Now that I have a blog to share my answers, I’ve been going back through some of my favorite book tags. The anti-TBR book tag was circulated a lot on booktube in late 2020, it was created by Nicole and Her Books, check out the original video here. So get ready for some unpopular book opinions.
A popular book EVERYONE loves that you have no interest in reading?
There are a couple contenders for this one but the first one that came to mind was the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer. I know it’s not super popular at the moment but there are still so many times it’s mentioned or I see it on someone’s bookshelf on booktube. Midnight Sun is also bringing these back to the forefront. I have no desire to ever read these books. I don’t really like vampires but most of all, I just missed the hype of this book entirely. The first book came out when I was in high school so right in between the target audience and the young adults who got sucked in. Just hearing about it from the outside and how trope-y it is, I will never be picking these up.
A classic book (or author) you don’t have an interest in reading?
Is “all” an appropriate answer? I know there are those who will look down on me for saying so but I just don’t like classics. I tried to give them another go this year and picked Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. By all rights, I should have loved this book and I just couldn’t get into it. Don’t persecute me but I actually DNF’d it. The pace, the characters, it’s all so slow and I can’t get past the language. I’m sure I’ll try a classic again at some point in the future but for now, it’s a hard no from me.
An author whose books you have no interest in reading?
For this one, I’m going with Kristin Hannah. I see so many glowing reviews and her latest book was on the bestseller list for weeks but I have zero interest. I read the excerpts and just don’t care. Other contenders are the crime/thiller writers that always top the bestsellers, Patterson, Grisham, etc. Their genre is not my thing, I have no interest.
An author you have read a couple of books from & have decided their books are not for you?
Sadly, I think I have to answer Marie Lu here. My first book by Lu was Kingdom of Back which I really hated and gave one star after skimming the last third of the book. I then read Warcross and Wildcard which were ok. I have a couple other series by her on my Goodreads TBR but these initial reads have me avoiding them at least for now. I might get back to her books one day and maybe I’ll love them but so far, I just don’t mesh with her writing style.
A runner up in this category is Margaret Atwood. I’ve only read The Handmaid’s Tale but I can decisively say that I will never pick up another one. I didn’t hate the story but oh man, I need quotation marks! I couldn’t do it, I hated the writing. Any author who refuses to use quotation marks will find themselves on my list of authors to never read again which probably sounds ridiculous but I find it really hard to read and it just makes me so mad that I can’t enjoy the story. The book itself was also lack luster, it builds a wonderful world which I can see why it makes a great TV show but basically nothing happens, it’s all exposition.
A genre you have no interest in OR a genre you tried to get into & couldn’t?
Well, I already said I don’t read classics and crime/thriller isn’t usually my cup of tea but the genre I will never ever ever read is horror. I am a scaredy cat to an extreme level. I tiny touch of mystery or thriller is about all I can take. Reading a book that is meant to scare me holds zero appeal and I’d never sleep again.
A book you have bought but will never read?
I rarely buy books in favor of using the library but I used to. I also used to read a lot less and the two are really related. I had no idea what books I’d like and bought the stuff I thought I was supposed to like. I bought those bestsellers and “women’s fiction” (a term I hate) from the front table of the book store. I still have a handful of literary fiction, historical fiction, and a few of those books that only exist to make you cry that are unread. These will never be read and I need to just get rid of them. I credit booktube and book blogs with helping me find books that I actually enjoy, something I’ll always be thankful for. In 2018, I read 14 books. Then in December 2018, I found booktube and started trying YA fantasy, in 2019, I read 74 books. I’ve branched out from there but it really was what got me excited for reading again.
A series you have no interest in reading OR a series you started & have DNF’d?
I already covered that I’ll never read Twlight. For a series that I DNF’d, that would be the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. I read Cinder and gave it 4 stars, pretty good and I wanted to continue but took a while to get into. Then I read Scarlett which I again gave 4 stars but a little grudgingly, I was so frustrated that I barely saw Cinder and again, it had a slow start rather than picking up where Cinder left off. And then came Cress and I DNF’d it about 200 pages in, it was terrible. Again, there were new characters who I didn’t care about and the old characters were barely there. I hated Cress and the huge sections of her slogging through a desert were like torturing myself, it wasn’t worth it. I gave up which I rarely do and I’m glad I did, definitely not for me.
A new release you have no interest in reading?
This one is another DNF’d series I guess but I’m going with Take a Hint, Dani Brown and Act Your Age, Eve Brown, the second two books in the Brown Sisters series by Talia Hibert. I read the first one and really didn’t like it, I don’t understand the hype at all. I gave it 2 stars only because the cat was cute. I didn’t like either of the main characters or their relationship which was full of fighting over misunderstandings which is a trope I just don’t enjoy. The real kicker for this one though was the smut which was so cringey, it was horrible. I’m not a prude but the scene on a public statue, that’s just wrong. Nope nope nope, I did not like it and am bewildered every time I hear someone talking about their love for it. I will never pick up the others or probably anything by this author again.
So there you have it, I hope you enjoyed.
Susan Lyn Knits and Reads 