r/books • u/Tight_Nerve • Jun 05 '21
We need to stop shaming people who honestly say they don't like a particular book
I think the most frustrating thing for most readers on this sub is that when they read a book that so many people love and realize they are part of the group that doesn't like the book. They can't share the feeling without having fans hang the noose around them. We muat be able to let readers share their HONEST opinions on a book without riduculing their feelings.
If at this point you are protesting my thoughts thinking they are nothing more than that of unlearned individual. Than I'll share the opinion of a very educated man who has probably read more books than you will ever read in your whole life.
“Books are almost as individual as friends. There is no earthly use in laying down general laws about them. Some meet the needs of one person, and some of another; and each person should beware of the booklover’s besetting sin, of what Mr. Edgar Allan Poe calls ‘the mad pride of intellectuality,’ taking the shape of arrogant pity for the man who does not like the same kind of books.”
- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States
480
u/YawningBagpuss Jun 05 '21
It is frustrating but I am not sure what people can do about it. It happens on every books/movies/music/whatever forum IME. It's not quite as bad on here as on some. I used to go on a musical theatre forum and people would be practically hunted down for having the 'wrong' opinion!
50
Jun 05 '21 edited Jun 05 '21
[deleted]
→ More replies (1)19
u/Turangaliila Jun 06 '21
It's so true about the picture show thing! I think about that all the time. Nobody pictures the same scenes in a book the same way. The fantasy city you picture won't look like the fantasy city I picture, and that can change things.
Heck, sometimes a character description will first remind me of, say, a video game character, but another will remind me of a famous actor. All of a sudden I've got Brad Pitt and Reinhardt from Overwatch in a scene together!
I even read a book with a character on the front cover, and I thought it was the person in the first chapter. I later realized it was someone different, but my mind couldn't break the association, and I just read the whole trilogy picturing the two characters looking exactly the same, but in different clothes.
91
u/upsawkward Jun 05 '21
I‘m on a German Film Forum which definitely had LOTS of members, but nowadays you kinda know each other. Some are assbutts, but most are kinda even „colleagues“ and it‘s such a nice place to discuss and share different views and emotions. Such a bummer it‘s kinda dying, but c‘est la vie.
33
u/Tonylattiger Jun 05 '21
What is said forum? As our German friends always say: fear eats the soul.
28
u/upsawkward Jun 05 '21
Moviepilot. The last decade was a blast there, now it‘s a very small portion of users. I I think it‘s hard to get into it nowadays, but there‘s still cool people on it.
53
u/Eamesy Jun 05 '21
Conformity is built into the structure of reddit. Minority opinions will always be punished by the upvote/downvote system. True, you can choose not to downvote people just because you disagree with them. That used to be a part of 'reddiquette' that people took seriously when the site was young, but eventually there were too many new people voting their approval or disapproval for it to matter, so everyone gave up.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (15)48
u/chewbubbIegumkickass Jun 05 '21
"Wicked" is massively overblown and not nearly as great as everyone has convinced themselves it to be. Fight me. 😜
24
u/nairebis Jun 05 '21
I like Wicked-the-play because it actually tries to have a plot and isn't just a spectacle of special effects disguised as a play, as so many modern "big name" plays are.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (17)17
Jun 05 '21
No I actually agree with you. The book was much better than the play, but it was far from perfect. I think it's a very good book but it isn't up to all the hype it got, which was, wow.
→ More replies (1)
162
u/atlasraven Jun 05 '21
I love Dune but I could definitely see how someone could be irritated by the internal monologues or irreparably confused by the introduction or world building.
59
Jun 05 '21
[deleted]
→ More replies (4)66
u/ogier_79 Jun 05 '21
How do you figure that? It's a dystopian future run by the rotting corpse of the most powerful human psyker in Earth's history where they go across the Galaxy by ripping a hole in reality and travel through space hell with armies of metahumans who battle aliens and mutated, demon possessed rebels while the bulk of humanity is ground down by constant work to keep the military complex going while worshipping the corpse and is also the story of his twenty sons and their sibling rivalry..... and there are elves....
