Have you ever regretted reading a book — which one and why?
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I wouldn’t say I regret reading a book. I will say that I’ve been disappointed in a few. In my experience books and authors that are heavily promoted in the media usually don’t live up to the hype. I don’t believe talk show hosts actually read the books that they claim are good reads.
I’ll never get over the “Fifty Shades of Gray” hype. That book isn’t even about what people said it’s about. The story is completely different than the one described on daytime talk shows. First off, it’s not even sexy. Christian was weird. “Fifty Shades of Gray” was more like a true crime novel.
If Christian was bad looking and poor the girl would have gotten upset and it would have set off a different chain of events. The girl whose name I don’t remember wasn’t a good character either.
She was presented as virtuous but she really didn’t have any sense. Christian was in complete control of the situation the entire time. Both parties had romantic options that they were compatible to but they rejected or kept at arms length. Then they got married in a sequel. It was ridiculous.
The only thing I like about “Fifty Shades of Gray” is the soundtrack.
I read the book “The Host” by “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer. “The Host” was released shortly after the success of the “Twilight” series. Because of Stephenie Meyer’s popularity I thought “The Host” would be a good book but I was wrong.
“The Host” was long, boring and unoriginal. If I remember correctly the book was told from the point of view of humans that were stealthily being taken over by extra terrestrial or super natural (can’t remember which) life forms. They were possessed by the life form but people that knew they human couldn’t tell the difference.
The book came out in 2008 so it’s been a long time plus I didn’t like the book so my memory is foggy but I don’t think the host said anything while their mind was getting erased. They were conscious of the invasion and but they submitted to the alien or ghost or whatever. There was no resistance or even panic. It was boring. If you don’t care you’re being erased by aliens then I don’t either. Who is to say it wasn’t an improvement? This book also became a movie. I didn’t watch. I remember the at the time mayor of Kansas City’s son was in it. I still didn’t watch.
Nicholas Sparks has made millions but he isn’t a good author. He writes from a simple formula and repeats the story. Nicholas Sparks changes the locations, ages and economic status of his characters but every book is the same.
Nicholas Sparks owes a lot of his success to Ryan Gosling and Rachael McAdams. Two charismatic, young attractive actors put him over the top. “The Notebook” is an example of a movie being better than the book even though I didn’t like “The Notebook” as much as everyone else did. It’s OK. I never actually read “The Notebook” but like I said if you’ve read one Nicholas Sparks book you’ve read all of them. I don’t blame Nicholas Sparks because he’s rich as heck. He’s lazy but he found a money making formula.
The “Divergent” series was very popular. “Divergent” is another example of a charismatic actor taking a mediocre book to another level. “Divergent” wasn’t original or very exciting. The books were easy to get through and the story carried the reader along. The books were an alright way to pass time. “Divergent” was just part of a trend. The series is four novels about a young heroine, her family and love interest set in future, post societal collapse Chicago.
The problem with dystopian novels is that everything that happens in those books has already happened in history or is currently happening to someone, somewhere in the world but we don’t care about those people and their reality. Dystopian writers takes the stories of oppressed people and make the characters people that we are conditioned to empathize with and respect.
The popularity of the dystopian genre stems from White people seeing themselves as oppressed and needing to fight for their humanity. Even when we talk about a European peasant revolt or the Revolutionary War or Civil War they aren’t used to that.
I think the dystopian novel bandwagon created a strange, delusional head space in American culture. The “Left Behind” series about The Tribulation period in the Bible is also a contributor. I think this delusion is the only reason many Americans are interested in Christianity. They think they’re the savior instead of needing a savior.
The film “Divergent” came out in 2014 among a wave of dystopian novels and films. In 2016 the US elected an elderly real estate heir to be president under the belief that he was the savior of America.
“Divergent” was an entertaining enough film. Had it not been a part of a popular trend I don’t think it would have been memorable to me. Shilaine Woodley did a good job in the lead role. My favorite thing about “Divergent” is the author Veronica Roth’s backstory. She wrote it on Spring Break or something like that when she was in college. Writers have the best success stories.
The only book popular book that I really enjoyed was “Hunger Games”. I loved the books, movies and prequel. Suzanne Collins did a heck of a job writing the “Hunger Games” novels. Her work lived up to the attention they got.
I am weary of books that receive a lot of media attention and are featured on programs like “Good Morning America” or “ET”. I’m convinced the hosts are repeating press releases and don’t actually read the book. It’s a set up for disappointment.
Shannon's Life in the Midwest 
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