Whats to love? Water for Elephants

[kahlanne]

I noticed many great book suggestions to the person that recently read The Help. One suggestion was Water for Elephants. I too loved The Help but hated WfE. So many people loved it that I am beginning to think I missed something. What did I miss?

 

Anyone else have a book that everyone seems to love but you just don't get it? Not something that is out of your normal reading style. One that should be a perfect fit instead being a perfect flop. does it ever make you question yourself?

 

Angelas Ashes was another flop for me but others loved it. I didn't like it being assigned to my young daughter in school so maybe that tinted it for me.

Edited December 1, 2011 by kahlanne

[Heather in Neverland]

Yep. The Outlander series. I WANTED to love it... I really did. But I didn't.

[K-FL]

I feel that way about a lot of Christian fiction. Every one gets saved & marries the right person in the romances & the suspenseful ones aren't.

[Debbi in Texas]

I am no help on Water for Elephants- haven't read it yet.

But I just can't like Watership Down.

[LostSurprise]

Yep, generally disliked (but didn't hate) Water for Elephants. Makes for awkward conversations with people who know I love to read and then suddenly they have something to talk to me about. I try to let them down easy. ;)

 

The Red Tent~it was fine, but felt weird about how Gospel-truth everyone thought it was historically.

The Great Gatsby~rReally, this is the Great American Novel? Yikes.

Wuthering Heights~didn't like anyone, even the narrator

[rwjx2khsmj]

I have yet to make it through Pilgrim's Progress. Maybe my fourth time will be the charm.

 

I also felt very blah about The Help.

 

I've discovered that what I enjoy in a novel changes over time. I've loved a story once and reread it to discover it wasn't the beacon of glory that I had remembered.

[golfcartmama]

I loved the Help and Water for Elephants, but I TRIED, SO HARD to like the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I just don't. I read 150 pages in and hated. every. minute. of. it.

 

I just think everybody likes different things, kwim?

[Word Nerd]

I hated The Red Tent. I thought The Shack was just OK and not particularly well written--not the life-changing experience others talked about. I tried twice to read Anna Karenina but just can't get into it. I gave up on The Ragamuffin Gospel and still don't get what's so great about it, though I usually don't admit that. :leaving:

[Crissy]

 

I just think everybody likes different things, kwim?

 

I agree with this.

I tend to love particular characters. Because of this I may find a book (because of its characters) to be a favorite when many folks hated it (because of plot elements, etc.).

[Crissy]

chanel shoulder bags white

 

http://www.bestchanelhandbag.net/

 

 

We are homeschool moms. Got anything in denim?

 

 

(reported)

[justamouse]

Yep. The Outlander series. I WANTED to love it... I really did. But I didn't.

:iagree:

 

Couldn't get past the first few pages. But I still have them all, just in case... (if I hack out all the adverbs I may be able to get somewhere).

 

I love Water For Elephants, but I think I read it at the perfect time. I was tired of everything, everything i read sounded the same and when I picked that up it was a cold drink on a hot day. Just great storytelling.

 

The Red Tent I was meh about. Other books I should have never have read- The Witch of Cologne, and The Historian. I mourn the wasted time reading those.

[LoveBaby]

We are homeschool moms. Got anything in denim?

 

 

(reported)

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

 

 

I loved Anna Karenina, but it took a bit for me to fall in love with it. It was sheer determination to finish it that kept me going the first half of the book and then all of a sudden I was hooked!

 

I couldn't finish The Shack or The Red Tent. Just odd...

 

I've never read Moby Dick, and it isn't because I haven't tried. The "third times a charm" didn't work for this book, nor has the 4th or 5th...I don't think I'll bother trying it again.

[Truscifi]

Dickens. All of it. He just goes on and on and on...

[rhrice3]

Yea,

I loved The Help, and I was so excited about Water For Elephants because my daughter and I wanted to see the movie. I completed the book, but I thought that it was soooooo below average. I cannot believe that someone saw a good movie in it, but I am eagerly hoping that it was since it is up on our Netflix queue!

 

Also, a dear friend recommended the Outlander series, and she really thought that they were awesome. I was so excited since there are several which i though would keep my occupied for a month or more - UGH! I could not get through the first 3 chapters. It was such drivel! I was SOOOOOO disappointed.

 

One thing that I have learned is not to waste time on books that are sub-par. If they can't impress me by the first 1/4 book or 75pp, I close it and move on.

 

ReneeR

[Vida Winter]

I was "meh" on Elephants and disliked many of the others mentioned on this thread. But I loved The Help. You might like The Thirteenth Tale, Gone With the Wind, Unbroken, Memoirs of a Geisha, the latest Stephen King: 11-22-63, or anything by Pat Conroy.:)

 

p.s. another good one is Cutting for Stone. Slow beginning, but once it gets going....

