The situation. You've bought a book that's supposed to be, that should be, right up your alley. It's a book you'd have chosen based on nothing more than the blurb, it's a premise yourself wouldn't have minded writing, it's a world that stimulates your own imagination. In short, as far as you're concerned, it's a Good Idea.
It has been publicly praised by most who've read it, or at least the ones inclined to blog or tell their friends or review it in some fashion online. It has been personally recommended to you by several people. It is not, as with J.R. Ward's ph-series, considered a "guilty" pleasure by many readers almost ashamed to confess their love; it does not receive night/day reviews. No, it receives consistent approval from disparate sources, even if some of the approval is more of a 3.5 instead of 5++.
In fact, you have saved this book, this sure thing, for a time you can really enjoy it, not a time when you only have 5 minutes to read.
So you're reading it and... No. Just no. Awkward prose. Extreme infodumping. More infodumping. OMG the infodumping! Plot contrivances. TSTL characters. Possibly unintentional bathos. Weak worldbuilding. Uninspired setting. Stereotyped characterization. Meandering narrative. Cliche after cliche, in both the writing and the storytelling. All you can think is, "Dude. Why?"
It's not that you're a person who knee-jerk disses things other people love. You don't turn your nose up at things because they're popular, not if you try it and like it. You've gotten your hot little hands on well-received books before and loved them, had your high expectations met and surpassed. You don't have "guilty" pleasures. If you love it, that means it's awesome, so there's no reason to feel guilty, unless your love drives you to devour a particular food product you were supposed to save for the children.
You also have no qualms loving books that are Good Ideas in the sense they are what you might have written yourself, had you been so inclined and a lot more efficient about producing fiction in general. You have no qualms loving award winning books or books you can't seem to find any information about at all. You have no qualms loving books that are by authors you have gotten to know and dislike for whatever reason. You have no qualms loving books by authors who got published in your chosen subgenre with what seems to be the greatest of ease, while your road to success has been rockier.
So your "just no" response (as opposed to a "just say no" response wherein you've tried that author and been burned before) doesn't seem to be subconscious professional jealousy.
It seems you simply don't like the book. And you can't for the life of you understand the universal appeal. Even with authors others like and you don't, you have a broad enough grasp of human nature, of readers, to see why it's popular. But with this particular book -- just no. It doesn't even rouse prurient interests, which is the case with a number of authors others love and you do not.
When this happens to you, does it make you question:
1) your sanity?
2) your ability to judge "good" (or at least marketable) writing?
3) your grasp of what readers want?
4) your own writing ability?
5) your understanding of your own psyche?
6) the honesty of the glowing reviews from online sources that seem to be "friends" of the author?
7) the honesty of the glowing reviews from random people?
8) the sanity of other readers?
9) the sanity of the whole publishing industry?
10) what you ate yesterday?
How do you feel when this happens, if it happens?
JW
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7 comments:
GAH! I hate it when this happens! You get all hyped because of the lurve-fest just to wonder if you're reading the same book everyone else read. Like you, I begin to question my own skills and concepts of what makes a good book. Then I think, "Nope, I'm fine. This is just bad." : )
Can I say other? I hate it when I read reviews at say, the A place [we all know where this is] and you think 'wow! OK! These are people who like the same books I do [insert medevial history genre with lots of battle scenes] and they liked this so OK!' You read the little tid bit included and think 'OK! Yeah this sounds REALLY good!' Off you go and order, you just can't wait 3-7 days for normal shipping. Oh no, let's get it TOMORROW!!! You wait, you check, YES it is on my doorstep! You get all excited, rush home, rip it open, get a cider and a bag of something noshy and settle in. And get 20 pages in and go 'seriously?!'. You skip ahead a chapter and go 'STILL?!' Another chapter 'OMG..no' and then finally, skip to the end and go 'I paid more for the freaking shipping than I will EVER get for this at half price!' This has taken you all of an hour. Yes I question my sanity..and why i have all those bad books still on the bookshelf. Like fine wine I know it will NOT improve with aging..it will still suck the bag!
Had the same experiences, and came to the conclusion that perhaps others have a greater tolerance of the pedestrian (prose, characters, etc.) than I do -- or define "pedestrian" differently. On the other hand, there is also the case where you pick up something, maybe one of those waiting situations (airport, dr's office, etc.), not expecting much at all, and discover a gem! It's how the Literature Goddess keeps us on our toes (and has a good giggle at our expense.)
I wonder if you're thinking of the same book I am. lol Probably not. Like the others say, this happens a lot. I couldn't get past the bad writing of the Da Vinci Code, and look how long that was on the bestseller list.
I recently felt like this about an Oprah Book Club choice. I think maybe everyone else is insane. Oprah keeps raving about "ah-ha!" moments and such enlightenment and I am like- uh been there read that--about 20 years ago and it was not a revelation then either....I rarely doubt myself, I doubt humanity first.
Ravyn
It leaves me confused and the book is usually thrown up against a wall, left unfinished.
Y'know, I used to doubt myself about things like this. I'd think that there was something wrong with me, that I was out of step with popular culture, that maybe I just didn't GET this whole storytelling thing, for some reason.
Well, I changed my mind. :-)
I think what started it all was reading a book that won a well-known romance award a few years ago. It got rave reviews everywhere, and from the description, the story sounded exactly like my cup of tea.
Gah. WORST book I ever read. And I mean worst by any objective standard. Bad grammar, ellipsis abuse, unsympathetic characters, and a nonsensical plot were just a few of the annoyances. If the book had been in paper format instead of on my PDA, I would've lobbed it at the wall.
When I reread the reviews, I noticed patterns that strongly indicated sock puppetry on the part of the author, and I suspect something similar happened with the contest, given the lack of security in its voting procedures.
I'm not saying that all crappy or meh books that inexplicably become popular got this way due to fraud or cheating. Sometimes I think it's just a weird accident or trick of fate.
I still doubt myself on lots and lots of things, but when it comes to books, I'm unashamedly opinionated. :-P
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