5 Unpopular Bookish Opinions

July 10, 2020 Payton Hayes

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in Bookish Things, we’re getting spicy again with some unpopular bookish opinions. So buckle up, grab the pop corn, and lets get into it because I’m not holding back! (Don’t worry, no book burning here, but perhaps heretic burning…🔥)

1. The Divergent Series.

(Whoa, whoa, whoa. I see you, angry mob. Yes you, with the torches and pitchforks. Lay your siege weapons down, for just a moment and allow me to share my thoughts before you burn me at the stake.) 🔥

To bee completely fair, I didn’t ready the Divergent Series, but that’s just the issue. I started Veronica Roth’s dystopian science fiction back in 2015 but it didn’t take long before I had to put the book down and call it quits. To give the series the benefit of the doubt, I will say that maybe I didn’t give it a fair shot by prematurely re-shelving my copies before reading the entire series. However, while the action-packed writing and brilliant premise had potential, the execution just wasn’t there.

I couldn’t help but agree with Goodreads user, Wigs, when he said:

“I’ve read that she did write it in a month. Whether it’s true or not, I'd certainly believe it in a heartbeat. The whole thing is rushed and just…completely nonsensical and full of trope after trope. It seemed to me that there was little effort put into analyzing the world and zero research done for it, which is a reminder to any of us who are writers to always have a reason for something, and not just because it “sounds cool.” This book is a treasure trove of COOL PEOPLE tropes and activities. Which doesn’t seem to work on me as I really can’t stand that breed of thrill-seeking people who’d rather risk their life doing stupid shit instead of… you know, not. So what is supposed to be super awesomely cool people just, to me, looked like a band of idiots.”

You can read more from his two-star review here.

2. Dystopic Science Fiction

Okay, if my thoughts on The Divergent Series didn’t get me crucified, then these next sentiments surely will. 🔥Perhaps my disdain for the Dystopic Science Fiction genre is what led me to have such sour view for Roth’s trilogy, but I’m not letting her off the hook just because the genre wasn’t “for me”. I think you can read books that fall outside of your preferred genres and still enjoy them. Unfortunately, for this genre, I think it was just a little too mainstream. Dystopic fiction was so overplayed between 2008-2020 that if someone so much as utters “dystopic,” “dystopia” or “apocalyptic” within my general vicinity, I will readily keel over right now. (But don’t tell my partner—I think that’s his favorite genre.😂) To be perfectly fair though, I was a Maximum Ride stan from 2013-2017 and I would say James Patterson’s avian-kid series is all but dystopic science fiction…so what do I know?🔥

3. The Dark and Brooding Male Character

Ahem, let me just get this out of the way first:

PATCH CIPRIANO IS THE ONLY EXCEPTION HERE.🔥

Okay, now that we got that taken care of, let the unapologetic tirade begin. The dark and brooding, angsty love interest (or just this character in general) is SO OVERPLAYED. I could go on all day about dystopic fanfiction being overdone, but don’t even get me started on this character trope. It seems like almost every YA fiction ever has this character and I would hazard a guess that a good nine out of ten of these YA novels use this trope as the love interest of the main character, whether it be sooner or later in the story.

Now don’t get me wrong—I love me a good tall, dark, and handsome love interest. But the angsty teen guy with the dark hair and seemingly just as dark past (most of them are younger than 21 anyways so what’s so dark about your past? Go play some Fortnite and get over yourselves.) is nearly ubiquitous with YA fiction that has any shred of romance. From the moody Heathcliff of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights to today’s Damon Salvatore of L.J. Smith’s Vampire Diaries, the brooding bad-boy is an overused trope that plagues the classics as well as modern fiction.

However, loosely related to the rant above, I found a fascinating article from the Telegraph about where this character trope stems from any why so many female readers gravitate towards stories with bad boys. You can read it here.

4. Hardbacks Versus Paperbacks

While not quite as flamboyantly controversial as my previous unpopular opinions as mentioned above, how could I forget the ages-old argument over which boom format is superior: Hardback or Paperback? I personally prefer paperbacks. I know, I know. I hear you. But all of the reasons that make hardcovers so appealing to most everyone else, make them repulsive to me. (Okay, maybe not repulsive, per se.) 🔥

Pros of Hardcover books:

Durable, hardcovers that protect the pages within and provide ample structural support.
Beautiful dust jackets that are required to protect those durable hard covers.
Heavy and hard in the hand. (We’re not even going to go there.)

Cons of hardcover books:

Hard covers don’t bend well due to the nature of the books. I personally like to bend my books and break their spines. (And while we’re at it, I dogear my pages too. You guys really are coming to take me away now, I can feel it in your rhythmic marching outside. Just make sure to bring coffee!)
Annoying dust jackets that I almost always end up removing and throwing out. (Need I say more?)
Paperbacks tend to be lighter and more comfortable to hold, generally speaking. Additionally, they usually have a matte finish which feels really nice to the touch. (Still not going there.)

Of course, all of this pretty much comes down to preference. I don’t think one book format is superior to the other, and there certainly are benefits to each format. Let us not forget the unmatched portability of kindle and audiobooks. But I personally prefer paperbacks.

5. Buying New Books Versus Used

Piggybacking slightly on the topic of physical books rather than the literature itself, I’d like to take a second to criticize all of the bookish youtubers and instagrammers buying new rather than used/preowned books. Similar to the previous list item of hardbacks versus paperbacks, it obviously comes down to preference. Many people out there simply prefer to go for elegant box sets, or matching book sets, but between all of the pristine white #shelfies and bookshelf tours out there, I can’t help but feel like many bookshelves just look a little too perfect. Ya feel? Like, yes, I totally understand wanting a nice Lord of the Rings box set, or a fancy Shadowhunter Chronicles set, but I’m not going to lie, I feel pretty high and mighty with my bookshelf of Dollar Tree and thrift store steals. (I didn’t really steal them, its just an expr—you know what, forget it.) 😈

So, what did you think of these 5 unpopular bookish opinions of mine? Do you agree? Do you disagree? Are you coming for me with a flaming torch or pitchfork? Tell me your thoughts in the comments!

Payton Hayes Writing & Editing Services