TTT #140 – Books I Disliked but I Am Really Glad I Read (for Bragging Rights)

Sometimes there are those books that you can’t help but be glad that you finished. Reading isn’t always sunshine and peaches, you know. It can be quite the struggle. Not every book is suited to your tastes. And yet we often read on with those books. Why is that?

In my case I often do not dnf. It is just not something I like to do and I tend to always see something that makes me unable to let go of a book or a series completely. I am getting better at stopping with series that don’t hold my interest anymore, but books are another matter.

But sometimes there are also those kind of books you are just glad you made it through. And while you might not have nessecarily enjoyed the experience (old-fashioned writing, dense paragraphs for example) there might still be something to take away from it. Even if it is just bragging rights.

So for this top ten tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) I am sharing with you some of those books for me. Disliked is a big word. I rated some of these 3 stars but over time, feelings about some of these have changed. I divided them into two categories as you will see down below.

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Classics Bragging Rights

Ivanhoe by Walter Scott
I am not sure what even possessed me to pick up this book at the age of 16. I read it for English class. I don’t even remember anything about it, let alone my reading experience. I rated it 3 stars because I think that is what I would have given it back then. Now, who even knows.

Narnia by C.S. Lewis

I have only read about 4 of these in the last few years, but it has been a struggle. Especially The Horse and His Boy. My gosh, that one was terrible. I’ll probably read the other 3 at some point just so I can say I have read them all.

Peter Pan & Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens by J.M. Barrie / Review
I mean I knew this would be different from the disney classic, but wow, how did the Peter Pan from this book turn into that jolly fellow in the disney movie? The writing is also just terrible.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
I am just going to duck here for a minute.

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Hyped and Popular Bragging Rights

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass wasn’t so bad but wow, after that it just went downhill. I could barely manage to get through that last one. I don’t know why people like this?

Divergent by Veronica Roth
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I did not enjoy these but they were so hyped and popular when I got back to reading that I thought I’d give them a chance.

The Martian by Andy Weir
Ducking here again. I seem to be one of the few that didn’t really enjoy this book as much as others. The mc was just not for me. Meh. But another one that was very popular for a while there.

Because You Love to Hate Me by various authors and booktubers. Edited by Aimeriie
At least because of this book I know I need to give Cindy Pon’s books a go since I really liked her short story. The rest was mostly meh.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
At least now I can say I’ve read pretty much all of her books.

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So what books have you read for ‘bragging rights’?
A.k.a books you picked up only because they were popular or classics?