S/O: Books you Loved

[bluelikejazz]

What are some books you loved that lots of people seemed to hate?

Mine:

Prep

Eat, Pray, Love

[ThirdandLong]

Apparently, Jane Austen. I really enjoy her writings. She definitely goes on my favorite authors list.

[amyb2332]

Well I kind of liked Breaking Dawn! Haha (don't judge me) I guess more accurately I should say, I didn't really find BD to be any worse than the other books in the series.

Otherwise, more recently I enjoyed The Paris Wife but I've seen quite a few people say they didn't like it. It wasn't a favorite of mine or anything but I did like it.

[lemondrop]

According to that thread, Water for Elephants was one. I loved that book!

[mimosas]

I loved The Host by Stephanie Meyer. Like... LOVED it. lol

[imoan]

May 16, 2012 10:49:33 GMT -5 lemondrop said:

According to that thread, Water for Elephants was one. I loved that book!

Me too! I have a hard time understanding why so many people disliked that book. I thought it was fantastic.

[angnshaun]

May 16, 2012 10:49:37 GMT -5 mimosas said:

I loved The Host by Stephanie Meyer. Like... LOVED it. lol

Me too...

I dont think people hate them... but its definitely been mixed reviews... kind of like Outlander & Millenium... you either love it or hate it...

War Horse - Michael Morpurgo
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer

[amyb2332]

May 16, 2012 10:50:31 GMT -5 imoan said:

May 16, 2012 10:49:33 GMT -5 lemondrop said:

According to that thread, Water for Elephants was one. I loved that book!

Me too! I have a hard time understanding why so many people disliked that book. I thought it was fantastic.

I really loved this one too!

I also really liked The Thirteenth Tale. I feel like that is another one people seem to dislike.

[imoan]

May 16, 2012 10:55:29 GMT -5 amyb2332 said:

May 16, 2012 10:50:31 GMT -5 imoan said:

Me too! I have a hard time understanding why so many people disliked that book. I thought it was fantastic.

I really loved this one too!

I also really liked The Thirteenth Tale. I feel like that is another one people seem to dislike.

I'm also a big fan of The Thirteenth Tale.

[chicacocodrilo]

Monsters of Templeton--everyone I know who's read it seems to hate it!

[PinkSquirrel]

I loved Water for Elephants. I never realized there were so many people that didn't feel the same way

[msmerymac]

William Faulkner is one of my favorite authors. Just thought I'd throw it out since imoan hated The Sound and the Fury. ;-)

Also, Catch-22 is one of my favorites.

[charlatti]

Ditto on Jane Austen. I loved The Monsters of Templeton too -- nice to see that mentioned!

I loved The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake and The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, and everyone seems to hate those two.

[imoan]

May 16, 2012 13:22:20 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

William Faulkner is one of my favorite authors. Just thought I'd throw it out since imoan hated The Sound and the Fury. ;-)

Also, Catch-22 is one of my favorites.

UGH! I just remember being in high school and wanting to blow my brains out. And it's not because it was assignment reading. I was in AP English classes and was always totally happy to do the reading. But for some reason, that book made me stabby. We'll see how it goes this time around!

[harmony11]

May 16, 2012 10:49:37 GMT -5 mimosas said:

I loved The Host by Stephanie Meyer. Like... LOVED it. lol

I really enjoyed this one too. I had to really push myself to get through the first few chapters, but once I did, I really enjoyed it. I convinced a couple of friends to do the same and they had the same thoughts.

I like Fifty too. The writing is terrible, but the books were fun.

[bookwormjen]

I thought Mockingjay was a perfect end to the Hunger Games triology AND thought the end of the book was really fitting. That opinion does not seem to be shared by many, though.

[imoan]

May 17, 2012 13:34:22 GMT -5 bookwormjen said:

I thought Mockingjay was a perfect end to the Hunger Games triology AND thought the end of the book was really fitting. That opinion does not seem to be shared by many, though.

I agree with you.

First of all, I refuse to look at a series as it's individual books. I look at the series as a whole. I have a hard time saying "I loved Hunger Games and Catching Fire, but Mockinjay sucked". I loved the series in total.

Secondly, I agree about Mockinjay. I think it ended the way it needed to end.

I also have a problem with people saying they didn't like a book because it didn't end the way they wanted it to. This is the author's journey you're on. Want it to end a different way... write your own damned book!

[angnshaun]

May 17, 2012 13:44:47 GMT -5 c7 said:

May 16, 2012 10:54:54 GMT -5 angnshaun said:

Me too...

I dont think people hate them... but its definitely been mixed reviews... kind of like Outlander & Millenium... you either love it or hate it...

War Horse - Michael Morpurgo
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer

Who didn't like War Horse?

People from a different board.

[charlatti]

May 17, 2012 13:42:58 GMT -5 imoan said:

I also have a problem with people saying they didn't like a book because it didn't end the way they wanted it to. This is the author's journey you're on. Want it to end a different way... write your own damned book!

Eh, I think readers should be allowed to criticize. Once an author releases a book, she has to understand that it doesn't belong to her anymore -- readers make it their own.

[duckduck]

I loved The Secret History, like LOVED LOVED LOVED it, and everyone else in my IRL book club hated it.

I also am fond of The Host and Breaking Dawn.

It's so freeing to say that I like and don't like books without fear of personal attack. Not everyone is going to like the same stuff, and that is fine by me.

[dorothyinAus]

May 17, 2012 13:48:38 GMT -5 charlatti said:

May 17, 2012 13:42:58 GMT -5 imoan said:

I also have a problem with people saying they didn't like a book because it didn't end the way they wanted it to. This is the author's journey you're on. Want it to end a different way... write your own damned book!

Eh, I think readers should be allowed to criticize. Once an author releases a book, she has to understand that it doesn't belong to her anymore -- readers make it their own.

I agree with this. I argue with DH all the time that if you put a work of art (whether it's a painting/sculpture, book, poem, or song) out to the public, you as the creator lose all rights to how it is interpreted by the public. Even if you as the artist intended the piece a certain way, by offering it to the public, you open it to other interpretations, translations, and understandings.

That said, liking or disliking are all matters of opinion. Any appreciation of art is.