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.