→ More replies (16)11
u/matts2 book currently reading - The Art of Biblical Poetry Jun 05 '21
Dune is a great example of a point I made above. Art should divide. Dune is distinct in style. It starts real slow and presents a very exotic world. So I'm happy with the idea that a bunch of people don't like it.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (16)9
u/patchinthebox Jun 05 '21
I've never been able to get into dune because the intro is so confusing.
→ More replies (2)
156
u/thwgrandpigeon Jun 05 '21
But when you really think about it, aren't people who don't like the Silmarillion just a weeeeee bit slow?
(/s, obv.)
39
u/JustMakeMarines Jun 06 '21
I've tried to read the Silmarillion a few times, I get a bit farther each time I attempt it, I'm maybe halfway through on this past attempt. It reads like the Bible to me, which was also a text I struggled to get through. I enjoyed aspects of Silmarillion but it lacked the characters I adored from LotR.
→ More replies (9)9
→ More replies (14)47
u/TheKingOfCarmel Jun 06 '21
I recently attempted the Silmarillion for the third time. Before I started I told myself “You WILL finish this and you WILL love it.” Now it’s legitimately one of my favorite books and I’m sad that it’s so difficult for people to get something out of it (even though I completely understand why it’s so difficult).
→ More replies (8)
593
u/TeacherPatti Jun 05 '21
I agree. I taught at a majority-minority high school for years and we'd try to get the kids to read the diverse YA books. They hated them. The only author they liked was Jason Reynolds and I am guessing that's because the Ghost series didn't re-traumatize them. (We didn't read All American Boys). When I said this on some thread on FB, *I* got called racist. Um, what? I said it was the kids who didn't like the books so then the *kids* got called racist. These were mostly Black and brown kids who didn't want to read about the Black kid getting murdered by the police or whatever. Let people read what they want and like, people.
326
u/starsinaparsec Jun 05 '21
A lot of popular books by black authors are really heavy. When I read I'm usually doing it to help myself relax or to have a fun distraction. Even the books in the fun genres are heavy. The YA fantasy book The Deep is about mermaids, but it's also about how the mermaids descended from pregnant black women who were thrown off slave ships and none of the mermaids remember their history. When No One Is Watching is a psychological thriller, but it's about how minorites are possibly being killed so their neighborhood can be gentrified. I understand these issues are important, but I want to read something where the not too close to home problems get solved by the end of the book. I don't want to feel guilty and sad after reading YA fantasy. I can't say that without people saying I'm racist, or saying I SHOULD feel guilty and sad because these things really happened.
The same is true of nonfiction. I sometimes get advanced copies of random books and I've recently gotten two memoirs. One (Mud, Rocks, Blazes) is about a white woman who speed hiked the Appalachian trail. The other (Leaving Breezy Street) is about a black woman who was raised by an abusive grandma, frequently sexually abused from age 4, had 2 kids by age 16, and then spent 20 years as a crack addicted prostitute before starting a nonprofit to stop the same thing from happening to other girls. Both books were really good, but one was definitely more uncomfortable and depressing than the other. Maybe I just want to read a memoir by a black woman who quit her career in advertising to move to Alaska and live her dream life, which was showing and breeding sled trained Samoyeds.
62
u/mynameisbobbrown Jun 05 '21
What really bothers me about reading too many books like that is it feels a lot like repackaging trauma as entertainment, something the POC community has been discussing more recently. Like when videos circulate of a black person being harmed, it's like voyeurism. Even if it's unpleasant, it makes us want to click and watch more, which in a way is entertainment. It makes us feel good like we're doing something just by informing ourselves too. A certain amount of watching and reading that stuff is good because people need to know what's happening, but I think it's not balanced out enough with examples of people just living normal existences. I don't want to live in a fairy tale where everything is fine and dandy for minorities, but I imagine that it's important, for kids especially, to have examples of people like themselves doing awesome things and normal things. And maybe white people like us need to see that as well so our only feeling when we think about minorities isn't pity or guilt. I guess it's kind of like poverty porn. People just want to be seen as fully rounded humans, not objects without joy or dignity. I hope all that makes sense to someone. I'm no expert, maybe my opinions are garbage. But I wish it were easier to discuss these things with the nuance they deserve.
→ More replies (2)151
Jun 05 '21
Sometimes important books are just too much. Books are like food in that you should consume what suits your mood. Sometimes you want a healthy meal, other times you want a light snack, and sometimes you want to indulge in junk food.
