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Which "bandwagon" book did you read and *liked*?
Percy Jackson and the OlympiansWhy I joined: Because I love urban fantasy and Greek myths. It was a perfect fit.
Why it was fun/not bad: The characters and mythology were fascinating. I really loved Riordan's take on them and how he integrated them into the modern world. Also, I'm a sucker for sweet romances and reluctant heroes that do their job right anyway.
The Southern Vampire Mysteries.Why I joined the bandwagon: I liked the HBO tv show, True Blood, but I kind got bored with it after a while. So I thought, maybe I should read the books. I started with the first one and went from there.
Why it was actually fun/not bad: I was pleasantly surprised to find the books are actually rather different from True Blood. Deep and powerful like how True Blood started? Not so much. But Sookie is so adorable it's hard to resist. It's entertaining, is all.
Edit to add: Took me a while to find my review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Lord of the Rings. Of course that was a long-term bandwagon. . . Why I joined the bandwagon: the horrible animated version, actually. I saw a glimpse on TV and was sufficient intrigued.
Why it was actually fun/not bad: it dragged me into the story. I did nothing else that I was not compelled to that weekend. . . .
And now, when I re-read it, it is full of vivid depth and art.
I don't know if this counts, but can I say I'm an official member of the Oprah's Book Club bandwagon?While I don't read a-l-l of the books that she chooses as a rule, I will say that I do a double-take if it is an Oprah-endorsed book, mostly because I've loved so many of her choices and even the ones that I didn't love so much still strive to be meaningful beyond merely entertaining.
Some Top Fave OBC Picks:
Bandwagon I jumped in on:
Why I joined the bandwagon: It was chosen as a Book of the Month in a GR group I mod. I never would have read it otherwise. It started out as Twilight fanfic, and I'm no Twilight fan. Also don't care so much for contemporary romance, and certainly not the billionaire trope.
Why it was actually fun/not bad: That's just the thing, it was fun. I found myself chuckling as a read it. But it REALLY should/could have been shorter. (I mean, how many times does one really need to hear about the guy's penchant for destroying her overpriced underwear??)
But, yeah. It gave me a few amusing commutes to/from work. ☺
Rachel Annie wrote: "Bandwagon I jumped in on: Why I joined the bandwagon: It was chosen as a Book of the Month in a GR group I mod. I never would have read it otherwise. It star..."
Wow, does that book ever have a lot of jealous haters. I went blind with all the gif's.
Bandwagon I jumped on: Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Why I joined it: i was just genuinely curious what the whole fuss was about. One of the few books that I couldn't help but have high expectations of.
Why it was fun/not bad: it's very unique and smart. Te characters are just so strange and yet normal I can't help but be sucked into the universe. And not to mention, the stories always vary. From fantasy to straight up horror. Theres never a dull moment
Bandwagon I jumped on: Twilight *blushes*Why I joined it: I bought a bunch of books for people for Christmas at Waterstones and I needed one more book to complete a 'three for two' offer. Twilight was sitting right there.
Why it was fun/not bad: I was dragged into the story right from the first page. I was so, so desperate for Bella and Edward to end up together and I stayed up until three in the morning to finish it. The next day I went right out and bought the remaining three books. It was like I was on crack or something. Believe me, I wasn't immune to the book's bad points (which, objectively, are legion), but somehow I just couldn't bring myself to care.
@Lily, yup. But tons of die-hard fans too.And I'm sure the writing duo (yes, duo...) is laughing all the way to the bank. They've written several more books and novellas in the series.
So I guess the moral of the story is... Write smexy fan fiction?
Rachel Annie wrote: "@Lily, yup. But tons of die-hard fans too.And I'm sure the writing duo (yes, duo...) is laughing all the way to the bank. They've written several more books and novellas in the series.
So I gues..."
I wouldn't complain lol
Rachel Annie wrote: "Bandwagon I jumped in on: Why I joined the bandwagon: It was chosen as a Book of the Month in a GR group I mod. I never would have read it otherwise. It star..."
Bloomin' heck! I just looked at Beautiful Bastard - people either give it one star or five stars. There's nothing in between.
Claire wrote: "Bloomin' heck! I just looked at Beautiful Bastard - people either give it one star or five stars. There's nothing in between."And both have just as many gif's. I wasn't exaggerting. I went blind.
Bandwagon I jumped in on: Twilight (See, it's not just you Claire, no need to blush)Why I joined the bandwagon: I got a Kindle as a gift for my birthday and kept thinking how ridiculous that was 'cause I liked real books. I didn't use it for weeks. By then all the Twilight books were out, and I hadn't been interested but thought what the heck, I'll try one on the Kindle before the movie comes out since I hate judging a book based on what people say of the movie (I had not plans to watch it). I got the first one 'cause I might as well read a ridiculous book on my ridiculous electronic book reader. Then I ended up almost not turning in a final assignment on time 'cause I got so caught up and read all the books in a week. Luckily my professor was also distracted by something and pushed back the deadline.
