Top Ten Books I Will NOT Be Reading In 2013

It is a Tuesday and I am refusing to do the actual top ten Tuesday with the Broke and the Bookish. 

Crazy, I know. I apparently did it on January 1 too, but didn’t realize it because I thought it was a freebie week.

This week I am not doing it because well, I don’t get the topic.  As much as I am a bookworm, I am not on the up and up when it comes to upcoming authors and such, so I wouldn’t even know where to begin when it comes to writing about the debuts I am looking forward to in 2013.

Thus, I am opting to concoct my own top ten list.  And it will be a closed minded one.  It comes at the suggestion of my dear Patrick.  This list is the top ten books I will NOT be reading in 2013.

I am an eclectic reader, but everyone has a line to draw somewhere, even if it is more one of convenience than as a rule.

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James.  I have considered reading this just to see what they hype is about.  However, I have also heard over and over again that it isn’t really that well written and that it isn’t even that accurate (not that it really matters).  Plus, it is so mainstream, I don’t see the point.  And honestly, I have no interest in reading about someone else’s sex life.
2. Any and all Harlequin Romance novels.  My mom loves these.  I mock them.  Openly.  But seriously, I don’t want to read about other people’s sex lives with some poorly developed plot in between.  I know some people love them, I am just not okay with it, at all.
3. Louder Than Words by Jenny McCarthy.  I can’t do it.  As much I am very in favour of learning about the other side of an argument, I can’t do it.  Every time someone quotes her or I see her on TV, I want to kick her in the teeth because she used her name to write a completely scientifically unfounded book about her experience (just one person) and had thus impacted thousands.  Yes, to thinking, but also to making decisions that aren’t founded in fact.
4. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I saw the movie.  I feel no need to read the book.  The food looked good, the travel looked cool, but honestly it wasn’t something I need to read.
5. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.  I attempted this book twice.  Once I got through the first two chapters, the next time I got about halfway in.  The peace chunks aren’t bad.  The war is dreadful to me.  I am not ready to try again.  One day, maybe.  This year, unlikely.
6. The Shining by Stephen King.  I am a big chicken.  As much as I want to branch out and maybe read something a bit more scary or mystery like, I can’t go as far as to read one of the scariest novels of all times.  I may do his 11/22/63, though.
7. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.  I have hard so much awfulness about this book that despite the superficially intriguing title, I intend to continue to avoid it.
8. Books focused entirely on politics.  I may want to try reading on some different topics, but I avoid politics.  Especially foolish petty political debates and such.  Thus, no books about political campaigns and such.    A well-written biography about a politician who made legitimate change may be an exception (but the, it probably isn’t entirely about politics).
9. Books based on TV series.  If the television series came first, I don’t want to read the book.  Yes, books are generally better than their acted counterparts.  Sometimes, though, if you are just taking an idea from a previous production, it really isn’t necessary.
10. Non-fiction how-to books about things like weddings, homemaking, motorized vehicles or exercise.  Big blanket statement there.  But seriously, I do not want to learn more about these things.  At least not that I can’t glean from doing a bit of internet research.

What are some books that you want to avoid in the coming year?