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Anti-suggestion: Do NOT read these books!
If it's a super popular book like, He's Just Not That Into You or The Secret or A Million Little Pieces (all books that Oprah has featured, I know, but I left my job at BAM 4 years ago and those are the ones that stick in my mind), then no, I won't read them. And I look at it this way. I belong to another book cataloging site called Shelfari, that I use to catalog my books (I use GR for the groups and the only books that I've been adding recently have been books for my groups). Right now on my shelves on Shelfari I have almost 18,000 books on it that I want to read. I have plenty of books in the future that I want to read that doesn't include the super popular ones. No, I'll never read them all, but these 18,000 books are ones that I'm interested in reading. Some of them were popular years ago, some were on the bestseller lists and with others I'm the only person on Shelfari who has that particular book on my shelf. I may or may not add a super popular book to my shelf, but it may or may not ever get read by me.If I did read a book that later got popular, no, that wouldn't make me hate it. I just prefer not to follow the crowd. I won't read a book if someone tells me "you just have to read this." That statement just turns me off. I always go against the grain. It's just my nature. Always has been and always will be.
I gave in to The Millennium Trilogy and I wasn't disappointed. I gave in to the Hunger Games Trilogy and was so disappointed, I was almost disgusted. It varies per person.As for Oprah's Book Club... I used to collect these titles in hopes of reading them to see why she picked it. As I went through the list, I realized while a lot of them are quite good, 90% of them are so freakin' preachy. (Although I did like A Million Little Pieces for what its worth.)
So if you see a book on a popular list you just don't even look at it? I guess I just don't understand that. Usually I never even realize a book has a fanbase until after I've already read it. Like with the Mortal Instruments series, I was the only one I'd known of who'd read it. And then I come here and on tumblr and it's like everybody loves it. So wondering if a book was popular was never really a factor, I guess.
Thalia wrote: "Lauren: Oh, no! Lord of the Rings is on your bad list?! I'm sorry to hear that. :[ But I understand; the long details definitely aren't for everybody. Lord of the Rings is one of my huuuge passions..."I have tried to read LOTR so many times but it is just so long! I'm not giving up on it though!
Trina wrote: "Thalia wrote: "Lauren: Oh, no! Lord of the Rings is on your bad list?! I'm sorry to hear that. :[ But I understand; the long details definitely aren't for everybody. Lord of the Rings is one of my ..."I adore those books but I haven't even read The Return of the King of the others that relate to the trilogy. I use to even know how to speak Sindarian (Elvish) but that was years ago. But like I said I haven't even read them all, I don't think I could even try to breeze through them. It takes me like a month to read one and that's a very long time for me.
Seriously. I'm a die-hard LotR nerd, but I haven't gotten the chance to read them all. I only just bought The Hobbit a couple months ago, and I'm restarting the series for my review blog. It's tough, even for people who really, really like it!
^^ LOL Michelle, me too. I used to write my name in Elvish. XD I read LOTR + The Hobbit when I was 10-12ish. ROTK is the easiest to read out of the trilogy because it's the shortest lol.
Glad to know I'm not alone! I swear everyone thought I was insane when I'd say something or they'd tell me to stop quoting the movies. I'm kind of sad I've forgotten most of it, but I never really got to use it so it just kind of faded away. I'll have to tackle Return soon, it's been neglected for too long.
I don't suppose you happen to have a site that teaches you to pronounce Elvish? I have this great site where I'm learning to write it, but I have no idea how to say any of what I'm writing. :[
Michelle wrote: "Glad to know I'm not alone! I swear everyone thought I was insane when I'd say something or they'd tell me to stop quoting the movies. I'm kind of sad I've forgotten most of it, but I never really ..."I remember having a marathon of the extended editions with my college friends at one of their houses... I would mouth along all the Elvish words and my friends would look at me like I've grown elf ears. XD
Thalia wrote: "Lauren: Oh, no! Lord of the Rings is on your bad list?! I'm sorry to hear that. :[ But I understand; the long details definitely aren't for everybody. Lord of the Rings is one of my huuuge passions..."*Hangs head* I know! I have tried, but it's like people have said - too many details, too long. Clearly Tolkien put lots of work in and completely respect that and I get why it's created a rabid fan base, but I just don't have room in my life for all that.
