What’s an unpopular opinion you have about books?
What’s an unpopular opinion you have about books?
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Most modern fiction is unreadable, and I don’t make it past the first page.
You don’t have to like everything an author publishes just because the masses say you should.
@Julie I totally agree. I read The Wife Between Us because a lot of people said it was good. I didn’t like it. Too confusing and kind of blah.
The constant pushing of how superior paper books are to other formats and how someone just “couldn’t deal” with switching formats and whether or not various formats count as reading are all ableist and inconsiderate.
Reading can be as pointless and as big a waste of time as video games and TV
@Jorden I often say I should set a reading limit, not a reading goal so that I get other stuff done.
This. I waste SO much time reading. I have to limit myself to get things done and be in tune with my family. I could waste a whole day with my head in a book and never pay attention to anything going on around me. ?
Yep, it’s not any different. You’re still looking at and paying attention to something that isn’t a real person, you don’t get any exercise annnd you don’t get anything else done, lol
I’m a knowledge addict so I LOVE my nonfiction, BUT I have to put stoppers in place…right know I’m only concentrating on vintage bicycles, Lord Byron, and Theodore Roosevelt.
Genuinely good books in the romance genre are few and far between.
@Amanda completely agree
One shouldn’t write or mark bits of text in books ? it hurts to see..
Romance novels are all the same and they are almost all annoying. Also The Book Thief isn’t that good.
@Emily I got the book thief last Christmas and was pretty disappointed upon reading.. I’ll stick with the film..
@Shannon I haven’t seen the film yet. It may be good. To be honest I haven’t actually finished the book either, but I’ve tried to start it about five or six times and I just couldn’t keep going each time. I don’t even think I ever got to page 50 any of the times
@Emily I loved the film that’s why I asked for the book! But I’m with you lol, I never even made it to page 30 ?
love the movie more than the book! But I also really like the book
Getting hyped up over books based on ratings. I don’t care if it’s a best-seller or how much people talk about it, i go into all books with zero expectations
EJ James can’t write for shit.
EL James even.
Do you mean E L James? If so I totally agree!
Yeah… Forgive me, I’m tired.
It’s too heavy. ? lmao jk
Romance novels are ao repetitive & boring. Romance should be a subplot unless the plot is actually original. Authors like James Patterson, J.K Rowling, Jayn Carr, Stephan King, & the likes should probably stop cranking out books like it’s a damn factory. If I see one more new Patterson book at my job (I work at a book store) I’m gonna freak. Enough is enough. ?
@Nokomis for real and the only reason I have any respect for Stephanie Meyers is because she didn’t make anymore twilight thank god!
Assault and trauma shouldnt be used for cheap scares
It’s ok to use the jacket of the book to use as a bookmark
Monster ??????
@Alice lol as long as I’m carful about it it won’t rip lol
Lol this is true! I can never do that because I am so damn clumsy I’d be worried about dropping my bloody book and tearing it
YA is not as good as adult. Never once, have I read one that I didn’t think could have been better.
I don’t mind Stephen King’s awful endings.
Except Under the Dome.
@Colleen I love him – under the down though ?♀️
This makes me feel better for never making it to the end of Under the Dome ?
I’d like to know what happened, but not enough to finish it lol
Great Gatsby is totally overrated
@Cherisa I call it The Mediocre Gatsby.
A Little Life is a terrible book that could have been half okay if it was a third of the length or less
The Twilight series was HORRIBLE
@Jennifer even so, it certainly redirected the course of YA magical realism / fantasy.
To kill a mockingbird was extremely boring until about 2/3 through when it got a little bit interesting. And is overall extremely overrated.
@Carolynn I agree, and prefer the movie version to the book.
That once someone has dog eared a book I’ve leant them I can’t even have it in my house anymore so I give it away and replace the book with a new one. And hence don’t lend out my books anymore.
The Book Thief movie was way better than the book…
Nowadays the amount of books going to kindle and not available in paperback or hardback. I don’t like reading books off a screen. I like a proper book in my hand.
@Layla How I love to touch a word and get the definition
The expense of books
Also I don’t really like the smell of books. Sometimes they smell like feet. ??♀️?
I think The Fault in Our Stars is a terrible book. I feel like John Green wanted for me to have all the feels for Hazel-Grace and Gus but I thought they were the cringiest couple ever and a couple I would never root for in a different book.
I automatically dislike anything labeled romance
Especially with a cheesy cover lol
That makes two of us.
I have that with crime/mystery series.
Some detective lives somewhere, where something happens, and the build up is the same, and the ending is the same, and I die a little for having wasted time reading it.
Ooohhh troubled past/drinking/lost someone waah.
@Rasmus Ann Rule wouldn’t have liked that
Hehehehe true. Did’nt she write true crime?
