The Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

The Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

• Dec 17, 2015

"342/356: Books" by cefeida is licensed under CC BY 2.0

I was tagged by Kelly from Belle of the Literati and Rachel from Hello, Chelly forever ago for the Unpopular Opinions Book Tag! Don't judge me for the fact that I'm just now getting around to filling it out...

1. A popular book you didn't like 

I really don't like the Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty, even though I read all five books. Before I joined the blogging community, I discovered a number of book blogs that I enjoyed reading for new book recommendations. I kept seeing that series mentioned, so I decided to give them a shot. For some reason, I trudged through and finished the series despite disliking most of it... Thankfully, I've learned to DNF!

2. A book series that everyone hates but you love 

I don't know if people hate The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen, but I know it's not highly rated or beloved. I read them before blogging, and it was one of the first Young Adult series I remember reading. It's a little bit like Gossip Girl in the 1800s - a little cheesy, very dramatic and not the most well written - but I love it all the same. They were just so addicting, and I remember looking up the release dates for each book ahead of time!

3. A love triangle where the MC ends up with the person you didn't want them to end up with 

There are a number of series where the character ends up with someone other than the person I was initially rooting for, like the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi or Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, but those changes worked for me in the end! So, I guess I'll go with the Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand - a triangle where I genuinely liked both boys but hated the way the triangle was handled. Boundless was a mess!

4. A popular book genre you rarely reach for

If this question asked about a genre I never reach for, I'd have to go with romance. But since it says rarely, I'd say New Adult or Science Fiction would probably be the most accurate answer. I like the idea of New Adult because I love that time period and would probably be able to relate more to the characters. Most of what I've found so far seems too dramatic. As for science fiction, it just bores me (though there are exceptions).

5. A popular beloved character you didn't like

Well, I hate pretty much every character in Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë... does that count?  I have no idea if those characters are generally beloved or if it's just that people love the book itself. If that doesn't count, I can also say that I don't like Gale Hawthorne from The Hunger Games series. I don't hate him (and he did serve a purpose in the series), but I'm so glad he was out of the picture by the end.

6. A popular author you can't seem to get into 

John Green is just not the author for me. I've read two of his books (Paper Towns and The Fault in Our Stars) and really was not fond of either one. I actually liked Paper Towns a little more, but The Fault in Our Stars drove me absolutely crazy. Green's characters all seem to similar to me - and remind me too much of their author. I definitely won't be reading any more of his books because they're not the right fit for me.

7. Popular trope you're tired of seeing

I initially struggled with my answer to this question because most of the tropes that I hate are ones that most people probably hate (instalove, for example). I was trying to think of one where I dislike something that's a little more loved, and it finally came to me. For the most part, I really can't stand the "bad boy reformed by love" trope. There may be exceptions, but generally I find that storyline makes me eyes roll.

8. Popular series you have no interest in reading 

While there are a number of popular series that I have no desire to read, I think The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare is probably the most popular + the one I'm least interested in. I read her The Infernal Devices series and enjoyed them, but I just am not at all interested in her bigger series... and I can't really put my finger on why. Thankfully, there's a book for every reader!

9. The saying goes, "The book is always better than the movie," but what movie do you prefer more than the book? 

There are a number of instances where I like the movie and book equally (or where I absolutely love the movie, even if I believe the book is better)... but there are two movie adaptations that just blew their source material out of the water. Those movies are The Painted Veil (book by W. Somerset Maugham) and North & South (book by Elizabeth Gaskell). I read both books after seeing the movies and wasn't crazy about them.