Why it was actually fun/not bad: Just for that, it's a fun book. You don't read it to have a deep philosophical discussion. You read it 'cause it's a romantic story with a bunch of craziness thrown in. It's not the kind of book you analyze, that would just drive you nutty. You just get carried away in a world of fantasy where even stalkers aren't creepy unless they're actually trying to kill you.
And it made me realize the value of the Kindle: I can read whatever silly book I want and no one will see the cover and ask why I'm reading it ;)
Mod
Everyone's been on a bandwagon at least once, we all know it's not always a bad thing and can see why people join :D
Bandwagons aren't such bad things. Wagons have feelings too.
Mod
always enjoyed bandwagons because it's awesome to fan over the something with someone lol
Mod
Courtney wrote: "I love fandoms! How else do you get inside jokes with strangers?"Yes!
Memoirs of a Geisha.Why? Because it was laying there and I didn't have anything else at hand.
I loved it, read it several times.
or is it more like the help, da vinci code etc?
Ok, I'll bite...Many years ago, my neighbor recommended me Fifty Shades of Grey. I usually don't think much of recommendations but I still checked for kicks. Seeing all those bad, yet funny, reviews, I decided to check it out. I didn't think it was 'that' bad. I liked it.
i liked the heart is a lonely hunter, that was one of those oprah club books.
Nice thing about wagons: you can choose to ride however long you like.
G.G. wrote: "Ok, I'll bite...Many years ago, my neighbor recommended me Fifty Shades of Grey. I usually don't think much of recommendations but I still checked for kicks. Seeing all those bad, yet funny, review..."I should really try it despite my misgivings.
How distracting were the "inner goddess" comments? Or were you able to just go with it and enjoy?
After the fifth time or so I rolled my eyes at them but then I started laughing. There were so many...Distracting? Not really. For me, the present tense was more distracting than the inner goddess. I read all three of them, back to back, so I don't need to say that I enjoyed them. Yesterday, when I noticed I hadn't reviewed the books, I rated them three stars but I'm pretty sure that if I had rated and reviewed them right after I read them, I would have rated them five. ;)
G.G. wrote: "After the fifth time or so I rolled my eyes at them but then I started laughing. There were so many...Distracting? Not really. For me, the present tense was more distracting than the inner goddess...."Only out of curiosity...what's the difference between now and then? Do they look different in the cold light of day?
I've read quite a few more books since then. What I mean is...I've changed. I don't give four or five stars to books that have things that annoy me or huge mistakes that should have been caught by the author or the betas anymore.
While there wasn't any of the latter, which is mostly seen in indies, there were a few of the first. Thus the three stars.
Claire wrote: "Bandwagon I jumped on: Twilight *blushes*Why I joined it: I bought a bunch of books for people for Christmas at Waterstones and I needed one more book to complete a 'three for two' offer. Twilig..."
Claire,
I can totally relate to everything you said...including the blushing part. I loved the books to the point that it felt like a drug addiction. But admitting that sometimes makes me feel like a literary pariah.
I do wonder, now knowing all the criticism of the book, if I went back to read them, would I like them as much? Or would I have absorbed the criticism of others?
I freely admit to loving Twilight when I read it. The only book that annoyed me was Breaking Dawn, and that's because I didn't like the dual narrative with Jacob and the sudden "stop" near the end. Looking back at it now might be an interesting exercise.
Jason wrote: "I freely admit to loving Twilight when I read it. The only book that annoyed me was Breaking Dawn, and that's because I didn't like the dual narrative with Jacob and the sudden "stop" near the end...."Completely agree about Breaking Dawn. I just started a new topic with this exxact subject, please join in :)
Dina wrote: "I can totally relate to everything you said...including the blushing part. I loved the books to the point that it felt like a drug addiction. But admitting that sometimes makes me feel like a literary pariah...."I'm right there in the same boat. I thought the first two books were wonderful ( I have to admit; I only read them once though). I couldn't jump onto the soap opera-ness of the latter two (or that whole weird mating/latching on thing between Jacob and a toddler; two strange). However I was sucked in by the forbidden/desperate love story of the first two. Haters can just hate!
I haven't read Twilight. However, my hubby made me watch the movies up until Breaking Dawn part I. I think that did it for him. I didn't mind the first three; they were 'ok'. Breaking Dawn part I made me wish I had stopped after the third movie. I don't have any other words for it than 'it was horrible'. :/The books can only be better. There's no way it can be as bad...at least, I'd hope not.
