The Next Best Book Club discussion

I find myself jumping on the The Help bandwagon at the end of the train here and am really loving it. Which...annoys me. I dont know why. I decided early on in its popularity that I would NOT read this book. and then a few weeks ago, I decided I would read, but that I would NOT like it. And now I find myself annoyed at myself becuase I do like it. A lot. argh...

Is it just me? It was the same story for The Hunger Games. Sometimes I just look at the waves a book is making and decide to be stubborn, just...because.

So whether its the NYT Best Sellers List, Oprah's newest pick, the book discussed around the water cooler, or that book your boss is raving about - do you ever go into a book WANTING to HATE it? And does it piss you off when you dont?

That's such an interesting point, Bridgit.

There's something to be said about having low expectations before reading a book.

I'm really sheepish to admit that last year when we read Rebecca, I was rolling my eyes, but went along with it anyway. I mean look at this cover: . I thought it was just a romance novel, or at least a silly book.

I take it all back. Rebecca was one of my absolutely favorite books I read last year. I was a pig-headed literary thug.

I guess one of my personal failings is I can be a bit of a snob, dismissing and developing an irrational hatred of anything that is 'making waves', getting more attention than an average book or being read and raved about by people who don't usually read much, (current examples - Dan Brown and the Twilight series) but I refuse to read them so I know my opinion on them is not really valid.

ps. Cindy, I agree about the cover of Rebecca, I would roll my eyes at that too.

I know exactly what you're talking about. I heard all the hype about the Shack and I really wanted to hate it, but after I read it I realized it wasn't all that bad. I was really annoyed that I thought so, but I didn't hate it. It was just really... meh, for me. I didn't like it, but it bugged me that I didn't all out hate it.

One book that I really wanted to hate as well was Twilight. I'm happy to say I hated it with very good success. ;)

But sincerely, I really understand what you're saying, some books I just want to boycott for the shock value I get when I tell people I haven't read that, oh so popular, "wonder" they rave about. I usually find that books the masses love are formulaic and dull anyway, so I can freely avoid them with no guilt.

Never. Life is short.

I have a friend who read all the Twilight books just to hate on them. I don't see the appeal of such an endeavor- it doesn't really reflect on me or necessarily other people in any way what they choose to read and delineating to such a small subset of who they are seems useless.

I went into The Book Thief|19063] wanting to hate it. I had three different friends tell me I had to read it. I usually have the opposite reaction when someone tells me I have to read something. Besides
I was over the world war two story line. I had read Schindler's Ark, completed a Holocaust course at uni even visited a concentration camp in Germany. I was done.

I read it to keep my best friend happy. Wow I don't think I have been as wrong about a books as The Book Thief. It is one of the most original novels I have read in a while. It was such a surprise.

Bridget, I was the same with The Help, customers (I work in a book store) kept wanting it and raving, so I picked a reading copy at work that I had been ignoring. I didn't love it, but it was a solid novel.

Don't you guys think that is so jaded? Thinking the masses are always wrong or that your friends/your customers must be wrong just because they discovered something before you?

I do get some trepidation when I hear a book talked up a lot because I don't want to have the wrong expectations - have an idea of what I want instead of allowing a book to reveal itself for what it *is*.

I'm far more likely to suffer from the reverse: going into reading a book expecting to like it, and being disappointed because it was oversold to me. That was my problem with Mistress of the Art of Death, among other books.

Sometimes it's the author I don't want to like. Call it snobbery if you want, but there are some authors who I don't think are/were good people in their daily life, or I disagree with their opinions, or whatever. Like I knew I wouldn't really dig Jack Kerouac, but felt I should at least read On the Road - I expected to hate that one, and even wanted to on a certain level, but wound up giving it an extra star in my rating because it wasn't as bad as I had expected. It was still not fantastic like everyone raves, but I was fair and didn't give a fully negative review/rating just because I had wanted to hate it.

