Top Ten Tuesday – August 28, 2012: Top Ten Bookish Confessions

It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the wonderful blog at The Broke and the Bookish.

This Week’s Topic is: Top Ten Bookish Confessions (Anything! You dog ear, you hated a book  but said you loved it, you have $500 library fines…anything goes!)

1. I hated Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. I really feel like I’m the only person who hated this book. I couldn’t even get through the first couple chapters because it annoyed me so much (and I’m dangerously close to making a Fifty Shades of Grey comparision…) – Did anyone else DNF this book? Am I the only one who didn’t like it? Should I give it another shot?

2. My books are crazy organized, and not quite logically easy to figure out. I have two separate shelves – one for books I’ve already read, one for TBRs. The ones I’ve read are mostly sectioned off by series. The TBRs are organized by series, if applicable. Then all the mysteries go together, organized by color (so they look pretty, as long as the heights are all the same), and grouped together by publisher. Then I have a shelf for chick lit, again by color, organized from tallest to smallest. Then I have a shelf for YA/dystopians. It’s intense.

3. I forgot about the library for a long time. The past couple years I’ve been moving from apartment to apartment (no concerns – just upgrading when I have the money to!) so the library was in the back of my mind. I didn’t have a permanent residence, really. But I realized that swapping and used bookstores were just not doing it for the new releases, so I finally joined the beloved library 🙂

4. I still hate ebooks. Okay, I guess hate is a strong word, but I just soooo prefer to hold a real book when I’m reading! It’s so much nicer. The feel, the smell, the flipping of pages. It’s so much  better. Ebooks are okay, and they have really good sales, but I’ll take real books over my Kindle any day!

5. I’m a confessed skimmer and jumper. Explanation: I don’t actually just skim books. Skimming happens when I SEE CAPITAL LETTERS ON THE NEXT PAGE and I just have to look over and see what’s so exciting over there! Skimming happens unintentionally when I’m bored with really long descriptions and there’s some exciting dialogue coming up! Apparently I live for dialogue. Too many straight paragraphs can get boring sometimes and I happen to get bogged down with too many details!

6. The ending can make or break a book for me. I guess this is technically true for a lot of people! I’ve had quite a few books recently that I wasn’t too fond of the beginnings and then the ending totally “redeemed” the book. Likewise, if your book ends badly or has a complete character change or you kill off the wrong person or the wrong people end up together, etc – Mostly likely I’ll dislike the whole book. The end is what we work for, right? It’s what really what determines how much I like a book overall.

7. I always carry a book with my in my purse. You just never know when you’ll need to read! It’s that one time that you don’t have a book with you that you wish you did.

8. I’m an accidental book thief. Sometimes I inadvertently keep books that I’ve borrowed. I don’t mean to keep them but I have them for so long or they get misplaced and I just forget I have them. So here’s my chance to apologize to my next door neighbors, my sister, my friend Lisa (although she knows I still have a ton of her books), and the College of DuPage Spanish teachers. Don’t worry, if you happened to have loaned me a book recently, I’ve been keeping track and I’ll be sure to give it back!!

9. I do a ton of blogging at work. Here I am… 4pm on a Thursday (yes, I wrote this really early) and I’m trying to come up with more confessions. Today was a slow day so (while my co-workers haven’t been looking), I’ve been blogging. And I also get annoyed when they hang around my desk and prevent me from blogging… Oops. It’s just so easy to do when I have a computer in front of me all day! Just don’t tell my boss, okay? 🙂

10. I used to think I was too good for YA. *GASP*!!!! For a while (hell, even when I was a young adult (and even though I’m clearly not a young adult and 25 now)), I just thought YA books were kids books and I wanted nothing to do with them. Silly me!!! My blog even started as a mystery and chick lit review blog with a little YA. Now I read almost no chick lit, have toned down my mysteries a lot, and it’s almost all YA! I’ve just found soooo many good books through other blogs. It’s been the best!

Hi, I'm Brittany!
Hi, I'm Brittany!

I'm an avid reader, candle-maker, and audiobook lover! Here you'll find book reviews, fun blog posts, and my other loves of photography & craft beer!

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38 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday – August 28, 2012: Top Ten Bookish Confessions

  1. Krystianna

    The ending makes it or breaks it for me as well. More likely than not it makes it though. 🙂 I hate reading e-books! I just don’t feel like I’m actually reading anything. I’ve been thinking about buying a Kindle though since they always have amazing $1-3 deals on some pretty recent novels.

    Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian

    Reply
  2. Andrea @ The Overstuffed Bookcase

    Lol, we’re so much alike! You said on my blog that you had a dark days too, and now I’m reading your list and I’m like, “Yep, do that. Yep, that’s me! Yep, OMG WE ARE SO ALIKE!” Lol. 😉

    I haven’t read Shatter Me but one of my friends didn’t like it very much at all. I’m a bit hesitant to read it, but there are SO many bloggers that love it, so I think I’m still going to give it a try. We’ll see what happens.

    Yes on #3. I would check out books from the library every once in a while, like for book club, but I would always buy my other books. Then a few months ago I went to the Teen section in my library and I was like, “Um, I want to read that, and that, and that, and that!” Why have I been buying all this time? Who knows..

    YES on #5. I always find myself skimming ahead to dialogue! And then I have to go back and reread the other stuff because I skipped way ahead and I missed half a page and that does not help the fact that I’m already a slow reader!

    Yes for #6, 8, and 10 too! Great list!