[PinkInTheBlue]

Dickens. All of it. He just goes on and on and on...

 

:iagree: I keep making myself go back to Great Expectations while saying, "I'm going to finish it now" and I don't. On and on; dark and dreary; and I don't care. I wish I did but I don't. :(

 

One thing that I have learned is not to waste time on books that are sub-par. If they can't impress me by the first 1/4 book or 75pp, I close it and move on.

 

Do you agree with this same thought on "classics"? Do you judge classics and contemporary books by the same requirement?

 

I'm asking this for myself because I've been thinking about this the last couple of days. Do I require the same things from classics as recent books? Why or why not? What's the variation and is that fair?

 

Just curious :)

[Nakia]

To Kill a Mockingbird (I know, I know, but I just couldn't stand it.)

Lovely Bones

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

Anything by Nicholas Sparks (other than The Notebook) or Jodi Piccoult

Little Bee

The Time Traveler's Wife

The Beekeepper's Apprentice

 

 

Yep. The Outlander series. I WANTED to love it... I really did. But I didn't.

 

:svengo:The Outlander books are my favorite books ever, lol. I adore them!!! We can still be friends though. :D

[FairyMom]

The Time Traveler's Wife. Ugh. Did not like it at all.

[Dolphin]

I was "meh" on Elephants and disliked many of the others mentioned on this thread. But I loved The Help. You might like The Thirteenth Tale, Gone With the Wind, Unbroken, Memoirs of a Geisha, the latest Stephen King: 11-22-63, or anything by Pat Conroy.:)

 

p.s. another good one is Cutting for Stone. Slow beginning, but once it gets going....

 

Totally just tastes, and even similar tastes don't mean they are the same. For instance I Loved Water for Elephants, The Help, Gone With the Wind, and Memoirs of a Geisha.

Also, adored Cutting for Stone, one of the best books I have read in years. What I liked about these books is that they take a time and place I will never have lived in, and gives you a fictional look at it based on true history. I look at them as snapshots of places in different times.

 

I haven't read the Thirteenth Take or Unbroken, and in General I don't like Pat Conray or Stephen King. You and I have similar taste in books, but not exact.

 

I just picked this post as we has a lot of similarities. Now I wouldn't say that other books are blah, or bad, they are just not appealing to me. I hated Moby Dick, with a passion. I actually threw the book across the room in disgust. However, I understand that it is well written, and many people find it intellectually stimulating. I am just not one of those people.

 

For me the pull for Water for Elephants was two fold. I am very interested in our agin population. Some of the stories they have are amazing. I fear we are losing many of them.

 

The second is that these train circuses really did exist. There was a lot of scandal around them, but also a lot of family connections. That Ringling brothers really capitalized on the family aspect was interesting, especially if you go to the ringling site today and look at the bios on the acts that they have.

 

Thats my 2 cents

Nicole

[Audrey]

Yep. The Outlander series. I WANTED to love it... I really did. But I didn't.

 

 

Outlander was a flop for me, too. I thought it had a terrible plot line and characters beyond useless.

 

Also, The Time Traveller's Wife was awful for the same reasons. Interestingly enough, I did quite enjoy Her Fearful Symmetry by the same author.

[Linda (Australia)]

Well, I'll mention this quickly, and then take a flying leap to duck the rotten tomatoes......

 

 

Lord of the Rings.

 

 

I really do like the story, and I know it's brilliant, but I just cannot get through it! I did actually get through the first book (of three), but I just can't bring myself to read all those pages that describle the forest, the scenery, etc.

 

However, I have read similar books - including the Inheritence Cycle.

 

I also read Wind in the Willows for the first time ever this year - I LOVED it! I guess different people just like different things - and that's the just way it is.

[Linda (Australia)]

I feel that way about a lot of Christian fiction. Every one gets saved & marries the right person in the romances & the suspenseful ones aren't.

 

Amen! Don't they just drive you crazy sometimes?

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I didn't care for The Red Tent. I also don't care for Jane Eyre or pretty much anything by Jane Austen, unless it's a BBC drama version starring my boyfriend, Colin Firth.

 

I did enjoy Water for Elephants, though. I think part of it was that it was different from much of what I'd been reading, and that it didn't depict the story in absolutes of morality. It kind of left the reader to be the judge of the behaviors and outcome.

[Heather in Neverland]

Outlander was a flop for me, too. I thought it had a terrible plot line and characters beyond useless.

 

Also, The Time Traveller's Wife was awful for the same reasons. Interestingly enough, I did quite enjoy Her Fearful Symmetry by the same author.

