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?

  • elethrir@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Down and Out in Paris and London I thought it would be really depressing but it was fascinating that see how people lived and worked back then

  • Human_Will8302@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Anne of Green Gables. It always seemed like a book I wouldn’t like but I finally read it at age 33…I was totally moved by that sweet little girl with big dreams and I sobbed at the end. Now it is one of my favorite books! I’ve only read the first one though, not the whole series.

  • floatingthroughpages@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat. I was recommended this book by my grandmother, and I do not usually read memoirs and I don’t usually like the same genres as she does but thought I would give it a shot because of how much she enjoyed it. And turns out… I absolutely loved it, and have reread it recently as well. Such a powerful and passionate memoir. Would definitely recommend.

  • Erdosign@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Moby Dick. I never had to read it in high school or college and knew it only by its reputation of being long and full of boring details about whaling. I was surprised how funny and gripping it was just from the first page, and even the sections on whaling maintained my interest.

  • extraspecialdogpenis@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Journey to the End of Night. Celine is so abrasive and antithetical to my stylistic preferences but he’s one of the greatest writers of the 20th century I can’t deny. It’s all truth.

  • lion-in-zion@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Game of thrones. I’ve never seen the series and only even started getting interested in it long after the hype had died down. I recently found the book on sale and figured I’d give it a try. I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I do though :)

  • thecycledontstop@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    The Casual Vacancy by Rowling. Not that the hate was driven by her being a terf or whatever, but I thought it’d be a boring book. By the end of it I was crying - the character development throughout the book was incredible

  • NenupharII@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Well actually, when the first Hunger Games book was published, I was going to offer a copy to my cousin (we were both teens at that time). I really wasn’t into dystopias, but before giving it to her I got curious and decided to read the first chapter. I ended up buying her another copy lol

    • BloomEPU@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      I have some Issues with the hunger games series but holy shit suzanne collins’ prose just grabs you right from the start. Reading is a really visual experience for me anyway but the prose of those books is so immersive.

  • 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

  • walk_with_curiosity@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I agreed to read Wild for my bookclub thinking I would find it to be hackneyed and faux-spiritual, but I ended up loving it. I have often struggled with memoir in the past

    It’s not a lifetime favorite, but the depictions of the trail were lovely and also her relationship with her mother was so compelling and really made me reflect. It caused me to rethink my relationship with reading memoirs in a way that I think has enriched my reading experience.

  • Sauerteig@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    My prime example is “Salt: A World History” by Mark Kurlansky (2003)

    I exchanged books with a good friend of mine years ago. We said this one exchange would be non-fiction/and or historical. , I gave him “Guns, Germs and Steel” by Jared Diamond. He gave me the Salt book. I didn’t think I would find it interesting at all, but boy was I wrong. You can never look at a salt shaker the same again after it.

    Have you ever heard the expression that someone is worth their salt? This expression originates from an ancient practice in the 19th century where Roman soldiers were paid in the form of salt as wages. For many years, salt was considered as a very rare and priceless entity. Wars, intrigue, murders, the book had it all. Fascinating. All about salt.