Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that asks bloggers to create Top Ten lists on a variety of bookish topics. This week’s topic is…
Top Ten “Hard to Read” Books
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty…because the characters and all the mommy politics are painful and grating to listen to!
Cutting Teeth by Julia Fierro…see Big Little Lies above.
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson…because the writing style and story flow was so scattered that it made my head explode!
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes…because of the TEARS, duh (but I loved it)!
Natchez Burning by Greg Iles…because of the sheer evil and brutal torture scenes (but I loved the book!)!
One Second After by William R. Forstchen…because of how scary life would be if this scenario (an electro-magnetic pulse attack) ever occurs in real life (also loved the book!).
Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel…because of how Finkel’s raw writing style brought to life the devastating impact of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to then face severe PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury.
The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson…because the lack of character development in the first half and the sheer volume of different things going on made it hard to get invested in this story.
The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule…because her real life story of what it was like to work alongside the serial killer Ted Bundy (on the night shift of a crisis hotline, no less!) is paralyzingly terrifying!
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald…because it was so bad that it was just painful to read.
We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas…because it was heartbreaking and emotionally draining to read about someone’s slow decline and the affects on his/her loved ones (but I loved the book!).
Every Tuesday, fellow blogger Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where bloggers share the first paragraph of the book they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon.
The Century Trilogy follows the fortunes of five intertwined families—American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh—through the twentieth century. This is the installment I’ve most been looking forward to as it covers a period of history during which I was actually alive! I’m almost halfway through and its proving just as readable and entertaining as the first two installments.
Plot Summary from Amazon
East German teacher Rebecca Hoffman discovers she’s been spied on by the Stasi for years and commits an impulsive act that will affect her family for generations… George Jakes, himself bi-racial, bypasses corporate law to join Robert F. Kennedy’s Justice Department and finds himself in the middle of not only the seminal events of the civil rights battle, but also a much more personal battle… Cameron Dewar, the grandson of a senator, jumps at the chance to do some espionage for a cause he believes in, only to discover that the world is much more dangerous than he’d imagined… Dimka Dvorkin, a young aide to Khrushchev, becomes an agent for good and for ill as the Soviet Union and the United States race to the brink of nuclear war, while his twin sister, Tania, carves out a role that will take her from Moscow to Cuba to Prague to Warsaw—and into history.
These characters and many others find their lives inextricably entangled as they add their personal stories and insight to the most defining events of the 20th century. From the opulent offices of the most powerful world leaders to the shabby apartments of those trying to begin a new empire, from the elite clubs of the wealthy and highborn to the passionate protests of a country’s most marginalized citizens, this is truly a drama for the ages.
Here’s the first paragraph:
WALL
1961
Rebecca Hoffmann was summoned by the secret police on a rainy Monday in 1961.
It began as an ordinary morning. Her husband drove her to work in his tan Trabant 500. The graceful old streets of Central Berlin still had gaps from wartime bombing, except where new concrete buildings stood up like ill-matched false teeth. Hans was thinking about his job as he drove. “The courts serve the judges, the lawyers, the police, the government – everyone except the victims of crime,” he said. “This is to be expected in Western capitalist countries, but under Communism the courts ought surely to serve the people. My colleagues don’t seem to realize that.” Hans worked for the Ministry of Justice.
What do you think? Would you keep reading? Stay tuned for my full review…
I felt EXACTLY the same way about We Are Not Ourselves–at times it was so painful I wanted to stop reading,but I didn’t because the characters had really taken hold of me. A tough book, but a good one.
I’m having the same problem with Big Little Lies right now… it’s almost too much! Loved We Are Not Ourselves, too.
I’d keep reading The Edge of Eternity, too. Just need to read Winter of the World first 😉
The Century Trilogy seems daunting…like “wait, I’ve got to read 2 other 800 page books before getting to the new release?”…but I feel like Follett really makes the pages fly!
And don’t get me started on Big Little Lies 🙂 Ha!
I’m planning to read this series at some point. I even bought the first book when it came out in hardcover. Maybe during the first snowstorm of the winter 🙂
Thanks for visiting my blog.
Ha – this trilogy is definitely a snowstorm kind of undertaking!
Your opening lines of Edge of Eternity were thrilling, because, like you, I enjoy historical stories set in times through which I have lived, as well.
And Berlin fascinates me, both then and now, as my eldest son is a writer/photographer living there with many interesting stories to tell.
Thanks for sharing…and for visiting my blog.
The only book on your list that I read is Big Little Lies, and I liked that one a lot! I keep seeing We Are Not Ourselves, but I’m undecided about it. I think it’s one of those books I’ll put on my list and never quite find time to read!
I would keep reading the Ken Follett’s 3rd installment in the trilogy. I really loved the first two. Guess I had better purchase it so I have the whole set!
I’ve only read one Ken Follett book, Pillars of the Earth, which I loved. I would keep reading Edge of Eternity. It sounds complex!
I do want to read Big Little Lies, but I have a feeling I will find myself getting annoyed too. I loved Jenny Lawson’s book–maybe because I listened to the audio version. I remember wondering if I would have liked it so much if I read it in print format and had my doubts. She does jump from subject to subject, but I didn’t mind because that’s the way my brain works too.
Love the list and will be putting more than one of them on my “to be read” list. Especially “The stranger beside me” this sounds like a book I would love!
I really Love Greg Iiles. I has been a long time since I have read one of his books but I have been wanting to get to Natchez Burning! Now I am scared but I know it will be worth it!
Don’t be scared, it’s SO good. And there are only some scenes that have the torture, etc. The overall book definitely outweighs the “hard to readiness” of the torture stuff.
My husband is reading this book and thoroughly enjoying it. He says that most history classes he has taken over the years don’t venture into this era and he’s learning a lot — and enjoying the plot. I plan to start reading the trilogy soon, even though it’s a huge time commitment.
Here’s the link to my Tuesday post: SUMMERTIME.
They don’t feel as long as they are..thankfully!!
I agree with you on Greg Iles’ novel but disagree on Jenny Lawson’s. I like Ken Follett’s first paragraph. I haven’t read this one but I look forward to your review.
I thought the first part of Lawson’s book was hilarious, I just couldn’t keep track of her scattered storytelling in the later parts.
I so want to read Edge of Eternity to complete the trilogy, but I just can’t read another tome like that right now.
Great intro — so tempting
I have a friend who loves Ken Follett. I keep meaning to read one. I liked your top ten. Have a nice week! kelley—the road goes ever ever on
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