Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I Don’t Lie About Books

This week’s Top Ten topic from The Broke and The Bookish was one I almost skipped. They want to know what are the top ten books you’ve lied about, whether lying about reading them, liking/disliking them etc. Like the title of this post says, I don’t lie about books. I don’t feel I need to. You just have to read my reviews to know or ask me any question and I’ll tell you the truth. Here are some examples of my truthiness.

1. The Twilight Series, by Stephenie Meyer – I loved it. I think Bella is a terrible role model and Edward is a jerk, but I loved those books. I couldn’t put them down. They’re huge and I read the 4 books in less than two weeks. I bought the novella too. If you read the reviews I wrote about them oh, so long ago, you’ll know what my gut reaction was and how I couldn’t put them down.

2. Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackery – Thackery’s great literary work is the one I continue to hate on. Some books, I’m tempted to give a second chance, but not this one. Ever.

3. I know people love Alexander McCall Smith and his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I’ve not read this series, but I’ve read two other books of his, Dream Angus and Heavenly Flirtations. The former I reviewed here. Heavenly Flirtations came first and Dream Angus was his second chance. I don’t think I’m inclined to make it to his big series.

4. The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie, by Alan Bradley – On the surface seems like a book I would love. I described it at a family dinner to my sister-in-law and step-father-in-law and we all share a love of books. They both think it sounded interesting and wondered why I didn’t like it. This is a good example of, just because it’s a best seller doesn’t mean I’m going to like it.

5. I extremely dislike James Frey. It’s difficult to hate someone you’ve never met, so I refrain from using that word. Nothing anyone could say would ever convince me to read one of his books. Ever.

I thought five examples were enough for this one. These are all things that if you read my blog, you’d know. I don’t think one should lie about books. Admittedly, when I don’t like a book, though I say so, I try to find something good to say, unless I really hate it. I rarely leave a book unfinished, but if I don’t finish it, I wouldn’t say otherwise. Maybe I don’t understand this topic. I don’t know why anyone would lie. To sound smarter? To be included? Let me know.

9 comments:

  1. I feel the same way. I want to love the books I love - not the books other people love.

    I had a policy against James Frey, too. I read I Am Number Four not knowing James Frey was Pittacus Lore. Oops. Loved it. :)

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  2. I don't really lie about books either. In fact I could only come up with two and one was from High School. I will admit to loving Twilight too. True I don't care for either Edward or Bella, but I love the other characters.

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  3. I'm happy to say that I've never been disingenuous in a review, though I will tend to avoid saying a lot of books I didn't enjoy.

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  4. I agree with you. I don't feel the need to lie about books. And your examples convinced me that you don't either!

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  5. Delphyne, I'm pretty sure I Am Number Four was mostly written by the other guy that Frey hired. I'm sorry I can't remember his name. He's probably getting that a lot.

    Lisa, I didn't really think of high school. Lying about something to a teacher seems different to me than lying to your friends then and now. Though I was a booknerd even then and did all my assigned readings.

    smellincoffee, I agree that it's important to give an honest review.

    Deb, glad you liked my examples.

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  6. I thought about not doing this week's post as well. I don't lie on the blog either, but I have definitely lied by omission in other arenas.

    Come check out The Scarlet Letter's Top Ten Tuesday

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  7. Anonymous25/5/11 00:43

    I really love the #1 Ladies Detective books but I've read a couple of his other books and to be honest, I just don't like them. I'm not sure WHY when I love the #1 Ladies series so much, but I've tried 2 of his other series now and I find them really dull.

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  8. +JMJ+

    I still want to give The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency a chance in the future, but there's no denying that another McCall Smith book, The Sunday Philosophy Club left a really bad taste in my mouth. I didn't like the heroine and both the mystery and the "philosophy" were boring. It was not the most encouraging first experience of an author. =/

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  9. LBC, I think telling the truth can fuel some interesting discussions.

    1girl, enbrethilliel, Maybe I'll try #1 Ladies if a book ever fell across my lap, but after my other McCall experiences, I'm not going to go out of my way.

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