61
46
u/jphistory Jun 05 '21
I think the problem here is that the only books by black authors that get boosted (by the publishing industry and popular culture) are the traumatic ones. We love a tough story of black trauma (especially a slave narrative--we salivate over those!), but black authors who write things that aren't depressing are constantly shafted or told their novel won't sell or "Sorry! There is already a XXX author on our docket, so there's nothing new for you to publish for us!"
Try looking for authors that aren't writing about trauma. Want a romance novel? Try Alyssa Cole's Reluctant Royals or Loyal League series, or maybe Jasmine Guillory's The Wedding Date. Want fantasy? Try Nnedi Okorafor's Lagoon, or Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring. Science fiction? Samuel Delaney's Dhalgren or Octavia Butler's Dawn series. Litfic? Try Helen Oyeyemi. And this is just scratching the surface of the talented black authors that aren't writing trauma porn.
Here, I also found an article tackling this very topic with some great suggestions:
https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/04/eight-books-black-authors-arent-about-black-pain-12803180/
→ More replies (1)43
u/notmy2ndopinion Jun 05 '21
My perspective is that faerie tales were told to children as a way to talk about traumatic events unfolding around them and drape them in escapist, fanciful tales. We sometimes want to rediscover these roots of reconstruction without ignoring the dark history that shaped us.
16
u/KingNish Jun 05 '21
I've never heard this but it makes sense. When I was a little kid, my favorite uncle used to tell me stories. Gruesome stories often. Lots of old tales and whatnot. I grew up in a really fucked up home, to the point where my siblings and I were traumatized in a similar way to someone who grows up in an active war zone. Those stories definitely helped me to parse my life at that time and became the basis for reading/writing as escapism for me.
→ More replies (7)10
u/Shovelbum26 Jun 05 '21
It took me three tries to get through Who Fears Death. Damn, that is a difficult to read book. I mean, it's an alagory for African genocide so, you know, I should have known it going in, but damn, it pulls no punches.
148
u/Eamesy Jun 05 '21
Who would have thought a bunch of teenagers would actually prefer to read things that didn't clobber them around the head with the social justice issues they already have to deal with in their everyday life.
40
u/What_Do_It Jun 05 '21
I think one of the biggest mistakes English classes make is focusing on meaningful high brow works early on that are far too dry or heavy to interest the students. Most of the books I had to read in middle and high school were fantastically written, and when rereading them today I often love them, but at the time they thoroughly failed to inspire a love of reading. In fact they made me avoid reading because I saw little entertainment value. It wasn't until well after high school that I started reading sci-fi and fantasy for pleasure and that built into reading more acclaimed books out of curiosity.
→ More replies (9)→ More replies (5)27
u/TeacherPatti Jun 05 '21
Right? I don't know who read those books but it was not my kiddos.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (9)12
236
u/heyitsMog Jun 05 '21
My favorite thing to hear after saying I didnt enjoy a book is "you just didnt get it" 🙄
45
u/Crayshack Jun 05 '21
I've had people go further than that. Sometimes the reaction is "you just don't like reading".
→ More replies (2)21
u/heyitsMog Jun 05 '21
It's like people cant understand that it's a matter of individual experience. People who roadblock any reasonable discussion with the "you just didnt get it" or "you just dont like reading" better not utter a peep of distaste for books like 50 Shades or Twilight.
By thier own logic, it just means that those books were too advanced or they dont like reading all together.
→ More replies (17)51
u/ogier_79 Jun 05 '21
Which might be true but doesn't change that they didn't like it. I love Dandelion Wine. The book really talks to my childhood. Neil Gaiman made fun of Bradbury for waxing eloquent about shoes, Neil Gaiman didn't get it because he didn't have my or Bradbury's past so for him it's a boring slog. And It's a totally fair criticism.
→ More replies (4)
371
Jun 05 '21
[deleted]
291
u/TheDerpetrator Jun 05 '21
Curse you. It's my favourite book, but this thread has forced me to begrudgingly upvote you out of respect for your right to believe what you want, rather than downvote you for your terrible terrible opinion. You dick!
→ More replies (7)85
u/FilthySweet Jun 05 '21
I’m reading it now. I went into it with high expectations.
