I don’t know what it is, but I’ve read a string of extraordinarily bad books this week. The funny part though, is that I’ve been trying to read all the books on the bestseller list (all in the name of “research”!). A literary agent gave me this advice so I would be prepared and in-the-know in regards to the industry. His advice was great. The books? Not so much.
Usually when I finish a book I write a review on Goodreads and paste it on the blog. But I can’t bring myself to write one bad review after another. It’s depressing. I’d rather write about the awesome books I’ve read and share the love. Like the Suzanne Collins Hunger Games books. Amazing. Can’t recommend them enough. This week though has been killer. So far I’ve read:
- Adriana Trigiani’s Very Valentine - Trigiani cannot even write a color into her book without saying things like “cornmeal yellow” and “grass green”. It’s just GREEN goddammit!
- Lev Grossman’s The Magicians - Couldn’t finish it, the characters were that depressing. Who doesn’t dream of finding out their favorite books are real? Grossman takes all that magic and awe and makes it as ugly and unattractive as possible. Only a true genius can turn magic into something boring and scientific. Yuck is all I have to say to that.
- Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife - Amazing story, probably one of my favorites actually, but really awful writing. And does she have to say all that stuff in French? A translation would be nice.
- Sandra Brown’s Smash Cut -Just finished this today. Story was not as bad as I had anticipated, but still, not sure why all her books end up bestsellers.
See how depressing that is? This is why I haven’t written proper reviews for any of them. Part of me feels like I’ve wasted my time, there are so many fantastic books out there I could be reading. At the same time though, now that I’m working in publishing, it’s important for me to not only know what’s on the bestseller list, but actually have read them.
On the other hand, books that have been recommended to me, via Goodreads or friends, I usually end up loving forever. These are the books that made me want to be in publishing in the first place. A lot of them were bestsellers, but aren’t current. So I’m ending up having to pick and choose — there aren’t enough hours in the day!
Okay. Rant over.
