Top Ten Tuesday: Books I loved less/more than I thought I would

Hello all and welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday! This weeks top ten topic is books I loved less/more than I thought I would! Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted the The Broke and the Bookish.

So without further ado, here is this weeks Top Ten Tuesday, books I loved less/more than I thought I would!

1) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck – More

“The compelling story of two outsiders striving to find their place in an unforgiving world. Drifters in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie have nothing in the world except each other and a dream–a dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch in California’s Salinas Valley, but their hopes are doomed as Lennie, struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and feelings of jealousy, becomes a victim of his own strength.”

I read this whilst I was in high school and I had heard so many bad things about it from the people in the years above me. So, I went into reading this book expecting to hate it. I really didn’t, I really enjoyed reading this book. It took my by surprise that is for certain. I would definitely like to reread this book again and take time reading it because I speed read it last time for exams. I would like to get the full effect of the book.

2) Landline by Rainbow Rowell – Less

“Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now.

Maybe that was always beside the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts…”

I went into reading this book with high expectations. I am a huge fn of other Rainbow Rowell novels that I thought that this one was going to be as good as the others. In my opinion it really didn’t live up to my expectations. I still had a good storyline but I didn’t like it as much as I was expecting that I was going to do. This isn’t to say that it isn’t a good book though.

3) Animal Farm by George Orwell – More

“One night on an English farm, Major the boar recounts his vision of a utopia where his fellow creatures own the land along with the means of production and are no longer the slaves of humans.

Before long his dream comes true, and for a short while all animals really are equal. But the clever pigs educate themselves and soon learn how to extend their own power, inevitably at the expense of the rest of the community.”

This is another book that I had to read in high school. I remember reading the synopsis and thinking that the concept of this book was silly. But after reading it I was a big fan of both the book and its concept. I think I’ll probably reread this soon and I also want to get David to read it because he loves George Orwell’s other books.

4) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins – Less

“Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss’s family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.”

I adored the first two books in the Hunger Games series and I remember going into this with really high expectations for the series to end on a high. I was wrong, if you are going to read this series be ready for a series that tries to rush its ending and just crushes all your hopes and dreams. I still love the series and it is a dystopian series I will always hold in my heart. Just the ending let me down and I wanted it to end well and it just didn’t. I have learnt I shouldn’t go into reading books with such high expectations but that is something I’m not good at enforcing.

5) Holding by Graham Norton – More

“The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama; and yet its inhabitants are troubled. Sergeant PJ Collins hasn’t always been this overweight; mother of­ two Brid Riordan hasn’t always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn’t always felt that her life was a total waste.

So when human remains are discovered on an old farm, suspected to be that of Tommy Burke – a former­ love of both Brid and Evelyn – the village’s dark past begins to unravel. As the frustrated PJ struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his life, he unearths a community’s worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regret.”

I went into reading this book unsure of why I recognised the authors name. Turns out he is a huge TV presenter over here in the UK that I am not the biggest fan of. When I suddenly realised who the author was all I could think about was how much I wouldn’t like a book written by him. I was so wrong, I read this book so quickly and didn’t want to put it down. Don’t have preconceptions because of who the author is because they can surprise you! Review

6) The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti – Less

“A teenage misfit named Hawthorn Creely inserts herself in the investigation of missing person Lizzie Lovett, who disappeared mysteriously while camping with her boyfriend. Hawthorn doesn’t mean to interfere, but she has a pretty crazy theory about what happened to Lizzie. In order to prove it, she decides to immerse herself in Lizzie’s life. That includes taking her job… and her boyfriend. It’s a huge risk — but it’s just what Hawthorn needs to find her own place in the world”

I read this book just last week and I was quite let down by it. I had heard so many good things about this book and I loved the cover of this book. I still enjoyed the book but the plot just let it down a bit. I would still recommend this book just I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought it would. Review

7) We Were Liars by E. Lockhart – More

“A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.”

For some weird reason when I went into reading this book I really didn’t think that I would like it. I thought I was going to have to drag myself through reading the book because I hate not finishing books. But, once again I was wrong. I read this book on the flight to my holiday last summer, I finished it pretty much exactly as the plane landed in my holiday destination. I enjoy it that much as soon as I got off the plane I handed it to my younger sister and told her to read it.

8) The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon – Less

“Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.” 

Now to say I liked this book less is not a bad thing because I still really loved this book. I just wasn’t a fan of the insta-love storyline. I was a big fan of this book that is for sure it just wasn’t as good as I had hoped. The insta-love storyline made this book only 4 stars for me instead of 5. I just expected to like it more than I actually did. Review

9) A Seven Letter Word by Kim Slater – More

“My name is Finlay McIntosh. I can see OK, can hear perfectly fine and I can write really, really well. But the thing is, I can’t speak. I’m a st-st-st-stutterer. Hilarious, isn’t it? It’s like the word is there in my mouth, fully formed and then, just as it’s ready to leave my lips . . . POP! It jumps and ricochets and bounces around my gob. Except it isn’t funny at all, because there’s not a thing I can do about it.

Finlay’s mother vanished two years ago. And ever since then his stutter has become almost unbearable. Bullied at school and ignored by his father, the only way to get out the words which are bouncing around in his head is by writing long letters to his ma which he knows she will never read, and by playing Scrabble online. But when Finlay is befriended by an online Scrabble player called Alex, everything changes. Could it be his mother secretly trying to contact him? Or is there something more sinister going on?”

I was such a huge fan of this book. I didn’t think going into reading this book I would love it as much as I did but I was once again wrong. This is another book that I read whilst on holiday and I had finished it within a day. The storyline just dragged me right in and didn’t want me to leave. I loved the characters the overall writing style of the book. I will definitely reread this at some point. But I really did like this book more than I thought I would. Review

10) The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins – Less

“EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?”

I had to leave this one till last. As you know if you have seen me talk about this book before on this blog. But I really didn’t like this book. Everyone told me to read this book because of how spectacular it was and how much I would love and how fast I would finish this book. I really did not. It took me 2 weeks to get through 250 pages and I just couldn’t read it anymore, it wasn’t thrilling and just lacked a lot of things in my opinion. I just hope other people enjoyed this more than me!

There you have it, this weeks Top Ten Tuesday, books I loved less/more that I thought I would! Let us know in the comments below any books you loved less or more than you thought you would.

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Until next time,