Top Ten Tuesday / Unpopular Bookish Opinions

Top Ten Tuesday is a book blog meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is unpopular bookish opinions. I couldn't think of a full TEN so I also mentioned popular books I didn't like. Let's get to it!

Unpopular bookish opinions

Just because it's YA/YA fantasy doesn't mean I'll automatically read it - OK, I enjoy young adult, and my read list includes A LOT of YA fantasy. But when a new YA release comes out, I wait to see what other bloggers are rating it before picking it up myself. To be honest, I get bored with YA fantasy; it just all seems the same and to blend together. There are several series that stand out as great novel - An Ember in the Ashes and Throne of Glass come to mind - but generally I have to be in the right mood to truly enjoy the genre. (Please know that if you're a big YA fantasy fan, I'm not trying to judge you! This is just my opinion). If you know if any outstanding YA fantasy that you think deserves more attention, let me know and I'll give it a try!

Reading shaming - This isn't really an unpopular opinion but it's worth mentioning. It drives me crazy to see someone - usually a snobbish jackass, judging someone else on their reading habits. If you only reading classics or ancient Greek or what-have-you, cool. If you like smutty romance or Western paperbacks, that's also cool. If you don't even like reading, that's your personal preference, and I don't think I (or anyone else who isn't you) have a right to judge or criticize you for that. Read what you love; who cares what anybody else thinks of you.

Reading in public - I love cute, aesthetically pleasing Instagram posts of book bloggers reading at the beach or at a park but, for me, I cannot do it! I can't read in public. I don't hate it when others do it but I can't do it myself. If I had to guess, I'd say MAYBE it's my anxiety - I like to know what's happening around me if I'm out in public and I can't do that with my nose in a book. Do you also hate reading in public! Let me know in the comments!

Writing/annotating in books - Don't do it! It ruins your book! In college I'd do this with my textbooks but definitely would not do it on my regular books. I'm OK with sticky notes, but no more than that.

Audiobooks - I have nothing against audiobooks. I've tried them multiple times but I just can't get into them. There's something about reading words on paper and translating them into an image in my head that beats audiobooks in my opinion.

Popular books/series I didn't like

The Maze Runner - I mostly disliked The Maze Runner because I felt the writing was dull. Instead of using cues/physical references to provide insight into a character's feelings, the author merely stated stuff like "Thomas was mad." The simplicity irritated me. I didn't continue with the series. 

Miss Peregrine's Home - I was, and still am, confused by the book. It reads like juvenile fiction but contains minor cursing and more mature subject matter (such as the reference to incest). It was located in the adult fiction section of my local library, which further confused me on who the attended audience of the series is supposed to be. I believe I gave it three stars. I did continue with the other two books, but I still felt the same. I also hated the ending; it was too picture perfect for me.

Shatter Me - I disliked the author's writing style in Shatter Me.

Infernal Devices - It's been a while since reading this book, but I believe it just didn't capture my interest. I know Cassandra Clare's books are very popular, but I have yet to fallen in love with one of her novels.

Slayer - I REALLY wanted to like this one. I love the Buffy TV series. I got bored while reading this book, though, and was disappointed by it.