Nancy: I'm a lot like you actually. I hesitate to read the really popular books, in part because I've learned that when I don't like them or find little flaws I get crucified by the rest of the world. I didn't like the DaVinci Code and got told it was because "I didn't understand it". Yes I did, it just bored me senseless. I wanted to rewrite entire scenes. Apparently that is the wrong response. The Help, A Discovery of Witches, Girl with a Dragon Tattoo and Water for Elephants are all on my TBR list, but I'm slow to pick them up just because of their popularity. I've discovered the American people and I are really different. I allow a little silliness in my UF and PNR but if it's the top rated book in the country it better be good or I reserve the right to tear it apart.
I've learned, Lauren, that the really popular books simply don't live up to the hype. Don't even get me started on The Da Vinci Code. What Dan Brown proposed in the book was nothing new, yet everyone thought that what he was proposing was heresy. I guess because these ideas weren't brought about in a novel before, that they were new. I have been wanting to read A Discovery of Witches, but knowing me, it'll be a few years before I do. I also learned not to read any of the modern novels that Oprah likes. I had read The House of Sand and Fog about a year ago and later learned that it had been an Oprah pick. What a depressing book! I hated all the characters and just wanted to slap them silly to knock some sense into them.
As for LoTR, I am a diehard Tolkien fan and have been since I was a teenager. I will admit that I would like to rewrite some parts of the book. It could have done without all the songs and poems. And the business with Tom Bombadil----I am so glad that Jackson didn't put Tom in the movie. I remember reading the chapter with Tom about three times trying to figure out just what the heck Tolkien was going on about with him. But I love the book and the movies.
Cate wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Glad to know I'm not alone! I swear everyone thought I was insane when I'd say something or they'd tell me to stop quoting the movies. I'm kind of sad I've forgotten most of it, bu..."My boyfriend almost refuses to watch them with me because I mouth the lines. I try not to but somehow I always end up doing it and it drives him nuts.
@Nancy: I agree about the songs and poems, I have a hard time reading songs in books because I don't know the music to go with it. Tom Bombadil is quite the fellow, so odd. I play the online game version and he skips everywhere, it's hilarious but it definitely fits.
^^ Haha, it's so bad once the movie gets to the Council of Elrond. XDI kind of want to say "don't read
" but I'll let you judge that for yourselves.http://wp.me/p1CKWU-ds
Lauren, if my opinion still counts, I'm reading The Help right now, and it's really good! I usually don't like recent past realistic fiction, but both my mom and I are really enjoying it right now, and we have completely different tastes. I just picked it up because I had a youth leader who told me it was pretty good and then I started seeing posters for the movie coming out. But it's well written; I really enjoy it. (:Nancy, I didn't like the Tom parts much, either. I didn't really understand him, and especially why he had that young girl in his house?! It just didn't make sense to me, hahaha.
Thalia are you talking about Goldberry? She's not actually young she just looks that way, she's actually his wife. He says that she's basically a spirit of the river in the Old Forest. There really isn't an exact answer as to what she is though so she may be an elf or something else. :)
Ahh, yes, I couldn't remember her name! And okay; that makes a ton more sense! I didn't pick up on that my first read-through, hahaha.
Lol yeah there is a lot that you have to kind of re-read in order to catch all of it.
I know that as a Christian, Tolkien put in a lot of Christian references in LoTR. I remember Goldberry telling the hobbits that Tom is known as the Eldest. I wonder if maybe Tolkien wrote Tom as sort of his version of Adam?
Tolkien was a very in depth writer but he left so much to speculation too. It's possible that Tom was some sort of Ainur (the world's version of angels in a way) or God. He's a powerful guy but only in withing his own borders. Tolkien himself denied that he was God but never gave anymore details. Goldberry even calls him "He is" which is kind of parallel to the whole God = "I Am". One of the great LOTR mysteries I have to keep editing everything I type, I end up putting entirely too much detail into it.lol There were also a lot of Norse references and similarity as well.
The similarities to Norse mythology is one of the reasons why I originally read LOTR.