@Rasmus she sure did
Bonus point for knowing something about a genre I dislike.
“The kingkiller chronicles” by Rothfuss is “meh”.
Ready Player One was an awesome read.
But in the end, it felt like Cline was just showing off his big pop-knowledge-penis.
I judge the books by name or cover sometimes and rarely do I read the summary unless I’m buying one
Ready Player One sucks. The movie if great though.
I felt the book was written in hopes of being a movie.
When buying used books, I focus on the girth
I didn’t like Anne Frank’s Diary. ACOTAR is boring. Jodi Picout, Colleen Hoover, and Jo Jo Moyes are over rated(I’m not sure if I spelled any of their names right.) I can’t stand most contemporary lit.
@Lara i agree with everything excepting some of Jodi Picoult- some of her stuff is just like…more of the same blah, blah but I do appreciate that there are families she’s helped process grief or better understand others positions while dealing w/some of the very real struggles she addresses.
Book reading and book collecting are two distinct activities and have very little overlap
yeah I’ve read 29 books give me a prize
Some people collect just for “show”
I’m always puzzled by people that are really invested in a books condition or edition when it’s a mass market book. I mean maybe if you’re collecting rare books or antique books, but a boxed set of Harry potter in a special 2018 binding?
@Mara I agree. I collect antique books, but hardly read them. I consume most books via audiobook. Very little overlap in the two collections (though not for lack of trying).
There are so many books that are deemed “classics” that are just… Uninteresting and overrated.
this!!
@Ollie marketing maybe?
@Ollie I can only assume that there MUST be some historical/societal something I’m not aware of because this is too true! I own and have re-read several thinking I’ll get it someday but that’s only happened once with Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar”
Or that take forever to make their point.
No interest in Harry Potter… GASP
Shannon Hayes Beasley same
Same here
DOG EARING IS NEVER OKAY
Fifty Shades.
Not erotica…
Not at all what the BDSM scene is all about *achem, or so I’be heard from a friend…or two*
Reminds of an emotionally abusive relationship I was in…but mostly just NOT sensual compared to other great works even from previous decades. And how come the author doesn’t know any synonyms for “gasp”- buy a thesaurus already!
PREACH
Oh, and battle scenes that last more than three pages…those are always better in movies than books imo?
I thought the ending of the Hunger Games where Katniss is on drugs/sleeping for days while it all gets sorted out was lazy writing.
@Nancy it didn’t say to reveal any spoilers
Only got like 100 pages into Ready Player One. They all seemed to be on background info. Lying to myself that I’ll pick it back up again.
Nicholas Sparks is not a good writer. But he is persistent.
i for one am thankful for Nicholas Sparks’ books, because they make this meme possible:
Audiobooks are terrible and the Shadowhunter books are boring and badly written
@Mikayla I love audio books
i love audiobooks too
People can organize their bookshelves however the hell they want!!!
Some people need to stop over exaggerating every time they see books from the same series and they are either mix with paperback and hardback or they have the movie cover.
Just because you liked the book doesn’t mean I have to like it.
@Sanly hence the “unpopular opinion” requested…why so hostile?
Anne Rice’s interview with a vampire is fairly boring
@Tesla of all her books it’s the most tedious read but makes the most sense for a movie…they butchered Queen of the Damned as well…all that glorious, ancient history/origins story they never even made mention of ??
@Ariel I haven’t even attempted to read any of her other books since I could barely get past the 1st page to even read it. That says a lot about me (well when I was younger anyway) because I read all the time and read almost anything I could get my hands on
@Tesla yeah, I can certainly identify w/that but for me, it depends on mood. Sometimes i want a fast paced story that moves and other times just lyrical and beautiful prose gets me going but if yea don’t want four pages describing a Venetian opera hall I can’t blame you?
XD
Nicholas Sparks is sucky.
Margaret Atwood is a pretentious wind bag
Harry Potter is a great movie but I could barely get through the first book.
Too Kill A Mockingbird doesn’t get interesting until the very end.
The Inferno is literally hell to read. I’m on my fifth attempt because I just want to conquer it.
The Scarlet Letter is drag, good plot line but a drag.
I think that’s it
“Most” of the fiction is junk
The Alchemist was a pleasant enough read, I enjoyed it, but it didn’t change my life.
The Elena Ferrante books are SO BORING.
Currently, that I hated Bird Box, the book and movie. ? ?
Paper books are not as harmful to the environment as e-book readers often claim.
That sounds like electric cars – full of rare minerals but “better for the environment” than petrol or diesel vehicles
Yuval Noah Harari is not as good as people make him to be. He is repetitive, assumes a lot of stuff, and has nothing new to offer
Lord of the Rings intensifies the very boredom that I wanna get rid of by reading books.
