Top Ten Tuesdays: Books I Almost Put Down (But Didn't)

I've been on a blogging break lately, but now I'm back for another link-up.  This week's topic for Top Ten Tuesday at The Broke and the Bookish is "Top 10 Books I Almost Put Down (But Didn't)".  This is a bit of a mixed bag list.  It's rare that I don't finish a book, especially fiction. Some of the books are ones that I ended up enjoying, while others I basically just pushed through to say I'd finished them.

1.  The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov:  I actually quite like this book, but it's really, really strange.  There are talking cats and trips back in time to Pontius Pilate.  The first time I read it, I just couldn't deal with the wackiness, and the second time, I had to force myself to get into the story, but I'm glad I did.

2.  2666 by Robert Bolaño:  This book has several different stories, and I was a bit hazy how they all connected.  To be honest, I think I finished this book because I'd paid for it and it was really long, but I didn't like it at all.

3.  Vanity Fair by William Thackeray:  I got into this at first, but to be honest, I didn't really like any of the characters.  By the middle, I was really tired of Becky Sharp's manipulation and Amelia's lack of personality, but I had to finish to see just how things would end up.

4.  From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming:  I read this thinking that it would be a fun spy novel, but actually, it was kind of boring.  James Bond doesn't even make an appearance into nearly halfway through the book, and the misogyny was enough to make my head spin.  I think I only finished because I'd blogged about how it was on my spring list. :)

5.  The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien:  I know, right?  I actually DID put this down.  It was my third time starting the series when I actually managed to complete it.  Don't get me wrong:  The books are fantastic, but very long, and all the poems and songs did me in.  (True confession:  I skipped through all the songs.)

6.  The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman:  I just read this last month for my book club, and enjoyed it, but I nearly set it down partway through.  I don't want to give any spoilers, but the book centres around a major deception, and I have trouble reading about that kind of thing.  I'm glad I did finish it though.

7.  The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro:  I've mentioned this before, but I didn't like The Unconsoled at all.  There is no plot.  I kept reading just to see if it would finally come together and make sense.  Nope.

8.  Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella:  I read this during my breaks when I worked at a large book store, and at first I just couldn't understand how Becky could be such a moron.  I kept at it and ended up enjoying the book a lot, though it's not generally my style.