Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week they will post a new top ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a great way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Most Intimidating Books

1. Watership Down by Richard Adams - Have you seen the size of this book? I mean, seriously. It's daunting. However, it's also amazing, so pretty much you need to read it.

2. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - Everyone and their mother loves this book. I'm not even kidding about that. It took me almost two years to even try it because I was certain I'd be the only one who didn't love it. Fun fact...it was great.

3. Dark Song by Gail Giles - This is one of those issue books that I love so very much, but it is dark, people. Trust me. I mean, this is a no-holds-barred take on an abusive relationship and details rape, violence and so much more...but it's well done.

4. The Once and Future King by T.H. White - We had to read this in junior high, and now that I'm successfully out of school (for many years), I can admit I didn't read it. I BSd the shit out of that subject. I want to read it, guys, but it's a classic...and it's massive.

5. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson - I love issue books. I've said it time and again. That said though, books that involve eating disorders and could be triggering for me. This one is exceptional, but it took me forever to actually read it.

6. The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan - Have you ever read a book that's so good that it actually surpasses your ability to read it? This is that book. I kid you not. It's beautiful, it's so artistic and it's poetic, and I don't think I'm good enough to read it.

7. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott - I grew up reading books that were probably too old for me. I read Little Women when I was six. That said, I've never made it past that book because I'm sure that Little Men and her other works just won't live up to that perfection.

8. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - I can't bring myself to read this book. I've wanted to read it forever. It's on my shelf, guys, but I just can't. I've seen the film, and it's a classic. What if I hate it?!

9. Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes - I've had an ARC of this forever. I opened it, I read the cast of characters from the different kingdoms, and I closed the book again. Perhaps I wasn't in the right mindframe to remember all these players, but I'm worried I'll dislike a book I should love.

10. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - This book is so. freaking. big. Like 816 pages big. But more than that, I loved the movie. What if I become one of those people that loves movies but hates books?! It's a legitimate fear, guys. 

Let's Talk is a new weekly feature here at i swim for oceans. I think it's important that we all have our say, and there's something to be said for raising our voices. Simply put, here on the little old blog, I like to host some of my very own discussion posts because, well, I like to converse with you all.

And so, Let's Talk will feature questions or prompts, which I will answer, too. Love it or hate it, weigh in or don't, it's my hope that Let's Talk will at least get you thinking...and maybe even get you discussing with the rest of us!

What books have intimidated you in the past & what (if anything) made you read them or deterred you from trying?

This is a multi-part question, and I meant it to be that way because I think all of these things go hand-in-hand with one another. There are so many books out there on the shelves these days, it's an impossibility to even consider trying to read them all. So, instead, we find what works for us and what doesn't, and we develop our own relationship with reading and reviewing books. In most cases, this works beautifully. In some cases, however, I know that my preconceived notions have deterred me from reading incredible books.

Take, for example, Raw Blue. From day one of my blog, I made it pretty darn clear to all my followers that contemporary fiction was not my thing. I was firmly under the impression that all contemps were trite, cliche and riddled with stupid romance that is neither realistic, nor in any way beneficial to me as a reader. So, I adamantly stuck to my guns for over a year, and swore off contemps like the plague. Guys, it's not that I hadn't seen absolutely glowing reviews for this book because, trust me, I did. However, I was so stuck in this rut of bad representations of a really strong genre that I couldn't see past it. 

It actually took an invitation to a blog tour of this Australian gem for me to actually give it a go. I trusted the blogger who invited me, and I knew that she wouldn't have misled me about the quality of the novel. And, for the record, I was probably the most pleasantly surprised that I've ever been. This book is up there with my favourites of all time. It's meaingful, it's powerful and Kirsty Eagar is a true genius. This one should be on ALL of your lists. Please trust me on this one.

I'm ashamed that I still have prejudices towards the genre to this day though. Would you believe I still haven't read Anna & the French Kiss? I read the second installment and found it cute and fun, but I'm too terrified to be the only person that doesn't like the book to actually give it a go. I know I should read it, but I've yet to find a reason to actually force myself. Would you believe I was late to the game with Harry Potter, and I didn't even read the first book until three books were out? I was convinced that it was a children's novel only, and that it was beneath me. My sister convinced me to at least try it, and I humbly ate my words. That series is genius. GENIUS, I say!

But, for the most part, if bloggers and reviewers I trust make a strong enough case for me to try a novel, I'm willing to give it a go. I think that, more often than not, it's my own internal literary prejudices that, sadly, deter me from reading some great books. It's a disease. I'm working on it. Le sigh.