Top Ten Tuesday: It's Not Me, It's You

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic: 
Popular Books I Disliked (Unpopular Opinions)
So this week's actual Top Ten Tuesday topic is Books I Disliked/Hated But Am Glad I Read. I knew right away I'd have trouble with that one. Because seriously, if I disliked a book I'm not happy to have read it. I couldn't think of a single book that fit the topic so I decided to just put my own twist on it. So here are popular books that I disliked. I've mentioned half of these before in my Series I've Quit feature and gone into my feelings about some of them so I'm not going to do that again. I'll just offer up my oh-so-unpopular opinion and leave it at that. *drops the mic*


The Kiss of Deception | Mary E. Pearson
To All the Boys I've Loved Before | Jenny Han
I'll Give You the Sun | Jandy Nelson
Mercury Striking | Rebecca Zanetti
Words in Deep Blue | Cath Crowley
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer | Michelle Hodkin
I Was Here | Gayle Forman
The Raven Boys | Maggie Stiefvater
Half Bad | Sally Green
The Husband's Secret | Liane Moriarty


Have you read any of these books?

27 comments

  1. Hmm...interesting to see some of these books on your list. I've not read all of them but surprised you didn't like The Raven Boys (haven't read it but typically love Stiefvater) and The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (which I loved), and I'll Give You the Sun (which I also loved). But to be honest, there have been many books that received so much love in our community that I didn't enjoy much at all. I always figure it's a case of "me, not you" but...

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    1. I am sooo in the minority with The Raven Boys. Everyone seems to love that series (and Stiefvater) but it just wasn’t for me. Mara Dyer... I should have known. Me + unreliable narrators do not mix. LOL And I’ll Give You the Sun... it didn’t take long to realize I wasn’t a fan of Nelson’s writing style. And yeah, it’s totally a “me” thing but I decided to blame the books in my title. Bahaha!!!

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  2. Tanya!! My heart is breaking. You know I loved Words in Deep Blue and I'll Give You the Sun. I am actually a BIG fan of half these books, but you know, different books, different readers.

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    1. I know, I know... hence my “unpopular opinion” warning. LOL :) It’s lonesome being among the minority that doesn’t like certain hugely popular books! *sobs* (hee hee)

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  3. The only one I've read from your list is Words in Deep Blue and I loved that one. Most of the others are on my TBR though so I'm curious to what I think of those since they didn't work too well for you.

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    1. All my friends that have read Words in Deep Blue have loved it... so it’s definitely just me. LOL And like I mentioned, these are definitely the “unpopular opinion” since most of these books are hugely popular and loved. I hope they’ll work for you when you get around to them! :)

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  4. I really liked I'll Give You the Sun, The Husband's Secret and liked Half Bad (though it was slow). I have Words in Deep Blue to get to so I wonder how I will feel on that one! I definitely have some popular books I just wasn't into either.

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    1. Oh my gosh, Half Bad bored me to tears, Grace. LOL I hope you’ll enjoy Words In Deep Blue. Everyone else seems to! :)

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  5. I haven't read any of these. :)
    Sometimes, no matter how much you expect to enjoy something, it just doesn't work for you.

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    1. So true. And Just because “everybody else” loves it doesn’t mean you’re going to love it, too. :)

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  6. The only book I've tried to read from you list was The Raven Boys, and I couldn't even finish it. Everyone seems to love that book, but it was dnf for me.

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    1. Well, hallelujah! I’m not the only one. LOL I came so close to DNFing that one but I kept pushing through even though I was bored senseless.

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  7. So sad you didn't enjoy Kiss of Deception. I love that series so much! I'm too nervous to try the Mara Dyer books and The Raven boys

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    1. Don’t let this stop you! Like I said, mine are definitely the unpopular opinions. LOL Most everyone else seems to love both the Mara Dyer and Raven Boys series.

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  8. I liked Mercury Striking | Rebecca Zanetti I thought the world was awesome, but after the second book I struggled with the characters because they felt the same just with the different names, even their quirks were extremely similar.
    I DNFed Half Bad long time ago.
    Have not read the rest.

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    1. Now that's disappointing when a series starts out so strong for you but then immediately takes a turn. :(

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  9. I've read The Raven Boys and I'll Give You the Sun, both of which I loved. Some of these others I never really had interest in like To All the Boys I've Loved Before. Yeah, I don't care to read it...lol I find that happens to me a lot with popular books.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. Same here, Lauren. Sometimes it feels like everyone is talking about and blogging about and raving about the same books and I'm over here like, "Yeah, no thanks." LOL

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  10. Oh no, I plan to read Raven Boys, sorry to see it on your list! Mara Dyer is one of those books I kind of want to try, but I have a feeling I'll actually just hate it lol.

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    1. Don't let this stop you! Like I said, my opinion on all of these are highly unpopular. Most everyone else *raves* about The Raven Boys (oh, I kill myself) but it just didn't do it for me. And with Mara Dyer it was the whole unreliable narrator thing. OMG, that drives me insane! LOL

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  11. I liked I’ll Give You The Sun, but I’m not as crazy about it as other people (and award committees) seem to be. The Raven Boys is on my TBR list. I’m glad I don’t have plans to read any of the others in this post!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. OMG, I remember when I'll Give You the Sun came out and it was on every Best Of list I saw. And I was just like, "Huh, really?" LOL

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  12. I've read many of these and can see that that they are "love it or hate it" kind of books *cough Mara Dyer cough* And I definitely agree with you on some of them!
    Jen Ryland Reviews

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    1. LOL Yeah, there definitely seem to be a lot of mixed feelings when it comes to Mara Dyer.

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  13. I had to change that topic, too. If I didn't like a book I'm all fit to be tied it wasted my time. lol I've struggled with the last few from Zanetti I've tried but love her old stuff.

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    1. I should probably give Zanetti another try at some point. I was trying to read Mercury Striking at the start of what ended up being a months-long reading slump.

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  14. I'm indifferent to every book on this list EXCEPT FOR TO ALL THE BOYS.

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