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Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings, where the blog's owner Heidi discusses a wide range of topics from books to blogging. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.
Here is what is on deck this week:
ARE THERE AUTHORS/BOOKS THAT EVERYONE SEEMS TO LOVE BUT YOU DON'T?
As anticipated in my previous TMST post, I tweaked the original question a little...well...a lot 😅. Because it seems like I never tried a popular author or read a popular book only to find myself disappointed with them. Of course, I'm the champion of books no one has ever heard about LOL - so it makes sense. Also, more often than not, hype has the counterproductive effect to turn me away from things designed to be popular. So, I decided to tweak today's question like this:
ARE THERE POPULAR GENRES/AUTHORS/BOOKS THAT EVERYBODY SEEMS TO READ BUT DON'T APPEAL TO YOU IN THE SLIGHTEST?
Flash news: I'm a stubborn little devil 😈. When I decide to go for something, there's no stopping me. When I decide to avoid something? You can't make me budge with a cannon. So...the gist of it is...I know what I like, I don't cave in to peer pressure, and besides, I don't have money to throw on things I'm fairly sure are not for me. (I have indeed stumbled on a few books that disappointed me over the years, but even after reading tons of reviews, there's always an error margin. Hey, at least I tried).
So...I don't like romance. I don't like fantasy. I don't like anything historical. There are a number of tropes/premises that I can't stomach. That accounts me for not even reading certain books to begin with. I'm not even remotely curious about, say, Harry Potter, or The Hunger Games, or Divergent (not to mention Twilight LOL). I've never read a Sarah J. Maas or John Green book, to only mention the first (popular) current authors with current books I could think off the top my head. Simply, their books' blurbs never did anything for me so far. On the other hand, there are authors some of whose books I read and loved, but when they step out of my preferred genres, I don't consider buying their new books, not for one minute (Jeri Smith-Ready, Mary E. Pearson and Rin Chupeco, I'm looking at you). So...it's not that I tried something popular and it failed to entertain me. It's just that I very rarely click with popular stuff, whatever the reason. I'm NOT passing judgment on those who do, of course - or who try things only to find out they weren't for them. I will admit I'm a bit rigid LOL. But it saves me from lots of unpleasant surprises...and ill-spent money! 😉
So...I don't like romance. I don't like fantasy. I don't like anything historical. There are a number of tropes/premises that I can't stomach. That accounts me for not even reading certain books to begin with. I'm not even remotely curious about, say, Harry Potter, or The Hunger Games, or Divergent (not to mention Twilight LOL). I've never read a Sarah J. Maas or John Green book, to only mention the first (popular) current authors with current books I could think off the top my head. Simply, their books' blurbs never did anything for me so far. On the other hand, there are authors some of whose books I read and loved, but when they step out of my preferred genres, I don't consider buying their new books, not for one minute (Jeri Smith-Ready, Mary E. Pearson and Rin Chupeco, I'm looking at you). So...it's not that I tried something popular and it failed to entertain me. It's just that I very rarely click with popular stuff, whatever the reason. I'm NOT passing judgment on those who do, of course - or who try things only to find out they weren't for them. I will admit I'm a bit rigid LOL. But it saves me from lots of unpleasant surprises...and ill-spent money! 😉
Well, that's it for now. And if you're interested in participating, here is the TMST prompt list for the rest of September:
- September 17th: How do you handle writing reviews for books that you didn’t love?
- September 24th: What do you do to relax and relieve blogging stress?
I'll be back for the meme on September 17th, and that one is a really interesting question, your answers to which I'm looking forward to hear!
Now tell me something...any unpopular bookish opinion you feel like sharing? 😉
I saw on Twitter that you did this weeks question and I fully expected to arrive her and see a one word answer - everything. lol
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of popular authors I don't like. But I think it has more to do with genre or writing style than anything.
I do like stepping out and trying things now. Especially because I'm caught up on my TBR pile and using the library more. I can always just return it if it's not working for me. No loss on my part.
