Saturday, June 28, 2014

The Book Sacrifice Tag

This tag is really old and nobody tagged me to do it, but I'm gonna do it anyway because I really really want to. So this tag was created by an awesome booktuber called Ariel Bissett and you can check out her original video here. It's a tag where you have to think of books that you ABSOLUTELY HATE and would have no problem sacrificing in these bizarre scenarios. 
Note: This tag is purely for fun. It doesn't mean that these books are terrible or that it's totally weird to like them, it just means that they don't particularly appeal to me. So please don't get offended if I mention a book you enjoy. I'm not trying to bad-mouth these authors or their work in any way, I'm just giving my personal opinion. Okay, so now that that's out of the way, let us commence the sacrificing!
1) An Over-Hyped book: 
Let's start this off with a Zombie Apocalypse! Let's say you're in a book store, just browsing, when BAM! ZOMBIE ATTACK. An announcement comes over the PA System saying that the military has discovered that the zombies' only weakness is over-hyped books. What book that everyone else says is amazing but you really hated do you start chucking at the zombies knowing that it will count as an over-hyped book and successfully wipe them out?! 
My Choice: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
So many people love this book and I have no idea why. For starters, the cover is hideous! I know that shouldn't "judge a book by its cover," but it just looks so cheesy and didn't make me want to read the book at all. But, I'd seen so many people giving the book such high praise that I went against my instincts and read it anyway. Huge mistake. I think I hated every single character in this book. I know that making Anna too innocent and naive was sort of the point, but it was so overdone that it was infuriating most of the time. And Kaidan was definitely not the swoon-worthy, witty love interest I was expecting. The romance was silly, the love triangle felt forced and the plot was boring, which makes this the perfect weapon to use against these pesky zombies.
2) A Sequel: Let's say you've just left the salon with a SMASHING new haircut and BOOM:Torrential downpour. What sequel are you willing to use as an umbrella to protect yourself? 
My choice: The Death Cure by James Dashner
I gotta say, there were plenty of sequels to choose from. I thought of The End by Lemony Snickett and Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi, but in the end, I had to go with the most disappointing sequel I've ever had the displeasure of reading and that is the third book in The Maze Runner trilogy. Now don't get me wrong. I love James Dashner. And I can't wait for the The Maze Runner movie. I loved The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials a lot, but The Death Cure was just a huge let down. The first two books in the series felt like they were building up to something unbelievably brilliant and extraordinary, but in the end, I thought, "That's it?" I felt like this book ruined the entire series for me. I know lots of people are satisfied with the trilogy's ending, but I wish it had been different.
3) A Classic: Let's say you're in a lecture and your English teacher is going on and on about how this classic changed the world, how it revolutionized literature and you get so sick of it that you chuck the classic right at his face because you know what? This classic is stupid and it's worth detention just to show everyone how you feel! What Classic did you chuck?
My choice: They Do It With Mirrors by Agatha Christie
I'm not really sure whether or not this book counts as a classic, but I'm choosing it anyway. I read this a really long time ago, so I don't remember much about it. What I do remember, though, is that I definitely didn't enjoy it. Ever since I was a kid, I've adoredmystery novels (I was OBSESSED with 
Nancy Drew) and I loved to watch Agatha Christie's Marple, so I was pretty excited to start this book. However, when I started reading it, I didn't find it interesting at all. It took me a while to finish it, and the culprits weren't as shocking as you'd expect them to be. So while a lot of mystery lovers liked this book, in the words of the great Simon Cowell:
4) Your least favorite book of life!: Let's say that you're hanging out at the library when BAM global warming explodes and the world outside becomes a frozen wasteland. You're trapped and your only chance for survival is to burn a book. What is the book you first run to, your least favorite book of all life, what book do you not fully regret lighting?
My choice: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Pretty much everybody except me loves this book. I have yet to find someone who even remotely dislikes this book which I hate with so much passion. Sometimes, I open Goodreads to read the scant negative reviews on this book just to make myself feel better. I did not get this book at all. At first, the book seemed kind of cool, even though the idea wasn't that original, so I thought it would be a quick, fun read. It was definitely not. I think the writing style is what turned me off the most. I could tell that it was a middle-aged man trying to write from the point of view of a teenage girl. The main character, Cassie, was not likable at all and I was bored for most of the book. Also, the love triangle that was thrown in at the end was stupid and completely unnecessary. Why would you do that, Rick Yancey?
I was expecting The Most Anticipated Book of 2013 to be much better than this. Unfortunately, this book is the first in a series and the second book, The Infinite Sea comes out later this year. If I read it, I'll try very very hard to keep an open mind and not hate it from the start. No guarantees though.

So that's the Book Sacrifice tag. Sorry if I mentioned one of your favorites, but as I said before, this is just for fun.
And now I'm tagging you, our dear readers, to sacrifice some horrendous books! Tell us in the comments or in your blog if you have one, what your choices would be. Seriously, nothing feels better than ranting about books you don't like!