Top 10 Books Everyone's Read But Me (Sept. 20th)

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This Week's Topic Is: Top 10 Books Everyone's Read But Me

There are many reasons that someone can end up out of the loop about books. Maybe a book comes out and you don't hear about it. Maybe it released before you got really interested in reading as actively as I do now. Maybe something about a book has you wary to pick it up. Or maybe it's just not in stock or you don't have enough cash at the time. In all truth, though, it boils down to this: books you're dying to read and books you're wary to read. So that's how I'm splitting it up this week, 50 / 50. Lets get the bad news done first, shall we?

Books I'm Wary To Read:

1. Twilight

by Stefenie Meyer

*Prepares to duck an in-coming tomato.* 

Why I Haven't Read It: I've had Twilight on my shelf for ages. I've picked it up and tried to start it a time or two. But it never sticks. As someone who writes paranormal and fantasy romances, it's pretty much required reading. But I'd rather by reading Shakespeare or Dickens if something is going to be considered "required reading". Twilight has an interesting concept and I can understand why people love it. But the writing just doesn't book me. Yet I don't want to get rid of it. I want to read it and "understand" for myself. It's a no win situation.

2. City of Bones

by Cassandra Clare

Why I Haven't Read It: Another series that people seem to love. Another series that I have two books from that are collecting dust; books I don't have the heart to get rid of because I don't want to tell people I gave up on them. City of Bones suffers from the exact same problem I just described for Twilight. I want to like it. I want to "get" it. But it just doesn't seem able to click with me for whatever reason, despite the fact that it should really be my kind of book. Yet again, a real shame. 

3. Shiver

by Maggie Stiefvater

Why I Haven't Read It: I grabbed this as a freebie when Chapters had their buy 3 get 1 free deal on. Then I read a few reviews that have made me pretty nervous. On one hand, lots of people seem to like this series. On the other hand, look at the two series I just finished telling you that I can't seem to click with. Big sale popularity does not necessarily guarantee that a book will be my thing. I'm sure I'll get around to this. I need to make sure I go into it without bias when the time comes, though.

4. White Cat

by Holly Black

Why I Haven't Read It: Here's a catch 22: I love the premise for this book, but the only thing I've ever read by this author ended up being a book that I really did not like (Tithe). I liked its premise, too. I find it very hard to trust an author if the first book I read by them ends up not being my thing. Might not be totally fair, but the truth is the truth. I might check this out eventually ... Maybe I'll see if Amazon has a sample I can read? But for now it can wait. 

5. Hush, Hush

by Becca Fitzpatrick

Why I Haven't Read It: I can think of at least three occasions where I've almost bought this book and stopped myself. Which really might be a shame, because there was a time when I was totally dying to read it. Before I read Fallen. I've heard lots of people say that if you don't like one, you won't like the other. I've also heard connections between this and Twilight, which has added to my wariness about reading it. These reasons might not be terribly fair, but there are so many books that I want to read that I have to choose carefully.

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But relax! It's not all doom and gloom. There are tons of books that I can't wait to read, but here are five that I bet a lot of you have beaten me to a thousand times over. :) 

Books I'm Dying To Read:

6. Paper Towns

by John Green

Why I Haven't Read It: I picked up Will Grayson, Will Grayson at the Chapters sale. Since I've never read anything by John Green before, that may or may not have been a good idea. (I haven't started it yet, so I can't tell you.) Yes, I can hear some of you gasping in horror at this admission. ;) But rest assured, I am interested in reading Paper Towns and it is also one of the books I've had requests from people to review. I'll tell you what I think of it then. ;)

7. The Near Witch

by Victoria Schwab

Why I Haven't Read It: I haven't done a new book order since I heard about it. I'm planning one soon, but I have a ton of newly released books that I want so I'll have to wait and see whether I can squeeze this in. Maybe... It could fit in nicely with some of my plans for October. A lot of my friends seem to have enjoyed this book so I would love to check it out and share my thoughts, too. We shall see. 

8. Cracked Up To Be

by Courtney Summers

Why I Haven't Read It: The only reason I haven't read this yet is because the Chapters I went to at the start of the month was sold out. This was on my list for that trip but it just wasn't meant to be. There are lots of reasons that I want to read it. I've heard great things about Courtney Summers and this book looks interesting to me. I'm sure that I will get around to it eventually. A lot of people who have recommended books to me seem to enjoy this, so I figure it will be worth checking out. 

9. The Iron King

by Julie Kagawa

Why I Haven't Read It: I've been sleeping under a rock. No, wait. That's not quite the truth. Okay, the truth is... I heard about The Iron King shortly after trying Tithe and Wicked Lovely. Neither of those books worked out for me, which I found very upsetting since I figured that I would love books about faeries. But I think I'm ready to give faeries a try again, and this always looked like it had potential. So I think I might give this a go and see how it goes. (On a less serious note, my Team Peeta badge is lonely.)

10. Twenty Boy Summer

by Sarah Ockler

Why I Haven't Read It: This book just keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the list. Or not being in stock when I go to buy it. Or... You get the idea. I've heard lots of good things about Twenty Boy Summer and I have been looking forward to reading it. But it's one of those books that has eluded me for some reason or another. Eventually I will get it and fix that problem. But for now I need to wait for the right time to make that happen. 

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Well there you have it. My list. So, what do you think? Are there any of the titles on the wary list that I should try again? Any titles on my 'dying to read' that aren't as amazing as I've built them up to be in my head? Or perhaps you agree with something I've said?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and see what you've chosen for this Top 10. Feel free to leave me a comment. :)