Are you ever hesitant to admit you don't like a book?

[jld]

Especially a book that everyone, or at least the smartest people you know, really seem to like?

[cathmom]

Which book are we talking about? ;)

[jld]

Not any one in particular. But sometimes I hear people talking about a book, or read here that so many people like a book, and sometimes it's one I've read, but I just wouldn't feel that comfortable saying I didn't like it, especially if the group talking about it was a group well-versed in literature (okay, way too long of a sentence, lol!).

[Parrothead]

No. Although I don't think I ever came back and told everyone I only got half way through Sense and Sensibility.

 

For the record, that book dragged on and on. I'm proud to say that I prefer mind candy when I read for pleasure.

[cathmom]

No. Although I don't think I ever came back and told everyone I only got half way through Sense and Sensibility.

 

For the record, that book dragged on and on. I'm proud to say that I prefer mind candy when I read for pleasure.

 

I'll agree with you on that one! The only reason I stuck it out was because I was on bed rest with the twins and literally had nothing better to do. I told my dh, "It's page 170 and something finally happened!!" (they moved to the cottage)

 

I don't know - it seems most people have no problem telling me that they didn't like a book I do like. I was proud of one of my friends recently. I had said on Facebook that I was rereading Wuthering Heights to see if I still hated it as I did when I was a teen, and everyone was saying, "Yes, you will!" and then my one friend said that I would like it, and she was right!

[jld]

Lol! I'm only on the 2nd chapter of Sense and Sensibility, and only because dd is pushing me to read it.

 

Cathmom, I loved WH when I was a teen. But after I read the thread on it here a while back, I felt like I was some kind of low class reader (hey, that's probably true, lol!). I am not even sure I should admit I liked it!

[Jean in Newcastle]

I felt that way about "Climbing Parnassus". It gets talked up as such an inspiring book on classical education and I found it pedantic and overly verbose. I felt like I failed "classical educator 101".

[jld]

I felt that way about "Climbing Parnassus". It gets talked up as such an inspiring book on classical education and I found it pedantic and overly verbose. I felt like I failed "classical educator 101".

 

Lol! With a title like that, I'd be intimidated to even pick it up! You even finished it! Brave gal!:)

[Parrothead]

I felt that way about "Climbing Parnassus". It gets talked up as such an inspiring book on classical education and I found it pedantic and overly verbose. I felt like I failed "classical educator 101".

No way you failed that class while using "pedantic" and "verbose" in the same sentence.

 

:lol:I had to look one up. I'm not telling which.

[swimmermom3]

Those, who truly possess literary cool, love and comprehend James Joyce's Ulysses. I have no literary cool. It is the only book in my life I have deliberately mangled by tossing it up at the ceiling while in bed. Lucky for me I inherited a vintage copy that I am doomed by sentiment to keep. I continue to stick my tongue out at it when I pass it on the bookshelf. Someday I will be mature enough to pick it up again...or not. :tongue_smilie:

[Brilliant]

Yes, I hate to admit it, because I think I *should* like certain books.

 

Brothers Karamazov - agh!

Portrait of a Lady - snoozer

Anything by Dickens - could it get more tedious?

[Dolphin]

I am an English Lit major. I am that strange girl that actually read and finished every book assigned to her.

 

 

Except....

 

Moby Dick, I only made it about 2/3 of the way through the book. When I got to the second chapter that was droning on about the whiteness of that ridiculous whale I tossed the book across the room and watched the movie. I do not care that it is a classic, you can not make me read, no how, no way. It was dreadful.

 

I also do not care for Picasso when it comes to art. I like pretty pictures!

[jld]

Anything by Dickens - could it get more tedious?

 

No, it couldn't.:D

[jld]

 

I also do not care for Picasso when it comes to art.

 

You mean I'm not the only one? Thank you, thank you!!!

[RoughCollie]

Especially a book that everyone, or at least the smartest people you know, really seem to like?

 

Nope. I wonder what is wrong with them. :D

 

People have such different tastes in books, that I don't worry about whether most people like the books I dislike. I never finish reading a book I don't like. At most, I will give a book 50 pages to hook me. There are too many good books, and life is too short.

