What book did you go into thinking you were going to dislike, but ended up loving? (And vice versa)

Submitted by keep_it_trillani t3_1279s21 in books

For me, I went into Where the Crawdads Sing with really high expectations, but it fell short for me. It was too slow of read for me.

Recently, I moved more into romance novels. I just read Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn for book club, and went into it with no expectation because it's not typically my genre of choice. I really enjoyed it!!! It inspired me to add other romance novel on my to-read list.

Have you experienced this with any books lately?

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WavSword t1_jeduo2c wrote

Thought I was going to love Never Let Me Go from all the positive reviews and the concept but damn it was a slow, annoying burn. I probably had high and fixed expectations.

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Nurhaci1616 t1_jeecm38 wrote

When I found out one of the books for my A Level (around age 17-18, mostly to qualify for university studies) English Lit class was going to be some weird French book by an author I'd never heard of, I was honestly kind of disappointed. When I read The Stranger by Camus, I found it to be one of the most impactful books I've read in my life, honestly. No idea if it's just one of those "right book at the right time" situations, but where Holden Caulfield didn't resonate with me in the same class, Mersault really did and it led to a deeper interest in Camus' writing.

I can't really recall any examples of the opposite happening: maybe books that weren't as good as I expected based on popular opinion or specific recommendations from people, but that isn't really the same thing (and I usually still find something to enjoy in those cases, even if not as much as I wanted).

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Pipe-International t1_jedtd4u wrote

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. I don’t care for YA but had to read something for Bingo. Liked the first one so much I read the second and watched the show on the Netflix.

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yaga_mania t1_jeh1lp6 wrote

Yes I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this one!! It’s more complex and mature for a YA book

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hobokobo t1_jee2fyc wrote

Project Hail Mary - it’s always getting so much hype so I thought I’d enjoy it. The plot is interesting for sure, but Andy Weir’s writing is pretty awful and his characters are one-dimensional at best. If you want a storyline that moves along and you’re not too fussed about the improbable science, then go for it but maybe don’t spend your hard-earned dollars on it. It’s a good one to borrow from the library. (The audiobook and narrator also get a lot of love on Reddit but, once again, I didn’t love it. That being said, it was easier to listen to the audiobook than to read it. Don’t ask me why I tortured myself with both. Guess I was trying to understand why others loved it so much. To each his/her own, right?)

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4851205 t1_jefx4ob wrote

I didn’t love it either and this is the book I use as an example for falling short of expectations. I HATED the way the main character was written. Even on the first page I was immediately rolling my eyes. It’s an unpopular opinion since the book gets so much praise but it just didn’t do it for me

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Dandibear t1_jedar7o wrote

It was a while ago, but Outlander. I fully expected to LOVE IT and soar joyfully through the series. I didn't make it even a quarter of the way through the first one. I was so disappointed.

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keep_it_trillani OP t1_jedbuju wrote

Oh shoot, that's rough when you've already planned to read the full series. Was it because of a slow burn, or a different reason? Considering you made it a quarter way though, I'd say that's an accomplishment, considering her books are a trillion pages long, lol!! I used to curse her under my breath when I worked at a bookstore, because her damn books took up so much shelf room!

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Dandibear t1_jedcqal wrote

Fortunately I was getting then through the library and hadn't bought the whole set or anything like that.

My complaint was a common one, that they're deeply misogynistic. I was prepared for that knowing that some of that is to be expected in that time period and expecting the rest of it to be good enough to get past that. But no, it was awful. I kept going a lot longer than I should have hoping their relationship would settle down, but no. Just a dozen forms of abusiveness in a relationship, repeating in an endless parade and calling themselves love.

I was so mad!

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Pinglenook t1_jedt1bj wrote

I don't start reading books expecting I'll dislike them. But I do read classics and sometimes go into them expecting it could be a difficult read, and then be positively surprised. An example of that was To kill a mockingbird, which I found to be a total pageturner.

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CraftyRole4567 t1_jefd19j wrote

I have the same approach to classics! No one had warned me Madame Bovary was incredibly funny as well as a social satire. I went in expecting to have to work at it and loved every second.

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mikarala t1_jedjd1v wrote

Thought I was going to love The Master and Margarita. I found it a lot duller than advertised. Could be the translation (although it's by far the one I've seen most recommended), but the prose just lacked any kind of panache imo.

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dogsuwu t1_jedq8m4 wrote

ppl didnt like red queen, but i actually liked it! i mean i know it's not pulp fiction or whatever but i like it for what it was. stopped feeling so invested with the series tho im just talking about book 1 hahah

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tearsoftheringbearer t1_jeewggx wrote

First, I was convinced that I was going to hate Pendragon: The Merchant of Death by DJ MacHale after reading the first chapter, but once I got into the meat of the story I fell in love.

I was actually expecting to love Michael Grant's Gone but the further I got into the book the less I liked it. Being older than the age limit on the town probably didn't help that though.

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strangest_tribe20 t1_jefmv9d wrote

A tale of two cities.

I thought I'd love it. And even tho it's not really bad, Dickens' style wasn't for me. I dont wanna try other books by him.

On the other hand, I didnt have much expectations for Jane Eyre, and I loved it.

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Handyandy58 t1_jedejjn wrote

I can't really say I pick up any books expecting to dislike them, as that would probably be disqualifying for me in the first place. I don't really feel compelled to read anything that doesn't inherently sound interesting or enjoyable to me. So if there were something that seemed dislikable to me, I would likely never start it in the first place.

So that said, I go into every book expecting to enjoy it. I probably give up on 1 in 10 books or so, maybe more, which end up not being enjoyable to read. Most recently I gave up on War in Heaven by David Zindell. I hadn't enjoyed the earlier 3 books in the series all that much, and at this point didn't really see myself getting much fulfillment out of finishing the final book even though I had made it that far.

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FlattopMaker t1_jedkrrw wrote

expected to like: Ficciones and The Book of Sand by Jorge Luis Borges. I can't relate to the curiosity without obsession, but obsessive anyway approach. Didn't expect to not like abstract concepts and themes.
expected to dislike: Love in the Time of Cholera. Now I understand it.

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sleepless-bookworm t1_jedw73n wrote

Mine is Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles. It was pitched as The Phantom of the Opera meets the Night Circus. But it's not!!

The main character is a poor representation of Feminism. More like feminism where women are great, but men are douchebag. She pissed me off so much!! There is even a part of the story where the character thinks men are ganging up on her because she is a woman. But she didn't follow the rules. It's a freaking contest!! A teacher won't excuse you for being late in the exam just because you always get an A. Even late paper submissions get deductions, or worse, not accepted. But this main character thinks she's awesome and she deserves straight As no matter what. That's where I DNF the book.🤣

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CraftyRole4567 t1_jefctaq wrote

I heard so much about Lonesome Dove and slogged through it. It was as sour, hateful, and misogynistic as any book I’ve ever read. I got to that miserable ending and actually threw the book across the room and left a dent in the wall, I was so angry I had read it. I can’t imagine what your opinion would have to be of women to enjoy that book, but I keep hearing guys telling me it’s the best thing ever written. Ugh.

I hd despised Dickens in high school but was stuck on a long bus trip and had nothing but a Tale of Two Cities. Wow, that is not like his other books! Loved every minute of it, cried at the end.

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