30-day Challenge! - Day 9: A book you thought you wouldn't like, but ended up really enjoying

[PinkieBrown]

“Lord Jim”, Conrad. I read “Nostromo” first which has some great scenes but is a difficult construction; so I thought this was Conrad’s style but it’s fantastic!

[Sherry]

Kristin Lavransdatter. I thought I would never enjoy a novel set in medieval Norway, but this Nobel prize winner became one of my favorite novels of all time, one which I reread regularly.

[Luke]

'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. Sometimes, the classics really do merit their reputation.

[Shaina]

Lonesome Dove... I didn't think I would get beyond 50 pages and then I couldn't put it down :)

Aubrey, thank you for naming that one! I'm supposed to read it for my bingo and it is sitting in my kindle coz I was unsure about it...looks like I'll pick it up now.

[Luke]

Cheers, Shaina. It's one of those fine-tuned, exquisitely wrought 'sympathy for the devil' type works that few attempt to write and fewer still suceed at writing, and in general is a work that's really worth experiencing at least once.

[Sherry]

Sherry wrote: "Kristin Lavransdatter. I thought I would never enjoy a novel set in medieval Norway, but this Nobel prize winner became one of my favorite novels of all time, one which I reread regularly."


Yes, it's fabulous. I hope you get a chance to read it. :)

[Robin P]

Moby Dick - I avoided it for decades and was amazed to find it is full of humor, drama, poetry, science - totally unique (but I think it's totally fair to skip some of the whale anatomy sections.)

[Brian E]

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.
Based on the book's synopsis, I never thought it would turn out to be such an endearing family saga that so exceeded my lowly expectations that it became one of my all-time top 10.

I might have said the same thing about another one of my top 10 mentioned on here Kristin Lavransdatter, but by the time I started reading it, I had heard so many GR raves, that I was thinking that, despite my prejudices and normal expectations, perhaps I really could enjoy a religious themed novel set in 14th Century Norway.

[Joseph]

The Brothers Karamazov

https://100greatestnovelsofalltimeque...

[Nidhi]

Frankenstein and Dracula.

I don’t read books of supernatural themes but these were group reads I really enjoyed.

[Lynn, New School Classics]

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was a complete surprise to me It was a title I had been aware of for decades. I had a vague idea that it was about a whiny foul-mouthed teenager who was living a dissolute life. I never ever expected to have such sympathy for this teen. Oh my, I cried and cried. It stayed with me for about a week. The only reason I read it was because it was on the Group Bookshelf and it fit a challenge or Bingo square; I cannot remember which.

[Michaela]

I don´t read books that I don´t expect to enjoy. There are so many others. :)

[Piyangie]

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. I thought this was just a romance. I was surprised beyond measures to find I was in the wrong.

[Charles]

One of Our Submarines
I was lent this by a friend, (an Autobiographical resume of the authors experiences on a submarine during WW2), not at all my subject of interest by I gave it a try out of courtesy. In fact once I started reading it I found it gripped my imagination from the first few pages and couldn't put it down and read it in a week, which is rather quick for me. Highly recommended.

[Robin P]

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics - I had no interest in rowing but the life stories of the protagonists were more engrossing than most fiction

[Lynn, New School Classics]

Piyangie wrote: "The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. I thought this was just a romance. I was surprised beyond measures to find I was in the wrong."

I downloaded this book because I have heard many people mention it favorably. Thanks for the reminder.

[Piyangie]

Lynn wrote: "Piyangie wrote: "The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. I thought this was just a romance. I was surprised beyond measures to find I was in the wrong."

I downloaded this bo..."

You're welcome, Lynn! I hope you'll enjoy it. I absolutely loved it.

[Wreade1872]

I do tend to fear some of the more female-centric and/or twee classics so unexpectedly, really enjoyed Wuthering Heights , Pollyanna and Mary Poppins .

[Luke]

Wreade1872 wrote: "I do tend to fear some of the more female-centric and/or twee classics so unexpectedly, really enjoyed Wuthering Heights , Pollyanna and Mary Poppins ."

Just imagining trying to get away with saying I feared the male-centric/stolid classics while in school, or any book centric scene really. What a trip.

[Terry]

Hah!

[Lynn, New School Classics]

Wreade1872 wrote: "I do tend to fear some of the more female-centric and/or twee classics so unexpectedly, really enjoyed Wuthering Heights , Pollyanna and Mary Poppins ."

I loved Pollyanna which I read as an adult. It had been on my shelf since childhood, in the collection of books my mother passed down to me. It was out of fashion so for years I neglected it. Same thing is currently happening with Little Women.

[Wreade1872]

Aubrey wrote: "Just imagining trying to get away with saying I feared the male-centric/stolid classics while in school, or any book centric scene really..."

No argument here :lol . Although perhaps i should also have added my terror of Poetry, Dickens or anything labeled American classic.
Thinking about it.. its probably not that surprising i didn't read very much until a few years ago ;) .