Top Ten Tuesdays are a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
As always this list is in no particular order.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
June 5:
Books I Decided to DNF (did not finish) too Quickly (are you questioning your DNF choices on any books? If you have a policy to not DNF, put a spin on the topic to make it fit you.)
My Twist:
Books I Decided to DNF Because I Lost Interest
I received e-arcs of all these books from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Reflections on Life and Other Bad Ideas
by Jenny Allen
“One of the funniest writers in America.”
That’s what The New Yorker’s Andy Borowitz calls Jenny Allen—and with good reason. In her debut essay collection, the longtime humorist and performer declares no subject too sacred, no boundary impassable.
With her eagle eye for the absurd and hilarious, Allen reports from the potholes midway through life’s journey. One moment she’s flirting shamelessly—and unsuccessfully—with a younger man at a wedding; the next she’s stumbling upon X-rated images on her daughter’s computer. She ponders the connection between her ex-husband’s questions about the location of their silverware, and the divorce that came a year later. While undergoing chemotherapy, she experiments with being a “wig person.” And she considers those perplexing questions that we never pause to ask: Why do people say “It is what it is”? What’s the point of fat-free half-and-half ? And haven’t we heard enough about memes?
Jenny Allen’s musings range fluidly from the personal to the philosophical. She writes with the familiarity of someone telling a dinner party anecdote, forgoing decorum for candor and comedy. To read Would Everybody Please Stop? is to experience life with imaginative and incisive humor.
DNF Review – I read about the first 30-ish pages. It wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t funny like I thought it was supposed to be. It got very deep into her personal life and struggles quickly, and I just don’t know anything about her, it was hard to want to continue. I then got distracted by other books and don’t really feel like finishing – I’m pretty picky with nonfiction and members that I finish, usually I have to really already know about the person/topic. I requested this when I was on a celebrity memoirs binge which I’m now over.
It does have really great ratings from other people, its just not for me.
The Election of 2016
by P. J. O’Rourke
This election cycle was so absurd that celebrated political satirist, journalist, and die-hard Republican P. J. O’Rourke endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. As P.J. put it, “America is experiencing the most severe outbreak of mass psychosis since the Salem witch trials of 1692. So why not put Hillary on the dunking stool?”
In How the Hell Did This Happen?, P.J. brings his critical eye and inimitable voice to some seriously risky business. Starting in June 2015, he asks, “Who are these jacklegs, high-binders, wire-pullers, mountebanks, swellheads, buncombe spigots, four-flushers and animated spittoons offering themselves as worthy of America’s highest office?” and surveys the full cast of presidential candidates including everyone you’ve already forgotten and everyone you wish you could forget.
P.J. offers a brief history of how our insane process for picking who will run for president evolved, from the very first nominating convention (thanks, Anti-Masonic Party) through the reforms of the Progressive era (because there’s nothing that can’t be worsened by reform) to the present. He takes us through the debates and key primaries and analyzes everything from the campaign platforms (or lack thereof) to presidential style (“Trump’s appearance—indeed, Trump’s existence—is a little guy’s idea of living large. A private plane! A swell joint in Florida! Gold-plated toilet handles!”). And he rises from the depths of despair to come up with a better way to choose a president. Following his come-to-Satan moment with Hillary and the Beginning of End Times in November, P.J. reckons with a new age: “America is experiencing a change in the nature of leadership. We’re getting rid of our leaders. And we’re starting at the top.”
DNF Review – I requested this back after the election because I was p*ssed off. I still am, I dislike this entire administration. The reason I lost interest in this isn’t that my opinions changed, but that reading about politics just tends to make me angry and confused at this point and that honestly, I don’t want to read the stuff I have to read for Gov/Econ let alone extra stuff, not the books fault, just a change in personal preference/interest in reading.
A True Story of Weird Politics, Money, Madness, and Finger Food
by Trey Radel
Primary Colors meets This Town: a brutally honest, outrageous, funny, and irreverent memoir by a former GOP congressman.
In 2013, when Washington D.C. law enforcement learned that Trey Radel, then a Republican congressman from Florida, had bought cocaine, he quickly became the target of a police sting. In October of that year, Radel was arrested for attempting to buy cocaine from an undercover cop, and subsequently became the subject of intense media coverage and scrutiny. When Radel resigned in 2014, he left with insider knowledge that remains unknown to most American citizens.
Democrazy is Radel’s candid account of the making of a modern political star and the inner workings of Congress. In his memoir, Radel recounts his early days as a TV news reporter and radio show host before running for Congress in 2012, a decision that would launch the new, infamous chapter of his life. Radel entered the political sphere with the same ideological fervor of most first-time politicians–he loved America and wanted to serve his country and its people. But Radel’s optimism waned as he witnessed the wheelings and dealings of Congress’s most powerful members. Told with humor and irreverence, Radel’s memoir is an entertaining, fascinating journey of an unlikely politician.
