This weeks blog hop question, submitted by Marce from Tea Time with Marce is:
"What very popular and hyped book in the blogosphere did you NOT enjoy and how did you feel about posting your review?"
As a policy, I've pretty much decided not to post reviews of books I didn't like. Not all my reviews are overwhelmingly positive. If there is something about a book I didn't like, I'll say why, but generally the books I review are ones that, on balance, I enjoyed. This is largely because I realize how subjective book appreciation is -- there are some books that I might not enjoy just because I'm reading them when I'm having a bad week. OR, I might particularly enjoy a light romantic comedy just because I'm having a bad week. I realize I'm entitled to my own opinion-- I'm allowed to dislike a book. But there are so many books I do like, I'd rather talk about them.
However, in the spirit of the hop, I'll admit to not enjoying, on balance, one very popular hyped book. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. I thought it was an interesting premise and a quick read. I didn't have problems with repetition-- to me, each day differed enough from the previous to show a different facet of the protag's evolution. I thought it was very well written. What got to me was the shallowness of the characters. Their thoughts, their problems, their friendships...everything about them made me think...bleh. Not just the protag and her friends, but pretty much everyone in the book. I was interested in the story, but couldn't bring myself to care what happened to the people. But maybe they just seemed shallow because they were all being seen through the protag's eyes? At any rate, I'll have to give Delirium a try, because Oliver is a wonderful writer.
Old follower! I have Delirium on my TBR list :)
ReplyDeleteHopping through. I really liked Before I Fall, but I know quite a few didn't. Different opinions are always valuable.
ReplyDeleteMy Hop
Now that makes me leary of Before I Fall. I bought a copy months ago, but I haven't read it yet. I agree why post a review of something you don't like. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, commenting, and following! I’m still new enough to the wonderful book blogosphere that I haven’t had to deal with this yet… It would be especially hard to write a negative review for a book by a new author. I suppose every book has at least some redeeming quality that can be highlighted in a review.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
I have Before I Fall AND Delirium (even though they're not a series, they both made it onto the shortlist) on my to-buy list for Not-So-Bebe-Girl Autumn's Christmas book box. I like YA, too, but must admit to often being disappointed at the lack of character depth; I don't know if the authors think they're writing for teens with short attention spans or ... but, yes, that's usually my beef with YA books as well.
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for stopping by my blog! I also didn't much love Before I Fall, due to the appalling characters and the ending. That made me a bit nervous to read Delirium, but I loved Delirium! I thought it was fantastic. Definitely give it a go
ReplyDeleteHi, visiting from the blog hop!
ReplyDeleteI really liked Before I Fall, but it wasn't flawless. I agree with you that Lauren Oliver is a wonderful writer and it will be interesting to see how her writing develops. I have an ARC of Delirium and hope to get to it soon.
Thanks for visiting my blog. :) I commend you on your reason to not post negative reviews. I don't mind that people post or don't post negative reviews. But, a lot of people won't post negative ones because they're afraid to voice their opinion. I love that you've just simply chosen not to because you want to focus on the books you do like. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. You are the 2nd person I've seen that thought Before I Fall was overhyped. I've been leery of reading it anyway, I think I'll wait a little longer. :)
ReplyDeleteFound you on the Blog hop :) new follower! i love your blog... super cute! I just recently started mine but I hope one day it looks as good as yours! keep up the good work!
ReplyDeletePs. I haven't read before I fall, but it is on my to-be-read list... i"ll let you know how that goes!
Diana