Karen @ For What It's Worth
LOl, for me to reply like that, I should at least have TRIED those authors or books. I saved myself the trouble! 😆
DeleteThe genre is the first tool I use to weed books out. That been said, if I could check them from the library, I might at least try something I'm on the fence about...
The library has been a total game changer for me.
DeleteI tried books that maybe weren't my cup of tea from BEA/ALA. They're *free* and sound good at the moment but come with their own kid of pressure. And that's where so many of my - I did not like what everyone else likes - books came from.
But I got to try a lot of authors. Like A.S. King for example. I don't know that I don't like magical realism until I try lol
It's funny, because unlike you (wait...really? 😂), I know I don't like certain things just by instinct. Like, I read a fantasy book blurb with princesses and kings and stuff and I feel itchy. Magic and creatures I can stomach, but only in specific contexts...
Delete*High Five* I have no interest in HP either. In fact. I would love a break from Potter references in books. I think there was a reference in the last 9 of the 10 books I read. My eyes are going to be stuck to the back of my head from all the eye rolling I do when I come upon a HP reference.
ReplyDeleteLOL, I remember that. I think the main reason for all the HP references is that pretty much everyone knows things about it just by word of mouth, or Internet mentions. I know I do. Then again, it's been 20 years, move on already! 😉
DeleteI read a lot of popular books/authors, as you know, and I have caved in because of the hype before. Back before I had goodreads, much less a blog, I mostly heard about books through friends, or through the hype. For example, I read The Hunger Games because my friend in elementary school LOVED them, and then I went on a dystopian reading spree, because I wanted to read more like it. But then there are other books, like Twilight, which I heard of because of the hype. (I believe the second movie was in the making/came out around the time when I read the first book.)
ReplyDeleteAnother thing is that because I was reading only in Hungarian, I had limited access to non-hyped books, because publishers tend to translate what has already done well internationally, or at least in the US + UK. Since I started reading in English, found goodreads and then started blogging I've been reading both hyped and non-hyped books - and I've gotten better at telling what I'd like/dislike, simply because I know I can do that, and have thousands of books to buy instead.
But back to the question you asked! (I'm sorry for the long comment, omg.) I definitely agree about some of those you mentioned - I love fantasy, but never felt like reading Sarah J. Maas, not even before she was called out for certain things. John Green I read The Fault in Our Stars by, and I loved it back in the day, but I've never felt like reading anything else of his despite the hype. Then there is Cassandra Clare, who I think is grossly overrated - I used to love her books, and I forced myself to give her chance after chance even after I fell out of love with her... simply because her (newer) books' average ratings are amazing. Yeah, not for me.
Great discussion! :)
NEVER be sorry for long comments! That's a good point about reading in a different language. We would never have access to a quarter of the thing we're exposed to without our ability to read in English...AND without Goodreads of course.
DeleteHype never worked for me - not only the book-related kind. But I suppose in time one learns what kind of hype can be trusted, because of course, there are books (or other media) that deserve it, or better, that are up our alley nevertheless, so we know when we're going to land safely or not. Of course, when you have to spend actual money on those books, it's doubly important LOL.
Yeah I've learned the hard way to go with my instincts and stay with what I like. Sure I'll try new things occasionally, and blogger recommendations have definitely opened my eyes to some books that I ended up loving, but by and large I know what I like and mostly stick with it. It does save money that way haha!
ReplyDeleteSix of Crows by Leigh Bardugo comes to mind. Everyone seems to love it, I generally like fantasy, but I was bored to TEARS and DNF'd. I felt like a minority of one lol!
I'm always open to recs, but I always need to be sure the book in question fits my genre bias...they go deep LOL.
DeleteFantasy is a though beast. Too little world-building and you can't get your bearings; too much and it can blow in your face. Nothing wrong with being a minority of one though...it happens to the best of us!
