Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Hyped Books I've Never Read

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This Week's Topic:

Top Ten Hyped Books I've Never Read

I've read a lot of hyped books. 'Paper Towns'. 'The Fault in Our Stars'. 'The Hunger Games'. Some of the books I read were just because of their hype. I wanted to know why everyone thought the book was so amazing. I needed to form my own opinion on the book. 

That doesn't mean I've read all of the hyped books. I don't always think I need to read the book.

Frodo Baggins knew the Ringwraiths were searching for him - and the Ring of Power he bore that would enable Sauron to destroy all that was good in Middle-earth. Now it was up to Frodo and his faithful servant Sam to carry the Ring to where it could be detroyed - in the very center of Sauron's dark kingdom.

Why?

This story has lots of backstory. Things you need to know before you go through chapter one. 

I did attempt to read it, though. I saw the prologue (the backstory.) And skimmed through it. The first chapter made absolutely no sense to me as a result. I was missing things. Who is this person? What does he or she do?

The movie actually gave me more insight than the story did. I like the movie. It's awesome and filled with action. I enjoy watching the movie time and time again. The story is something else. I don't think I can ever understand this story. It's too complex.

What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours?

17-year-old Lucinda falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy, Daniel, at her new school, the grim, foreboding Sword & Cross . . . only to find out that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have spent lifetimes finding and losing one another as good & evil forces plot to keep them apart. 

Get ready to fall . . .

Why?

I don't want to read this story because of the angel premise. I'm so sick and tired of angel stories. Even the Cassandra Clare novels are angel stories. I want something more unique. 

There is this one review. It is amazingly funny. It definitely smacks this story on the cheek and yells at it. Amazing. The link is below. One of the best reviews I've ever read.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/232929677?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that? 

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license - for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.

But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. 

The choice Tally makes changes her world forever...

Why?

I've heard so much about this story. Some people love it. Some hate it. 

I don't want to read it because the premise annoys me. You can be turned into someone who is 'pretty' and 'attractive'. I feel like this is sending the wrong message out. You're not pretty. You have to be adjusted to look pretty. You're not naturally pretty. I want stories to be more positive. A character who thinks she or he isn't pretty but finds a way to accept him or herself. Stuff like that. Acceptance is important. It boosts self-esteem. Especially self-acceptance.

Is falling in love the beginning . . . or the end?

In Ethan Wate's hometown there lies the darkest of secrets . . .

There is a girl. Slowly, she pulled the hood from her head . . . Green eyes, black hair. Lena Duchannes.

There is a curse. On the Sixteenth Moon, the Sixteenth Year, the Book will take what it's been promised. And no one can stop it.

In the end, there is a grave.

Lena and Ethan become bound together by a deep, powerful love. But Lena is cursed and on her sixteenth birthday, her fate will be decided. Ethan never even saw it coming.

Why?

On a plane ride, I watched this movie. And wasn't stunned. The movie was just okay. And movies give the audience the general feel of a book. The general feel of this movie didn't intrigue me.

The premise doesn't seem that interesting. Magic users. Cool, dude. Curses. Awesome. It doesn't seem like much. I just don't feel like this story was that intriguing. Magic and darkness and all. It seems like it's being repeated across all boards.

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

Why?

I can't get over the fact that this is narrated by Death. As much as I do want to read it...I don't want to. I am not a fan of historical fiction. I like science fiction and dystopian and fantasy. 

I also don't want to be sad, and I know that this story will make me sad. With the death and destruction all about. I don't want the sadness that comes with this story.

Mia Thermopolis is pretty sure there's nothing worse than being a five-foor-nine, flat-chested freshman, who also happens to be flunking Algebra.

Is she ever in for a surprise.

First Mom announces that she's dating Mia's Algebra teacher. Then Dad has to go and reveal that he is the crown prince of Genovia. And guess who still doesn't have a date for the Cultural Diversity Dance?

Why?

I have seen the movie featuring Anna Hathaway. And I loved it. Especially the second movie. So cute! It was funny and cute. 

But I don't want to read this. I don't like princess stories like this. The movie is good enough for me. I feel like the story will let me down somehow. I'm not sure how, but it will.

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow. 

Why?

This story  is focused on a love triangle. And that's too much. I really do have a vendetta against love triangles. They don't have purpose in any story. It annoys me. 

And this story's premise is entirely about love triangles. Cassie likes Ky. Cassie likes Xander. 

My opinion? Make up your mind. Also, be thankful. You're lucky to have two guys so madly in love with you.

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

Why?

I also watched this as a movie. And it didn't interest me. At all.

Aliens. Not giving up. Love triangles. I don't feel this story. There's just so much going on. I once wanted to read it but not anymore. The premise just doesn't interest me. 

I know people have different opinions on this. Not everyone loves it. There is hype, though, from the movie as well as the Twilight fangirls who were excited for another Stephanie Meyer book.

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring… until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something… unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is. 

Why?

Aliens? Really? Oh gosh. I always think of aliens as Martians with huge eyes and green skin. Not gorgeous humanoids. 

I've heard so many good things about this story. People adore it. I just can't get into another alien story. 'The 5th Wave' is enough for me.

The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope.

Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.

Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda. 

Why?

People are gushing about this story. Absolutely gushing. 

I just can't get over the premise.  The contrast of people who are the same race. The Reds vs Golds. It reminds me of 'Red Queen'. People seem to be into the stories with opposing sides where one oppresses the other.