Thursday, January 23, 2014

A Cocktail and Conversation: Unpopular Opinion?


Every other Thursday here at the Broke & The Bookish is  A Cocktail & Conversation time. One of the TBTB members will pose a question to 2-3 of the other members of TB&TB crew about books, life, music, etc and then they'll answer and we can converse about it. So grab a cocktail & cozy up for some conversation. It's 5 o'clock somewhere, friends. 


The Question: What is a book that the whole world seems to love that you just can not stand? Or don't even want to try?

 




Tahleen says:
I am in the minority of people who weren't totally blown away by Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. I LIKED it okay, but it was so hyped up that I think it just fell short for me. It was good, but not the very best ever.








Jamie says
:  In terms of something I've read that I feel like I had an unpopular opinion on is Divergent. I didn't HATE it (gave it 3 stars so I liked it) but I feel like everyone LOOOOOVED it. I think a lot of it was a hype issue because  I just read it at the beginning of this year and at this point it is soooo hyped. In terms of something I'll never read? Well, I'm a pretty open read and will read almost anything but I don't care..I'll never read 50 Shades of Grey. I just won't despite many non-reading friends loving it.



Daisy says: It's definitely an unpopular opinion, but I really didn't like Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally, I had several issues with that book, one of which was the romance and both love interests. And I'm so sad about this because so many people loved it and the rest of her books...
And I'm with Jamie, I'll never read 50 Shades of Grey either, that's just a no go for me.



What about you guys? What's one book YOU have had the unpopular opinion on??

37 comments:

  1. Mine would probably be Under the Never Sky! I was just sort of "meh" about it. I didn't find it super original. A close second would be Anna and the French Kiss. It was okay, but I wasn't totally in love with the story like all my friends were.

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  2. I didn't like A Discovery of Witches - I think there was an interesting idea but she spent too much time describing every single glass of wine, plate of food, yoga pose and many other things. Additionally, the love story seemed forced and the main character felt like an adult version of Bella. Oh, I also didn't like Twilight - Edward is a creepy stalker guy - watching someone when they are sleeping is only cute and romantic if you are already dating, not if you snuck into their room without ever talking to them.
    Also is The Maze Runner popular? I know they're making a movie but while the ending was intriguing, I felt the pacing and the characters were just off.

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  3. I second Divergent. I liked it okay, but didn't love it. I'd also say The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, which I didn't like enough to read the rest of the series.

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  4. I wasn't psyched about The Perks of Being a Wallflower, probably because I read it after high school and didn't connect with it as well. I also agree with Tahleen about Eleanor and Park; I liked it very much and gave it a high rating because it was well-written and I think it executes what it intended, but for me personally it wasn't as out of this world as the rest of the world implied!

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  5. I also did not love UNDER THE NEVER SKY. I did love the sequel, however, which kind of redeemed the first just a bit, but then I didn't love the third book (that's coming out soon).

    I also did not love the first Mortal Instruments book. I know this one has a bit of a love it/hate it thing going on and while I didn't really hate it or get involved in the controversy, I just didn't think it was all that fabulous.

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  6. I'm totally the same with Eleanor & Park. I liked it but I wasn't blown away not the way people were raving.

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  7. I read 50 Shades back when it was still FANFICTION. I hated it then (I mean, I can handle a lot in a book but that one was beyond O.o for me) and I REFUSE to read it. Recently, I was disappointed by Into the Still Blue. It just wasn't all that for me. I liked it, but I wasn't blown away by a spectacular ending.

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  8. I've never read 50 shades either and don't think I will. Just can't get into all the hype.

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  9. I didn't like Divergent either! :)

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  10. I enjoyed eleanor & park, but did not adore it. I feel all alone in my very, very negative feelings about The Fault in Our Stars specifically and John Green in general. Just not for me. Also, I hated Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. LOVE Raven Boys though! I couldn't even finish Under the Never Sky. I try to keep my negative feelings to myself because I know that book tastes are unique and I would hate to keep a reader from a book they might love just because it wasn't for me. It's tricky business deciding when to warn someone to run far, far away from a book I didn't like! ~Megan

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    1. I'm with you on general John Green, although I did like The Fault in Our Stars. And don't worry; I hated Shiver, too. Maybe I'll give Raven Boys a try, though...

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  11. I've tried to read E&P 3 times and just cannot get through it no matter how hard I try. I really liked the author's other two books (and even posted a review for Attachments today), but I just could not get into that one. I also gave Divergent 3 stars. It was alright, but it wasn't like the greatest thing ever. I haven't read Catching Jordan.
    I've tried a couple of times to read The Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but have struggled to get through that one as well despite almost every single one of my GR and/or blogger friends adoring it. I plan to give it one more go before the 3rd book comes out.
    And, yeah, I will never read 50 Shades. I have zero desire. Great post!

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  12. Jamie I am totally the same on Divergent. I read it and enjoyed it but there have been so many other YA dystopias that I have loved so much more.
    And Tahleen I loved E & P but I know a lot of people who didn't so you're totally not alone.

    There's been a few recently that people seem to love but I was just meh about including Taken by Erin Bow, and Partials by Dan Wells.

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  13. My most over-hyped book that I really didn't enjoy was The Knife of Never Letting Go. So many people adore this book and the series, but I just couldn't really enjoy it as much. At 3 stars, I probably won't continue with the series, but it wasn't terrible. I also didn't enjoy The Host.
    It makes me pretty crappy when I don't love a book like others did, makes me feel like there's something wrong with me. Great topic girls :D

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    1. I LOVED this book so much at first that I quickly ordered the next in the series when I was about halfway through. But the bit with Manchee KILLED ME, and now I just can't bring myself to continue with the series.

