Books That Everyone Loved…Except Me│Meme Medley Friday #7

Hey bookworm friends! We had a thunderstorm last night which woke me up at 5 am so I’m a bit tired. Strangely, my dog was completely unbothered by the thunder! It was me who needed a thunder buddy so I went to go sit with him and scroll on my phone until it passed🤣. Anyway, I haven’t done a Meme Medley Friday in a while so I thought it’s about time!

Today’s Friday Bookish Memes Are:

Link-ups

I encourage you to check out the hosts’ posts and remember to link up with them if you want to participate in any of the memes!🖤

Book Beginnings on Fridays

One of my current reads is Once Was Willem and I really like the writing style so I thought I’d share the first line(s).

Well a day! My fingers are black with ink and my head aches as if it is about to burst at the seams like an over-stuffed flour sack, but this treatise at last is ended.

Once Was Willem, M. R. Carey

The Friday 56

Here are the rules for this meme: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56%, and share a snippet (but please no spoilers). 

It was this: we are the sum of all that has befallen us, and therefore every great event, every great pain sunders us.

Once Was Willem, M. R. Carey

Let’s Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish is a meme where participants discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts. The topics for each month will be posted on Book Nook Bits & Dinipandareads one month in advance.

What is one book that everyone else seemed to love except you?

Prompts: Have you ever experienced what seems like the whole book community raving about a book, only to discover it’s not all that? What are some story elements that put you off while reading? What about books others dislike that you love? Feel free to share examples of which books everyone loved and you didn’t, and vice versa! 🤭

I think every reader at some point has been disappointed by a hyped or popular book. It’s bound to happen in a world with as many reading tastes as there are people. So let’s start with: What are some story elements that put you off while reading?

• I don’t mind un-likeable characters in general but when the cast is full of pretentious, elitist, petulant jerks, I can’t stand it and there’s no reason I should have to! It’s even worse if the book has no redeeming qualities.
• Sexist/Racist/Ableist/Homophobic/Transphobic depictions of characters that aren’t challenged and just the author trying to be edgy or “realistic”. Fuck right off, I have no time for that (no matter how pretty the prose).
• If the plot, world-building, or writing are uninspiring, simplistic, or repetitive. There are too many books to read something that’s not grabbing your attention.
• If there is a too-wide chasm between my expectations for the book and what the book is actually delivering, this can sometimes cause me to put the book aside. But not every time.
  
  These are just some of the things that put me off while reading, at least the ones most relevant to my examples below.

1. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake – DNF
2. Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami – 1⭐
3. The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix – DNF
4. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner – DNF
5. The Maid by Nita Prose – 2⭐

But What About Vice-Versa?

It’s so much easier to find examples of well-loved books that I disliked but vice-versa? Books that are generally disliked, at least in my tiny corner of the internet, but I loved? Not so easy! I think it’s because if I keep hearing the same complaints about a book, the chances of me trying it out are not very high. I’m more likely to ignore a hyped book based on tons of positive comments but I tend to listen to the crowd when it comes to negative comments. It seems kind of unfair but there you go 🤷🏼‍♀️.

I could only think of three titles that I hear lots of negative chatter about but I loved. For two of these I fully embraced the cheese and I ended up having a blast! And for the other, I can understand that it’s not for everyone but it worked so well for me.

1. The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz – 5⭐
2. The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore – 4⭐
3. Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon – 4⭐

More of my posts with the tag “Book Blog Memes” can be found here.

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