April 24, 2018: Books That Surprised Me (in a good or bad way)
I wasn’t really feeling this week’s topic, “Frequently Used Words In [Insert Genre/Age Group] Titles”, so I decided to go back and finish a list I started last month.
These are listed in the order I thought them up, and no other.
Books That Surprised Me
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- Pippi Longstocking – Why? Because I hated it. I love the movie as a child, but when I read the book as an adult I was not impressed.
- Robinson Crusoe – Why? Also because I hated it. I’m still convinced that anyone who recommends it has only read the abridged version, or just the first part, or perhaps watched the movie. Because most of the book is rubbish… boring rubbish. It nearly killed my love of read for a whole year.
- Mocking Jay – Why? Because of the ending. I didn’t expect the ending to be so real. Unlike most YA series is doesn’t really end on an up note. It ends… well like it should end. With character damaged, scarred, and living with the consequences of all the terrible things that happened to them.
- Venom & Vanilla – Why? Because I didn’t expect to like it. I’m not that into Urban Fantasy and I was expecting more Buffy rip-offs (which is how I think of 99% of Urban Fantasy.) Venom & Vanilla was witty and funny and it had a unique premise for the fantasy that was included.
- The Dark Tower – Why? Because the ending was so disappointing. Over 7 books with an incredible build up I was expecting an epic fight to the bitter end, what I got felt like more a fizzle out. Instead of fireworks, it was like the carbonation slowly leaking out of your pop bottle.
- Mary Poppins – Why? Mary Poppins isn’t actually that nice, she’s vain and disinterested in the children and she is the Queen of gaslighting. Something wonderful and amazing happens and she insists that the children must have imagined it. After reading the book, I would not hire her as a nanny or put her in charge of any children. (It’s free on Kindle Prime Reading right now if you want to check it out for yourself.)
- The White Stag – Why? A Newbery Winner that is just a mess of a story. I know the expectations might have been different in 1938, but I wouldn’t recommend this book to anybody.
- 50 Philosophy Ideas You Really Need to Know – Why? This one is a little different, because the surprise came when I went to buy textbooks one semester in college to find that our Philosophy book was only $7.99. Kudos to my professor for choosing a book for the class that didn’t break the bank.
- Starship Troopers – Why?
Because the movie is like 10 pages worth of the material in the book. I was really surprised in the depth of the full story.
- Sideways Stories from Wayside School – Why? Because, the 7 year old is still playing pretend with these characters 6 months after we read the book. Something about Wayside school just ignited her imagination.
- Pippi Longstocking – Why? Because I hated it. I love the movie as a child, but when I read the book as an adult I was not impressed.
That’s it, ten books that surprised me in one way or anther. Have you ever been surprised by a book? Tell me about it in the comments below.