Friday, March 23, 2018

Top Ten Books I Can't Believe I Read

I saw this prompt at That Artsy Reader Girl a while back, and I figured I would give it a try. Like her, I am interpreting the idea of  "books I can't believe I read" pretty broadly. Some are here because they are so bad I can't believe I managed to read them. Others because I am amazed there was a book on such and such a topic. And maybe  one or two made this list because they amused me. So here they go, in no particular order, with my comments. Links go to my reviews of the books unless otherwise noted.

  1. Ensayo sobre la ceguera (link to WorldCat). Saramago's Essay on Blindness. I read this on Spanish translation, and it was a while back before I was formally doing reviews on this blog. This is a hideously horrible book that reminds you of the worst of humanity. How the hell this guy has won awards left and right with barely legible stuff is beyond me. Only positive out of this is I can say I have read Saramago at least once. 
  2. Arms and the Dudes. This made the list because it was so good. I can't believe how incompetent and stupid the U.S. Government can  be in running international operations and warfare. That these guys managed to set up their arms deals racket with  U.S. Government contracts so easily is baffling yet not surprising. 
  3. ClownFellas. This makes the list because if it were not for NetGalley, I would not have discovered it. It was fun, and it gave me an introduction to the world of bizarro fiction and to a new to me author. I will keep looking for more books in the genre and by that author down the road. 
  4. Good Advice From Bad People. Because even the worst assholes, criminals, swindlers, etc. may have something good to say at least once. Go figure. 
  5. Canned! Yes. There is a book about beer can art, and I read it. 
  6. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I can't believe I got through this somehow given how boring and lackluster it is. This is another one I fail to see the hype. 
  7. The New Naked. I cannot believe that in this day and age, moralistic, judgmental, biased, and pop psych tripe is what passes for some much needed sex education for seniors (or anyone else for that matter). I can't believe I wasted the time reading it, but at least I read it so you do not have to. 
  8. A Curious Man. Ripley's life really was a  lot like his "Believe It or Not!" stories. This was a really cool book, and I do recommend it. 
  9. The Walking Dead Series. I made it as far as Book Nine (of the hardcover compilations. This covers issues 97-108). I can't believe I lasted this long on a series that has  become nothing  more than a paean to bullying survivalist assholes and gun and weapon violence fetishism. Because let  us be honest, this now extended soap opera of seeing who can get more violent has long abandoned the idea it was about zombies in favor of post-apocalyptic tough guy fantasy. I also stopped watching the show ages ago, and I could not care less about neither. 
  10. White Bread. Yes, amazingly enough there is a book about plain white bread, and I did read it too. I guess for me I am always amazed about the topics you can find in books from the most amazing to the most mundane, and they are often very interesting books.
There are a few  more books I could add to this list, but these were the ones I recalled when I looked over my list of books read in the past.  So, what are your top ten books you cannot believe you read? Feel free to comment, or if you write a post, feel free to link to it in comments so I can read it too.


No comments: