10 Books I Can’t Believe I Liked at the Time

Books I Can't Believe I Liked at the time


Here we go with another snarky post…I just have to break these out every now and then!

You know how some books stand the test of time? Well, these books don’t necessarily hold up for me. I did like them when I read them, but am pretty confident they’d be heading to the DNF pile if I read them now. And, some of them are pretty embarrassing to admit.

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Linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

10 Books I Can’t Believe I Liked at the Time

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
Yes, I admit I read it (and the two sequels). Though I recognized how badly written they were, I was weirdly intrigued by the premise of the story. But, I don’t think I’d be able to overcome the writing now.

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
I ADORED this book and all its sequels and everything else she wrote when I was a tween. At some point, my Mom read one of them and was completely horrified at what I was reading. But, I can’t promise I wouldn’t still love Flowers in the Attic now. I mean, I did really like The Roanoke Girls just last year…

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
This book probably looks like the outlier on this list. It’s here because, when I read it, I distinctly remember not understanding why so many people liked it. Yet, my tracking spreadsheet says I did. Wha??

Revenge Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
I really did love The Devil Wears Prada and think I still would if I read it today. It was one of those Brain Candy books that’s super smart and well done. But, the sequel was just taken way too far and I’m not sure what I saw in it back then.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
I loved The Fault in Our Stars when I read it years ago. The overly precocious-for-teens dialogue didn’t even bother me. But, I couldn’t even get through the first few pages of Turtles All the Way Down because I could feel the YA-ness oozing out of the writing. I suspect I’d feel the same about The Fault in Our Stars if I read it now.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
For some reason, my spreadsheet says I liked this one even though I’ve been telling people for years I thought it was overrated and I kind of skewered aspects of it in my Spoiler Discussion post. Maybe I liked it enough, but didn’t think it came close to the hype? I’ll go with that…

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin
I used to love these roman-a-clefs exposing the crazy behavior of wealthy New Yorkers. While there’s certainly a place for some escapist entertainment, I’ve just realized there are so many great books out there (even light ones that are still very well done and smartly written)…why waste time on something like this?

The Twins of Tribeca by Rachel Pine
Ditto The Nanny Diaries. This one is a thinly veiled novel about Miramax and the Weinstein brothers, which might actually be somewhat enlightening through the lens of everything that has come out about the Weinsteins. But, it’s average Goodreads rating is 2.89 stars. Yikes.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Why oh why was I ever engrossed by a story about a girl torn between a vampire who convinced her to give up every part of her identity and a werewolf? At least I can take solace in the fact that I was far from alone…

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
This one was a cheap trick and a rip-off of a popular movie. Not sure why this didn’t bother me more at the time. Plus, I immediately followed it up with a very similar book that was much better written and didn’t rely on a ridiculous plot trick (Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly – Whittemore, my review). I almost feel like I should take down my review.

Do you have any books you can’t believe you liked?

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24 Comments

  1. Wendy wrote:

    Haha–sometimes you have to read trash, right? I read the first 50 Shades and one was enough for me. It was porn and it was weird. And Idk but I will dip into chick-lit every once in a while–Fitness Junkie, anyone? The knockoff? Devil Wears Prada?

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  2. renee wrote:

    I have to agree with you about 50 Shades, I knew at the time how bad the writing was but I couldn’t put them down! Also, I still wonder how I liked Twilight so much that I read it in one sitting. I’d probably add several John Grisham books to my list, I have a feeling I wouldn’t think his writing was as good today as I did years ago

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  3. Steven Reads wrote:

    Ha! I wouldn’t go near any of them, except I did read The Girl On The Train (mostly because of all the publicity) but I labored to get through it. Not nearly as good as I expected.

    Currently reading, David Morrell’s, “Ruler of The Night” which is the third in a trilogy. Victorian England setting 1850s. He is such a talented writer and keeps you hooked into the story (read them all, starting with “Murder Is A Fine Art” followed by “Inspector of the Dead”). Highly recommended,especially if you enjoy period history murder mysteries (and a whole lot more).

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  4. Angela wrote:

    I would agree with you about Twilight – I read it right after college, and I really enjoyed it, enough to buy the whole series. And then a couple years ago I read it again, and I couldn’t believe the writing! Not sure how I didn’t pick up on how immature it was the first time around.

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  5. You might be surprised how many of these I’ve also read. I think I devoured the entire Flowers in the Attic series at around 13 or 14, and I LOVED it. I also read Twilight and knew it was awful, but couldn’t stop. I did resist the Fifty Shades phenom, but went for Girl on the Train, The Nanny Diaries, and Frog Music. (Why, oh, WHY did I finish that one?.) Fun post!

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  6. Djinn von Noorden wrote:

    I recently reread all the Flowers in the Attic series and have to admit, really enjoyed them in a retro sort of way – so badly written but such fun! Not sure how I’d feel that way about some of the other desperate trash I read in my early teens. The Thornbirds, anyone? Valley of the Dolls?! Fab post, thanks for the LOLs this grim Tuesday morning.

