Rebecca has really made me think with this week's Book List. I rarely pick up books that I think I will hate. I'm a reading chicken of sorts. So let's see what I can come up with for Three Books I Thought I Would Hate But Ended Up Loving.
1. The first has to be The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I actually read The Brothers K by David James Duncan first (a Vietnam era re-telling of the story) and knew the general structure of the plot first but was still wary about the Russian classic. I shouldn't have been. I ended up loving it and hope to re-read it soon as it's been over a decade since I read it.
2. I hate to admit this but for my second selection I'm going to choose The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I first saw the book in the junior high library and couldn't believe how nerdy it looked. Then, not at all a surprise, I noticed all of the GATE (honors) boys reading it and I wrote it off seemingly forever. But, of course, life intervened and I ended up one day at college with nothing to read and this book staring at me from my boyfriend's book collection. I decided "what the hay" and picked it up. Now I think I've read it at least three times (not to mention the rest of the series) and I own the recent movie version. Now I'm a junior high nerd boy.
3. I think the third book has to be The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. If this had been a year or so ago, it would have been on last week's list of books that have been sitting on my shelves the longest. I put off reading it for as long as I could. And then I read it ... and liked it. I'll admit that it's still not an uber-favorite but it certainly ranks higher in my estimation than I ever thought it would. I was really intimidated by it because I thought I didn't have enough background knowledge to understand the connections that Rushdie was making. I'm sure I missed a lot but I made it through and kept it on the shelf for the next time I read it.
If this was a longer list, I would include Bridget Jones's Diary and Warbreaker, recent out of my comfort genre reads that I surprisingly liked. What books would be on your list of surprisingly good reads?
Giving books a chance,
K
Oh, The Satanic Verses for me too. Actually, most of Salman Rushdie's books! But The Satanic Verses in particular, because I had started it once before and not gotten very far before giving up on it. Then when I read it properly I really liked it.
ReplyDeleteDo you know, I thought the very same thing about Hitchhiker's when I was looking through my GoodReads list for three books this week. I went for a very long time thinking it looked WEIRD, and of course I wouldn't like it...but then I did. A lot. Absurd humor is my thing, and I couldn't believe I hadn't read it up to that point. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteKristen, I never thought of you as a reading chicken! I beg to differ. Look at these heavy books you've read! I couldn't get through The Brothers K myself but I always wanted to try again. I am not sure if I will like Hitchhiker's or not but I want to try since so many people recommend it. The Satanic Verses is on my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteI second #2. I loved it! I sat down and read every single book after I got through the first one.
ReplyDeleteFor me it was Moby Dick. Didn't expect it to be my favorite book ever.
I can't think of three books I thought I'd hate, but loved, mainly because if I think I'll hate a book, I won't even try it! However, there is one book that falls into this category, and that book is...Pride and Prejudice! When I was in my early twenties, I'd never read any Jane Austen novels, because I hate(d) romance books and that's all I thought her books were about. And then my boyfriend lent me two books to read on the train back home - a six hour journey. one of the books he insisted I borrow was P&P, on the grounds that if I gave it a chance, I would enjoy it. And he was right!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear about The Brother Karamozov (or however it is spelled) as I plan on trying that at some point ... and it scares me!
ReplyDeleteI loved The Brothers Karamazov as well, especially the last hundred or so pages. Very quotable, but also very scary. :)
ReplyDeleteJenny - Rushdie is definitely an intimidating author but I think most readers could find one of his books to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteCecelia - It did look VERY weird! And now I can't get enough of these sorts of books!
Rebecca - Aww ... thanks! Hitchhiker's is very nerdy but also funny and fun. I think you would do okay with it if you like Graham Norton's brand of humor.
Paige - I still have to try Moby Dick. It may end up on this list one day!
Tracy - Loved your post. :)
Jenners - I hope you do try it at some point!
Seak - I will definitely try to re-read it in the next year or two.