Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Top Ten Books I've Changed My Mind About



Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. There is a new subject each week and this week's theme is "Top 10 Books I Feel Differently About After Time Has Passed"


Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I first tried reading Jane Eyre when I was in 6th or 7th grade because my mom told me she'd liked the story as a kid. I bought a copy at our school book fair and I devoured the pages (I could relate to Jane's issues with a mean cousin) but then I lost interest. I didn't pick it up again till college when I decided to give it another try and I loved it! Now it is one of my favorite novels. 


A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

I first read this for my American Lit class in college (my professor was a huge fan) but I didn't really connect with it until I reread it years later for my book discussion group. I was able to appreciate the story much more the second time around.


Emma by Jane Austen

I started reading Jane Austen's novels while in college but I struggled with Emma. I just couldn't get into the story so I didn't finish it. I picked it up again a couple of years later while participating in Barnes and Noble's online book club and this time I finished it but I wasn't a huge fan. Recently I listened to the audio book and I was able to connect better with the story. Emma may not be my favorite of Jane Austen's heroines but I do appreciate the novel more with time.


The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

I first tried reading The Lord of the Rings as a kid because one of my friends loved the series. Unfortunately for me I picked up The Two Towers first and couldn't get into the story (understandably). I then tried The Hobbit and didn't finish that either. It wasn't until 2001 with the upcoming release of The Fellowship of the Ring film that I decided to give the book another try. This time I loved it and it is now one of my favorite books of all time.


The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

After devouring The Lord of the Rings I decided to give The Hobbit another try. While I did read the book I didn't care for it and felt really let down because I was expecting something more like The Lord of the Rings. When I found out about the film version of The Hobbit, I decided to reread it and this second reading gave me much more appreciation for the story. While I still prefer The Lord of the Rings, I now love The Hobbit too.


The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

When I first started reading the Twilight Saga in 2007 for a YA Services class, Twilight was the book everyone was talking about and many of the other women in my class including our professor loved it. I decided to give it a try and I was hooked on the story too. Fast forward to the release of Breaking Dawn and my love for the series cooled a little. Then after hearing some of the critical backlash I started to pay attention to Edward's treatment of Bella, Bella's characterization and other issues with the books and I changed my mind about them. 


The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

When I first read City of Bones back in 2008 or 2009 I was hooked on the story at once. I just had to know what would happen with Clary and Jace and I cared about the other characters too. I quickly purchased City of Ashes and later City of Glass and I thought both were as good as the first. Then I read City of Fallen Angels and while I didn't like it as much as the earlier three books, I still thought it was okay. Then I started reading her spinoff series and while I liked the first book (Clockwork Angel) I started losing interest with the second book. I finally quit reading her books with City of Lost Souls. I think I just moved on from it.


The Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris

I picked this series up in 2009 because of True Blood (even though I didn't get cable at the time) and I read them all (published at the time) in the course of a week. The first four were my favorite. Then as the series kept going on and on the quality started to drop and by the end I just wanted it to be over.

The Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz

I read this series after Twilight and I initially liked it a lot but I gave up before the series finished as things just got stranger and stranger and I had my fill of snobby rich people and brand names dropped all over the place. I think I was getting tired of vampire and other paranormal YA fiction too (with the exception of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy books).

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

I don't hate this book or other similar books (now sometimes classified as New Adult depending on the age of the characters) but I just don't have the same love or tolerance for this type of story that I used to.


5 comments:

  1. We definitely share some of the same opinions. I felt the same way about Twilight, Blue Bloods, Sookie Steakhouse and Mortal Instruments. The exact same thing happened to me...in fact, I never finished the Sookie Steakhouse series or Mortal Instruments! Great list, Christina!

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  2. I'm glad I stopped The Sookie Stackhouse books at five, sounds like I didn't miss anything after this!

    I'm glad you tried Jane Eyre, Emma, LOR and The Hobbit again to discover the love :-)

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  3. I've always wanted to read A Prayer For Owen Meany! I read and LOVED The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving, and I've been meaning to pick up Owen Meany for YEARS now! I should get to that ASAP! Great TOP TEN! :D
    My Top Ten Tuesday!

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  4. It is funny how sometimes it's not the right time for us to appreciate a book, and then eventually it resonates- or on the flip side a book we love as a young person doesn't hold up later. I liked Lord of the Rings as a teen but the worldbuilding sometimes bored me, and now as an adult I appreciate those aspects more I think!

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  5. I think when it comes to YA books, we probably have very similar taste. I thought I was excited for a 4th Mortal Instruments book, but now I wish Clare would have just stopped after the third. I do actually love the Infernal Devices series a lot (more than TMI, to be honest), but at this point, I think Clare needs to move on from this world. I also feel the same way you do about Twilight and the Blue Bloods series. Side note: I am obsessed with Vampire Academy--my favorite series of all time!

    Great list! I love Jane Austen, but I've yet to read Emma. Hopefully I'll enjoy it.

    My TTT!

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