Unpopular Opinions: Books

Unpopular Opinions: Books

Everyone has opinions, but not all of them are popular or “with the norm”. For today’s non-review post, I thought I would share some of my bookish opinions that other bookworms might disagree on me with.

Writing these makes me wonder if I’m just weird…. but everyone is weird, right?

Warning: This post may contain spoilers.

 

Okay, you’ve been warned!

1. I don’t like John Green books.
   • Yikes. I always thought something was wrong with me because I just didn’t get the John Green hype. I’ve read two of his books – The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns. While I did some-what enjoy Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars was a book I really struggled with. I can’t say I enjoyed the move much, either. I’ve been in the process of removing his books from my Goodreads tbr because, well, they just aren’t my cup of tea. I don’t want to just ‘somewhat’ enjoy an author’s books, I want to love them. Maybe only reading two books before removing the rest from my tbr isn’t fair, but I just don’t feel overly inclined to try any of his other books.
2. A Court of Thorns and Roses series is not YA.
   • BOOM! I said it. I don’t think this Sarah J. Maas series should be shelved in the Young Adult section. Just because her other books fall in the YA category, doesn’t mean every book she writes should. The characters in ACOTAR aren’t really teenagers, for one thing. My library moved these books from the Teen section to adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and I’m happy about that. I’m not trying to keep teens from reading this books – if a teen were to ask me for the book, I would gladly give it to them, but much younger teens are reading books from the Teen section (we’re talking 12 year olds), and honestly, I don’t really think this book was written for teens. This is why a New Adult section would be amazing. 
3. Speaking of SJM, I don’t care for Aelin.
   • I’ve read most of the Throne of Glass series, but I’ve never cared for Aelin as a character. While her development throughout the series is something I applaud, I just don’t regard her as the ultimate YA heroine.

   • 

     honestly, she’s annoying.

4. I didn’t care much for The Shadowhunters
   • I think this is mostly because of Clary and Jace. I loved most of the side characters, but our two leads made me grind my teeth – even in The Dark Artifices I can’t stand them. I did love Infernal Devices, and so far I’m really enjoying The Dark Artifices
5. I don’t like Charles Dickens’ writing…. or John Steinbeck… Actually, I don’t like many classics.
   • I think many people assume that because I’m a librarian, I live for the classics. Truth is, I don’t – especially not Dickens or Steinbeck! There are a few classics I enjoy (Pride and Prejudice, The Bell Jar, Heart of Darkness….), but for the most part, I find classics to be tiring. Some of them are still relevant, yes, but I think you can find greatness and longevity in the regular fiction section. A book doesn’t have to be old to be great. Honestly, I think there are a lot of newer books that should be taught in schools next to the classics because they have the potential to impact the future. Plus, I think some more recent books might sit better with readers. The Hate U Give is one book that I think should be taught in schools as an important piece of literature (I don’t think that much of my opinion is unpopular, tbh).
6. Sometimes Paranormal YA is actually pretty (really) good…
   • I feel kind of embarrassed even writing this, but there have been some paranormal YA books that I enjoyed so much that I bought! Vampire Crush (A.M. Robinson) and The Drake Chronicles (Alyxandra Harvey) are two such examples. I wanted more books with both because I was (and still am) addicted. I’ll read those books over and over… I even enjoyed some of the zombie books that were almost popular for a minute.
   • 
7. I didn’t like The Hunger Games
   • When this book blew up in popularity, I declined reading it because I was worried the hype would ruin it for me. A couple years after the hype died down, I picked up the first book and trudged through it. Nothing about it appealed to me. Maybe because I had already read so much dystopian YA? I don’t know. All I know is that I never finished the series or watched the movies.
8. I didn’t like Divergent
   • I wanted to love this book that all my friends seemed to love. My one friend loved it so much that she bought me a copy for my birthday. I felt like the biggest failure of a friend when I read it and didn’t like any part of it. I didn’t finish this series or watch the movie. Also…. wouldn’t everyone be “divergent”? I just have a lot of issues with this book that I haven’t resolved even after 6 years….
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9. I thought the Vampire Academy books were just OK, but I really liked the movie!
   • The books started out strong, although I only cared about Lissa and Christian, but ended up just being okay. As for the movie? I thought it was a hilarious, good time! I’ve watched it about 3 or 4 times with absolutely no shame!
10. Hardbacks > Paperbacks
    • I don’t know if this is truly an unpopular decision, but I feel like everyone I know prefers paperbacks and I’m here for hardback books. To each their own!
11. I’m getting tired of the assassin books.
    • I feel like that’s mostly what I see on the shelves anymore.
12. I wish there was more historical YA
    • Fantasy and sci-fi is great, but sometimes I just want a historical story. I don’t think they’re boring.
13. Textured edges/pages freak me out
    • It’s quite literally a texture thing. It makes me anxious for some reason.
14. I don’t ship Alina with anyone
    • I LOVED the Grisha series, but I honestly didn’t want to see Alina end up with Mal, The Darkling, or Nikolai. I kinda wanted her to end up on her own.
15. Rhys isn’t that great
    • Back to ACOTAR. I didn’t get the hype around him. Truthfully, I didn’t trust him the entire time because of how different he was from book one to book two. It didn’t seem like real character development to me. It all seemed…fake and like it was just done to appease the fans.
    • 
16. Chapter 55 was weird.
    • People who read ACOMAF know what I’m talking about. I didn’t find Chapter 55 to be sexy…just messy and weird and stressful. That’s just me.
17. I don’t get the Harry Potter hype
    • Okay, I’ve never read Harry Potter and I’ve never felt overly inclined to. All the hype around it stressed me out, and there are so many other books I’d rather be reading. That being said, I am guilty of taking the quizzes to find out which house I’m in so I can tell the (many) people who ask.
18. The ending to The Raven Cycle was kind of meh.
    • I had so much hope for The Raven King (book 4 in The Raven Cycle series), but it just fell flat for me. 3 years later, I’m still disappointed. The ending just felt…wrong. A certain character deserved better.
19. Speaking of The Raven Cycle, Kavinsky was one of my favorite characters.
    • A lot of my friends hate me for this, but it’s true! I was fascinated by Joseph Kavinsky. He’s absolutely horrible, especially to Ronan, but he was an interesting character.
20. Noah Czerny was the best character in The Raven Cycle
    • From the moment this smudgy-looking boy declared that he wasn’t eating pizza in The Raven Boys, I knew he was my favorite character. Noah made me smile and broke my heart at the same time. I liked him better than his friends, despite the fact that he has the fewest lines and the least amount of page-time.

 

Well…. I think that’s it! Some, if not all, of my unpopular book opinions!

Be sure to share yours in the comments!

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