An interesting question...

I belong to a lot of loops on Yahoo and LI. Probably too many. Most of the time I simply scan the headlines, unable to devote time to more than a few entries.

One question on an LI loop caught my attention. The commenter asked: "Would you warn readers against reading a certain book?"

I didn't read the comments to see if anyone would do something like that, or if they'd protest against such behavior. I know what I'd do. If I don't like a book, I don't trash it online, because I'm one person with one opinion and god knows, what most people say online doesn't jibe with how I feel.

   

Over the summer I tried to read all the books I'd been hearing about for so long. The mega bestsellers that had been made into movies. That included The Lovely Bones (never cried so hard in my life - awesome book), The Millennium Trilogy (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc. - amazing - I didn't want the trilogy to end. I kept reading slower and slower because I knew when I got to the last page, that was it. What a bummer. Was depressed for days), a couple of Stephen King books (Can't recall them now. I like his earlier work much better), Intensity (Koontz outdid himself on that one. Was on the edge of my seat through the whole thing and the end made me sob - in a good way).

Okay, so far so good.

Then I got my hands on The Hunger Games. The idea really intrigued me. I couldn't wait to start reading. By the middle of the first book, I wasn't certain how I'd get through the others. I know it was one of the most popular series of all times, but I didn't like Katniss. She seemed whiny to me and disconnected from reality. She seems more worried about what she's going to wear at the games and how she looks than the fact that other kids are going to be hunting her down. I know she's lived with this threat all of her life - that she might be the next one chosen to participate. However, thinking about it and having to do it are two very different things. This isn't the prom we're talking about where the worst thing would be wearing last year's outfit. She could die. The thought of that would certainly make me lose my lunch. I slogged through the first book, then the other two, waiting for them to take fire for me.

Never did.

Did I go online and trash the series? Hell no. And believe me, I'm not trashing them here. I'm simply stating that they didn't appeal to me. That  doesn't  mean they were bad; they just weren't for me.

I'm always amazed when anyone goes on Amazon and proclaims about a book - "I asked for my money back!", "If I could give this book zero stars, I would!", "Don't buy this! I'm warning you!"

I can understand posting ratings like that for a vacuum sweeper that caught fire or an electric toothbrush that took the enamel off your teeth. But for a book?

Hell, people, writing is subjective. Taste is super subjective. No way an author can please everyone. The smart ones don't even try.

So, that's my take on this. What do you do when you read something you really, really, really hate?

Tina

Tina Donahue
“Heat with Heart”

ILLICIT INTENT (5 FLAMES - MY READING OBSESSION)
ILLICIT DESIRE (4 STARS - ROMANTIC TIMES)
SENSUAL STRANGER (BOOK OF THE YEAR 2010)
DEEP, DARK, DELICIOUS (HOLT MEDALLION AWARD OF MERIT)

Website: http://www.tinadonahue.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahue
FB: http://www.facebook.com/tina.donahue.75
FB Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/TinaDonahueBooks
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/authortina/my-books/
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/tinadonahue
Triberr: http://triberr.com/tinadonahue

My upcoming releases...

  

Salander

For those of you who've read Stieg Larsson's "The Girl..." trilogy, you know who I'm talking about when I mention the name Salander.

For those of you who've never cracked one of these books - you really need to. This is especially true for women and writers.

My god, what stories these are. No, they're not perfect. Just go to Amazon and read the many negative one and two star reviews about there being too much detail about what the characters eat, the computers they use, the way the hero Blomkvist sleeps around (didn't bother me at all), and so many other (small) points that some readers didn't like.

That's not what these books are about. They're about men who hate women (which was the title of the first book before the publisher changed it to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

Salander is a female character like none I've ever read. She's not beautiful, sexy or witty. She's a computer hacker, stunningly brilliant when it comes to mathematical formulas. More importantly, she's been a victim of men in power - a victim who refuses to be victimized. She does what many might call immoral things, yet she is the most moral character I've ever met.

The way she extricates herself from her sadistic and creepy guardian Bjurman in the first book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was awesome. I certainly didn't see it coming, and trust me, I've guessed the end of every Agatha Christie book and other murder mysteries/thrillers since I've started reading the genre. I honestly thought she was going to kill the slimeball. (Hell, I was having my own fantasies about that). Not Salander. She found the perfect punishment for the SOB. During that scene, I was pumping my fist in the air and shouting, "You go, girl!"

Blomkvist, a crusading financial journalist, isn't only her lover at times. More importantly, he's her friend in a world where she sorely needs one. This is a relationship I believe all women want with a man. Someone who listens to you, believes in you and will do all that he can to ensure your safety even though the rest of the world thinks you're weird and unattractive. Yeah, he's my kind of guy.

It's a damn shame Larsson died after writing these tales. His work speaks to me as a woman who wants to be treated fairly, to be understood (not dismissed/abused/exploited) and who is more than a means for a man to make himself feel important.

As a writer, I'm amazed at his intricate plotting, stunning cliffhangers and the connection between Salander and Blomkvist. I didn't want these stories to end...ever.

Do yourself a favor - read these books. Savor them. Mourn the loss of a very great writer.

Tina

Tina Donahue
“Heat with Heart”

DEEP WITHIN ME (June 25 - Samhain)
ILLICIT INTENT (5 FLAMES - MY READING OBSESSION)
ILLICIT DESIRE (4 STARS - ROMANTIC TIMES)
SENSUAL STRANGER (BOOK OF THE YEAR 2010)
DEEP, DARK, DELICIOUS (HOLT MEDALLION AWARD OF MERIT)

Website: http://www.tinadonahue.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahue
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tina.donahue.75
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/authortina/my-books/
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/tinadonahue