Top 5 Wednesday: Books that Took You the Longest to Finish

It’s Wednesday and time for another T5W post. Top 5 Wednesday is a book meme that can be found on Goodreads. Today’s post is all about the books that took me the longest to finish. Most of the time if I start a book and am not in the mood to continue with it I will set it aside and take it off my currently reading shelf on Goodreads. But there have been a few instances where I left the book on my shelf for months/years and then finally finished it. So here are the top 5 books that took me so long to finish.

This one is the one that probably took me the longest to complete. I actually did end up removing it from my currently reading shelf, but I must have started it in late 2016 or early 2017. I did not finish it until November 15, 2018. As much as it pains me to say this because I love Lauren Graham, I did not really enjoy this book. My favorite parts were the Gilmore Girls parts, the Parenthood chapter, and the chapter on writing.

This one took me just over a year to complete. I read the first three stories in December 2018 but did not read the last story until December 2019. When I picked up the book again in 2019 I reread two of the three stories I had previously read so I could properly review the book. Melissa de la Cruz wrote a Gift of the Magi retelling so I remembered that one well enough to not need to reread it. Even though it took me a year to finish this book, I thought that it was a solid 4 star anthology and would definitely recommend it if you are looking for lighthearted contemporary Christmas stories.

I started this book in January 2020 and did not finish it until August 2020. I had read about a quarter of the book in January before I set it aside. I always intended to pick it up again because I loved these authors’ previous book Last Christmas in Paris. It was difficult for me to physically read this book, but I finally listened to the audiobook and I loved it.

I am not really a huge fan of fantasy books so it is rare that I start a fantasy series. I really liked The Winner’s Curse so when the sequel was released I quickly picked it up. But it took me months to finish it. I started this book in January 2016 and finished it in May 2016. That may not be long to some, but it is to me and might have played a part in the lower rating I gave it. I still have to read the final book in the trilogy, so hopefully I’ll enjoy it more when I reread it.

Yes, I know this book just came out. But it has been a struggle to read this book. I’m not sure if it’s because it is the same story as Twilight or if it’s because Edward is so verbose in his thoughts, but I have not made it to the halfway point yet. Every time I think about reading the book I don’t because I just am not in the mood for it. I started it on it’s release day and while I hope to finish it by the end of the year there is a good possibility that I will not.

What are some books that you took the longest reading? Until next time!

~Anneliese