As far as Kaion's question above (about being jaded - which I don't really see anything wrong with, btw), I don't know that it's as cut and dry as all that. I'm okay with going into books with some skepticism, like Fiona said. Having worked in a bookstore myself, I know there are certain books that everyone asks for that probably aren't going to appeal to me. Anytime you work in a customer service job you're going to determine what works for certain customers based on other things they have liked - and based on that, you know what will or will not work for you. The choice to read those books, whether you think you'll like it or not, can come from a couple different directions - occasionally I would read books (knowing I would hate them) so I could at least be familiar with it when talking to customers. There was nothing worse than being asked for a bestseller and not knowing of its existence. Makes you look like you don't know your job. To be able to read it and at least be able to respond to questions about it makes you a better employee. But I'm a work-horse, and not everyone feels that way, and that's their perogative. :)

Now that I don't work in a bookstore, I will still read things, like Twilight, that I know I won't like. The concept is still the same as above, where if everyone is talking about a book I want to be able to discuss with them my opinion, whether it's positive or negative. Something I try not to do is bash a book that I haven't read. In the case of Twilight, I read it and walked away with the exact same feeling about it that I went in with, but at least now I can talk about it honestly and not just defer to statements like, "It's dumb... from what I've heard." That means nothing to anyone.

I might think the masses are always wrong, and I may or may not be right. But I don't like the blindness so many people have about it. It's not my business, so I don't care necessarily, but if everyone is reading something blindly just because Oprah or all their friends says it's good, or everyone and their mother is reading it on the street, I know it probably isn't going to be up my alley. I might still read it, but generally not right away, and always when the timing is right for me. Not just because the "masses" tell me I just HAVE to read something. I try to not even pay attention to the popular stuff (now that I'm out of the bookselling world).

Man, I'm chatty today. :)

I purposely seek out popular books. I figure, if the masses love it, odds are good that I'll like it. But I wouldn't want to like or hate a book based on what other people feel. I either like a book or I don't - a book's popularity only decides whether it comes to my attention or not.

There are some genres that I know bore me to death in general, and I tend to stay away from those. But I'll read a popular book from one of them. I usually snore through historical fiction, but I really enjoyed The Book Thief.

El I completely agree with you on every level!!!!!

I've totally gone into a book wanting to hate. And then sometimes I've failed at hating and sometimes it's been justified. I agree with what a lot of you have said about it too.

I really wanted to hate Harry Potter when I read it...but it rocked.

And I really liked Susanna's point about it being worse the other way around when you really want to like a book and then it's not so good. At least when you want to hate it, it's a nice surprise when it turns out awesome.

Hmmm this is a really good discussion. It's seems though what makes a book successful is not always how good it is but how well it's marketed. That's what makes me cynical of best sellers and I am typically disappointed in them.

I've said this in other places, but I agree with Clare. That's why I really like browsing books in a "used book" environment. The book itself must interest me, not the way it's displayed or shelved. I love finding a book I've never heard of and then just losing myself in it. It's great to go in with NO expectations.

I usually don't like best sellers either. I used to really hate Oprah's book club too. They could never pick a book that didn't make me want to pull my hair out. Recently, I was convinced to hate the Twilght monstrosity. My sisters made me read it and, unfortunately, the first three books were ok. I didn't hate them. Now the fourth, Breaking Dawn, that I can do some serious hating on.

With +270,000 books published in the US alone each year, why in heaven's name would you pick up a book you expect to hate?

Miss GP wrote: "With +270,000 books published in the US alone each year, why in heaven's name would you pick up a book you expect to hate?"

Of my own accord, I can't imagine that I would.

Might because it was assigned for a class, though.

Miss GP wrote: "With +270,000 books published in the US alone each year, why in heaven's name would you pick up a book you expect to hate?"

