Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Thought I Would Hate and Didn't

A weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

If you didn't stop by the blog yesterday, I did a discussion post where I talked about how I used to be book prejudiced but now I'm not. You can check out the full post HERE. But the general gist of that statement is that I used to think I hated certain types of books and I would judge them before reading them. Then last year I broke down those prejudices and ended up trying some books out of my comfort zone. I actually really liked a lot them. So for today's freebie post, I thought I would mention the ten(ish) books I thought I would hate but didn't.

1.) Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson 
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This is the book that started it all. It started breaking down the barriers. I thought it was more of a mystery but turns out it's a YA Contemporary Romance. I was blind-sided by how much I liked it and decided to try some more contemps after that.

2.) Armada by Ernest Cline
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This is a weird one to include because I loved Ready Player One and so I would expect to also love Armada. But it's about alien invasions and I hate that. I normally wouldn't read this book but I did because of the author and I loved it.

3.) The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
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I mentioned my avoidance of WWII historical fiction in the post yesterday. Also about books that are sad on purpose. This book is both. But it's also beautifully written and amazing. So many people love it so I gave it a try and I'm glad I did.

4.) Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
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Speaking of beautifully written books. I think I picked this up on a whim because I needed an audiobook when I was travelling. It was extremely sad but also brilliant and amazing. This is another really popular book I'm glad I tried.

5.) More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
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This book has some of my triggers. It's sad on purpose but one of the reasons it's so sad is it involves suicide. I didn't know that going in. I'm glad because I liked it though that aspect of the story did keep me from giving it a higher rating.

6.) Looking for Alaska by John Green
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I typically avoid John Green books. I know they're funny and all but they characters feel so cliche. Manic pixie dream girls and sad nerds, not my thing. But I did actually love Looking for Alaska. The romance isn't the focus which redeemed it for me.

7.) Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy
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This is a cancer book but it's not at all sad. I'm glad I gave it a try. I know it got some mixed reviews but it's totally my kind of book. Mostly because of the unlikable characters but there were other reasons too.

8.) Winterspell by Claire Legrand
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I don't like fairies. I mean I like them, but not in books. I have a rough history with books about fairies. Winterspell however I liked. And it should also be noted that I read it between marathoning Throne of Glass and Mistborn. That should have made it unenjoyable but it didn't.

9.) The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow
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Dystopia and I hadn't really been getting along when I read this book. And I had heard some mixed reviews. But a few great reviews by fellow bloggers convinced me to give it a try. I loved it. It played with the tropes and is more geared towards Sci-Fi fans I think.

10.) Nest by Esther Ehrlich
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Not only do I not always love Middle Grade, especially contemporary-ish MG, but this is also a book that is sad on purpose. But I actually really loved it. It was beautifully written and I think it's one of those books that is super under the radar but great.

11.) Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman
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So this one is on the list because I didn't really enjoy the author's first series (see comment about dystopia in #9). But I loved the sounds of this one and so I gave it a read. I ended up loving it and the trend of YA Westerns.

12.) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
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Finally, a recent read I had been putting off for a really long time. Yes, the length of it was worrying me but I also avoided it because I wrongfully assumed that it was just a romance. There are those elements but the history and action were so worth it for me.

What books have you read that you didn't think you were going to like and didn't? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Discussion Post: I Used to Be Book Prejudiced

Wow, that sounds like this is going to be a much deeper discussion than I planned. But honestly, there is really no other way to put that. I used to be prejudiced against certain books. I judged books without reading them and thought I could definitively say that I didn't like a certain book and or genre because of that. But you guys, I was so wrong.

Now don't get me wrong, being book prejudices can be a good thing. Sometimes there are books that you know you are not going to like. And that's totally okay. There are more than enough books out there in the world and not enough time to read them all. Taking the time to read something that isn't up your alley just because it's popular is just asking for trouble and/or a DNF. We all have different taste in books and knowing what you like and what you don't like can definitely be a good thing. Keep avoiding those books that aren't your thing. But that's not what I mean here. Book prejudices go deeper than that.