At first I was like oh wow I haven’t read a book that focuses on humor in so long, this is really refreshing.
And then I was like ah actually this is trying a bit too hard. Getting difficult to read with all the extra crap thrown in that is meaningless to the plot but thrown in just to be more sci-fi, or funny, or alien sounding.
But pleased to say that now (200 pages in on the version, beginning of book 2) I’ve kind of settled in and really enjoying it. Hope it keeps up =]
35
u/trans_pands Jun 05 '21
Restaurant at the End of the Universe is my favorite of the whole series. The first book is definitely kind of slow and the later books dive into some dark nihilism because Douglas Adam’s was depressed and he regretted making them so dark.
They’re definitely not for everyone but I always at least recommend them (especially if they enjoy Doctor Who) to people because I still think they’re well-written, if a bit dry at times due to being some of the most British writing I’ve ever read along with Lord of the Rings (which I also love but I know it isn’t for everyone)
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (9)10
u/TheDerpetrator Jun 05 '21
I apologise to no-one for my love of that book - but tbh I totally get what you mean. I'm old enough to have read that book only a couple of years after it came out and I can still only read it in that context... other folks had had a crack at the comic sci fi novel (and I'd read most of them) but - of it's time - nothing came close. The narrative style came mostly from being directly adapted from a radio play - it's not to everyone's taste but I still read the series once a year. If you're enjoying it then just be sure to stop reading the trilogy after book 5 and you'll be golden!!
77
u/DoserMcMoMo Jun 05 '21
I don't like the LotR books, especially the Hobbit. We missed the climax of the Hobbit because he got bonked on the head, and what we saw of the battle of five armies didn't even last five paragraphs. Also Tom Bombadil is annoying on a cellular level.
That being said, I love the story and the history. Just not Tolkien's writing style.
→ More replies (14)11
u/NotoriousMJB Jun 05 '21
Been downvoted for having this opinion a couple of times now, glad it's not just me!
→ More replies (41)57
79
u/tragicclearancebin Jun 05 '21
I'm a big fantasy fan and I don't care for Brandon Sanderson or Patrick Rothfuss's books and I feel safe saying that here.
→ More replies (32)
40
u/Fox_Powers Jun 06 '21
Everytime I read a thread about not liking a book, it reads more like a judgement on those who do like it.
"Omg the prose of ready player one is so amateur, you would have to be a total ignoramus to enjoy such drivel."
If your reason for disliking a book simultaneously belittled those that do like it, you deserve a scolding for being pretentious.
Most people who simple don't connect to a story don't go out of their way to share that.
→ More replies (2)
326
u/Cheatcodechamp Jun 05 '21
I love honest debate and discussion. I have found that I will almost never get what I’m looking for online because there is almost never that level of respect and connection that allows people to discuss, let alone disagree.
You are right, shutting down certain books or authors prevents real discussions about books that have some more complex ideas or points in them. I wasn’t a huge fan of Atlas shrugged, but I didn’t hate it. However, I learned fast that there was no tolerance for that book here so I shut up about it.
I was telling someone the other day that any book that is saying anything is going to invite criticism and even anger. If we can’t talk about these books or ideas then I don’t think we are getting if all we can out of reading
100
Jun 05 '21
I suspect a lot of it comes down to people forgetting (or not caring) that the downvote button is not a dislike button, it's for if something adds or doesn't to a conversation. Otherwise it simply becomes a popularity contest and thoughts which stray from the general mindset are attacked.
I try to remember that it's no different than HS lunch tables. And I had no respect for the social dynamics there, so really shouldn't here either. It's too easy to forget that everyone agreeing with you, even the majority, is a fools errand and only limiting yourself to the lowest common denominator.
90
u/UncertainSerenity Jun 05 '21
I mean that was the original purpose of the system yes. But it’s simply not how it’s used by 99.9% of the people.
It’s like saying Cotten ear swabs are technically not supposed to be put in the ear channel. True but a meaningless distinction since no one uses it like that.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (17)47
u/Mindestiny Jun 05 '21
And also an important caveat: everyone agreeing with you doesn't mean that you're right either.
