I went into Suzanne Collins’ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes thinking it would be a real eyeroller as I’m not to fond of YA dystopian sci-fi, but seeing as how the film adaption was around the corner and the time I sank into the Hunger Games trilogy (and being the unapologetic asshole who believes the words “the book was better” to be Mosaic Law), I said fuck it and gave it a read.

And I was surprised be how I wanted to keep going after the end of every chapter. I enjoyed getting into the head of Coriolanus Snow and his possessive infatuation with Lucy Gray and the inner working of Capitol class structure.

That’s not to say I don’t have issues with the book. The pacing is inconsistent, the actual Hunger Games are a relative bore, and some characters could have benefited from more focus.

But through it all, I don’t feel my time has been wasted reading it and am curious to see how the film adapts it.

Any books you’ve read that you thought you’d hate but ended up enjoying? Why?

  • Kendamarania@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I’m not the biggest epic fan nor much of a reader for classics. So when i picked up Paradise Lost for an art project and sketches I thought it would be a slog to go through and read, especially after how much I unintentionally dislike Shakespeare, who had a similar writing style as Milton, thanks to some bad experiences with my English teacher. However the more I really engaged with the poetry and got through the story I surprisingly enjoyed it, especially compared to anyone sane would. It really surprisingly made me very emotional about Adam and Eve and a few good really enjoyable moments on just how much of a hypocrite Satan is.

    Wouldn’t really recommend it if you’re not very serious about reading, but it’s still a great epic