Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
This week’s topic is all about the books I’d love to read with my book club! The book club I’m in right now focuses on YA books, and we’ve read some really great ones! We’ve also read some not to great ones, but I still really enjoyed talking with the girls in my book club about why we hated a specific book. There’s just something about having a mutual “I hated this book” rant with your friends, isn’t there? So today I’m going to talk about some books that I would only want to read with a book club, because at least I’d know for sure I’d have people to vent to if I ended up hating the book.
Top Ten Books I’d Like to Read With a Book Club
Anything by Gillian Flynn – I read Gone Girl last year and I was really intrigued by it at first. Up until the 2nd half of the book happened and I realized how awful the characters were. I have a really hard time liking a book if I can’t root for a character, and I hated the ending of Gone Girl so much, I don’t even think liking a character would have helped. BUT, I did enjoy ranting about this book with my mother-in-law, who recommended it to me! (She also hated it, but she loves Ben Affleck and wanted to see the movie). All that being said, I wouldn’t mind reading another of Flynn’s novels IF it was a group read with other people who might not like her writing style either.
Atonement by Ian McEwan – I’ve seen the movie version of this book, and despite the fact that I love James McAvoy and Kiera Knightley, I really did not like the movie. I think it was the ending…and I don’t know how closely the book follows the movie, but I’m assuming at least that part remains the same. I wouldn’t mind reading this book in a book club, because I’m sure there are tons of deep things to talk about.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath – Do you ever have those books that just scare you to read? That’s how I feel about The Bell Jar. I have NO idea why, but something about the book terrifies me. I think I could give it a chance if I read it with some friends, but I don’t really feel like reading it on my own.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger – I really don’t think I’d like this book. I don’t really know much about it, but based on all the references to it that I’ve seen in other books, I don’t think this is a book I’d like too much. I would only be able to get through it if there were other people reading it with me.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess – I’m not really into cult films like A Clockwork Orange (the exception being Rocky Horror…but that one is fun to dance to; can you dance to this one?). It’s just not my style, and I get really creeped out just by looking at the cover of this book or the poster for the film. Ugh *shivers*
Anything by Cormac McCarthy – I’ve seen both film versions of No Country for Old Men and The Road and I hated them both. No Country for Old Men is probably my most hated film ever. I hate it even more because it won Best Picture. And Javier Bardem is officially the creepiest villain ever–he was pretty creepy in Skyfall, too. So I have no intention of reading any of McCarthy’s books, but if I somehow found my way into a book club that really wanted to read one of his novels, I’d sacrifice give it a try. I did read any interview of McCarthy once where he criticized books that didn’t deal with death in some way, and I respected that a lot, because whenever I find myself writing a story, death always weaves its way into it (but never in that dark and depressing way).
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – I know this book is hugely popular right now, but I have a feeling it’s too much like Game of Thrones. Am I incorrect in thinking that? I gave the first three Game of Thrones books a chance and I just couldn’t do it anymore. Those graphic medieval tales haunt me. I’d only want to read another one if I could vent about my frustrations with other people.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë – Remember when I said I can’t enjoy a book if I don’t like any characters? Wuthering Heights is the closest I have come to disproving that theory (close, but I still don’t like it). I actually read this book last January as a read-a-long with some fellow bloggers, and it was nice to rant about what we hated about this book, but I also learned that there were some things I did enjoy from it. The only redeeming things about this book, for me, are Brontë’s captivating writing style, and the fact that I learned HUGE morals from all these characters’ faults.
Hmm…I seem to notice a theme with all of these books: they’re kind of dark and depressing, aren’t they?
Have you read any of these books and LIKED them? I’d love to hear your thoughts! (And I encourage you to persuade me to read any of them!)
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell – “Hi, I’m the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . ” (from the official 
Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill – I usually tend to stay away from Young Adult romances that aren’t of the sci-fi/dystopian genre because I tend to find them flat and shallow, but when I saw the lively and gorgeous cover of Meant to Be, I didn’t hesitate to throw my prejudices aside and give it a shot (I mean, look at how colorful and inviting this cover art is! PLEASE judge this book by its cover). This story is a coming of age tale about Julia, a bookish and athletic goodie-good whose high school field trip to London seems completely ruined when she is paired up with Jason, the attention-hogging class clown who seems only interested in partying and pushing every one of Julia’s nerves. But after Julia begins receiving romantic texts from an unknown number, she accepts Jason’s offer to help her win over her mystery guy in exchange for agreeing to break some rules along the way. Despite Jason’s irritating behavior, Julia finds herself both puzzled and challenged by his carpe-diem outlook on life and begins wondering if her own expectations in life are really meant to be.
The Last Best Kiss by Claire LaZebnik – This book was a welcomed breaker of my expectations. As already stated, I do not typically read Young Adult romances unless they come highly recommended (or if they have a captivating cover, like Meant to Be). LaZebnik’s other novel, Epic Fail sparked my interest when I heard it was an enjoyably modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice (my second favorite novel of all time), and maybe my expectations were too high because I was not too satisfied overall (to be honest, I was really into it but the last 1/3 was overly cheesy and clichéd). But still, I was determined to have modern Austen adaptations redeemed, and then I discovered The Last Best Kiss, a retelling of Persuasion (my third favorite novel). I read the book in less than a day and immediately wrote up a 
macarons & paperbacks 