    Reply
    1. Brittany

      I love it!!!!
      I think you should definitely still give Shatter Me a try! So many people have loved it and I just found out it wasn’t for me. At least I know there are others out there though who share my opinion!
      Thanks so much for the comment 🙂 Glad to hear we have so much in common!!

      Reply
  3. Alyssa

    I don’t remember things either…Stan just read Mockingjay and kept saying things like “OMG remember when…?” and I was like “uhhh..what?!” I am also a lot like Monica FYI..

    Reply
  4. Alyssa

    YAY I kind of have my books how you have yours!! I have like a “non-fiction” book case and one shelf has all of my history (mostly stuff on the Tudor dynasty) and I have all of my Shakespeare together and then different fiction by category hahah

    Go to the library!!

    I skim too…sometimes..I even “skim” through the end and spoil things for myself…>.<

    The ending for books totally make it or break it for me too! Sometimes if I hate the ending I am like ew this book was terrible and it even wasn't!! Shame!!

    Reply
    1. Brittany

      Nooooo spoilers! I will only spoil as much as a page for myself. I’m just too impatient! If it’s on the same page, I GOTTA KNOW lol.
      I like that our bookshelves are similar! It’s like my own mini library.
      I don’t have many non fiction books 😛 Mostly just old textbooks haha.

      Reply
      1. Alyssa

        Stan is often like “What?! How do you find anything?!” and I am like “It’s my shelf, dammit!! You ask me what you need and I will find it for you!!” I skimmed ahead in Mockingjay to see if Peeta died and totally ruined the epilogue….

      2. Brittany

        Oh bummer! Truth: I need to reread Mockingjay (and Catching Fire) – I barely remember what happens! Failure to retain anything from books should have been one of my confessions…
        Pshhhh you can totally find things! You just need to know the system! Uh oh, now I feel like Monica: “No! You don’t know the system! There’ll be nobody messing with the system!”

    1. Brittany

      Agreed! Truthfully, that’s why I have an ereader – I have it for Netgalley and Kindle sales. Oops. If I’m going to buy a book, I much prefer to read the hard copy!

      Reply
  5. bookgoonie

    Lots to confess 🙂

    Haven’t read Shatter Me, but I’ll stay on the alert when I do. I spend tons of organizing my books, but I don’t think they ever look awesome. I think all books should be a standard size or at least in a series. I usually have a book & audiobook on me at all times.

    Reply
  6. Vyki

    Great confessions, I can say I do a lot of blogging stuff while I have downtime at work also. I know it is going to get a bit more difficult because of shopaholics at work ruining it for some. It is hard to do the memes in the evenings, though! I keep books with me, too. Actually, I currently have one for work, one for home, and an audio in the car, so I am not without any either 🙂 Here’s mine: http://whatsontheshelf.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/top-ten-tuesday-20/

    Reply
  7. Kelsey

    I tend to do most of my blogging at work too…it’s been really slow lately and I’ve had lots of spare time lol. I also always try to have a book on me when I go out, some days I have to bring what I’m reading next because I know I will finish it. Great list!

    Reply
  8. appraisingpages

    Okay, it’s like you read my mind with this one! Except I do like ebooks, but I can read either. But oh my gosh I didn’t like “Shatter Me” either! The writing style was cool but **spoiler alert** it was so. much. like. x-men! I felt like I was reading a Rogue origin story!!! It was exactly her story, down to going to an academy at the end for other people with abilities? What the heck!!

    Reply
  9. Candice

    I’ve never read Shatter Me, but I really considered putting some of the books I didn’t like that everyone did like on my own list. I didn’t though… haha! Also, I’m gonna need you to come over and organize my shelves for me. I really need some kind of system, but can’t ever focus long enough to organize them! Hence, my books are just thrown all higgledy-piggledy on the shelves!

    Reply
    1. Brittany

      Oh, I would LOVE to organize your shelves! Weird thing… I love organizing. It may not always make sense at first, but you’ll get it soon enough 🙂 I couldn’t alphabetize because the books are all different sizes and then you have different genres.. They just needed to be separated! haha

      Reply
  10. Lucy

    I liked Shatter Me, but you are definitely not alone in your dislike. It seems to be a love it or hate it type book. And yay I’m glad you’re using the library! Seeing all caps in books does make it tempting to jump ahead. I can relate.
    Thanks for sharing your confessions!

    Reply
    1. Brittany

      Thanks, Lucy! I’m so glad I’m using the library now too! I don’t know what I was thinking lol. I totally didn’t need to go check out more books the other day, but I went back just because I missed it!

      Reply
  11. Elizabeth

    I also DNF Shatter Me and I have to reign in my judginess when I hear people say they love that book and that it was written so beautifully. I also get most of my blogging done at work… because I’m so efficient I finish my work too quickly, of course!

    Reply
  12. Mary @ My Sisters Bookshelf

    Most of these are true for me too except 10! I’m glad you saw the YA light 🙂

    I like to justify blogging at work as a qmental break that increases my overall productivity…

    Reply
  13. Lori

    Great list! I agree with you on Shatter Me, though I did finish it and actually liked the end. The beginning was a huge struggle. Not my style at all. But I read it entirely because there was a comparison to X-Men and I love the X-Men. It didn’t come into play until the last couple of chapters. Annoying, but like #6, it made me want to read the second one! I will also confess to #5 and #10. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

    Reply
  14. Adina

    Ya, I used to be too good for Young Adult. I think it was The Hunger Games that set me straight. I liked Shatter Me until the rather odd super hero ending. That kinda ruined the book for me. Great list 🙂

    Reply

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