This week's meme, from Lost in Books, begs the question "What are 3 Books You Thought You'd Hate But Ended Up Loving?" I can think of dozens that I thought I'd love, but ended up hating, but this one was hard for me. Usually, if I think I'll hate it, I don't read it. Here's what I came up with...
1) The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court: I read this for book club and expected it to be ridiculously dry. The cover looks like something you'd see on a bad thriller or a Grisham novel. I began reading and was immediately hooked. The author managed to weave political, judicial and personal information together in a way that was really enthralling.
2) Watchmen: I had never read a graphic novel before Watchmen, so it's not that I thought I would hate this particular book, it's more the whole genre. I didn't read comic books and I thought that graphic novels were the same thing. Instead, I found a rich story full of fascinating characters, literary references and complicated back-stories. Now I love trying new graphic novels.
3) The Twilight Saga: The only reason I picked up Twilight was because I had too many people (whose taste I trusted) telling me I should read the series. I thought I would HATE them. But once I started I couldn't stop. Yes, Bella is a bit of a twit and somehow always seems to throw herself into the path of danger. Yes, every inch of the love triangle is melodramatic. But I was hooked. I read all four books in less than a week, which is part of the appeal. Reading them is fluff and it's escapism and it takes very little of my time. So, though it's embarrassing, I couldn't put them down.
8 comments:
Add me to the Twilight embarrassment train. I had to check them out after all the hype and I just loved the story - - although I went into the first book thinking I probably wouldn't care for it but at least I could say I read the darn thing!
Thank you thank you thank you for admitting your love of Twilight! I felt the exact same way. I thought I would hate them, was prepared to mock them, and then had to read all four books in the same week because I became enraptured by them. Embarassing? Yes ... but I won't deny myself a good guilty pleasure read when I find one. And I'm going to try The Nine ... I know you told me about it before (I think it was you.)
Those are all good answers! I didn't think I would like Watchmen the movie, and, unfortunately, I didn't like it that much. Have you seen the movie? Do you think I should bother with the book if I didn't like it or is the book so superior that I should give it a shot?
Lori and Jenners - So glad I'm not alone. I agree with you Jenners, if it's something I enjoy, no matter how embarrassing, I'm still going to read it. And I think I have told you about The Nine. It's really interesting.
Rebecca - I thought the movie was awful. If the things you hated about the movie include the characters, then maybe skip the book. But if you hated the acting, music choices, bad plot development, etc. I'd say you should still give the book a shot. I read it first and was incredibly disappointed in the movie. The thing that makes the book fascinating is the discussion of power, responsibility, etc. and the movie really missed the boat on that. I also felt like it was hard to follow. The book is broken up in to chapters that focus on individual characters' stories, which makes a lot more since. I'd love to hear what you think if you end up reading it!
It's a wonderful feeling when books truly exceed our expectations! I'd have to think long and hard to answer this meme.
I read Twilight before any of the hype hit, before the release of New Moon, and I got it at an airport bookstore. I'm always prepared to be underwhelmed by those 'impulse reads,' but I did end up reading it almost compulsively and passing it along to my sister. I couldn't get into the rest of the series, though. Bravo for confessing that you actually liked it!
Twilight made my list too!
I liked The Watchmen movie, so maybe I should try the graphic novel.
I *know.* I couldn't stop reading for four days straight and then lay awake terrified of vampires. Stupid Twilight.
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