Because everyone pressures you to read it and tells you you have no right to judge a book based on its content if you haven't read it yet. I wouldn't read any book based on someone else's expectations generally, but sometimes people make me so mad I just read it so I can genuinely say I hate it without them saying, "but you haven't even read the whole story yet." I read the book so I can shut them up. (Sorry for the rant but this just recently happened and I'm still a little affected by it)


Or if someone in your family coerces you to read something they have read to be able to discuss it with you. (I don't mind this at all because it's still fun to discuss our differences.)

Life is too short and their are way too many good books out there and books i really want to read for me to read a book for the express purpose of hating it. And on top of that, reading a book just to hate it, to me seems a little immature. I mean no offense. But it's like, you have nothing better to do with your time? I try not in go into any book with a ton of or any expectations. I just enjoy books for what they are. I don't tend to pick them apart. I like the Twilight saga quite a bit. Do i love them? No. But i do like them and i just enjoy them for what they are. YA novels about a girl who falls in love with a vampire. I was not expecting the greatest book ever written. I do read popular fiction and bestsellers, that everybody and their brother has read or so it seems. Usually there is a good reason for that. Usually they are very well written or interesting or they have a good plot or something else. I never feel pressured to read books. I have read one of Oprah's book club suggested reads (A Million Little Pieces) and i really loved it, i got so much out of it. And i have other Oprah's book club selections on my i want to read list. But just because it's really popular or a bestseller or Oprah or someone else recommends doesn't automatically mean I'm going to read it. The Hunger Games for example, they are immensely popular especially among my peers (I'm 17) I've read the back cover description and that is just not something that interests me and will never interest me, so i have never read them and have no desire to ever read them or for that matter the Harry Potter novels. So i ultimately let my personal reading tastes and no one or nothing else chose what i read, i might be influenced by bestseller status or extremely popular or someone's suggestion, but in the end i chose what i read. And besides all that, we have enough negativity in our lives, who needs more?

Pretty much when my mom recommends something, I want to hate it, mostly because she goes overboard. She got me to read The Help, and it was pretty good. Yet, months later, she is still going on about it, bragging how she recommends it everyday to someone new.

This is just an example of our mother/daughter dichotomy. Generally, I want to hate books she recommends. And if I don't hate it, I start to hate it because she can't move on. I'm going lower my rating for The Help, just because it has been pounded into my head.

My goal is to stay out ahead of her.

If you only stick to books you know and never trying anything out of your comfort zone, you won't know if you like it or not. Sometimes you think a book is going to be awful, end up reading it to find out for sure, and yes you are correct. That book sucked. BUT, occasionally you will find a diamond in the rough that you never would have read if someone hadn't suggested. I agree that often there is a reason bestsellers are bestsellers. But I think the reason sometimes is the recognition of the author's name and the publishers marketing.
Also, it is fun to play the devil's advocate when discussing books. You read a popular novel, you hate it, discuss. It's fun. Not a waste of time or immaturity but an avenue to another level of conversation. The Eyre Affair was a fantasy book. Not my genre. I read it for this months book club and didn't really like it. But I read it for the exposure to something new and to get out of reading the same genre all the time.
I like this thread. Definately something to think about.

Kate wrote: "If you only stick to books you know and never trying anything out of your comfort zone, you won't know if you like it or not. Sometimes you think a book is going to be awful, end up reading it to ..."

100% agree with you Kate. That's why I have read some of the Classics - to challenge myself. Why I read Twilight - to be Devils Advocate. Why I have read economic/business books like Barbarians at the Gate - to be able to talk about some stuff that interests my husband - and to see WHY he was fascinated with it.

None of those were things I thought I would like going into them. Sometimes I was proven right and sometimes - the times you hope for - I was proven wrong.

There's a difference between going in with an open mind or with reservations and going in to *hate* a book, as already discussed.

I think those of us that really love to read, read a lot of things we don't expect to love for the reasons Bridgit said. Because reading isn't a chore to us, we don't mind trying something out of our comfort zone.

