Created by: TheBookArcher
I was tagged by LaLa in what turns out to be perfect timing as I haven't done a tag and AGES (and you know how much I love tags!) and I've been posting pretty infrequently. (Guys I don't think I've had a discussion post since like...April. This needs to change!) So in an effort to get back to at least a regular posting schedule, here is my unpopular opinions tag!
1. A POPULAR BOOK OR SERIES YOU DIDN'T LIKE...
I was tagged by LaLa in what turns out to be perfect timing as I haven't done a tag and AGES (and you know how much I love tags!) and I've been posting pretty infrequently. (Guys I don't think I've had a discussion post since like...April. This needs to change!) So in an effort to get back to at least a regular posting schedule, here is my unpopular opinions tag!
1. A POPULAR BOOK OR SERIES YOU DIDN'T LIKE...
Definitely Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. I wanted to like it since I definitely have more than a few blogger friends who loved it...but it definitely wasn't for me. (Especially after I googled the series to see how it ended. Just because I have no intention of finishing it, doesn't mean I don't want to know what happened!)
2. A BOOK OR SERIES EVERYONE ELSE HATED BUT YOU LOVED...
Oh man I had to go browse my Goodreads shelves to find something that fit this - I'm usually a black sheep on the opposite side of things! Both of these have really mixed reviews so I'm not sure if they truly fit the bill. But I'd say my Goodreads friends are a mix of 1/3 liking 2/3 disliking on both and I'm pretty sure both made my top ten books for last year (or if they didn't they were definite contenders)
3. A LOVE TRIANGLE WHERE THE PROTAGONIST ENDED UP WITH THE PERSON YOU DIDN’T WANT THEM TO BE WITH.
Hmm..I tend to like the winning ship in books, very luckily for me. Not so in tv shows though - I totally shipped the wrong couple in You're Beautiful!
(I will go down with this ship...I won't put my hands up, and surrender. There will be no white flag above my head...I'm in love, and always will be)
Contemporary, although I really couldn't tell you why. Mark that double for any adult book that's won a super prestigious award (unless it's a sci-fi one).
5. A POPULAR/BELOVED CHARACTER YOU DISLIKE.
Warner. Admittedly I only read the first book, but still. *SPOILERS* This almost qualifies for the above category but 1. I only read the first book so I technically haven't read the book where they get together, and 2. I thought Adam was super boring so between the two options...I didn't even have a toy sailboat's worth of ship launching. *END SPOILERS*
6. A POPULAR AUTHOR YOU CAN’T SEEM TO GET INTO.
Anne Rice. I tried SO HARD. I even read a non-vampire book by her! (The only book of hers I actually finished - and for me to not finish a book is really saying something)
7. A POPULAR TROPE YOU’RE TIRED OF READING.
Honestly, I'm pretty tired of The Chosen One. I don't mind it being a thing if it's not a foretold destiny, it doesn't involve super powers that are so much harder/better/faster/stronger than any other super powers, it involves the main character just magically being amazing at things. (Celaena is a badass and she's great at her job - but she's also been training at it since she was a child. Harry is a powerful wizard, but he's not the smartest/best either - Hermione is. Although...eh this one's tenuous, but hey I read it before I got annoyed by this trope) Obviously it's something I end up reading a lot since I primarily read fantasy, but I appreciate it so much more when the trope is subverted - very much how I feel about my historical romance novels actually.
8. A POPULAR SERIES YOU HAVE NO INTENTION OF READING.
I honestly can't remember what put it on my very smalldon't-do-it bookshelf, but well...that's why I have that shelf. I've too often accidentally read a book I had forgotten I knew I wasn't going to like. (Well that was a complicated sentence...)
9. A BOOK OR SERIES YOU WANTED TO HATE, BUT LOVED.
Guys, I don't know why I thought THE ENTIRE book community was wrong...but I did. I only read this under duress and was convinced I would hate it because...well vampires and I don't have a great history. In fact other than Holly Black's The Coldest Girl in Coldtown (any Holly Black gets all exceptions because she is the greatest), I actually can't think of another series about vampires that I've enjoyed. (But then I haven't tried very hard, I think I've only read Interview with a Vampire and the Twilight series haha)
10. A SHOW/MOVIE ADAPTION YOU LIKED BETTER THAN THE BOOK.
I'm convinced this film is like...the greatest film of all time. Yes, even better than The Mummy. (Shut up guys, that's a GREAT FILM TOO.)