 

The Time Traveller's Wife REALLY weirded me out. Really. I felt , I don't know, unsettled, I guess. Definitely not my cuppa. I felt the same way about Her Fearful Symmetry but in a good way. Weird, but good.

[Heather in Neverland]

To Kill a Mockingbird (I know, I know, but I just couldn't stand it.)

Lovely Bones

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

Anything by Nicholas Sparks (other than The Notebook) or Jodi Piccoult

Little Bee

The Time Traveler's Wife

The Beekeepper's Apprentice

 

 

:svengo:The Outlander books are my favorite books ever, lol. I adore them!!! We can still be friends though. :D

 

:lol: well I also don't like most of the books on your list so you're still my home-girl. :tongue_smilie:

[Guest]

Most of the books mentioned here I wasn't a fan of:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Water for Elephants

The Red Tent

The Time Traveler's Wife

 

I did absolutely love The Help, though.

[KRG]

I don't care for anything by Hemingway.

 

The Water for Elephants storyline does not interest me so I have not read it or seen the movie. I was wondering if I was missing something since almost everyone has praised both of them.

[Moxie]

Yep. The Outlander series. I WANTED to love it... I really did. But I didn't.

 

Yeah, I know so many women who think Jamie is sooo wonderful. I couldn't get past the spanking/beating. Not so wonderful, IMHO.

[J-rap]

Peace Like a River.

[freerange]

We are homeschool moms. Got anything in denim?

 

 

(reported)

:lol::lol:priceless!

 

I just couldn't get into Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith. usually I love the way he writes, but I coudn't care less about the characters in this book.

[Margaret in GA]

I loved the Help and Water for Elephants, but I TRIED, SO HARD to like the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I just don't. I read 150 pages in and hated. every. minute. of. it.

 

I just think everybody likes different things, kwim?

 

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo did actually get better, FWIW. I had a really hard time getting into that one. Glad I stuck it out, though. Because I hate mysteries/crime novels and this one I enjoyed because of its setting. It was really different.

 

I loved WfE. I thought it was pretty decent writing and the story line, while not the most original, was engaging. Haven't read The Help yet. Suppose I should.

 

And to not like Hemingway! Oy! I love Hemingway. I'll admit I cannot finish Faulkner's Sound and Fury. I cannot stand his style.

 

Margaret

[MrsBasil]

Well, I'll mention this quickly, and then take a flying leap to duck the rotten tomatoes......

 

 

Lord of the Rings.

 

 

I really do like the story, and I know it's brilliant, but I just cannot get through it! I did actually get through the first book (of three), but I just can't bring myself to read all those pages that describle the forest, the scenery, etc.

 

 

 

I liked it, but I ended up having to skim some of the descriptions and such. It's just like, "I'm immersed already! Uh, how about some plot?"

 

Mine was the Thursday Next series. I loved the idea, thought the plots were fun, but actually reading it was a huge chore.

[anneofalamo]

I listened to Water for Elephants and the narrator was so wonderful, thinking back, I don't think I would have read it.

Red tent, ugh, The Shack-really? just plain yuck to me, and the dragon tattoo series, the books looked so way cool, I wanted to read them...I felt very dumb, kept losing the plot and the names, couldn't push it through.

But we love Jodi Picoult's, my son and I read at same time, one book hidden from the other...and have the best discussions about the issue of the book.

but I have to admit

I read the first Harry Potter and was like meh? barely finished.

but the book that grabbed me

The Hunger Games

so enjoyed the twists and turns

 

and I agree with the Christian fiction(I am a born again bible thumper) but the bad girls in the book are the ones I relate too, and they are treated like lepers? Glad the Christians around me weren't like the peeps in these books. lol hate romance inspired evangelism... but that is a whole nother topic!

[Lady Florida.]

I liked The Help. I didn't hear any of the controversy surrounding it until long after I read it. I haven't read Water for Elephants yet, but I've heard a lot of criticism about it. I hope I can start it with an open mind.

 

I forced myself to read Outlander because a dear friend loves it and really wanted me to read it. I hated it.

 

The Notebook

The Time Traveler's Wife

Anything by Jodi Picoult

Lord of the Rings

Anything by Hemmingway

 

I actually liked The Red Tent and the Dragon Tattoo series.

Edited December 2, 2011 by floridamom

[Rose in BC]

Yep. The Outlander series. I WANTED to love it... I really did. But I didn't.

 

I'm with you on this one. I know so many people who loved it. It wasn't for me.

[Negin]

Like you, I LOVED The Help and hated WFE as well as Angela's Ashes. Didn't finish either.

I also couldn't finish The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

I HATED Bridges Over Madison County.