My husband hates to read with the exception of James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell and John Grisham. He won't even pick up a book by anyone else, so he would never start a book unless he expected to love it.

Kaion wrote: "There's a difference between going in with an open mind or with reservations and going in to *hate* a book, as already discussed."

Sure. And there is also the concept of doing something that you think will be good for you even though you dont want to do it. Like getting a vaccination when you hate doctors or shots or getting a degree when you hate school or reading a book that you should read but you are expecting to hate.

I don't jump too quickly to anything "popular" but there are some in particular that I can't stand...and I am probably going to get harassed for it. I have to say I haven't read Harry Potter or Twilight and I have NO desire to.

I don't think I've ever actually wanted to hate a book, but I have gone in with low expectations. I've been reading for 30 years now & can tell fairly accurately whether I will like a book by it's description & first page. You might say I go with my gut usually. But on occasion, I read something I don't think I'll like because it's recommended by someone whose taste I trust. You have to find the right balance between trusting your first instincts & being open to new things.

Alicia wrote: "I don't jump too quickly to anything "popular" but there are some in particular that I can't stand...and I am probably going to get harassed for it. I have to say I haven't read Harry Potter or Twi..."

No Harry Potter??!! Blasphemy.

Alicia wrote: "I don't jump too quickly to anything "popular" but there are some in particular that I can't stand...and I am probably going to get harassed for it. I have to say I haven't read Harry Potter or Twi..."

I stayed away from the Harry Potter books for awhile as well, but someone finally convinced me to at least read the first one. I can now say that I have read the first three! Unfortunately, the same person convinced me to read "Twilight." I will also probably get harassed for this, but I hated it.

Harry Potter is my favorite. I've read the complete series probably 20 times. When Twilight first came out and everybody was freaking out somebody foolishly told me it was as good as Harry Potter. There was no way I could possibly believe that and so I started intensly hating everything about Twilight and its insane fans. I live in Utah so the fandom fanatics are worse. Ugg.

My best friend is a Twilight fanatic. I don't know how it happened but it did. We decided that for the sake of discussion I would read the Twilight saga and she would read Harry Potter. So I read it and it was even worse than I had thought it would be but at least I know now instead of being hypocritical and judging it without knowing. While my friend did enjoy Harry Potter she still doesn't like it more than Twilight and its because she really likes to read alot of romance which is exactly what I hated about Twilight and Harry Potter is seriously lacking in that area. There is alot of love in Harry Potter but not much romance. To each his own. Some mainstream stuff is pretty freakin' awesome and some of it sucks but it just depends on your taste. Ever since Twilight I've never pre-judged a book. You just never know.

Alicia wrote: "I don't jump too quickly to anything "popular" but there are some in particular that I can't stand...and I am probably going to get harassed for it. I have to say I haven't read Harry Potter or Twi..."
Well it's understandable, you're in your 20s and both Harry Potter and Twilight are aimed at a younger audience. I don't read YA books at all despite the fact I don't hate them, I'm just not their target audience.

I like this thread! It's so fascinating to me how different people's preferences can be on books, whether that means the books they read or the reasons for reading them. I'm pretty happy-go-lucky with books. There are certain genres that I know I won't like and I generally don't touch them (unless I get an adamant recommendation), such as sci fi or romance. When I read books, I just take them for what they are, and it doesn't really bother me if anyone else likes them or not.

The only thing that really gets to me (not that anybody is doing this in this thread, which is nice for a change) is when people are book snobs against other readers. I can be a bit of a book snob against certain books every so often, but I hate when people put others down for what they read or try to make it seem that they're "less of a reader" for reading certain things. I've only ever seen this on Goodreads a handful of times, but it still makes me uncomfortable. (Part of it is that I go to a private, liberal arts college...and let me tell you, some students can be downright snobs). But I like Goodreads for the fact that people can discuss books in a mature manner without knocking other people or making them feel "stupid."