Very fun:). I think Anne Rice, while popular, is an acquired taste. And if you don't dig vampires to boot...I totally get it. I loved her when I was 17 but haven't read anything by her since. Totally with you on The Princess Bride!! I like your unpopular opinions so does that then make them semi-popular?:).
ReplyDeleteI couldn't get into Shatter Me either.
ReplyDeleteWho is Warner? Ha ha ha, I absolutely have no clue. You are missing nothing not reading the Matched trilogy. Those books irritated me to no end in so many ways. I only read them all because my sister kept telling me each one was better. NOT! Did you know The Forest of Hands and Teeth is part of a trilogy? I went to the Kindle store to see if TFOHAT had come down in price ( it hasn't, btw) and saw there are three books. I want to get it to read as an ebook, but it is still cost prohibitive. I added your link to my tag. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I loooovvvveee the minion gif. :D
ReplyDeleteYES!
ReplyDeleteI'm 100% with you on Warner. In fact, I could write paragraphs and paragraphs at why this whole series makes me so angry.
And really, you can't compete with Princess Bride.
I am totally going to do this tag, it looks very fun! Completely agree with #4 - both on contemporary and on the awards. Only I probably wouldn't even read a sci-fi book that was that well received. I'm pretty much guaranteed that the more 'critics' like a book the less I will. I didn't want to hate Vampire Academy, I just thought that I would. (Agree wholeheartedly on the vampire thing too!) That last one is The Princess Bride, right? I'd like to give the movie a go but I tried to read the book and it just didn't work for me. Hearing you say the movie was actually better than the book definitely helps get me interested again. And hearing that it's better than The Mummy doesn't hurt either because that movie is awesome and a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteSomehow she hasn't made my sworn off author list - I keep thinking one day it will just click. And who know, it might! Probably not for a while though haha. And yay I'm not alone in the world on my opinions haha!
ReplyDeleteI actually liked the writing style, particularly where it was fragmented/repetitive in the beginning because I think it displayed her mental state pretty well...but when it went to describing how bloody beautiful everyone is I got annoyed. Plus some of the metaphors were....weird haha
ReplyDeleteHe's a character in Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me trilogy. I don't think it will be up your alley, tbh, but you should browse Goodreads and see what you think - it's a pretty popular trilogy!
ReplyDeleteYeah almost everyone I know seemed to dislike the Matched trilogy, but because I'd heard so much about them I kept almost checking them out before realizing WHY I'd heard so much about them haha.
And I did! I've actually read all three! The first book can really be read as a standalone, and I actually prefer it as a standalone. The next two books were good two, but...well I really, really loved the ending of the first book. The rest of the books don't change that it's just...iif you read TFoHaT you'll see what I mean I think. I will also say that I am not going to swear you're going to love it - it's a pretty divisive book, and I can totally see why it doesn't work for a lot of people. So I loved it, but I make no promises for anyone else!
I'm so glad I made the decision as I wrote this post to know that I wasn't going to finish the series and look up what happened - I would have been PISSED OFF if I had committed to the whole trilogy and gotten that. Like...woah. WOAH. Not ok! I mean I didn't like either option but...one of those options is SUPER toxic and abusive and how could you ever make that ok or glorify it???
ReplyDeleteI have to say I usually come to sci-fi books like 20 years after the award hahaha! So...I guess that doesn't make me any better with them than the contemporary ones. But I actively avoid the contemporary ones, I don't with the sci-fi..it just doesn't happen that I read them often.
ReplyDeleteOh man! You've never seen The Princess Bride????? It's a classic. I mean it's...well you have to appreciate somewhat ridiculous humour. Like I love the wittiness and ridiculousness of Monty Python and the total campiness of The Mummy so The Princess Bride is like the best thing that ever happened. I think because you like The Mummy, you'll more than likely like The Princess Bride. It is very different than the book, which really wasn't much for me (although I've been planning on rereading it because I read an interesting article about it and it's given me a slightly different frame of reference. I'm not convinced I'll like it any more on a reread though haha)
I remember being so skeptical of the title Vampire Academy but the series won me over. (I'm pretty sure I have almost all the books now.) I also loved The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and The Forest of Hands and Teeth - but my GR friends are definitely divided over them too! I am slowly reading more contemporary. My love for fantasy and speculative fiction is a constant anchor though - as my bookshelf overflows with them.
ReplyDelete