Top Ten Tuesday: Ten books I disliked but I’m glad that I read

Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Today’s theme is ten books I disliked but I’m glad that I read. It’s no secret that I dislike a lot of books(!) but that doesn’t mean that I’m mad that I read them. Even books that I didn’t like can hold value. I’ll break down my reasons for being happy about the experience rather than the book down below.

✨ Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

As we all know, Alice in Wonderland is a huge piece of pop culture. I’m sure that I read the original book as a child, but I don’t remember it. I read it again as an adult a couple years ago, and I’m glad that I did. Even though I didn’t love the story (I love the retellings much more) it’s good to see where such a fixture in today’s society came from.

✨ Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

I read this book because I thought that I should. I didn’t particularly enjoy it, but that’s fine. It never hurts to get more perspectives in life. I’ve since read better feminist novels. Send me a message if you want a recommendation!

✨ A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

In my daily life, I encounter a lot of people who like to sound smart. I guess that’s what happens when you live in an Ivy League town and work in a high-ish end doctor’s office. I don’t know. But these are the kind of people who want to have conversations about literature and stuff (not the usual kinds of books I review on this blog) and would be tickled pink to discuss the literary merit of a Pulitzer prize winner. I thought this book was awful, but at least it gives me something to talk about.

✨ The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

This is another big influencer of pop culture. (Heck, Shakespeare himself is a big part of pop culture.) I think it’s good to see where things come from, even if the original play itself was somewhat problematic. After all, it gave us the iconic 10 Things I Hate About You, so it can’t be all bad.

✨ Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Little Women is one of my mother’s all-time favorite books. We live about 1,000 miles apart and reading books she loves makes me feel a little closer to her. I didn’t love this book, but at least I know what she’s talking about now.

✨ Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

The only reason that I’m glad I read this is because it’s a classic.  That’s it.  Otherwise, I found it pretty convoluted (which is possibly because I read it in a 7am Spanish lecture in college) and very boring. It never hurts to read classics, though! (I’ll keep reminding myself of this.)

✨ The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

This book was awful. I literally remember nothing of what happened in the book and all of my simmering rage at having to read this book in a college literature class. (It would be interesting to re-read it now, outside of class, and see if I still hate it so much.) Regardless, I’m glad that I read this book because it came up one night in pub trivia! There I was with my boyfriend and his friends when the literature section of the evening began. All these scientists were sitting there dumbfounded while I was shouting out authors right and left, including Mikhail Bulgakov, bane of my existence.

✨ The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Anytime someone brings up cleaning, there’s always that one person that has to bring up Marie Kondo. I personally thought this book was utter nonsense, but at least I have that opinion and I’m not still sitting around thinking about how this book would change my life. Ugh.

✨ Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

This book was some more utter nonsense that I read over many, many lunches at work. I rarely, if ever, eat alone, so I guess I can’t argue with that aspect of it. I’m glad that I read it because I had a ton of conversations about it and it was always a good icebreaker.

✨ Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov

I feel like when people talk about Nabokov, they usually want to talk about Lolita. I tried three times to read Lolita and couldn’t make it through.  (That’s a project for another time, I guess.)  Even if I didn’t really enjoy it, I’m glad that I can at least say that I’ve read something of his.