Unpopular opinions about books -

[DykesDykesChina]

Here's mine: I really HATE the "Lord of the Rings" novels. They are completely overrated by most people: The writing is sluggish and uninteresting, the characters are flat cardboard cutouts (with the exception of Gollum and Tom Bombadil) and the story is darn stupid - heroic good heroes against dark evil forces. It just sucks balls.

Any similarly unpopular literary opinions of yours?

 

[Saney]

I find Lord of The Flies to be really bland and uninteresting.

 

[Judge Holden]

I actually liked eragon

 

[Enig]

Since it was based on a book, I hate how grimdark the last Harry Potter movie got just to compete with Twilight. It didn't feel serious at all, it felt like "the kids today love edgy, we need more moodtones".

 

[Saney]

Since it was based on a book, I hate how grimdark the last Harry Potter movie got just to compete with Twilight. It didn't feel serious at all, it felt like "the kids today love edgy, we need more moodtones".

Thank you! Christ, that movie was awful.

 

[random_pickle]

For me, with anything, I hate it when the producer(s) decide to "reboot" or make the series extremely dark. Even in books it's become a overrated cliche.

 

[Trombonista]

I only liked the first half or so of Fahrenheit 451. I was in seventh grade at the time, though, so my opinion might change if I reread it.

 

[Enig]

For me, with anything, I hate it when the producer(s) decide to "reboot" or make the series extremely dark. Even in books it's become a overrated cliche.

I'M DANTE THUH DEMON KILLER

HAS A NICE RING TO IT DON'T YUH THINK

 

[AtroposHeart]

I couldn't stand Fahrenheit 451 it is so overrated to me

 

[sparklemilhouse]

I only read non-fiction books.

 

[The Hunter]

I only read non-fiction books.

Those have grown on me lately, but I like reading magazines much more than books these days. I don't know why, I just find them more entertaining (I try to have some variety, but it always comes down to either Science, Mental Floss, or National Geographic).

 

[Aiko Heiwa]

Physical books will always be superior to ebooks.

 

[champthom]

The Great Gatsby is overrated. Sure, that first page about how the guy is all like "in my younger days..." and the last page about how they're all looking West is good, but the rest of the book is just like, a soap opera, I don't see why people think it's some exceptional novel.

 

[The Hunter]

The Great Gatsby is overrated. Sure, that first page about how the guy is all like "in my younger days..." and the last page about how they're all looking West is good, but the rest of the book is just like, a soap opera, I don't see why people think it's some exceptional novel.

Dude, that's the most popular opinion about anything ever.

 

[Caddchef]

I hate the Harry Potter books and people over 20 who read them.

 

[random_pickle]

The Great Gatsby is overrated. Sure, that first page about how the guy is all like "in my younger days..." and the last page about how they're all looking West is good, but the rest of the book is just like, a soap opera, I don't see why people think it's some exceptional novel.

In it's defense, Gatsby was made in the 1920's when that sort of thing was popular. But seriously, they're making a third movie about it. Not a movie, not a remake of the movie, but a remake of a remake of the original movie!

The worst part? It's probably going to rake in a lot of money.

 

[Trombonista]

I don't see it as a remake so much as a reinterpretation of the source material. I don't think any of the film adaptations of The Great Gatsby are related.

 

[champthom]

I've got one more. "On the Road" by Jack Kerovac (sp?). I was expecting this great novel that I've heard people rave about, including a DJ who went on for 5 solid minutes saying "Friends, if you only read one book in your life, read 'On the Road'" but you know what? All it is is a guy getting high and once in a while he says something remotely philosophical. But the bulk of the book is the guy smoking weed, popping pills, and listening to jazz and scoring with women. I was expecting him to find the true spirit of America, on the road, but all he does is do drugs. I realize that maybe in the 50s it might have been revolutionary and exceptional to have a novel speak so frankly about it, but now it's just boring. If Sal Paradise was alive today, he'd just go to Spring Break or Cancun. I've been meaning to read Kerovac's other novels though, like Dharma Beats, maybe they're an improvement.

 

[Bugaboo]

I've got one more. "On the Road" by Jack Kerovac (sp?). I was expecting this great novel that I've heard people rave about, including a DJ who went on for 5 solid minutes saying "Friends, if you only read one book in your life, read 'On the Road'" but you know what? All it is is a guy getting high and once in a while he says something remotely philosophical. But the bulk of the book is the guy smoking weed, popping pills, and listening to jazz and scoring with women. I was expecting him to find the true spirit of America, on the road, but all he does is do drugs. I realize that maybe in the 50s it might have been revolutionary and exceptional to have a novel speak so frankly about it, but now it's just boring. If Sal Paradise was alive today, he'd just go to Spring Break or Cancun. I've been meaning to read Kerovac's other novels though, like Dharma Beats, maybe they're an improvement.

What if the true spirit of America is drugs, jazz and sex?

 

[Uzumaki]

Lolita is a brilliant book written by probably one of, if not the, greatest writers in living memory. If you think it promotes pedophilia then you're so stupid that you're not allowed to read books anymore. They're not for you.

The Great Gatsby is overrated. Sure, that first page about how the guy is all like "in my younger days..." and the last page about how they're all looking West is good, but the rest of the book is just like, a soap opera, I don't see why people think it's some exceptional novel.

In it's defense, Gatsby was made in the 1920's when that sort of thing was popular. But seriously, they're making a third movie about it. Not a movie, not a remake of the movie, but a remake of a remake of the original movie!

The worst part? It's probably going to rake in a lot of money.

I hate you all. On the off chance anyone cares I can explain why it's such an important book, and considered by many to be the greatest American novel ever written (and oft compared to Huckleberry Finn).

P.S. Please don't defend the Great Gatsby by saying "it was written in the 1920s". The Great Gatsby is timeless and your inability to connect with it has nothing to do with the era in which it was written.

AAAAAAAAGH clearly this is not the thread for me. I'm the literary establishment apparently.