 

Generally speaking, what a person reads doesn't impress me. That they read at all does, which I think is a sad comment on the unimportance of reading in many people's lives.

Edited December 22, 2010 by RoughCollie

[SonshineLearner]

I felt that way about "Climbing Parnassus". It gets talked up as such an inspiring book on classical education and I found it pedantic and overly verbose. I felt like I failed "classical educator 101".

 

I got that for Christmas..... two years ago... and got almost half way through. Wouldn't want to read it too fast and ruin the pleasure of thinking about it... along the way!! :D

[jld]

You are definitely confident, RC!:D

[Aubrey]

Those, who truly possess literary cool, love and comprehend James Joyce's Ulysses. I have no literary cool. It is the only book in my life I have deliberately mangled by tossing it up at the ceiling while in bed. Lucky for me I inherited a vintage copy that I am doomed by sentiment to keep. I continue to stick my tongue out at it when I pass it on the bookshelf. Someday I will be mature enough to pick it up again...or not. :tongue_smilie:

 

Ok, so I bought a copy of this from the college bookstore because a) I misread the booklist for one of my classes & b) my copy has the COOLEST cover.

 

It wasn't even covered in whatever class I was taking, & I tried to read it on my own. :001_huh: Twice since then, I've felt brave enough to pull it back out & give it another go. Earlier this month was the second time. I spent an hour reading the "Introduction to the Revised Copy" in which they spend pages talking about corrections & errors & HOW MUCH CLEARER the book is when written w/ this correction vs that old version, etc.

 

So there's this period, at the end of the book, I think. (Or not a period. I forget.) Anyway, they talk about it for several paragraphs, its meaning, its importance, & JJ coming back & making it bigger so it wouldn't get left out (the printer thought it was a fly speck or something).

 

So I flip over to read that page, to see about the significance of this Really. Important. Period.

 

But in my copy? It got left out.

 

And I'm guessing somebody got FIRED. Can you imagine, after all that, being the guy who left out the period on p87? (Or whatever p it was.) :smilielol5:

 

I'm sorry, but I think I'd have to frame it if it was me. It's too funny not to tell people that you're THAT guy. :D

 

Aubrey, who isn't that guy, but would be, given the opportunity. Oops!

[Heather in Neverland]

I once admitted that I don't like Karen Kingsbury or really very many christian fiction authors in general and I was nervous to admit that. :D

[Mommyfaithe]

Especially a book that everyone, or at least the smartest people you know, really seem to like?

 

No, I am usually outspoken about a book I don't like. I have no problem saying so or why I think it is drivel. Like, I can not STAND Jane Austen...lol...

 

Oh, and I will NEVER torture my kids with The Red Badge of Courage. I don't care how many lists it is on. That book stinks!

 

Faithe

Edited December 22, 2010 by Mommyfaithe

[jld]

Like, I can not STAND Jane Austen...lol...

 

Faithe

 

Now that takes courage to say, Faithe. I salute you, lol! :patriot:

[mirth]

`

[Lady Florida.]

No. I don't care what people think if I like or don't like a particular book. And whether someone else likes it or not isn't high on my list.

 

Now that doesn't mean I won't ask for suggestions from someone I know has similar tastes, or won't pay attention to reviews on a site like amazon. But if I don't like a book that others do...meh.

 

I do however, think I insulted a friend by telling her I didn't like Outlander. She's passionate about the series, and can't understand why anyone wouldn't like it. I otoh, can't understand why anyone would. :lol:

[asta]

I hate Theodore Dreiser.

 

Hate. Hate. Hate.

 

Everything the loon ever wrote. Most of which I've read. And had to write about. Extensively.

 

 

a

[Paisley Hedgehog]

..

[jld]

I dropped out of a book club because all the other ladies wanted to read 'sanitized-for-your-protection' books off some pastor's book list. Yuck. I'd rather read Reader's Digest.

 

LOLOLOL!

[In the Rain]

Not exactly the caliber of the books mentioned above, but I couldn't stand The Shack. I didn't even finish it. I did admit it to people, and got lots of weird looks.