Phew...getting down off my soapbox now lol :)

I think its bizarre to be hating on somebody for what they read. They're reading...who cares. Reading helps with comprehension, spelling and general commen sense and logic. It doesn't matter what you read as long as you're reading. I think the only other thing as beneficial to your mind than reading is playing an instrument.

Jess - as a sci-fi/fantasy fanatic I always find it weird when people say they don't like it. I always have this couple of seconds where I think 'what else is there' then it hits me...um historical fiction, mystery, classics... I'm a dork.

Felina wrote: "I think its bizarre to be hating on somebody for what they read. They're reading...who cares. Reading helps with comprehension, spelling and general commen sense and logic. It doesn't matter what y..."

There have been a few sci-fi books here and there that I've enjoyed. Most recently Joe Haldeman's The Forever War. And I'm a big Stephen King fan, but I wouldn't really call him sci-fi. I love diving into fantasies though--there's something about having a whole other world to jump into that I just love :)

Yay! I fall more on the side of Fantasy anyways.

I'll have check out The Forever War. And King is a god.

Felina wrote: "I think its bizarre to be hating on somebody for what they read. They're reading...who cares. Reading helps with comprehension, spelling and general commen sense and logic. It doesn't matter what y..."
Reading can influence family relations. What you read and how you read speaks loudly about your character. I've been accused of all kinds of things from my in-laws based on my reading habits. And you misspelled "common", I only point this out to illustrate how nit-picky family and friends can be.

Mostly, I've been accused by in-laws of being lazy because I like to read. My own family...they like happy/sugary, and if I read something dark, well then I must be depressed and in need of an intervention. My husband reads tech and self-help, while I have little use for such, however, I don't begrudge him of his reading habits, and vice versa.

I have never disliked someone because they read or didn't read something. I can hate a book vehemently and have a good friend of mine fall in love with it. I understand that they're tastes are different and we still enjoy discussing our differences. I just don't like it when people tell me I have to read a book I know I won't like or care for and then tell me I don't know what I'm talking about because I haven't read it yet. I mean I'll take peoples' suggestions for genres I normally don't like and I'll give it a try, I enjoy finding gems where I don't expect them to be, but if I've looked into a book and seriously considered it, I can almost always tell whether I'll like or not within the first hundred pages. Some people just don't seem to get that though. I know some books get better in the latter half, but I can usually tell by reading wether or not it's worth my time to stick around.

It's very true what you say Jess, It's wonderful to have a place where readers, with no stipulations are welcome. A really good example is my co-worker, she's in her mid-twenties and has never read anything that isn't required by school, and perhaps not even those really. Recently she tried to get a job in law enforcement and her reading comprehension skills were too low for her to pass the test, so she started reading. Her tastes are nothing like my own, they're primarily Hollywood type dramas centering on the dirty little secret kind of stories, but she's reading, and enjoying it! and that makes me happy, who knows where she'll go from there.

Personally I haven't yet cracked Twilight. I do think I'll hate it, I've not enjoyed the movies, I'm a vampire fiction fan and find them tantamount to herectical. However if a free copy lands itself in my hands, I'll read it. I generally think that if any book makes it way to me of it's own accord I was meant to read it. Even if I just give it away afterward. I have happily been proved wrong and agree that it's much worse to have high expectations proved wrong than low ones.

I'm currently reading Animal Farm, which I expect to hate because I hated 1984. I can't live on the pessismistic world view. However the introduction was so good that even if I do hate the book it will have been well worth it! It brought the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay to my attention, and I am indebted!

If I'm gonna dive into a newer vampire series (past couple of years), then I'll try Sookie or Vampire Diaries before I'll EVER consider Twilight. I think emo-ville irritates me :(

And YET I'll greedily read shoujo manga. HAHAHA!

I have the first Sookie book waiting patiently for me :) I'm looking forward to it, I love Trueblood!

I finished and didn't hate Animal Farm, no where near as upset I was with 1984. I actually feel like it was an important book to read. So who knows really lol.