10 Books I Thought I'd Like More/Less Than I Did

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is: Top Ten Books I Thought I'd Like MORE/LESS Than I Did.

Here we go!

Books I liked MORE!

1. Crossed - Ally Condie

I loved Matched so much! It read like a lighter, more romantic version of Louis Lowry's The Giver. I'd read plenty of ho-hum reviews for the sequel, and had put off reading it for quite a while. But even so, I was certain that I'd really, really like it, despite what I'd heard. When I finally dug in and started reading it... I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. I thought it really suffered from the "middle-child syndrome" that lots of trilogies have. Not enough forward action on the plot and the main characters are separated for most of this book. Still, I plan to press on and read the third book, Reached.
2. Out of the Easy - Ruta Sepetys

I like the occasional historical fiction but really prefer sci-fi, or fantasy. I loved this book about independent Josie Moraine growing up in a 1950's New Orleans bordello so much more than I thought I would. What a terrific read!
3. I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had - Tony Danza

I picked up this memoir, excited to hear about 80's sitcom star Tony Danza's foray into teaching. I was expecting, I guess, the typical first year teacher story. What I didn't expect is that Danza was actually teaching in a Philadelphia inner-city school for a "reality" television program. He only had ONE class of high school English to teach. Wait. I'll say that again for anyone who missed it. The man taught ONE class - that's it! So, I was really disappointed. I felt like I was watching Marie Antoinette "play" at being a shepherdess with a flock of perfumed sheep, not reading a real autobiography of the rigors of teaching.
4. Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style - Tim Gunn

I'm a huge Tim Gunn fan. But this book didn't offer anything new or interesting. Disappointed!
5. The Other Normals - Ned Vizzini

I'm always on the look-out for teen fiction with guy appeal, so I figured I'd give this one a whirl. I felt like it was my duty to read something "for the guys." Boy was I surprised when it pulled me in immediately, and I was enchanted! 15 year old Perry finds himself teleported to a magical realm - and his red-skinned, tailed counterpart Mortin Enaw takes his place on Earth.
6. Chime - Franny Billingsly

I love Franny Billingsly. She's an auto-buy author for me. I did like this book a lot, but it took me a lot longer to get into than I thought. If this was the first Franny Billingsly book I'd ever read, I don't know if I would have kept going! Fortunately, I did, and it won me over by the end.
7. Tolstoy and The Purple Chair: My Magical Year of Reading - Nina Sankovitch

I don't regret reading this book, but what I had not realized was that this book is really about Sankovitch's extreme grief for her sister's untimely death from cancer. It was a lot more depressing than I had anticipated. Also, it turns out, the gorgeous purple chair on the cover, only becomes Sankovitch's reading chair after a cat pees on it, and nobody else want to sit on it. Ugh!
8. Legacy - Kayla Cluver

I didn't know much about this series except that I kind of liked the cover. Wow! Loved this story about a princess in a magical kingdom and the Romeo and Juliet aspects of her romance so much!
9. The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant - Dan Savage

I figured I'd like this book, as Dan Savage, of Savage Love advice column fame, and founder of the "It Gets Better Project" is always funny and irreverent. As a hopeful adoptive mom, it actually soothed a lot of my worries, and put me in a very upbeat state of mind. So, I thought I'd like this book, but I didn't think I'd love it as much as I did. It totally warrants a re-read, and I don't re-read books very often!
10. Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor

Well, I'd heard all the wonderful reviews. The breathless excitement over this wonderful new fantasy. And I figured there was no way that this book could live up to all the hype. But incredibly, it did! I had been bracing myself for disappointment, but this book surpassed my every hope and honestly is one of the best books that I've read in years. Hurrah!

Books I liked LESS!