Saw this interesting meme from Lost in Books' blog - 3 Books I Should Love, But Actually Hate.
I actually can't think of something that fits... I don't really hate books (I may get frustrated with them :) so maybe I'd do 3 Books I Should Love, But Couldn't Finish.
1 - To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I don't know why, I tried reading it twice (once in high school and once in college I think??) and both time I just couldn't finish it... perhaps I just need to read it when I feel like it? I remember it was a bit slow and I probably didn't read enough to get to the main part of the story. I haven't watched the movie either.
2. The Shack by William Young
I kept reading how wonderful this book is, that people will buy copies and give to friends... I think I read a few chapters then had to stop because the way the protagonist "talked" just annoyed me for some reasons. The reason I stopped reading had nothing to do with the religious aspect of the book (I didn't even get to that part of the book yet.)
3. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
I LOVE the movies, I really do - they are visually stunning and the story isn't bad! I bought the book after watching the first movie, thinking I can't wait to find out what happened in the rest of the story (what do you mean we have to wait for a year to watch part 2.. then part 3???) Eh. I think I only managed the first few paragraphs... then patiently waited for the rest of the movies instead.How about you, any books that you should love but don't?
I just remember something - I catch the bus home from work every day. It's only about a 10-15 minutes ride but I still use the time to read. A couple of weeks ago, for the first time, I was so engrossed in reading that I completely missed my bus stop! Usually I would look up every so often to see where I was... but this time I totally forgot as I was lost in the story! By the time I looked up, the houses looked unfamiliar (I'd only taken the bus past my stop once to go to the final stop, and I was busy reading that time too knowing the final stop will be a while away yet so didn't pay attention to the "scenery"...) I quickly got out of the bus (good thing that it was still light out!) thinking I would retrace the route somehow... luckily the bus from the same route was coming the other way so I jumped on that. Turned out I was only like 3 stops away.
So what book was I reading? The Hunger Games!
Posts
Me too with The Shack. I can't believe it has been a best seller for so long!
ReplyDeleteTo Kill a Mockingbird is a book I loved as a child, but I'm not sure how I would feel about it now.
ReplyDeleteEveryone LOVED The Time Traveler's Wife and I HATED it. I finished it but I hated it. I even hated the film.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE LOTR....the movies yes but the book soooooo much! :) I haven't read The Shack and the first one is in my TBR :) There are so many books like that, everyone tells you you should love them but you somehow don't...
ReplyDeleteFunny about your Hunger Games story - in New York, Editors and Agents talk about this phenomenon all the time - "a book that made me miss my subway stop" is very, very high praise (maybe the highest).
ReplyDeleteI love LOTR and To kill a mockingbird! Haha! Your post had me in splits! You are so right, there are some books that people are just expected to love but some don't. It excites me when that happens. I like knowing why a book didn't work out for someone!
ReplyDeleteI tried LOTR when I was about ten years old and just about died. All of that Hobbit stuff! So boring! But then I re-attempted in high school and finished them all. Tolkien's writing isn't the most exciting, but the world he builds is so complete and real. He's the father of modern fantasy and I think that's enough reason to get through LOTR.
ReplyDeleteNot that you *have* to, of course! But if you feel like giving it another try someday, I'd recommend just skipping the "On Hobbits" section. :)
@rhapsodyinbooks - Good to know I am not the only one who felt that way about the Shack! There just seemed to be sooo many good reviews that I felt I must have missed something.
ReplyDelete@Serena - interesting what you said about To Kill A Mockingbird - why do you think you'll feel differently now as an adult?
@Juju - ha! While I don't hate Time Traveler's Wife, I find that it's just okay (both movie and the book, and I prefer the movie a bit better).
@Vaishnavi - I think I am intimidated by the whole new LOTR language... just like Shakespeare which I don't really get either. Would love to see what you think of To Kill A Mockingbird!
@Carin - that's funny I have never heard of this "phenomenon" as a praise, but I guess it makes sense!
@Aths - yes I found it very interesting why people love or hate a certain book - definitely makes the discussion more interesting!
@nisababepraised - I tried reading the Hobbit graphic novel when I was in high school... I couldn't even get interested in that! Thanks for the advice, if I try it again, I'll skip that part :)