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Tolkein converted CS Lewis! Lewis was an Athiest before Tolkein got to him, hahhaa. I made a church video using LotR clips one time, and one of my friends said you could actually parallel a lot of LotR to religion. I looked it up, and sure enough! You learn something every day, hahah.
Lauren wrote: "Thalia wrote: "Lauren: Oh, no! Lord of the Rings is on your bad list?! I'm sorry to hear that. :[ But I understand; the long details definitely aren't for everybody. Lord of the Rings is one of my ..."I loved A Discovery of Witches, I didn't realise Oprah had recommended it though, I picked it up, must have been the first week it was out. Hopefully if you do read it you'll like it too!
Lauren wrote: "It's funny to read these and either really agree, or really disagree! I'm a stickler about reading any 1 star ratings on amazon for this very reason!Poor Lauren! I had to laugh at your awful, abusive English teacher. Teachers should be whipped for doing this to kids. I recall it happened to me in a Home Ec class. Yes, I know nothing to do with reading. But it brought to mind how my friends and I sneaked home some outfits we were making in class, whipped them up to wear that weekend to a big fair, then meticulously undid them to take back to class. ROFL!
I know that I'm the lone voice here in that I was absolutely entranced by The DaVinci Code. When I first joining GoodReads I was worried that I was in the wrong spot since everywhere I went I saw posts from the folks who dislike DaVinci Code. I've spoken my thoughts in other areas but I wanted to speak on a point that occurred while reading the above. One of the big reasons that I enjoyed the book so much was that the ideas proposed in the book were new to me. I had not read of any of the ideas and did feel that a whole other version of events were possible. And of course I knew of the possibility of the different versions. But Dan Brown put some different ideas down that I had not heard.And to continue on the unpopular theories. I've tried but totally have given up on the Lord of the Rings books, movies, memorabilia etc. I don't wish to ever try any of that stuff again. It does show different ideas and how popularity exists. I won't go into details on my reasons and how much I dislike LotR or however you abbreviate.
On LotR - it was when I got to Tom that I stopped so all the talk about him I understand. I skimmed forward about 50 pages, found out we were still trapped at Tom's and folded.Thalia: I believe you! I'm going to get around to The Help someday I hope, but probably through the library, more because I'm a weird book collector and I really only re-read urban fantasy so I hate to buy a book I only read once.
Trina: same thing for A Discovery of Witches. I'll be getting to it at some point. Although I read it had a vampire and Twilight and Anita Blake have created a gag relfex in me whenever I read the V word, so it may be a bit.
Andrea: It was the worst 2 weeks of my life. Well maybe not really, but it felt like it! I love the Home Ec thing! If only I could have undone that reading...
Lori: I really The Da Vinci Code as well because I didn't find it as dry as some other conspiracy thrillers out there. I read it in a few days at most Plus it involved Da Vinci so I was immediately drawn to it. Lauren: Poor old Tom! lol
I enjoyed The Da Vinci Code as well. The book more than the movie. Although I liked Angels & Demons more, in terms of the Robert Langdon series.
Cate wrote: "I enjoyed The Da Vinci Code as well. The book more than the movie. Although I liked Angels & Demons more, in terms of the Robert Langdon series."I didn't particulary care for the movie of Da Vinci code. I wasn't fond of the beginning of Angels& Demons either, to me it dragged for a bit before it got into the really interesting stuff. I still have to read the last one.
I got "The Lost Symbol" for my birthday two years ago. It wasn't as interesting as the other Langdon books.
That's what I've been hearing, I've been putting off reading it for some time now.
Lori wrote: "I know that I'm the lone voice here in that I was absolutely entranced by The DaVinci Code. When I first joining GoodReads I was worried that I was in the wrong spot since everywhere I went I saw p..."I enjoyed The DaVinci Code also, I think it may be a bit of a corny, predictable mystery, but I like it all the same.
The Conqueror's Lady (The Knights of Brittany, #2) was extremely distasteful with the hero so crude he could have been the villain. Even the heroine didn't like him and I hate books where the couple is so hot for each other despite disliking one another.
Yeah! I feel much better that there are a few of us. The Lost Symbol was pretty good. I think the best part of it is that it's in this country and I'm able to see some of the sites easier than the ones in Europe. Although some day, who knows?
