7 Popular 2019 Books That Were Not Worth the Hype!
Have you ever seen a book floating around Instagram or podcasts that EVERYONE seems to love and you just…. didn’t? I think I’m a fairly reasonable reader that can see why people might like a book, but then there are some that were just a slog to get through and I walked away wishing I hadn’t read it.
I also have a theory- the earlier I read a book and the less I know going into it, generally, the more I’ll enjoy it. For example, I was an early reader for Lock Every Door and No Exit and I LOVED them both- but I know a lot of people thought they were over hyped, likely because people were talking about them too much!
This isn’t true for every book- some wouldn’t work for me no matter when I read them. [As always, this is just my opinion and I’m not trying to be nasty. Props to anyone who writes a book! No tagging.]
Lets get into it!
Linking up Girlxoxo and Traveling with T for their #AMonthofFaves
The Chain | Adrian McKinty | Review | I saw this one ALL OVER social media during the summer- and I can see why. The premise sucks you right in- your child has been kidnapped, and in order to get them back you have to kidnap someone else’s child- but the execution was just not there. By the end I was skimming because the story line just went way too far into unbelievable territory. I didn’t hate it, but it did get pretty ridiculous by the end.
Imaginary Friend | Stephen Chbosky | Yet another #BookstagramMadeMeDoIt | This was such an unique book, but I felt every one of the 705 pages. It’s an epic, sprawling tale that takes a bit of time to build up, but once I got to about 50% I was all in. Then when I saw the natural end was approaching and there were still 150 pages left…I just wanted a resolution. It got repetitive and while the big reveal(s) were clever… I was kind of over the whole thing. Quite frankly (and maybe I missed something), but I thought large parts of the ending made no sense. Not my favorite! And definitely not something I’d recommend.
The Library Book | Susan Orlean | This book bored me to tears. I really thought a story about true crime that takes place in a library would be right in my wheelhouse, but I found myself skimming. I didn’t like the writing and I didn’t feel like I walked away with a resolution. Plus, I listened to parts on audio and the author narrates… and she shouldn’t have.
My Lovely Wife | Samantha Downing | This one has SO many 5 star reviews and I just don’t understand. The set up is good: Millicent and her husband look like any other suburban couple on the outside, but behind closed doors they have a penchant for murder. The execution was what I didn’t care for- the characters gets backed in a corner and I thought the ending was a predictable and unsatisfying. You would think a story about 2 serial killers would be exciting, but this just wasn’t to me.
Summer of ‘69 | Elin Hilderbrand | This was fine, but I definitely didn’t find that it was good enough to be in the final round of nominees for Best Historical Fiction on Goodreads. I enjoyed the cultural Easter eggs and writing style, but I was bored with the story. Hilderbrand touched on issues present during this time period but in a very subtle way. I wanted her to GO THERE. I also thought the mom, Kate, was completely unlikable and she made it hard to care about the rest of her family.
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know | Malcolm Gladwell | This is my least favorite on the list. I like that he attempted to take on very real issues in today’s world (systemic racism, sexual assault), but I felt like he completely missed the mark. It felt like he used popular tragedies to get attention without really digging into the deeper issues about what these events mean. The audiobook production was top notch; it was almost like a podcast hybrid with music, news clips, and voice reenactments in addition to the text- but this doesn’t overcome the fact that the book is problematic. He ignored the uneven power dynamics that existed in most of his examples (Larry Nassar, the officer in Sandra Bland’s case, Brock Turner) and I thought the whole thing was pretty problematic. Tracy at The Stacks does a great job expounding on this- catch her review here.)
Whisper Network | Chandler Baker | This was another mess. A group of high powered women decide to band together to tell their truth about the man who’s about to be appointed their new CEO. The writing was unclear and it honestly felt like some of the women really were embellishing the relationship and abuse they experienced by him to prove a point- which I find to be pretty damaging, when so many women aren’t believed in the first place. This took way too long to get interesting, I could not connect to the characters, and honestly had trouble following along with what little was going on.
There you have it! I feel kind of mean, but it does feel good to get that off of my chest. What about you? Agree, disagree? What popular books weren’t worth the hype to you?
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