All About Books discussion

;-) well ..
we have all been there, right?
We get a particular book recommendation - and so look forward to reading the book. When we finally do, disappointment silently hits us. The book does not live up to what we had been expecting.

Which book has left a feeling of disappointment with you?
And - why?

For me,
it was "A Little Life". - Yes, I still do recommend it. But it is pain, suffering, lack of self respect over more than 700 pages. I loved the reading flow, but it was really hard to read it, at times. Far too many details, in my opinion. In the end, I have felt relieved to have finished it.

Good question! Pardon me if I sound negative and angsty in this comment, I'm sure that these titles must have some degree of greatness in them, only they might not have appealed to me at the time of reading, or I had just expected a little more.

Twilight, Captain Underpants, and Percy Jackson. Those are kind of obvious. They were all the rage in my age group in elementary school but I soon found out I wasn't missing out on much. Diary of a Wimpy Kid also got progressively worse. The sequels made me think, hey, I didn't really like the first one that much anyway. I never bothered to finish the "City of Bones" sequels either.

Although I do like Oscar Wilde, I didn't expect him to be such easy reading. I remember pausing in the middle of "The Importance of Being Earnest" and thinking, well, this can't be it, right? Surely this should be a little more difficult! I thought the same of Kafka's "Metamorphosis" - I thought, surely I must be missing something here! This guy, he turns into a cockroach, and everything that follows only seems natural! Simple enough.

I read "The Fault in Our Stars" and "Paper Towns" when they first came out and didn't think too much of it. Then the internet exploded with oogling fangirls. I also read "Dear John" in elementary school and forgot about it later until I learned it was adapted into a movie. I didn't have any bad feelings, but I do feel like they are overrated.

Somehow a couple of years ago when I gave "Pride and Prejudice" a try I just couldn't stand it. I might try again in the future, but my first instinct was just "no".

Omy there have been many and all too often and it's usually the books that won prizes especially The man booker prize.
I read life of Pi and wondered why all the fuss, The Road was another that book haunts me still and not in a good way, more recently All the light we cannot see though I didn't hate it , it was just a meh book for me, any kind of chick lit (give me strength) I couldn't get on with Pride and prejudice but I love Dickens and I think I'm reading another as we speak Station Eleven omy it's just not doing it for me, ohhh and The sense of an ending geez I was glad at the end of that one but kept it for a re read in case I'd missed something but I very much doubt it. Gut instincts are what makes me love a book, the genre isn't important but the writing has to grab me.

:-) Gloria ...

I loved reading your reply. thank you for sharing, and being courageous. // a big nod full of understanding on Twilight - brrrrr.

it's also fascinating that a comfortable classic makes us hold for a second and wonder. I had a similar feeling reading George Orwell, so can perfectly relate to what you have said about Oscar Wilde's writing.

and - sigh, yes. all the stacks of YA fiction.
but it is not just the YA fiction section, I have the feeling that marketing is playing a major role in almost any genre these days.
a couple of ok thrillers were ruined for me due to having been mass-hyped when they came out.

Tracey wrote: "Omy there have been many and all too often and it's usually the books that won prizes especially The man booker prize.
I read life of Pi and wondered why all the fuss, The Road was another that bo..."

:-) Tracey ~ which books did you enjoy? or, would you recommend reading? ... just, wondering.

personally, I agree on "All The Light..". I found it an ok read, but that was it. there were books that did not win any prize but which amazed me.

that being said, I still do look out for books nominated for prizes - "Fates and Furies" for example, I liked a lot. also "A Spool of Blue Thread" was such a positive, light read. there are gems hidden. :-) we just need to find them.

Caecilia If you look on my shelves Books I'm passionate about you will see that they are all different, genre , old, new, translations and more but they all have one thing in common, amazing writing that grabbed me from the start. I just added The Martian by Andy Weir which I flew through on Monday and Tuesday this week and I know it's hyped to heck out of it at the minute with the film tie in but it was a great read in my opinion.

Oh and a book I'd recommend to anyone who likes poetic, lyrical beautiful writing is Witch light by Susan Fletcher it's truly different and absolutely wonderful

Tracey wrote: "Caecilia If you look on my shelves Books I'm passionate about you will see that they are all different, genre , old, new, translations and more but they all have one thing in common, amazing writin..."

:-) just hopped over to have a look at your favourites shelf.
you like murakami? // oh, and ..

"The Martian", ace book. loved it.

Love Murakami I have a hardback copy of Wind/Pinball to read next month. I'm rationing my Murakami to one every 3 months I'd hate to run out :(

Tracey wrote: "Love Murakami I have a hardback copy of Wind/Pinball to read next month. I'm rationing my Murakami to one every 3 months I'd hate to run out :("

I'd say :-) you are lucky. he is one of the eagerly writing authors.

Gloria wrote: "Twilight, Captain Underpants, and Percy Jackson. Those are kind of obvious."

Not to sound smug, but I think that when these books get RAVE reviews, they are often from people who don't read much. Which is why we love goodreads, and read more deeply through the reviews at Amazon to see if the books are really exceptional, or just accessible.

Look how fast this thread zoomed--guess we've all been there. I have to think a little longer to remember my greatest disappointments, not counting when they canceled The Addams Family in the 1960s.

DJ Zippergirl wrote: "when these books get RAVE reviews, they are often from people who don't read much."

:-) what a sentence.
you have me grinning all over.
and yes - agree. fully.

the more you read, the broader your book horizon gets.
(where was that literature diversity thread again?) ...
you get a feel of the books available, old and new. something comparable to an overview, perhaps.

which is why, YA fiction does not work for me.
the topics covered there can be found in a much more profound way, in either classics or contemporary fiction.

Caecilia wrote: "there were books that did not win any prize but which amazed me."

Ah, those glorious discoveries--found for free or cheap--with no reviews, or a few diehard fans. It's like you're in on a secret but it's okay to share.

I mostly read fantasy and lurv a few series I found just that way:
Nicholas Raven and the Wizard's Web
The Mirror Man
Isle of Wysteria (needs a proofreader badly, but increasingly good thru the quadrology)
Stones by Jacob Whaler
Inner Movement by Brandt Legg <
Tournament of Hearts (The Librarian Gladiator)

thank you for sharing, DJ Zippergirl.
unfortunately, I am personally not into fantasy - but it's always good to give unknown writers a bit of help.

a book which I came across by co-incidence and found really gripping was "Bird Box" by Josh Malerman. creepy.

Creepy is good. lol And the fantasy I tend to like the most isn't all swords and sorcery. I'm not into books that spend the majority of the book in battle and war scenes.

I want a good storyline, characters who are outside the norm, and some magical aspects. Like it 'could' happen, if the rules of reality were a bit more flexible.

Both "Stones" and "Inner Movement" and "The Last Librarian" (also by Legg) are reality based and explore deeper themes. I never saw myself in a helmet with a magic sword, but I was inside the every day characters in these books. Both brilliant.

Oh, so I should check out The Martian? I didn't want to fall for the hype. lol

Jumping back on here. I have Bird box picked it up for 50p at a second hand shop :)

DJ you have to read The Martian it is a brilliantly told story and has humour, tension, adventure and potatoes lots of potatoes :)