^^ Hah! I know what you mean. I went up to DC last year and in one of my photos, my mom commented something in reference to The Lost Symbol.
I think what bothers me about books like The Da Vinci Code is how the media grabs onto ideas and runs with it. And then you can't get away from it. I mean, it was Knights Templar this and Holy Grail that and every time you turned on the TV someone was looking for the blasted Holy Grail because the Knights Templar left it here, blah, blah, blah. Makes me want to scream. It's really, really going to suck next year when everything is going to be about 2012.
Lori wrote: "Yeah! I feel much better that there are a few of us. The Lost Symbol was pretty good. I think the best part of it is that it's in this country and I'm able to see some of the sites easier than the ..."We went to Italy and it was funny cause I was like "oh hey, I remember this church from Angels and Demons!"
Nancy wrote: "I think what bothers me about books like The Da Vinci Code is how the media grabs onto ideas and runs with it. And then you can't get away from it. I mean, it was Knights Templar this and Holy Grai..."I agree with this. I think a few people forgot that although Brown writes based on history, the actual story lines are fiction!
Trina wrote: "We went to Italy and it was funny cause I was like "oh hey, I remember this church from Angels and Demons!" "Hahaha, I was totally like this when I went to DC after reading The Lost Symbol.
(And of course, that South Park episode.)
Oh what a thread..! I am deeply hoping your calling it this in honor of Dorothy Parker! "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force." - Dorothy Parker (in reference to having to read and review Benito Mussolini's The Cardinal's Mistress)Here are a few to watch out for imo...
A Connecticut Fashionista In King Arthur's Court by Marianne MancusiHere is my review, with luck the author's ears are still burning.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown My review. My private note is much less kind. 
The Traitor's Wife: A Novel of the Reign of Edward II by Susan Higginbotham My review.anything by Tolkien - I simply cannot manage to read his work. I really tried to read The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, etc... But I'm bored out of my skull within a few pages. I'd rather chew steel. (well not really.. but you get my drift)
Interesting discussions here :) I read Tolkien as a child, about 10 or so too, & loved the whole series. I'm guessing it's because at that age, our minds are more elastic & we are not as critical as we are later in life, we can simply enjoy something for what it is :) I detest the Twilight crap, I have gotten to the point where the Anita Blake series seems more paranormal porn now than a real story, which is a total turn off. I've read, enjoyed, & own the entire Dan Brown series :) In my case, being Pagan makes me appreciate the "controversial" story lines :) Considering the factual accounts of the Templars & the Masons & the books that were not included in the Bible, there is far more truth in the books than people think. However, they ARE works of fiction.I read Discovery of Witches before I even knew it was on a best seller list of any kind, it was just sitting on the new release shelf in the local library, & it intrigued me. I don't watch Oprah, I have never watched Oprah, so wouldn't know the first thing about her Book Club or it's picks. The book was VERY good, even figuring in the whole vampire thing, & the premise that vamps, witches & one other extraordinary race are related is a completely NEW theology. For that reason alone it was highly interesting.
Now, on my personal don't bother list, I have the following for your consideration:
Naked Lunch-William Burroughs. Granted, it was written while he was an addict, & it's quite true to life so far as the seeking behaviors of an addict, their connections, etc. However, what turned me off were the visions he had while he was tripping, some quite sexually graphic, with homosexual scenes. I thought he could easily have left those out, & the book would have been a LOT better.
Being Pagan myself, Lisa, I can also enjoy the more controversial story lines as well. However, also with also being a Pagan, I already was well aware of Dan Brown's ideas a couple of decades before his books came out. So when everyone and their brother were talking about these "radical" ideas, I was thinking, "Man, where have you been for past twenty years or so? Where were you when The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail was published back in 1982?" But I've been a Pagan for 30 years now, so all of this was not news to me. And also the fact that Brown clearly was writing this as fiction and marketed it as fiction and readers were seeing the novel as truth is what really got to me. It got everyone all up into a tizzy. If he had promoted The Da Vinci Code as non-fiction the way that Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln had done with The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail then I could understand the whole business.
