It was the best of books, it was the worst of books...

I love to read. And I read a lot. Every night before I can fall asleep I get at least a page in (usually many, many more which is contributing to my ongoing sleep deprivation). I'm not a discriminating reader either. I read mysteries, love stories, humor, young adult fiction, non-fiction biographies, classics; I will read anything that looks remotely interesting and sometimes some books that didn't captivate me at first. I will admit, I am picky about the style of the book. No, not the picture on the cover (although I do find myself aesthetically intrigued by certain covers) but rather the actual size and style of the book, specifically trade paperbacks. My husband thinks I'm a snob because I don't like the mass-market paperback style you find Fabio gracing the cover of. I just hate the way they feel in my hands. I don't like the way the pages feel. I don't like the way the edges of the pages turn yellow. It's just a preference, snobby or not.

Sometimes I find peculiar books at the thrift store that aren't so pretty, I've never heard of before and really don't have THAT great of a story summary printed on the back and they turn out to be great. I love that. It's like finding a pearl in the middle of hundreds of clam shells. That's where I found this little gem:

This is my favorite book of all time by my all time favorite author of all time.

What I don't love is when critics and celebrity talk-show hosts tout some book that has received numerous awards and acclaim and then it sucks. OK, maybe sucks is too harsh. I mean the author wrote this book (I haven't written a book) and some people smarter and more qualified than me have deemed it amazing. But I can't get into it. It not only fails to capture my attention, it diminishes my enjoyment of one of the only times I get to relax during the day. Ultimately, it lets me down in ways I can't quite verbalize.

For Christmas Brandon got me one of those books. He did everything right in picking it out: right style (trade paperback), good reviews, very popular - a book I would've picked out myself. But for some reason I just can't get into The Tiger's Wife. Now, I'm not a quitter. And so I will persevere and hope for the best. I have read countless books that I have closed the final page and thought to myself, "Really?" (see The House of Sand and Fog - thanks ALOT Oprah) I'm hoping this one will turn itself around. However, I will tell you that coming off of reading the The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series (I read 95 pages one night) it has HUGE shoes to fill and I just can't see it redeeming itself.

Does anyone else toil about their reading material like this? Anyone have suggestions for books they just couldn't put down? I'd LOVE to hear them!