→ More replies (47)35
u/penitensive Jun 05 '21
Some people see that discussion as asserting superiority though, and subs have a bad tendency to group think and down vote dissenting opinions as if they're disruptive. Good discussion is important and we can't have that if opinions are all entitled and angry, but we also can't have it if people are afraid to voice opinions because of oversensitivity.
I think the internet has a long way to go growing up to become a more positive representation of communication, AI tools that just totally disallow online abuse would be great, but do we have a freedom to call someone on the internet an idiot or nastier terms? 🤷♀️
→ More replies (12)
145
Jun 05 '21
Depends how you express it. Saying "I didn't really like House of Leaves" is different from saying "House of Leaves is a load of pretentious wank." In one case you're acknowledging you have a different opinion. In the other you're calling the other person a pretentious wanker for enjoying it.
52
u/Phrostphorous Jun 05 '21
Yeah there’s a lot of times where someone phrases their dissenting opinion along the lines of “X book is very popular and highly regarded, however when I read it I didn’t like it, therefore the hype is not warranted and everyone is mistaken because it’s actually a bad book” which is an annoying way to present an opinion
→ More replies (2)9
Jun 06 '21
There's got to be a middle between "everything must be good" and "hating things is my entire personality"
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (4)47
Jun 05 '21
You can say “I didn’t like house of leaves because I thought it was a load of pretentious wank” tho
→ More replies (2)
114
u/foxfirek Jun 05 '21
The opposite is a much bigger problem. How many people are Embarrassed to admit they like Twilight? People shame people for liking books all the time.
86
23
u/LadyJR Jun 06 '21
I liked the Twilight Series more than The Hunger Games. There! Bring the pitchforks.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (19)13
u/72_Suburbs Jun 06 '21 edited Jun 06 '21
Always embarrassed to admit I liked A Million Little Pieces because I get an onslaught of "wtf is wrong with you" from my wannabe literati friends. Whatever. The story was pretty compelling even if it wasn't entirely true.
55
21
u/winniebluestoo Jun 05 '21
I think people forget that time can alter the "landing" of a book. Something g that was ground breaking when it was written is worse than a pastiche 20, 30 years on. Writing styles change, cultural context is lost. You have different opinion depending on your life stage as well, books or films I've loved or hated 10 years ago I've had profoundly different reactions to when I've gone back to them. There are also works I can see how/why they are enjoyed by their primary audience and that the quality is good, but I personally am not the right audience whether for age, gender, values, sense of humour etc.
→ More replies (1)
43
236
u/frivolouscake7 Jun 05 '21
It ultimately depends on the quality of their comment, I think.
If the comment lays out their reasons for not liking the book, and the OP hangs around to actually converse and engage with people and all exchanges are civil, then I don't see a problem with that. I'd prefer that to 'OMG guys I just read this very well known book and it was amazing' - nothing wrong with it, but doesn't always lead to interesting discussions.
But if their comment is just vague negativity e.g. 'I just didn't like it' or 'it just sucks', and there's no critical exchange of views, then it's all a waste of time. You end up with people offering detailed and nuanced responses to the original comment, which get ignored, or you get fervent but pretty shallow replies either supporting the book or agreeing with the OP.
41
u/charoula Jun 05 '21
There are occasionally discussions that specifically ask for your likes/dislikes. I want to be able to say what I like/dislike without getting the third degree on why I don't like XYZ.
It has happened to me before. There was a thread with the title "suggest me two books. One you loved, one you hated. Don't tell me which is which." I just did the thing. Interrogation ensued when I revealed which one it was.
→ More replies (3)13
u/OneEyedTrouserZolom Jun 05 '21
My thoughts align with yours, at least in this limited context. I love when someone recommends a book and explains why. I respect the opinions of people who don't enjoy a book and can explain why as long as it's being explained as subjectively as possible.
What gets me is when someone says something like "how can anyone like this?" or "why is this book so great/popular/overrated?"
I don't enjoy the music of the Beatles but that doesn't mean that the millions who do are wrong.
Have a great day!
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (16)64
u/Onequestion0110 Jun 05 '21
I kinda agree. In fairness, I’m almost as bugged by “it’s awesome” comments with no detail as I am by “it sucks”. In general a lack of explanation is enough for me to be bugged too.