G.G. wrote: "I haven't read Twilight. However, my hubby made me watch the movies up until Breaking Dawn part I. I think that did it for him. I didn't mind the first three; they were 'ok'. Breaking Dawn part I m..."LOL, I think if you watched the movies before reading the books, they are probably ruined for you. There are some things that just don't translate well. I never thought twice about the whole "sparkly" thing, made perfect sense when I imagined it, but watching it on the screen made me cringe. So awful. The wolves too, wow, so bad. But, if you're bored one day, give reading them a shot ;) I liked them a lot.
Bored? With the thousand books I have on my tablet? Not going to happen soon. :/I agree I should have read the books first, and maybe then watch the movies, but I have to admit, I didn't even know they were books. Hubby just came home with the blu-rays one day. Seems like he knew they were about vampires, I didn't.
Breaking Dawn part I was the only one we watched at the theater.
G.G. wrote: "Bored? With the thousand books I have on my tablet? Not going to happen soon. :/I agree I should have read the books first, and maybe then watch the movies, but I have to admit, I didn't even kno..."
I did that with Hunger Games. I saw the first movie before reading the book. Luckily that movie was pretty well done, and it made me curious enough to read the rest of the series. I guess it helps that it was written with a screenplay in mind.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Mortal Instruments (starting with
) at least up until book 4.
I was definitely on the Twilight bandwagon. I really, really enjoyed reading those books. I started them because a) I was in the target tween demographic at the time and b) vampires, in all their forms from Nosferatu to Spike, are my first and truest love. The books are not great works of literature, and Breaking Dawn was just beating that dead horse a little too long, but I loved them. I liked the vampire mythology, it was the first literary romance I got invested in as a teenager, and I wanted Alice to be my best friend because I thought she was so cool.Now, the Twilight movies? You did better than me, G.G. I didn't even watch past the second one. I couldn't. Just...ugh.
I have been on numerous other bandwagons, as well. Percy Jackson was also one of my favorites. I'm still addicted to the Warriors series that I started reading in fourth grade, a reality which I can't really explain. There was a time when I would have married Eragon if it were possible. I've just started getting into the Mortal Instruments, too. There is no end in sight for me. :)
Meri, if not for the hubby, I wouldn't have either. :p
Kat Desi wrote: "I thoroughly enjoyed The Mortal Instruments (starting with ) at least up until book 4."Did they make movies from that series?
They made at least one that I know of Rachel.
Mod
G.G. wrote: "After the fifth time or so I rolled my eyes at them but then I started laughing. There were so many...Distracting? Not really. For me, the present tense was more distracting than the inner goddess...."I had the same experience. I picked up FSoG because all the women at work were talking about it. I read all three back to back and thoroughly enjoyed them. I would have done 5-stars at the time and now they are 3-stars.
The poor editing is definitely a problem on rereading. The present tense didn't annoy me, and I kind of liked the 'inner goddess' but the 'subconscious' bugged me from the start and it got worse on rereading. Ana's a 4.0 student and can't differentiate between conscience and subconscious?
Rachel Annie wrote: "Kat Desi wrote: "I thoroughly enjoyed The Mortal Instruments (starting with ) at least up until book 4."Did they make movies from that series?"
They made a movie, but it wasn't the greatest. They're developing a series for it to come out next year I think. I loved Mortal Instruments and adore Infernal Devices. So much that I didn't even think of it as a bandwagon, just awesome stories.
Meri wrote: "I was definitely on the Twilight bandwagon. I really, really enjoyed reading those books. I started them because a) I was in the target tween demographic at the time and b) vampires, in all their..."Loved Eragon too, though the last couple books lost me. The first one was great.
Rachel Annie wrote: "Kat Desi wrote: "I thoroughly enjoyed The Mortal Instruments (starting with ) at least up until book 4."Did they make movies from that series?"
Yeah, Rachel. I thought it was terrible. Lol.
G.G. wrote: "I haven't read Twilight. However, my hubby made me watch the movies up until Breaking Dawn part I. I think that did it for him. I didn't mind the first three; they were 'ok'. Breaking Dawn part I m..."What's better than the movie is the Hillywood spoof of it. That's fun.
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Bandwagon I jumped in on: (Name the book/series)
Why I joined the bandwagon: (Why did you decide to read the book/series)
Why it was actually fun/not bad: (Your positive/constructive opinion overall)
Rule #1 - Harry Potter is not a valid response.
It's too easy, frankly, so name another phenomenon you contributed to.
Rule #2 - Don't bitch about or bash any books.
If you seriously can't say anything nice, don't post anything at all. It doesn't have to be a life-changing experience, just not negative.