Lisa I was the same with A Discovery of Witches. Had no idea it was so popular when I picked it up, I figure I must have got it as a brand new release before anyone read it and Oprah promoted ti (I also don't watch Oprah). I loved it too.
Lisa wrote: "Interesting discussions here :) I read Tolkien as a child, about 10 or so too, & loved the whole series. I'm guessing it's because at that age, our minds are more elastic & we are not as critical..."I have to say that I began trying to read Tolkien when I was about ten or eleven too. It hasn't improved over the years. I try every five years or so to see if it has changed and ... well. *gestures* For me he's just one of those authors I simply cannot manage to read. Considering what I have managed to plow through (hai 5th century panegyrics - now that'll put to anyone's insomnia! -- read for coursework) I'm not too upset over it.
I read Holy Blood and Holy Grail in my very early teens. I thought it was interesting. I didn't agree with everything they proposed but I found it interesting. I think my reaction to Dan Brown's work is that I didn't find it well written or entertaining. I know its fiction. But it was.. sloppy. It's like he couldn't be bothered to even try to put together decent prose.
On another note I should say that James Patterson's Women's Murder Club novels annoyed me too in terms of the fact he completely ignored his setting (San Francisco and the surrounding areas) and put things where they obviously weren't. Anyone who has lived around here knows immediately he doesn't know where the heck his characters are at, or what's really where. I'm not talking a shop or restaurant at a specific corner (those change) - I'm talking street a and street b never intersecting -- a few times they are in different areas of the city. He could have googled or mapquested his locations, if he couldn't be bothered to visit the city at least once. Either that or don't get so specific.
Hmm.. looky there a tangent attacked while I wasn't looking *gets off soapbox* :D
^^ Haha, oh Women's Murder Club. I preferred the tv show.Speaking of book-to-tv... I'm not a fan of Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli & Isles series. However, I LOVE the tv show. The Jane Rizzoli in the books is so whiny and the only thing about her is "I'm a girl and I'm not as good as the guys so they ignore me." STFU.
HAHA I actually dislike Nevermore by Kelly Creagh a lot. I really don't like poetry. All the other reviews go on on what a literary genius the author is but I'm not into analysing the deep and meaningful side of poetry. The book didn't make sense to me half the time so there was no chance of appreciating that.
eleanor wrote: "
Chuck Palahniuk This Book Was Just So Bloody Awful.. Absolutely Gross. Don't Read This Book"This is one of the books that I loved, but recognize that few people will enjoy it. I liked Snuff, too, but I'm not sure about Pygmy. Haven't read Tell-All yet, but it's nearing the top of my TBR pile.
I don't like LOTR. Tried over and over. I reread it every now and again to make sure I still don't like it. I still don't. Please do not waste your time trying to convince me otherwise.
Withstood a cow orkers gushing over Twilight and promises that "it gets better, you'll like this one, it has more Native American stuff in it," and read the series. Thankfully I borrowed it from her and didn't spend any money on it. Came away with a stronger impression that it was poorly written tripe than I'd started with.
A Discovery of Witches started great, and then turned into just another paranormal romance, and worse ... one that doesn't finish. Only found out at the end that there are at least two more.
But, this is why they make pistachio in addition to vanilla and chocolate. I love a lot of books that other people can't get into.
Kiri wrote: anything by Tolkien - I simply cannot manage to read his work. I really tried to read The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, etc... But I'm bored out of my skull within a few pages. I'd rather chew steel.I really enjoy LotR. I've read it several times and always get something different out of it. The Hobbit I enjoyed as a preteen and I would read it again now for something easy. The Silmarillion I tried to read a couple times and finally gave up. I did find some excellent audio tapes of it though that I enjoyed.
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Nancy, I don't get that. If you think a book looks interesting and want to pick it up and then find out it's popular with other people you decide not to read it? Why does it matter how many other people like it if you find the book interesting? And would you ever read a book, say how much you loved it, and then when it DID get popular with other people say you hate it? That simply just doesn't make any sense to me!
I still have read The Hunger Games. 1) I can't STAND it when books are written in present tense. It's one of my pet peeves. 2) The story doesn't look that interesting to me. But I finally caved and bought it--hope it lives up to expectations. >>