Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Books I Never Expected to Like




I read books for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes I've been bullied into reading a book. That's what happened to me with Harry Potter. I read book one and I thought that was enough, but sixth graders at my school library just couldn't believe I hadn't read the entire series. Finally I caved. Happily, it turns out.


Sometimes I'm forced to read a book given to me by a relative or a friend. No easy way out of that. And nine times out of ten, it's a very bad experience. But there is the rare time that a relative urges you to read a YA book that turns out to be a fantastic read.


Then there are the times I pick up a book at a reading conference from an author who is sitting all alone with an enormous pile of advanced reader copies of his first children's book. I bring the book back to the hotel and spontaneously decide to give this book, with a sad cover, a try. And I find myself hooked from page one.



Assigned readings are always fraught with danger. How often do these turn out to be beloved books? Not too often, in my experience. But not so with the one book I was assigned to read in college for my Educational Philosophy class.



Westerns have never had any appeal for me. It was with great reluctance that I began this book. And now it's one of my favorite reads ever.



I tend to stay away from bestsellers. But if there is one category that other people are always trying to push me to read it is bestsellers. So I was very happy to learn that bestsellers sometimes becomes bestsellers because bestseller authors know how to tell a good tale.



As much as I typically dislike the overhyped, I also tend to steer away from the underhyped, those little books that I suspect never even made the publisher back the author's advance. But there have been many unexpectedly delightful books among this category.


Classic is a category that scares many people off. But I've been happily surprised by more books I expected to hate in this category than any other.


What are books that you never expected to like?




Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

24 comments:

  1. Really great picks. I LOVED Percy Jackson, but I had watched the movie before I read it and didn't believe that it would be as good. And I was wrong it was way better!
    Thanks for stopping by my top ten Tuesday!!! =D

    Fly to the Sky @ Read Books and Live Green

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love this list. I remember knowing nothing about the Lightning Thief when I picked it up and was blown away. HP was a late read for me, but all the hype made me think I'd love it. :)

    My Top Ten

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yep - totally got sucked into the HP series as well - I started with book 3 - just to see what all the hoopla was about - was hooked - even have hard copies of the series. Hunger Games -- didn't discover that trilogy until all 3 were out (thank goodness - I would not have been happy to wait for books on this one) -- really enjoyed this series - so many levels & perspectives the story(ies). Percy Jackson -- made it through the first one -- didn't compell me continue. Sadly - I was also hooked on Twilight - but again a few years after the rest of the crowd -- it is a good no-thinking fantasy read. Beautiful Creatures - it was okay - but I haven't felt the need/pull to continue after the first book (heard the movie was a total disaster). I have really enjoyed reading the YA books more than I thought I would. Still waiting for the next great series to appear & captivate us all like HP & Hunger Games.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So glad to see I wasn't the only one who had that initial reaction to Harry Potter. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Series are a special case, I think. They are not always consistently compelling.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My English teacher got me to the read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and I wasn't expecting to enjoy but I did and I'm so glad he recommended it.

    I love your story about coming across The Lightning Thief, I came to the series late but loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The same thing happened to me with Harry Potter. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. That's a great list of books :) It's such a good thing to give books a chance like this. You never know where those gems are going to come from!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, the first three books on your list are on mine too! I was also bullied into reading Harry Potter and I was reluctant to read The Hunger Games and The Lightning Thief. Now they are among my favorite books.

    That is cool that you kind of got to meet Rick Riordan before he became a big hit :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Nice to be surprised by books. Hooray for your sixth graders who encouraged you to finish the Potter series!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yeah for Hunger Games & Harry Potter. Great list

    ReplyDelete
  12. It takes a specialised kind of bravery to set out to read something you expect to dislike, but it occasionally turns out to be worth it.
    Like you, I have never been much interested in westerns (the fictional kind - I love to read about the wild west in non-fiction), but I expect I would probably like Lonesome Dove if I were to read it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm torn about The Hunger Games. I'm hating being out of the cultural literacy loop, but I'm not a fan of dystopian lit (nor do I read a lot of YA but I've liked quite a bit of what I've read).

    Whaddya think? Should I give it a try?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sounds like you should try a library copy, Debbie!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love the way in which you set out your list this week.
    I may be one of the few who have yet to read The Hunger Games, I think all the hype that surrounded it and then with it being turned in to a movie, the books will only be a let down to me.
    I also like that you avoid bestsellers, it gives me some great potential reads that I wouldn't have known of myself.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great list - I love the way you set it out - really original! I'm with you on Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games - they've both become some of my favourites!! Laura

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ooh, I love some of the books on your list, and I've found some greats in classics which surprised me too. Thanks for sharing, i suddenly have an urge to go and buy the Percy Jackson books :) Lorraine (biblioaddicted).

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great list, I'm with you on Harry Potter, The Lightning Thief and Great Expectations - always nice to see someone enjoying a classic more than they thought they would!

    My Top 10 Tuesday!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm still working on the classics. I usually still don't like them after I read them :-)

    I read HP because of my niece and ended up loving it and reading the faster than her as they came out.

    I love when I'm surprised by a book.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I would like to go back sometime and read Lonesome Dove. Sounds like a great read. cheers.
    http://www.thecuecard.com/

    ReplyDelete
  21. This was a really interesting list! I'm glad to see you like some of the books on here that are my favourites- liking books unexpectedly is always a wonderful thing!

    ReplyDelete
  22. This was a really interesting list! I'm glad to see you like some of the books on here that are my favourites- liking books unexpectedly is always a wonderful thing!

    ReplyDelete
  23. This was a really interesting list! I'm glad to see you like some of the books on here that are my favourites- liking books unexpectedly is always a wonderful thing!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I love your list! I was especially touched by the bit about the author sitting alone at his table stacked with ARCs -- knowing how things turned out for him. (I didn't love that series, but my boys sure enjoyed it).

    ReplyDelete

I hope you will leave a comment so I know you have visited. If you stop by my blog, I will always stop by yours.

Note: Disqus commenting is only available on the web version of the blog. Please switch to the web version if you are using a mobile device.