Recently, I found myself on a crowded 737, flying from California to Seattle. As I stood in line, waiting to use the restroom, I found myself covertly eyeing book covers. I’m pretty short, so at least I don’t have to lean over too far to see the jacket!
A random sampling: The Hunger Games, Clear and Present Danger (and oldie but a goodie!), Game of Thrones and various magazines. US Weekly must do a swift business. It’s always interesting to see what people read as an escape while in a giant flying tube.
So, what are you reading? Have you ever read a book that you thought would be terrible, just because everyone else is reading it? Did you end up liking it? Why or why not?
I was a strongly against Harry Potter. Like, I wanted nothing to do with it. I was an English major and only read literary fiction. Commercial fiction was so bourgeois. I know, I know. I want to smack my younger self, too.
Then, my friend M insisted that I read Harry Potter. I borrowed the first book. Then the second. Then, I borrowed the rest. I couldn’t read them fast enough. I (obviously) ended up loving them, and realized how snobby I had been for so long. There was absolutely nothing wrong with commercial fiction. It can be well-written, emotional and beautiful. Sure, some of it isn’t great. But, it opened my eyes to so many great books that I would have missed because of my snobbery. Thankfully I’ve seen the light!
So, what have you read that you were surprised by? Discuss!
Also, here’s a shout-out to LOLcats – one of the funniest places on the net.
I also refused to read Harry Potter for years. My mom, sister, and other friends loved it, but I thought it sounded so lame. I was finally convinced to read #1 the summer that #7 was released. I read all 7 books that summer.
I bet that was the best summer EVER!
I started reading Harry Potter when I was living in Japan. A fellow exchange student from Norway recommended them (at that time only books 1-4 were published) and I was snottily like “those are kids books!” I had tried reading them in 7th grade but didn’t find them interesting. I know, such a brat at a young age. 😉 In Japan I was desperate for the English language (I read all the english books they had in the library at my school) so caved and read HP. Best decision. 😉 Though I admit I’m still more of a fan of the British published versions then the ones here in the states.