Speaker for the Dead and that was the final book in the series for me. Ender wasn’t Ender. And Val was hardly in it.

    I will recommend Ender’s Shadow (the whole Shadow series, or at least up to Shadow of the Giant). This is a parallel series that focuses on Bean. So the first book is a re-working of the events from Ender’s Game. I hesitated at that at first, but I finally tried it and it’s a good book in it’s own right!

    The next three books follow the kids from Ender’s jeesh as they are snatched up to run the militaries of various nations… primarily with Bean and Petra at the heart of each book. And it also deals with Peter Wiggin. (I was pleasantly surprised how much I love this series considering that my two favourite characters from Ender’s Game–Ender and Val–aren’t in it.)

  • (Danielle) Books, Vertigo and Tea February 21, 2018 at 8:05 am

    I can understand with Lowry and the Giver, but I am going to make an effort I think. However, as much as I enjoyed Ender’s Game, I have no plans of continuing any time soon Sandman I will for sure. I do not mind how graphic it is and found myself hooked with the first two. Happy Wednesday!

  • Grab the Lapels February 21, 2018 at 12:56 pm

    Are these all books you own? And I feel like you should at least start the next book in The Giver series….. What if it’s like finding an unopened pint of ice cream you forgot you bought??

  • Laila@BigReadingLife February 21, 2018 at 3:18 pm

    I am all in favor of people deciding they don’t want to continue to read something, be it a book or a series. Good job! You’re absolutely right, there’s only so much time. Don’t make reading a chore, I say. That said,* occasionally* I will force myself to finish a book – if it’s for book group, or if I feel like I’ve invested too much of my time in it to stop before the end.

    I read One For the Money by Evanovich and just didn’t care for it. Not my style. Lots of people LOVE those books, however! To each her own.

  • Helen Murdoch February 21, 2018 at 10:45 pm

    I’ve kind of given up on the dystopian genre as a whole. I think I overdid it a few years ago when they were all the rage and now I can’t get myself to read anymore.

  • Ann Marie February 22, 2018 at 12:19 am

    I’m so out of the loop. I hadn’t heard of any of these…

  • Lauren Becker February 22, 2018 at 7:46 am

    I’ve read the first two in The Diviners series and really loved those…sorry the first one didn’t really click with you! I’m curious to read all the Sandman. I don’t mind the graphicness- but I can see how having the illustrations might make it worse for people!

    -Lauren
    http://www.shootingstarsmag.net

  • Grab the Lapels February 22, 2018 at 2:14 pm

    I just realized that your “favorite” author, Jeff Vandermeer, is coming to do a reading at my local college. Should I go see him and tell him you were disappointed in his book? 😀

  • Annemieke February 23, 2018 at 1:46 am

    I can completely understand the fever books not being your thing. I read up to book 6 and in the future I might read some of the rest but they are certainly not faves. Just mindless reads to pass the time for me. I had higher expectations of them from recs I got for it from other people.

  • Jamie March 5, 2018 at 4:18 pm

    I’ve been meaning to get around to the rest of The Giver series but have hesitated for similar reasons (that and my massive TBR…) I had heard they were decent, but none of them compare to the first book. I also remember picking up Girl on a Wire as my Kindle First book a number of years ago as well and had been meaning to get back to it, a shame that it fell flat!

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