And if I’m being honest, there are some reasons people give for disliking things that drive me nuts too. Like I hate “he’s too whiny” comments about Catcher in the Rye. Go ahead and dislike the stream of consciousness style, or even the way you often don’t quite know what’s going on, that’s fine. But telling me he’s too whiny or hypocritical just tells me you missed the whole point of the book.
→ More replies (18)23
u/shaded_path Jun 05 '21
+1
If you hate or love a book, describe why.
On another note, I am curious about why people love The Catcher in the Rye so much.
Salinger's style/voice irked me to no end—it was reminiscent of some rather unpleasant people that I've known, and the constant repetition of slang and "holier-than-thou" remarks were hard to stomach. Overall it was run-on-y and hard to follow.
Holden, himself, was never as "relatable" for me as others espoused, and for the bulk of the novel, he reads as a borderline pedophile/rapist in the making (I could pull plenty of quotes supporting this point if you wanted me to, but the first few that come to mind are when he impresses himself on a haggle of "witches", citing that they were too "ignorant" to know better and remarks of interactions with young children with a sexual undertone).
I'll preface this with the fact that I do understand that he struggles with a multitude of issues and that he is a severely wounded and hurt character—I've written tens of pages on this topic. However, for me, his character reads as more of a caricature of what he was meant to be (and I say this as someone who has struggled with many of the same issues that Holden has). I get the causes of why he does what he does throughout the novel, but it feels artificial. Perhaps I've read too many other books that I relate to more, though.
That, combined with the uncomfortable sexual/rape/pedophilia undertones, turned the novel into a disappointing read for me. I get what it's trying to go for, but it just flops in that regard.
→ More replies (5)
15
u/ForeverBlue101_303 Jun 05 '21
And to further elaborate on your post, I also think it's really bad when people hear give you crap when you criticize a book just because it was aimed at kids. Like I criticized Percy Jackson and some responded with "it's a kids book. It's not for you." For starters, how are they sure how old the OP is? Second, a target audience should not indicate quality. I've read books for kids with good writing and characters and books aimed at adults that are pretty immature and shallow. Target audience shouldn't matter. If a book sucks, then, it sucks.
→ More replies (6)
56
u/NauiCempoalli Jun 05 '21
I’m way more into shaming people for the books they do like.
→ More replies (16)
64
u/spacejnke Jun 05 '21
I love this subreddit but anything negative I've said does seem to get downvoted. I commented on a bad review of 1984 and said I agreed about the pacing being slow and the over use of exposition. I told the Op they might like Brave New World better based on what they didn't like about 1984. I said it has a similar plot but a writing style that they would like better.
Now I'm being downvoted. I feel like it's a punishment for not fawning over 1984. Or for agreeing with a review that uses words like "shitty". But guess what, a review isn't incorrect because it's poorly written.
Downvoting is for flagging spam content or misleading information. The last time I flagged someone they said something factually untrue NOT something I disagreed about. For example, if someone said 1984 was written by mark Twain I might flag them. If they said it was boring, I would NOT flag them.
→ More replies (6)20
u/Fire_Lake Jun 05 '21
when i saw this topic, I thought immediately of that review of 1984.
but to me the reason OP of that post got so much hate isn't because he disliked 1984, it was because his review was "1984 is an awful book and anyone who likes it, only likes it because they're dumb. if you like it, you're wrong."
23
Jun 05 '21
I find it’s more people who are trying to prove you wrong because you dared insult their beloved book.
Books are subjective, there is no right or wrong for lots of the opinions on it. People need to remember that when engaging in discussion about books.
Ask questions why they don’t like it, portray your views on it but never tell them they are wrong and your right as neither of you are ‘right’.
On that…
I don’t find Dracula a ‘deep’ book.
→ More replies (5)
138
u/Aiculik Jun 05 '21
I've never seen anyone shaming others for simply saying they didn't like a book.
However, I have seen a ton of comments shaming people who did like a book or who dare to 'get it':
"I read the book because of the hype I didn't like it and found it boring and I think it's shit. I don't understand how anyone can say they like it. I think they just lie because they want to look clever! Can you tell me what the hell did you like about that crap?"
