I'm a great believer in the idea that life is too short to make yourself read something you're not enjoying or that just doesn't work for you. As a result, every year it seems there are a number of books I just can't finish for one reason or another - for 2010, here's my some of my list:
- 'Galileo's Dream' by Kim Stanley Robinson - loved the historical parts, couldn't bear the science fiction. Got about a third of the way through before I decided I really didn't care enough to continue.
- 'Skin Walker' by Faith Hunter - I suspect a number of the books on this list will be paranormal fantasy, as there seems to be a wide range between amazing and awful, all represented in this genre.
- 'So He Takes the Dog' by Jonathan Buckley - wants to be a novel, fails to engage as a crime story.
- 'Leviathan' by Scott Westerfield - it should have been ideal, being all steampunk alternate history but I just couldn't bring myself to give a damn about either of the main characters.
- 'Tokyo Year Zero' by David Peace - the setting, a detective investigating murder in post-war Tokyo, should have been enough to entrance but instead clever literary devices just prevented me getting fully into the story.
- 'Born of Night' by Sherrilyn Kenyon - more paranormal fantasy shenanigans that apparently everyone loves except me.
- 'Hounding the Moon' by PR Frost - same as previous comment, this time with added MarySue.
- 'The End of Mr Y' by Scarlett Thomas - apparently any time I think the author is all 'look how clever I am, see! see!', that's a pretty good clue I'll be wanting to throw the book across the room in the near future...
So, YMMV on any or all of the above. It may be that one of the books I just couldn't get into was your favourite read all year (and I apparently will never be able to get along with anything China Mieville writes, for no obvious reason) and if so, good for you. Here's hoping for less unfinished books in 2011! :)
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