guilt

According to The Broke and the Bookish, who created and host this particular weekly meme, this week’s Top Ten is “Top Ten Hyped Books I’ve Never Read”. How fitting that after 2 and some months of not blogging, my first post back is one that preys upon some lingering guilt about not reading particular books, especially a few that I tend to booktalk on a regular basis. Sigh.

Anyway, onward ho. Nine childrens/YA books and one so-not YA book that I have not read, but have been hyped/talked about/drooled over/what have you. Let’s just say “people” have talked about these books at one time or another, for better or for worse.

In no particular order….(except the one that I thought of them in)

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I don’t feel especially guilty about this one. It was huge. Everybody was reading it. There are movies. There is lots of fan fiction, and it inspired another book on my list. That will be at the end.

Any Percy Jackson book by Rick Riordan. Or any book by him, actually. I would probably love them, they are right up my reading alley, but never felt compelled to read them since the kids were reading them without book talking, so I moved on to other titles that could use a little librarian help.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I do want to read this, but because it is so YA, and my school only goes up to 8th grade we never purchased it. It’s just not at the top of my TBR pile since I have no one to push it on. I will read it eventually. I think. I hope.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. This kind of humor I don’t need in my life, besides the same reasons apply as Percy, the books just sell themselves without any help from me.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. There’s really no excuse, I just haven’t laid hands on it yet. I keep giving it to students or teachers to read, so it’s never around the library. It is on my TBR summer pile. Check in with me in September and ask me how I did.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. This one is HUGE and not in the metaphorical sense, it is literally enormous and heavy. I commute by train, so the size of the book matters to me a little bit. I’m sure I would love it, but I just can’t seem to bite that particular bullet.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I’ve tried this one a few times, but I just can’t seem to get into it. The writing style is not for me, I get confused or bored and give up. Maybe I’ll watch the movie.

Matilda by Roald Dahl. Okay, this one hurts. This amps up my guilt factor to 11. I know, I know. I need to read this book. I don’t know why I haven’t. I saw the movie, does that count?

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Another one that I have attempted a few times, but just can’t seem to find a groove with it. I’ve accepted that, moved on, but still share it with kids because I know some of them will love it.

Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James. Definitely not YA, so not at the top of any pile for me. Tons of hype, which is always a turnoff. Started as fan fiction for Twilight, another that I haven’t read, so no need to even start. Not even gonna watch the movie.

That was fun. And kind of freeing.