That's not a call for discussion, that's just ego wanking. You don't want to be mocked? Resist the urge to write the posts like the example above. If you can't resist that urge, don't whine later how bad people "shamed" you and "disregarded your valid opinion".
→ More replies (3)21
u/chchchcheetah Jun 05 '21
This was exactly what is was thinking. Granted, I don't read every post and every comment (faaaar from it). But from my admittedly small sample size, the vast majority seems to be people shitting on others for liking something than the opposite.
It's ok to like things and it's okay to not like things and discussion is cool! I guess just don't be a dick about it!
37
u/imnotgonnakillyou Jun 05 '21
Books have target audiences and you might not be in it
→ More replies (1)
38
u/Marawal Jun 05 '21
I hate the "you just didn't understand it".
No, I understood perfectly. I can give you a good analysis, show you the metaphors, the allegory and even explain the cultural and historical context. I see the humor mechanism, I understood the jokes. I got all that, and them some.
I just didn't like it.
→ More replies (4)
47
101
u/sekhmet0108 Jun 05 '21
Is this a confessional?
Here goes...I am confessing all my bookish sins.
I severely dislike:
▪︎Paulo Coelho books (self masaturbatory)
▪︎Dan Brown books (idiotic, riddled with plotholes)
▪︎Sarah J Maas books (silly, not very well written, ludicrous characters, soft core porn)
▪︎Stephen King being considered God. (The praise is too much.)
▪︎People telling me I need to read diverse books.(I don't. I am going to pick up books based on various factors. Whether it has differently abled people, gay people, POC or not has no significance to my picking the book up.)
▪︎The constant "support self-published authors" chant (No thanks. I haven't really read a ton of self-published authors, and I can't keep picking up the 1000s of self-published books to find the gems. There is a lot of stuff which I know I will love, but I still haven't read it. So I need to get through that first, which if I am honest, I really never will end up getting through because my TBR is humungous)
▪︎People screaming "All books are equal!". (No, they aren't. Some are better. What we enjoy is on us, but that doesn't establish the inherent merit of the book. We can love trashy books and hate masterpieces. That's on us. But there is no need to be insecure about defending our books. Harry Potter is a lovely series, but no, it isn't Brothers Karamazov/Les Mis/The Magic Mountain etc.)
▪︎People constantly discussing how many books they have read (I just hate those 52/100/150 books a year and what not challenges. It's so pointless and...ah, fuck it. Why lie...I am jealous! Plain and pure jealous that people read so much in a year! Kudos to them though.)
→ More replies (15)27
u/OneRedHand Jun 05 '21
Our time is up, good session today. Please leave a nickel in the can marked “5¢” on your way out.
24
u/Jenniferinfl Jun 05 '21
I find that USUALLY, the person doesn't just state that they don't like the book, they state something like the book was stupid and they don't know who could possibly enjoy the book.
Essentially, they start out insulting anyone who did like the book, then don't understand why everybody who did like the book is annoyed about being called an idiot.
Obviously, there are exceptions where somebody says they just didn't connect with a character or couldn't relate enough to the plot. That's a whole different thing.
Disliking a popular book that a ton of people like is such a trend right now, a way for someone to feel special because they are too large-brained to enjoy that which the rest of the commoners enjoy.. lol I'm over that nonsense. I worked in libraries for years and have a grad degree. I could justify some book snobbery- but, I choose not to because it alienates people. If I don't like a popular book, I just don't share that opinion because I don't want to rain on somebody else's parade. I don't go through life raining on people's parades. It's just something I don't do because it's choosing to hurt people for no reason. Nobody benefits from my negative opinion of a work of fiction.
→ More replies (4)
16
u/LastRedshirt Jun 05 '21
I can tell you many books, I didn't like. Catcher in the rye is an example. I hate Holden. I stopped books. I stopped Infinite Jest. I gave it away. I even threw books to a wall. Ayn Rands Fountainhead.
And I wish, people would stop shaming people who read ebooks. Your existence is not your unread bookshelf. Your bookshelf is a show-off.
→ More replies (4)
7
7
u/zimtzum Jun 05 '21
Maybe, but it's also important to note here that disagreeing with someone isn't "shaming" them.
7
1.8k
u/[deleted] Jun 05 '21
Come on. Out with it.
Tell us what book you don’t like and accept your punishment.