DNF Review – Similar to How the Hell Did This Happen?, I requested this back after the election because I was p*ssed off. I still am, I dislike this entire administration. The reason I lost interest in this isn’t that my opinions changed, but that reading about politics just tends to make me angry and confused at this point and that honestly, I don’t want to read the stuff I have to read for Gov/Econ let alone extra stuff, not the books fault, just a change in personal preference/interest in reading. I know this book is more humorous than serious like the other one, but the basic reasoning still applies.
by Jamie Le Fay
Morgan is a dreamer, change maker and art lover. She is a feisty, slightly preachy, romantic feminist full of contradictions and insecurities. Morgan uncovers a world where women have the power, and where magic is no longer just a figment of her wild imagination. Sounds like a dream, but it may, in fact, turn into a nightmare.
The world of the Ahe’ey challenges and subverts her views about gender, genes, and nature versus nurture.
The strong and uninvited chemistry between her and the dashing Gabriel makes matters even more complicated. His stunning looks keep short-circuiting her rational mind.
DNF Review – I was part of a blog tour for this book, and I posted Blog Tour: Ahe’ey – Promo – but as part of that I was sent a review widget on Netgalley. It seemed kind of interesting, but I’ve since lost interest. Its pretty long, and sounds a little preachy. I know a lot of people love this, and I haven’t really given it a chance, but if I go into it begrudgingly, I’m not going to like it from the get-go so I don’t feel like I’m going to get to this unless someone really convicts me to.
by A.S. Altabtabai
What seventeen-year-old Leland finds in the abandoned basement of his house is something he will never forget.
Leland lost his father when he was seven. Since then, he has successfully adapted to the awful life of being a student, the man of the house, and a father figure to his two younger siblings. All of that changes when he and his best friends stumble upon a secret in his deserted basement, and fall into another dimension with three moons, foggy woods, and an ancient castle-Oremanta.
Learning who he really is, how he came to this remote planet, and the shocking, ugly mystery of Oremanta aren’t as bad as the quest he finds himself obligated to complete-killing someone he never thought he’d meet in Oremanta to save everyone.
DNF Review – I haven’t heard much about this book. I requested it when I was in a big reading slump and basically was requesting anything that seemed vaguely interesting. I didn’t realize it was part of a series, and I don’t want to commit to that. It also seems too short to deal with the multitude of things the synopsis seems to be alluding to and I just generally don’t feel like reading this when I have so many other books I’d rather read.
by Andy Mangels
Wonder Woman and the Bionic Woman, the most beloved female icons of 1970s television, come together for globe-trotting action against their worst enemies! Diana Prince and Jaime Sommers team up to fight a rogue cabal bent on wreaking havoc and stealing deadly weapons. Can CASTRA be stopped before their real targets are revealed and lives are lost? And what three familiar villains threaten the unbeatable combination of bracelets and bionics? Bestselling author Andy Mangels (Star Trek, Star Wars) and artist Judit Tondora (Grimm Fairy Tales) join forces for a celebration of the original Girl Power!
I wanted to read this book SO MUCH. It seemed super interesting even though I don’t know much about Jamie Sommers. It expired on Adobe Digital editions before I could finish though, so I mostly flicked through it. It seemed interesting, but it probably would have needed up a skim read as these sorts of books en up for me. If you like Jamie Sommers and Wonder Woman, you’ll probably love this.
(but neither is anyone else)
by Elan Gale
I am addicted to positivity. I am addicted to positivity. I am addicted to positivity.
I care more about feeling great than being great.
I am NOT THAT GREAT.
The self-help industry tells you that if you’re positive, if you put your best foot forward and if you just believe in yourself that you will find happiness. Let’s be real, you can read all the inspirational quotes you want. You can spend your days giving yourself affirmations in your heart-shaped mirror and trying to learn to love yourself. You can say your mantra over and over again while sitting cross-legged on a yoga mat in a Whole Foods parking lot. But the truth is, you’re not a badass and you still don’t have the life you want. That’s where You’re Not That Great (but neither is anyone else) comes in. This book teaches you how to harness all the negativity in the world and use it to improve your life, taking everyday feelings like self-loathing, regret and shame and making them work for you. Positive thinking is for assholes. Negative thinking is for winners.