[radiobrain]

I have no problem talking about books I disliked that "most" other people love. I sort of enjoy it, in a perverse way. ;)

 

My librarians are always at a loss to pick a book for me to read when I ask. The one who "got" my general taste retired. The other ones are like "Oh, the new Janet Evonovich book is great!". Ugh.

 

We had a hs book club and every other book was horrible! We would get together and we would all say... did anyone finish that book? The only one I think I liked was East of Eden, which I adored.

 

Do not get me started about "Modern/ Contemporary Art"

[MariannNOVA]

I have no problem talking about books I disliked that "most" other people love. I sort of enjoy it, in a perverse way. ;)

 

My librarians are always at a loss to pick a book for me to read when I ask. The one who "got" my general taste retired. The other ones are like "Oh, the new Janet Evonovich book is great!". Ugh.

 

We had a hs book club and every other book was horrible! We would get together and we would all say... did anyone finish that book? The only one I think I liked was East of Eden, which I adored.

 

Do not get me started about "Modern/ Contemporary Art"

 

Korin: :seeya: I just wanted to say hi!

 

And, I have no trouble telling someone or some group that I did not care for a book.

[Scarlett]

I have no trouble speaking up either to say I don't like a book. I've found the discussion that follows can teach me a thing or two....such as one going on now about The Long Winter...I hated that book (when I read it as an adult to my ds) but others brought out some good points about it.

[SailorMom]

I used to feel that way - not anymore! I can't stand almost all Jane Austen, The Shack, Atlas Shrugged, etc, etc....

I think we all have certain tastes in books (like wine and chocolate), and even "intellectual" books can be bad :tongue_smilie:

[TXMomof4]

Yup. I dropped out of a ladies' book club due to "busyness" really b/c all the books were so depressing. Stuff about suicide, depression, alienation, over and over. Rather than say anything, I figure everyone liked these except for me.

 

I quit book club too because I was the ONLY one who ever disagreed with the general consensus. Just because Oprah approves a book does NOT mean it's a good book. Sometimes, a book will just irk me. I'm not required to love the NYT bestsellers list to be a hip, suburban mom. I ended up feeling like an old stick in the mud and I'm really not. I'm pretty open minded and willing to look at things.

 

The one that comes to mind most readily is Eat, Pray, Love. I thought the whole premise of the book ridiculous and self-centered (I'm sure I'm stepping on toes right now). I expressed myself clearly at book club and that was the last time I went.

[Impish]

I think its a PSA to warn others about bad books :D

[Guest]

I'm not usually afraid to state that I disliked a book. The only book I wouldn't want to say that about here is WTM, lol. (For the record, I LOVE my WTM. ;))

[Carol in Cal.]

Yes!

"The Corrections" by Franzen.

 

I hated that book, just hated it. It was well written, but it had such a dreary premise that I actually found it offensive--this hardly ever happens. It was a best seller for ages, and an Oprah book, although the obnoxious author took that so badly that she rescinded it. The book contained one of the most evocative descriptions of horrendous torture that I have ever read--how I wish that that was not in my brain! And it basically argued that happiness is a zero sum game--that you can only get it at someone else's expense. I repudiate that utterly. But I was embarrassed to admit that I hated it. Once I did, though, I found out that I was not alone.

 

Another one like that was "Women Who Run With The Wolves". I thought I should like that book, but I just didn't. I liked the title, and that was it. Again, once I got up the nerve to admit that I disliked it, I found out that most of the other readers I respect the most disliked it as well.

 

Popularity is not universality.

[kewb]

Nope, not afraid at all. I hated The Red Tent. There, I said it. I wanted to like it. Everyone told me how great it was. Hated it.

 

I have disliked more then half the books my book club has read. I am usually the only one. Don't get me started on that Jodi Picoult. My friends love her books and I find them depressing.

[jld]

Yes!

The book contained one of the most evocative descriptions of horrendous torture that I have ever read--how I wish that that was not in my brain!

 

 

I know. That's how I feel about The Handmaid's Tale -- and I only watched the movie. And I'm afraid that's the direction America's going in, and I'm even more scared!

