Anita Silvey's blog is always worth checking out. Today's entry is on The Westing Game, a book I did not discover until I was well into adulthood and which I did not finish reading until I was a professional writing teacher and had to read because it was on a required list. By then, I was ready for it.
I have this reading rule for books that I can't finish when I'm told it's a book I will love:Three strikes and...wait a decade then try once more. The Shipping News is due for its final shot soon.
Do any of you have books the world loves and you did not? 'Fess up now. (And yes, my other one is To Kill a Mockingbird, but that's come up before.)
MarshaQ
Honestly, Stargirl didn't do it for me. I really wanted to like it; I have friends who are just fanatical about it and Maniac Magee is one of my all-time favorite books in the history of ever. But...no. Just seemed like it was trying too hard.
ReplyDeleteNot to keep drinking the haterade, but also: A Wrinkle in Time? Meh.
ReplyDelete"Trying too hard" is my complaint about THE BOOK THIEF. I've managed to finish it--twice--but for me it's too "Look at me, Ma, look how literary I am!"
ReplyDeleteAnd now I will retire to my secret rock-/bullet-proof bunker.
Tuck Everlasting. I forget now what it was I didn't like... something to do with the plotting and the frog. Or was it a toad? See how well it stayed with me?
ReplyDeleteEat, Pray, Love....gag me. (Or are you just asking for YA?)
ReplyDeleteI never cared much for Where the Wild Things Are. I don't hate it, I just don't see why everyone goes crazy for it. And if we're straying from YA/MG, I'd have to say I hated the Time Traveler's Wife, too. I thought it was really creepy.
ReplyDeleteWhen you get through *The Shipping News*, let me know your trick, Marsha. I have a dusty copy that I've never finished, too. -- Thanks for a reminder to check out Anita's blog.
ReplyDeleteYou all have come with with a star-studded list. Guess we're all swigging haterade in our bunkers. Reading is such a puzzle--affected by so many things. The first time I tried ROOM a few months ago, I couldn't get beyond a few pages. Then I raced through it this past weekend, loving the voice.
ReplyDeleteLike/dislike is of course what we try to get beyond in the Hamline program. Books can often be useful for writers even if we don't take them to heart. Thanks, everyone.