No worries about offending anyone here with strong opinions. We definitely know we all have preferences and we respect that. I hope people here will always feel free to post negative opinions about a book, even if someone else loved it.
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Iâm with you @Patricia_R. While I perhaps didnât feel as strongly as you about The Correspondent it was a very meh reading experience for me as opposed to others who have spoken enthusiastically about it. Iâm not crazy about sentimentality and it seemed to be brimming with it.
Itâs interesting the two books eliciting really strong feelings: James and The Correspondent are both big award winners. The awards likely being presented after this group had read the books so not only laying into those low ratings. I feel like there must be some sort of intersection here but I donât have a guess as to what it might be. Thoughts anyone?
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So many factors come into play with awards. For example, Oscar winning movies - in retrospect - often arenât the best movie of the year. Hype, favoritism, politics, the desire to be on the winning team or to obstruct it, life experiences and even a bit of laziness can factor in. And these days, of course, paid or rewarded reviews.
Iâm here, in fact, because the review sources I used in the past no longer align with my taste in books.
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Totally agree.
These books are lightweight entertainment, I think.
I frequently select from the big prestigious awards. (National Book Award, Booker Prize, Pulitzer, NY Times Top 100 of the 21st Century, Penn/Faulkner, Womenâs Prize, etc.)
The winners, shortlists and longlists provide plenty of reliable, literary choices. The curation has been done. Why repeat the research?
I can see why the huge winner James would disappoint. The Correspondent awards to me are baffling. So I guess itâs like finding your favorite movie critic. For me I never go wrong with the National and the Booker.
Hey thanks yâall for responding to my question. I too believe that the BB curated reviews are a notch above the fray. Thanks BookBrowse!
I also seem to really like the Booker list for my favorite reads but have had really good luck with this yearâs womenâs prize lists.
I feel like the prize panels are often looking for something edgy, original, and beautifully written. Those aspects might lead to books that fall into the love it/hate it category. Although I didnât hate The Correspondent I did very much love James. So much that Iâve read it three times. Happy to discuss the merits if anyone is interested.
I agree with @Kay_L regarding THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah. I stopped reading because it was too depressing. However that was published during the COVID lockdown which also was a depressing time. I also did not finish her next book THE WOMEN. The setting of the plot was during the Vietnam War. I lost 4 high school friends in that war so that was another difficult period.
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I agree. Someone chose it for our book group and I couldnât believe we were reading such drivel.
Yesteryear. I had no interest in a tranwife influencerâs sci-fi story.
The Women by Kristin Hannah. While I love other of Hannahâs books, this one didnât do it for me. It was flat, contrived and read more like a soap opera than a serious historical novel.
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The Goldfinch- way too long and uninteresting characters.
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I would add âAtmosphereâ to that list. Take a dime store romance, cloak it in LGBTQ rights, sprinkle in a little NASA and youâre published in 6 months.
Agree. I was underwhelmed in Atmosphere.
However, if you have an interest in an excellent women and space read, the non-fiction book The Six by Loren Grush.
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