[angela in ohio]

No, but I try to be careful that I'm not just being a snob. :D I see so many people trash well-liked books or ideas without good reason just to sound intelligent (in their mind.) I don't want to be that person. :glare:

 

There's very little literature I don't like in some way. It all offers something to me. For example, Dickens and Austin can be read as windows into the issues of the time period, even if the plot lines are tired at times.

 

My dislike tends toward non-fiction works, popular Christian titles, and current bestsellers. :D

 

FWIW, I didn't like Climbing Parnassus. Not because I didn't understand it (which is what you're supposed to fear everyone will think if you admit that :D,) but because I didn't like the tone. It grated on me and made it hard to take out ideas. To be fair, I keep it on the shelf and refer to a point here or there every once in a while. I also don't love Liping Ma's book, which is so popular, mostly because of sweeping statements about U.S. education. I happen to have been taught all of the strategies discussed positively in my little Midwestern small town school in the eighties. I just don't think it's that black and white.

[UnsinkableKristen]

Yes! I absolutely loathe Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I know it's a metaphor for God's love for us and I know is based on the Bible, but I still hate it. I told some ladies in a book club that, and you would have thought I told them their firstborn children were the ugliest kids I'd ever seen.

[jld]

Yes! I absolutely loathe Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I know it's a metaphor for God's love for us and I know is based on the Bible, but I still hate it. I told some ladies in a book club that, and you would have thought I told them their firstborn children were the ugliest kids I'd ever seen.

 

:lol:

[Mom-ninja.]

Especially a book that everyone, or at least the smartest people you know, really seem to like?

 

No. Everyone has different tastes.

[TXMary2]

No- I have no problem saying I don't like it. I just dumped Water for Elephants - couldn't make it through the first chapter. I wasn't about to continue and waste my time after doing that last week with The Shack.

[angela in ohio]

Yes! I absolutely loathe Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I know it's a metaphor for God's love for us and I know is based on the Bible, but I still hate it. I told some ladies in a book club that, and you would have thought I told them their firstborn children were the ugliest kids I'd ever seen.

 

This was a lady's Bible study book choice for my old church. Aargh!! If I wanted to read a romance novel, I'd just cop to it and read one, instead of pretending like this is better because it's supposedly Godly.

[WarriorMama]

Nope. :D

 

I'm utterly shameless, both about hating books you're 'supposed' to appreciate and liking ones that you're supposed to turn your nose up at. I'll tell anyone. :lol:

 

I ESPECIALLY like telling well-read people who have a strongly opposite opinion, because usually they'll want to debate you about it, and I loves me a good argument. :lol:

 

I like to think most truly educated people will respect you on the basis of having your own mind and the willingness to use it to express your own opinion. If someone's going to think less of me because I didn't like their favourite book...well, that's not someone whose opinion I care much about.

 

Just my two cents.

[mcconnellboys]

Nah, I don't care. There are plenty of "classics" that I hate - and some I can't even manage to finish.... I also like a lot of really boring books that no one else would ever read, LOL....

[jld]

.... I also like a lot of really boring books that no one else would ever read, LOL....

 

Care to share?

[OregonNative]

Emphatically No! And I wouldn't hesitate to tell them why. :tongue_smilie:

[KrissiK]

Sometimes I feel like some sort of hick because I hate Jane Austin and Earnest Hemmingway. I don't feel bad at all when I don't like trendy books (like The Shack and others of that ilk) because I kind of pride myself for not following the trends.

[LibraryLover]

LOL No.

 

But I also don't get into going on and on about it. A lot of folks do that, and it can be annoying. I tried to read Eat Love Pray a long time ago, before it was famous, because it was about food and travel. I didn't enjoy it and I didn't finish it, which is rare for me. It didn't seem genuine. I didn't think much of it not liking it, I just didn't.

 

It became famous, and seemingly decent folks would go on these tirades about how much they hated it, or, that they- would- never -read- it -because -Oprah- recommended- it -and -they- don't- read -something- just -because -everyone- else -is. The drama is sort of fun to watch. :)

Edited December 22, 2010 by LibraryLover

[simka2]

I grew up in an artsy lit circle. You know the type :D. Anyway, at one get together the discussion was raveing about DH Lawerance. So I read, Lady Chatterely's Lover..and hated it!!!!