I'm not against popular books because if people don't talk about them, even excessively, then how will I know to read them? But I honestly do not know what's popular and what's not. Until someone invents a machine that prints out books that fits a reader's taste perfectly, I'll have to rely on other people's reviews and my own selfish interest to pick out books to read.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't particularly like reading contemporary or teenagers (not a genre but they probably could make it into one) or contemporary with teenagers. One of the book that I thought I would really love was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I brought a special edition but I ended up almost hating it which made me questioned myself why I wanted to read a book about a girl being miserable or half miserable in college while writing fan fiction. I found it dull and depressing but I guess I'm not the right audience. I don't recall reading a contemporary book (even without teenagers) that I thought is worth mentioning but I have a terrible memory so maybe I have and I don't remember it.
I used to avoid reading romance because whenever someone mentions romance, I imagine a shirtless guy with muscles holding a woman wearing something revealing and some oddly, worded title that simply screams romance but sort of cheesy and not at all, what's the word? respectable way, the kind of paperbacks that people finds in supermarkets and airports. But not all of them are like that as I found out later when I finally got to visit a book store because when I used to visit libraries, the romance section is considered an adult section or something so I never visited that section but I've been to supermarkets. I read romance sparingly because... do I need a reason?
I won't read horror because I'm a scaredy cat. I don't mind admitting that. I was not brought up to love to being scared - I don't really understand why people like it either. I have too good an imagination so sometimes what I've read (and what I've seen) stays in my head far longer than I like so I try to steer clear of horror images because why go there when I don't have to?
Have a lovely day
That's a funny story about Fangirl. I try to research my books thoroughly before I buy them, but even then, sometimes you're bound to be disappointed.
DeleteLOL, I hear you about those covers. But from what my romance-reading friends say, the genre has changed lately, even if the covers don't reflect that yet.
I used to cringe at anything horror (especially on screen), but through the years I've changed, though I still can't stomach body horror (of the Stephen King brand). I don't get scared, but certain images are simply gross.
I'm curious now - what are your favourite genres?
I don't have a favorite genre or genres because I'm too much of a picky reader so it all depends on the book and some books aren't exactly easy to categorize even if the book sellers categorized them.
DeleteLooking at my bookshelves, there are definitely a lot of science fiction/fantasy but also Anne of Green Gables series and classic books like Austen and Brontes, adult fiction (not as much but I used to read a lot of Alice Hoffman), and probably a lot others, so I guess it's easier to list what I don't read.
Have a lovely day.
Quote: "some books aren't exactly easy to categorize even if the book sellers categorized them."
DeleteExactly! I even set up a section of my blog called the Unwalled Room, because there are so many books that cross genres, especially nowadays.
LOL, same with me. It's easier to say I don't read this and that. I love that you are a sci-fi reader - I don't know many of them. I used to read classic in school/at uni, but it's been a long time.
For the author question: The first one that came to mind was Tahareh Mafi for Shatter Me. I HATED THAT BOOK. It was the first one star review I ever did on my blog lol.
ReplyDeleteFor the genre: I'm pretty open with genres. Although I do stick to YA fantasy, sci-fi, and contemporary. So, if I had to say something, it's basically anything outside of YA lol. BUT I always give it a chance, so I guess that still doesn't count. IDK. I just don't think I've read enough books to really have a concrete answer.
You must have felt nervous when you posted that review LOL - what with that book/series being hugely popular. It's one of those premises that wouldn't work for me, so I've never read it myself, but I know it has a huge fan base.
DeleteYou're much more open than me - for some reason, most books outside my comfort zone I would never read even if they were free!
I also tend not to like most of the popular books I've tried, and I don't really feel pressured by hype either. Sometimes I do read popular books, but that's because I've heard things about them that make me think I might like them. But like you, I'm pretty stubborn with my reading lol, so I get it.
ReplyDeleteYay for rebels! LOL.
DeleteI think it's good to know your tastes and not give into hype! I tend to go for a lot of popular books, partly cos I read from lots of genres and it's easier to know about them. That said, I also really like specific recommendations, to try and find something a bit more off the beaten track and have gotten better at avoiding things if they're popular, but don't really appeal to me.
ReplyDeleteI've learned that sometimes popular books (or other media) are just the ones that have a better marketing team than others LOL. Of course, it's not always the case, but I know of a bazillion small pub/indie books that have everything it takes to become popular...except the aforementioned marketing team. So I guess it also works in reverse!
Delete