Tuesday, May 15, 2018

*Top Ten Tuesday* Books I Disliked but am Glad I Read (May 15)


Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews bossed me into doing this, so I guess this is a thing I do now. 

This weeks theme is books I disliked but am glad I read anyway. This might be a tough topic for me because there aren't really that many books that I've read that I just really didn't like, so I'm going to have to dig deep in my Goodreads read shelf to find them. Here we go.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac - This book is hailed as a classic novel of freedom that defined a generation, and with that in mind, I just have to wonder why Boomers are so freakin' hard on Millennials for being "lazy." I mean, this book is supposed to be definitive of their generation, and all I got from it was the idea that in their youth, they were shiftless with no sense of direction or purpose. And the book really just bored me to tears.

Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy by E.L. James - I didn't necessarily dislike these books (I did read the entire trilogy after all), but I did have many issues with them. But the real reason they made this list is because the biggest counterargument to any criticism of these books that I've seen is that a person can't criticize them without having first read them. I personally disagree with that premise, but it doesn't matter for me either way as I have read them, so I have carte blanche to criticize if I so choose.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand - A certain politician hails this book as a masterpiece (essentially), and while I found it to be needlessly verbose, I definitely sort of understand why it appeals to him. In fact, part of why it didn't appeal to me is for the very reasons it does appeal to him.

Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber - When I read this book, I was looking for a cheesy Christmas story (especially because it was adapted into a movie by Hallmark). I didn't get that, so I didn't enjoy the book. I'm glad I read it though, because this gives me the perfect retort to the saying "the book is always better than the movie." In this instance, it's just not true because the movie gave me everything I was looking for in the book but failed to find.

And that's about it. It's not ten books, but we're just going to pretend that six is the new ten. Are there any books that you disliked but you're glad you read them anyway? - Katie

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can stop by and see your list as well.*

5 comments:

  1. I couldn't get into FSOG. Good on you for finishing them.

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    1. Parts of the story were compelling, but I definitely understand the complaints from people about the content (even the people who never read the books). - Katie

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  2. I haven't read Atlas Shrugged but I think I'd feel the same way. And this was kind of a hard topic...

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    1. I agree. The topic was difficult. Like there were other books I've read and disliked that I could have included, but at this point in time, I don't necessarily feel glad I read them anyway. Like most of them I could just do without having read them at all.

      Thanks for stopping by. - Katie

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  3. The thing about the Rand book is that it was darned prophetic, like, 1984. Writing style has changed dramatically since these were published, so they do come off as thick with prose and even dated, but when they came out, they were cutting edge literature. I'd have to re-read On The Road to find out how I felt about now. I think it's great that you're tackling these books, whether you like them or not.

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