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  14. I feel like everyone in the world loves The Fault in Our Stars by John Gree, and yet, even the mere THOUGHT of reading it strikes fear in my heart. There's no particular REASON for my fear though... I hear it's sad, but I don't really mind sad. It's a cancer book, but I've read cancer books before. Everyone loves it and I mght nto, but that's not a new experience. I think it's like a combination of all those things and the intense hype around the book that makes me afraid.

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  15. I did love Divergent, but I thought Insurgent fell significantly short and Allegiant was so ridiculous I couldn't even finish it. I had a very similar experience with the Delirium series, though to a lesser degree and I did at least finish Requiem, I just felt like the ending left a lot to be desired.

    I keep debating giving The Maze Runner another try, that was kind of "meh" for me. Not bad, but I haven't read beyond the first book yet. And I'm cringing typing this, but I didn't love Code Name Verity and I can't seem to get into The Book Thief, at all.

    I am also a little afraid to read The Fault in Our Stars. And I'm never going near 50 Shades.

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  16. I remember how insane the hype was for Daughter of Smoke and Bone but I never really got into it. I think I'll give the rest of the series a try because I just love the covers so much and why not, but this time I'll go on with much lower expectations. It sucks when you don't like something, but what can you do, right?

    Also, I really liked Divergent but I do think it's overrated.

    -P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex

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  17. I agree with Tahleen; I don't get the hype about Eleanor and Park. Sure, it was sweet, but nothing special. Fangirl also wasn't that great, but everyone seems to be raving about it.

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  18. I'm totally with you, Jamie! I read Divergent over the summer, and despite the fact that my two younger sisters are crazy in love with it, I just... didn't catch the fever, I guess? I mean, I gave it three stars, too! But now I feel kind of bad about it, because I feel like I'm missing out on a kind of crazy fandom that a bunch of my non-reader friends belong to... awkward.

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  19. One book that was super hyped up that was a major disappointment for me was Fangirl. I loved Eleanor&Park so much, and for me Fangirl didn't hold a candle to it. I know lots of people loved it, but to me it simply wasn't as good.

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  20. For me, the one book that everyone always raves about that I just hated was The Book Thief. I couldn't even finish it. I just felt like nothing ever happened. It was boring.

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  21. I think I'm bad to not like a book simply because of the hype or maybe it's because I don't see how it's that big of a deal. For example, I thought The Fault in Our Stars was okay, not as great as other people seem to think. Like others have said, I'm not a big John Green fan. I also thought Gone Girl was okay, not as great as other people thought. Even thinking back to Twilight. I first read the series before the hype and enjoyed it. I even recommended it to my best friend. However, when all the hype came up about it...I started disliking it. With those types of very popular books, it's like I don't think they are THAT great, so it makes me dislike it because of how much everyone else loves it.

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  22. Daisy, you're not alone! I do not like Catching Jordan and the rest of the books in the series, too, something about the author's writing style that doesn't 'click' with me.
    Angelfall & 13 Reasons Why was pretty much other disappointments on my side because the hype was HUGE yet I couldn't really enjoy both of them *shrug*
    I think big hype around certain books often makes people end up disappointed because they've been building so many hopes after reading all the good things about it, while in reality, every book is different for everyone.

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  23. Okay...Don't hate me.....I didn't like the Fault in Our Stars.....worse than than... I loathed it...I get such judgy looks from people when I tell them that, they just look at me as if I've said I don't liek Harry Potter or I don't like breathing. Its the look you know like ugh you must have been readign it wrong. It just wasn't my style! I got really bored reading it.

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  24. I didn't like Divergent that much either. I started on Insurgent but gave up after about 100 pages - I just didn't care that much about the characters and I guess this series is not for me.

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  25. City of Bones and Shadow and Bone just didn't do it for me. I liked them okay but I wasn't blown away.

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  26. City of Bones and Shadow and Bone just didn't do it for me. I liked them okay but I wasn't blown away.

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  27. Shadow and Bone did not impress. I had a lot of issues with that book, especially its hyper focus on beauty. And it was touted as an epic, which probably is why I judged it so harshly.

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  28. Y'all are not missing anything with 50 Shades. Gag.

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  29. I just wrote a post about this! I really did not like Gone Girl.

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  30. I didn't love Anna and the French Kiss. I thought it was cute but I did not swoon over St. Clair like everyone else did. I hated Meant to Be even more. I figured out the "spoiler" as soon as it happened and could barely stomach the rest of the book because it was so tedious.

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  31. For me, it was The 5th Wave. Everyone raved about it, but I got it early and thought it was pretty terrible. Felt bad for having to publish a mostly negative review pre-release, but with all the hype out there, I doubt it really mattered.

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  32. For me I'd have to say it was 13 Reasons Why. I might be because I listened to it instead of actually reading it but I really didn't like it. I also didnt like The Future Of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler so it may be that his reading isn't something that I'm not all that into.

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  33. I have very mixed feelings about The Fault in our Stars. Well, actually John Green books in general which is not particularly common. I do love the Vlogbrothers' YT channel though, I'm just not a huge fan of John Green's writing

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  34. Mine would be Throne of Glass. The main character was incredibly annoying, the tests were boring and not perilous... and the love interest was flat at best and I did not get the memo about the love triangle. I was pretty sure that guard hated her guts. Oh and why is she the greatest assassin who never kills anyone? But everyone else LURVES this book. I don't get it.

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  35. I don't even want to pick up The Fault in our Stars or E & P. Too Sad?!!

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