 

Yep. The Outlander series. I WANTED to love it... I really did. But I didn't.

Me too.

 

Anything by Nicholas Sparks (other than The Notebook)

I agree.

 

Peace Like a River.

This also. Couldn't finish it.

[Lisbeth]

I think Hemingway is overrated. To me it's an "emporer has no clothes" thing.

I love Japanese fiction and Nordic crime novels.

[TracyR]

Love Water for Elephants . I think I enjoyed it because it was someone that was telling their story. Like someone mentioned here,. The events were really taken from true stories that happened during the traveling train circuses. So like another poster, there are just to many stories out there that are being lost due to our aging population. I thought the story was very well put together.

The movie was good but I do admit I wished they focused a little more on a few characters that were focused on in the book.

 

I really enjoyed The Help .

[Jenny in GA]

I noticed many great book suggestions to the person that recently read The Help. One suggestion was Water for Elephants. I too loved The Help but hated WfE. So many people loved it that I am beginning to think I missed something. What did I miss?

 

Anyone else have a book that everyone seems to love but you just don't get it? Not something that is out of your normal reading style. One that should be a perfect fit instead being a perfect flop. does it ever make you question yourself?

 

 

 

That's funny that you mention it, because I was the one who started that thread, and I was disappointed to see Water for Elephants mentioned several times. I didn't hate that book, but I definitely considered it forgettable.

 

I also did NOT like The Red Tent, although I'd really been looking forward to it. I did not finish it.

 

I hated Outlander, which I was so excited to get because of the amazingly rave reviews here and on Amazon. I don't understand why anyone would like anything about that book, frankly. And I can't for the life of me figure out why people said they are "in love with Jamie." Even before his beat his wife, I didn't feel he was anything special.

 

I couldn't finish The Shack, and when someone here told me the ending, I was glad I didn't.

 

I couldn't into the Potato Peel book just because I don't like the device of a book being made only out of letters. It was difficult to me. I tried twice to read it, but gave up after the first several pages, and then figured I should just let it go. Not for me.

 

I've never read anything by Nicolas Sparks, but I hated the movie, um ... Message in a Bottle? And A Walk to Remember was pretty stupid too, although I enjoyed it some in a "I'm watching something stupid, whatever," kind of way. So I doubt I would like his books.

 

There are probably others, but I can't think of them right now.

 

I just started reading The Thirteenth Tale after the other thread.

[ThisIsTheDay]

I noticed many great book suggestions to the person that recently read The Help. One suggestion was Water for Elephants. I too loved The Help but hated WfE. So many people loved it that I am beginning to think I missed something. What did I miss?

 

Anyone else have a book that everyone seems to love but you just don't get it? Not something that is out of your normal reading style. One that should be a perfect fit instead being a perfect flop. does it ever make you question yourself?

 

Angelas Ashes was another flop for me but others loved it. I didn't like it being assigned to my young daughter in school so maybe that tinted it for me.

 

 

I'm wholly resistant to anything that would potentially be in Oprah's Book Club. I finally broke and read both Water for Elephants and The Help a few months ago.

 

Water for Elephants was okay. Nothing great, no likable character. It fell somewhere in the middle of what I've read this year.

 

I liked The Help more than I expected. I did not like the very last page; I wanted a happy ending, and to me, that wasn't it.

[Zebra]

"The Shack" UGH!

"The Time Travelers Wife" UGH!

Another one I thought of was "The Life of Pi" blech! I read this one for a book club, and it was one of the worst books I have ever read.

 

I really like Jane Austen movies, but my goal last summer was to read 4 of her books and I couldn't do it! "Sense and Sensibility" was okay, "Pride and Prejudice" was meh and I simply could not finish "Emma" or even start "Persuasion". I was so embarrassed :lol:!!! The book is still sitting on my bookshelf with the bookmark in it....!

 

Also, I cannot figure out what the big hoopla is over Malcolm Gladwell. The one book I tried to read bored me to death!

 

And don't get me started on the "Lord of the Rings".

 

It's such a nice feeling when you read a book you really love, and it's so disappointing when you read one that does not work for you.

[daughterofsarah77]

Too strange, I have been wondering exactly the same thing, and was even going to re-read it to figure out what it was I must have missed! It was one of those I finished reading, and wondered WHAT exactly the point of it was..what was that about?

[prairiegirl]

I am in the minority with the Potato Peel Pie book (that title is so stinkin' long I can never remember the proper title.) Everyone was always raving about that book but I could not get into it at all. I thought it might be because there was such a hoopla about it that I had such high expectations for it, expectations that were not met. Due to this reason, I have not read "Water for Elephants" and 'The Help.' Nor do I have any desire to read them.