I Never Should Read Those Recommended Books

I Never Should Read Those Recommended Books

This year I got roped into reading two of those "OMG you've got to read these books or your life won't be complete," books.

Though both have been good in their respective ways, for me they both were a huge disappointment.

The first book foisted on me by just about everyone was William Young's The Shack. This is actually my favorite of the two books I've read.

I like that the author reminds us in a very in your face way, that God made man and woman in his image and well that image can be like anyone you'd see on the street. But there's more to the story than some troubled soul who lost his child communing in a shack with God, who just happened to send him a note to come there.

Uh yeah. If God sends me any notes, the first place I'd go probably wouldn't be a shack, but that's beside the point. My biggest gripe with this book is the cheap cliche ending that really spoiled the whole thing for me. I don't know what I was expecting but from the rave reviews I did expect an ending that would have stood up with the rest of the story. Sadly it didn't.

Next up is The Lovely Bones, which came to me highly recommended after I read Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. I expected a story of a similar nature, and it kind of is, but truth be told its a pretty depressing tale that really has made me wish I hadn't picked it up.

I have no problem with stories about crime or the afterlife, but this book was really gruesome at the beginning and as Susie starts seeing the way things played out of earth it just gets more and more depressing. I have a little over a hundred pages left in this book, but as it stands now I wish I hadn't picked up the book at all. I don't like books that are such downers. I hope something changes in the next 100 pages to make me rethink my opinion on this one, because of the two books, I was most excited to read this one. Its not even that its a hard read, because I've been whizzing through it. Its just too damn depressing and I don't need that.

Have you ever had a book recommended to you that you wished you hadn't read?