DNF Review – I started this, but it felt kind of preachy, it was so aggressively “not” a self help” book that it felt like one. It was aiming for funny and I just didn’t find it that. Maybe as a teenager I just couldn’t relate, but I didn’t feel like finishing this.
by Kurt Luchs
This collection of stories by Kurt Luchs pursues its comedic quarry with the ruthlessness of a pussycat trying to get out of a cardboard box. Luchs, who has written for august literary organs such as The Onion, The New Yorker, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and even been published by some of them, is an inspired comic writer in the tradition of P.J. Wodehouse, S.J. Perelman, and Woody Allen, for whom not only the world but language itself is a source of constant delight. Even the hilarity he generates is not an end in itself; the convulsing diaphragms of his laughing readers are in his hands a remotely operated musical instrument bridging the woodwind and percussion sections.
DNF Review – Similar to some other DNFs, I requested this when I was on memoir kick and quickly realized I didn’t care much for them unless I already adored the author/subject. This honestly wasn’t funny to me and I didn’t feel like continuing.
by Ellis Weiner, Steve Radlauer
If, like most Americans, you think an Ivy League diploma paves the way to Nobel Prizes, Wall Street riches, and a life of prosperity and happiness, think again. Consider these “distinguished” alumni:
John Fairbanks (Dartmouth AB, 1946), embezzlerAmy Bishop (Harvard Ph.D., 1993), mass murdererEliot Spitzer (Princeton BA, 1981; Harvard JD, 1984), disgraced NY governor and patron of prostitutesCardinal Bernard F. Law (Harvard BA, 1952), protector of abusive priestsJeffrey Skilling (Harvard MBA, 1979), felonious Enron CEOMadison Grant (Yale BA, 1887; Columbia LL.B.), eugenicistAnn Coulter (Cornell BA, 1984), professional bullyJonah Lehrer (Columbia BA, 2003), plagiaristTheodore Kaczynski (Harvard BA, 1962), the UnabomberIn 85 brief profiles of murderers, rapists, racists, cheaters, lying politicians, slavers, oligarchs, war criminals, traitors, forgers, kiddie-porners, and other moral reprobates, MONSTERS OF THE IVY LEAGUE effectivel–and entertainingly!–bursts the bubble of America’s obsession with elite colleges.
If, like most Americans, you think an Ivy League diploma paves the way to Nobel Prizes, Wall Street riches, and a life of prosperity and happiness, think again. Consider these “distinguished” alumni:
John Fairbanks (Dartmouth AB, 1946), embezzlerAmy Bishop (Harvard Ph.D., 1993), mass murdererEliot Spitzer (Princeton BA, 1981; Harvard JD, 1984), disgraced NY governor and patron of prostitutesCardinal Bernard F. Law (Harvard BA, 1952), protector of abusive priestsJeffrey Skilling (Harvard MBA, 1979), felonious Enron CEOMadison Grant (Yale BA, 1887; Columbia LL.B.), eugenicistAnn Coulter (Cornell BA, 1984), professional bullyJonah Lehrer (Columbia BA, 2003), plagiaristTheodore Kaczynski (Harvard BA, 1962), the UnabomberIn 85 brief profiles of murderers, rapists, racists, cheaters, lying politicians, slavers, oligarchs, war criminals, traitors, forgers, kiddie-porners, and other moral reprobates, MONSTERS OF THE IVY LEAGUE effectively–and entertainingly!–bursts the bubble of America’s obsession with elite colleges.
(Sort of) DNF Review – This was a DNF because the file expired on Adobe Digital Editions before I could finish. I did think this was super clever as an idea, and the sections were varied and interesting. Especially helpful in mitigating stress during college applications and reminding yourself that where you go isn’t the end all be all of your life. Some parts were a little bogged down in detail or too serious when I felt they should have tried for a little more humor because the entire book seems like its kind of poking fun, but what I read was solid.
by Larissa C. Hardesty
Emmy Duivel believes in true love: heart-stopping kisses, candlelight dinners, and a connection that lasts forever. But not the kind of kisses that land your date in the hospital. Emmy always knew she was different, but not in the supernatural sense. Not in the succubus sense.
Paul Andinn had only one job: watch over Emmy and make sure she doesn’t expose the supernatural world. It should have been easy, but the moment he looked away, she kissed that boy, and everything changed.
He should be more upset. But he can’t. Not when he’s falling hard for her.
DNF Review – I ADORE this cover. I just lost interest in reading this, it seems a little too familiar and I’m kind of sick of paranormal romance fiction at this point, so I don’t think I can approach this fairly; I’d rather read other books I own.
This took SO LONG! To be fair, this was probably too much effort for a TTT, its 10 DNF reviews – though I had to write them anyway.
I’ve said before, that I have a ton of Netgalley book DNF reviews to write not because the books are bad or really deserve a DNF but because I personally lost interest in reading them. This is the fault of the massive request spree I had on Netgalley earlier last year because I got very excited about actually getting approved for things. This is how I’m dealing with it…
RiverMoose-Reads 
Great post! I definitely want to read the ones about Ivy League graduates sometime.
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