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  7. Ann Marie wrote:

    OMG! V.C. Andrews!! I had forgotten those books existed in what I’m sure is the brain’s way of preserving itself from trauma. Lol. I devoured those at an age that was probably quite inappropriate. I really liked The Fault in Our Stars when I read it but I’m not sure how I’d feel about that one now. It may be too romance-y for my current taste.

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  8. ZoeHaslie wrote:

    When you put Twilight like that…
    I think it’s a lot of people’s guilty pleassure and looking back instead of regretting all life decitions I rather think of it as a rite of passage (?)

    Great TTT!

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  9. I haven’t read most of these. I did enjoy the Twilight series, though once was enough. I didn’t particularly enjoy The Fault In Our Stars. I think both were good to read though, as I was able to discuss with my teen niece and teen son.
    I agree that The Girl On The Train didn’t live up to its hype. Ok but not outstanding. Later my book club chose to read it and I had to skim….I couldn’t get interested in it enough to read through it again!

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  10. Heather wrote:

    Twilight, for sure. It was brain candy but no way could I ever reread!

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  11. Kay wrote:

    I love the fact that Flowers in the Attic is on your list. I almost put it on mine, but then tweaked the topic in a different direction. I read it long before you did I suspect and was genuinely shocked when I figured out what was going on. I saw that it was originally published in 1979 and I think that’s when I read it. I definitely didn’t tell my Mom I was reading it – though I was grown by then. LOL

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  12. Jo wrote:

    There aren’t all that many books I loved at the time that I don’t think I’d like now, the Princess Diaries series is one notable one, I liked it at the time but I don’t think I would anymore. I haven’t read Twilight or Fifty Shades, but I did read The Fault In Our Stars and wasn’t impressed.
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/01/30/top-ten-tuesday-144/

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  13. Gabby wrote:

    True story: I have recently-ish re-read Twilight and still enjoyed it, because it goes SO fast and every once in a while it’s nice to turn the brain to the “off” position. And I LOVED the Flowers series when I was a teenager…what is it about those books that teenage girls find so appealing?

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  14. Tara wrote:

    I have decided that I will NEVER apologize for anything that I read, or have read, especially if I felt like it was entertaining enough to keep reading! I have made much poorer decisions on books that I felt like I *should* read, usually because someone said I should or it was the popular pick, than I have on books that might not have been known for the quality of writing. At the end of the day, I still read for fun! 🙂 And, by the way, I still love some of these on your list – ha!

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  15. Cori wrote:

    This post reminded me that at one point I read 3 books in a L.A.Candy series by Lauren Conrad. I knew they were poorly written but I couldn’t stop myself. I sadly read 2 Twilight books before having to give up due to the stream of consciousness writing. (Like it had nothing to do with the vampires or wolves….ha).

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  16. Catherine wrote:

    Where do I begin?! First, I didn’t know you attempted to read Turtles. I’ve never read Green and so already RSVPed for book club for this book but am finding it blah.

    I’m in complete agreement with Revenge Wears Prada. It was so UGH, but I’d definitely read Devil again. And you can’t blame yourself for things you loved as teen! Flowers in the Attic was such forbidden reading, of course you loved it. We all did!

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
  17. Kathryn wrote:

    I would add The Hunger Games series to this list, and almost anything James Patterson! Black and Blue, Anna Quindlen. I loved the VC Andrews books, and I’m 65! Sometimes, when I’ve read a really good book, and want it to stick with me for a while, then I need a good trashy book > like VC Andrews! This was a fun exercise, and as I look over my Goodreads list I’m pretty pleased that there are not too many books that fall into this category.

    Posted 1.30.18 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      That’s pretty great you don’t have a lot of books in this category!

      But, I’ve gotta say that I love Anna Quindlen…I was super late to the party. Just discovered her in late 2016.

      Posted 2.2.18 Reply
  18. Michelle wrote:

    I can’t believe you actually read the Fifty Shades books. They seem like something you would never even consider these days!

    Posted 2.1.18 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Probably not…but I was a totally different reader back then! And, wasn’t nearly as plugged into the book world, so my reading was much more mainstream than it is now (and I’m not even particularly off the beaten path now).

      Posted 2.2.18 Reply
  19. You know, one of my projects for this year is to reread books I enjoyed a lot but haven’t reread in ages, and I’m curious to see how it turns out. I anticipate there will be at least one book that has me wondering what Past Jenny was thinking. :p

    Posted 2.2.18 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Haha! That is a massive fear I have of re-reading! The only re-reading I’ve done in the past few years is Pat Conroy. All stood up to my memories, except Prince of Tides did seem a little overwrought at times…even though I still love it.

      Posted 2.2.18 Reply
  20. Andrea wrote:

    I didn’t read Frog Music, Twins of Tribeca or Revenge Wears Prada – but I have read every other one and agree on all your assessments!! Although, I wouldn’t be embarrassed, I think that some books are not only the right book – they’re the right book at the right time. Alas, some would now be the WRONG time…

    Posted 2.6.18 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Haha – agreed! Right book at the right time! And glad to know I wasn’t the only one 🙂

      Posted 2.6.18 Reply

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