The Fault in My Reading

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie that the rest of the world loved but you found really wasn't your cup of tea? That's exactly how I felt last weekend when I finished The Fault in our Stars. The book received great reviews, has been listed on multiple teen reading lists and is beloved by teens and adults alike yet I struggled to even make myself finish the book after one day of reading. Thank goodness it was a quick read and by the next day I was done.

Perhaps it was a wonderful book. I'm just one reader among millions. I'll be the first to admit that I normally don't like bestsellers. That's probably why... This book just became way too popular for me. I tried unsuccessfully to read the Harry Potter series three times. Yes, I am the only librarian who doesn't like Harry Potter. I even come from a family of crazy Harry Potter fans. I've tried twice to read the Shades of Grey series. It was so poorly written I couldn't even make it through the first book. At least Harry was well written. Didn't someone read Shades before it was published?

I don't even know the popular TV shows because I have my head in what some would categorize as an unpopular boring book. 

Well, enough of my rant. Back to The Fault in our Stars. For some reason, I found myself thinking I had read or watched this storyline before. To my knowledge there have been similar books and movies but nothing to this plot line. It was reminiscent of Nicholas Sparks A Walk to Remember, which I also hated although I will admit I was a slight Sparks fan in high school until I realized the books were all the same. It also seemed a little to Lifetime TV for me. I'm surprised they didn't grab the manuscript first for the movie! It's right up their ally!

Some props to John Green because he is a great writer and he does engage the teens. I'm sorry but this former teen librarian was just not impressed. Hey, we all can dislike books. I was disappointed when my book club hated  Maine, which is one of my favorites. We all have different tastes and I guess teen romance mixed with adolescent cancer isn't mine. Don't get me wrong. If I didn't like it, you probably will. So, my friends, give it a try. It is a bestseller after all but do me a favor, don't buy it. Go to the library!