We in the YA community are very sensitive to the idea of book prejudices. How many times has there been an article or comment where someone summed up YA as being nothing but sparkly vampire love stories and you turned into The Incredible Hulk because you knew they were so wrong? How about fans of genre fiction being told their favorite author is less than literary because they write "made up stories about dragons and dwarves." That is one that I personally hate and have heard a lot from people. These are book prejudices. You have written off an entire marketing category, an entire genre, an entire author just because they write a certain kind of story.

And as much as I hate when people do this to me, I have been guilty of doing it myself. I haven't read much erotica because the few books I have read, just didn't work for me. So as a rule I just kind of avoid the entire genre. Let's be honest, I avoid romances in general. I just say as a blanket statement, I don't like romances. I did a whole discussion post about it how I'm romancephobic, after all! That's a book prejudice. I also say that I don't like road trip stories. Travel is not a plot device to me and a never ending travel monologue is not enough action for me. Books about people driving around in a car or bus, or god forbid walking, just so they can break out of their comfort zones and learn about the world and themselves aren't my thing. But, that's a book prejudice. I also say all the time that I don't like books that are sad on purpose. I'm already a crier. I don't need some book about cancer, suicide, or first love gone wrong to get my feels and tears flowing. I just need to read that one chapter in Little Women and I will be an emotional wreck. Another book prejudice though.

But that being said, I think in the past year I have made a lot of strides to break down those prejudices and try books that I didn't think I was going to like. In particular YA contemporaries. When 2015 began I was firmly of the belief that I do not like YA contemporaries. I was prejudiced to believe that they are nothing but insta-love triangles about manic pixie dream girls or boy next doors changing how a teenager thinks about the world by kissing them. And sure there are those kinds of stories but that's not all and you know what, some of those books are actually pretty good. There is a lot of deeper things going on with YA Contemporaries. There are some really fun and cute books about first love. There are also a lot of coming-of-age stories with characters finding out who they are and their place in the world. I read one really great book that broke down that barrier and now I am more open to other books within the genre. Some of my favorite books of 2015 were YA contemporaries and removing that prejudice allowed me to read those books.

There are also some pretty good books that are sad on purpose. I used to avoid contemporaries where I was going to cry because I wanted to laugh and be happy when I read about people like me. Having your heart ripped out can be entertaining from time to time as well. That emotion leads to drama and can often be more honest than things that are optimistically happy. It's all about balance, right? Plus if you avoid all the sad books you're really limiting yourself. I avoided most historical fiction set during World War II because I thought all it did was show one aspect of the time period that was sad on purpose and it seemed boring and tired. But I broke down that prejudice too and read some gorgeous, thought-provoking, and emotional books that I loved. I'm still overly cautious about sad books but I have definitely broken down the prejudice and will give those books a try.

I'm glad I broke down those barriers and stopped being so prejudiced against certain genres, settings, and types of books. Because honestly I would have missed out on some really amazing books if I had kept them in tact. The biggest thing I learned is that it's not about the genre, setting, or mood of the story. What it's about is the story itself. Limiting your reading because of your perceived notions about how you think that book is going to make you feel is not really a great idea. I think that's how you get burned out. You stick to a narrow focus of books then it seems like nothing is creative and you're just experiencing the same book over and over again. You can ruin great books and genres that way. Know your tastes and your triggers but break out of your comfort zone, give some books you wouldn't normally read a try. Who knows, you may find one of your new favorite books.

Now I originally planned on listing a bunch of books here that, based on my book prejudices, I thought I wasn't going to like and then actually loved. But this post is already longer than I planned plus I realized that tomorrow's Top Ten Tuesday is a freebie and this is such a perfect topic. So come back then and check out my top ten books I thought I would hate but didn't.

Do you have any book prejudices? Have you broken them and actually liked the books? Do you think it's fair to not read an entire category of books because you haven't liked it in the past? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!