I hate to say it but I actually agree when it comes to the books. The movies are so much better. I mean description is nice, but this is one case where too much of a good thing really is too much of a good thing.
if only someone could’ve talked him into getting a frickin’ editor!
Snape’s relationship with Lily was disgusting and abusive, not romantic, and I hate the stupid “always” quote. Jane Austen is incredibly boring (although I respect the power/influence she has a woman writer). Actually in general, I find most classics/older novels to be boring. I probably have more, but that’s off the top of my head.
You gotta cut trees down to make em
When I hear people say that SJM or Cassandra Clare books are the best I always think they should widen their horizon and read out of YA.
@Kistal what do you recommend? I must admit I do love me some SJM but not at all CC. Always looking for the next good author that will change my life ?
I’m 21 and love S JM and CC but I read other ya books.
Sara Yeshoua I too love SJM and CC, but I don’t think they are the best. In fact, I think they are entirely hyped up.
Not really sure what your age has to do with it though ?
@Kistal I think their books are entirely beautifully written. Its not the hype of the characters I think or the amount of followers they have. It might seem like that yes, but the writing is very beautiful.
Kylie Szeremeta Well it depends. After reading YA getting into other genres will be difficult because of the slowness. Lol
But I recommend The Song of Achilles, The Foxhole Court, Station Eleven, The First Fifteen Years of Harry August, The Butterfly Garden, If they were Villians and Captive Prince.
@Sara Lol. I’m not disagreeing with you. I love their books. That’s not the issue. The issue is that I think their books are far from the best.
@Sara Also, I def rec reading completely outside of YA.
@Kistal fantastic, thanks! I’ve only recently gotten into YA but I’m pretty well versed in different genres so the pace should be fine; it’s just nice to get good recommendations for amazing books that I should look into ?
Not mine but
Albert Einstein Quotes. Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.
Do you agree with this tho?
After reading this quote I sometimes feel it’s true.
I’m not very enthused by the Cassandra Clare books. Maybe if I read them when they first came out, but I didn’t so they’re meh. I also really disliked Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. It was very poorly written and had zero plot. I really don’t know how it received so many awards as the sentences were all simple. I think my friend who recommended me it mostly only liked it because Lin Manuel Miranda did the audio version.
Literary fiction often doesn’t have to have a plot. The focus is on character study. Do you read literary fiction often? Most, if not all are quite like that. I recommend the next time you read another Lit Fic to change your expectations going in, it might be more enjoyable that way.
@Kistal What about all the simple sentences? I don’t want to read something that sounds like, “I wanted to swim. Dante taught me to swim.” I probably won’t read any more literary fiction if none have a plot. There’s no point and I won’t enjoy it if the story doesn’t go anywhere. I’ll stick to the sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery genres I enjoy.
I don’t like when people judge me for not liking or reading a certain genre/book and tell me that being a bookworm I should like all books. Everyone has there personal choice and it should be respected and not liking a book is fine.
I feel the same way. My mom and my husband are fantasy readers but I read more memoirs and history. Neither is bad just different.. they feel the same way.
That they are better than movies and TV.
That you can never have enough of them
@Becki not unpopular with me ❤️?
A lot (not all obviously) but a lot of classic novels are really good and really easy reads. When I was in high school I made a goal to read more classics and I always thought it be super hard and long to get through and I liked so many of them! And read so many quickly. Jane Eyre (planning a tattoo), Gatsby (I have a tattoo), Dorian gray. It’s funny ?
I love horror books but hate Steven King
I have no desire to read Sarah Maas
Not sure if this is an “unpopular opinion” but I’m sick and tired of every YA dystopian series getting compared to The Hunger Games. Dystopian is a genre that is not exclusive to The Hunger Games
I was conflicted when a reviewer called my book, “The Hunger Games meets The Walking Dead,” since it had nothing to do with either. But, it could be a good blurb for marketing.
@Janae I feel the same way about every psychological thriller written by a woman being compared to Gone Girl.
@Joe oh no! I just wish reviewers would stop comparing books to other books of the same genre. Each book is it’s own story
@January it’s frustrating, especially when these books get made into movies and get bad reviews for being like such and such a series, when the only similarity is the genre
@Janae
I wrote this to explain what actually DID influence the book, but few people saw it.
https://jgiambrone.wordpress.com/2014/11/30/influences/
(not sure if this classifies, but. . .) Romance and Romantic Drama as the answer to Plot. Because a lot of books recently have tried this, using the romantic subplot to try and make the plot move forward but it leaves it feeling forced and cringe-y. Plus it usually takes away from the ACTUAL plot. AND it makes the MC feel like she/he is a slave to their hormones, like they can’t be an adult and ignore what they’re feeling in favour of more important things, like the world ending. That and Love Triangles, they have no point and are silly.
Currently in my life I’m more into ya than adult I’m 40