Do recommended books often not match your expectations?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

For example, the first time I heard about Pride and Prejudice, I had the preconception of Mr Darcy as the perfect gentlemen, and of Lizzy as the unthankful, ahem, slag, who doesn't appreciate his awesomeness.

That's how it was recommended to me (! I know, right?!) and that was how I started reading it. That was promptly destroyed at about chapter 3, and Lizzy was the first character I COMPLETELY identified with in every way. I don't mean she was a Mary-Sue character insert, but that her spirits and her wit captivated me in every way, and I was feeling what she was, all throughout. All the hating of Mr Darcy, and interest in Mr Wickham - I felt it all. It was a heady experience, and I'd give a lot to go through it again.

So, even though I loved the book to pieces, it was so, so, different from what I expected.

On the other hand, when I started The Lord of the Rings, I had a pretty good idea of the plotline, etc, despite having never watched the movies beforehand. It was pretty much what the people who recommended it said it was. (An achievement in itself, living up to the hype and glowing reviews) And I loved it. But yes, it did meet the recommendations, unlike P&P, which was a complete surprise.

So now I learn to take recommendations with a grain of salt. I try not to hype books I recommend, because that often creates unrealistic expectations. But usually, when I get recommendations from trusted sources, the books I get make me very happy. :D

LuthienX

@celestial - I think you're not really supposed to like Scarlett, but she appeals to the b-tchy side in all of us. And I loved how her character darkened, from frivolous manipulator to dark, scheming manipulator.

I guess you can tell I'm highly attracted to anti-heroes who behave horribly.

Howl's Moving Castle is one of my favorites! I would describe it as an adorable book, more than anything else, though. It's not a LotR or a Harry Potter, but it's very original and creative. I REALLY hope you end up liking it!

Someone has to know me well in order to suggest books that I really would like. Sometimes, I take suggestions about books that I've thought about reading and just never got around to. But more often, I pick my own books. Joshms has recommended books that I like, though, like A Certain Slant of Light, Neverwhere, and Hunger Games.

I know what you mean- I always try and take book opinons with a grain of salt. I don't want to be disappointed either!

Yeah, book are matched up to you by the Genre you purchased the most books in. You shouldn't purchase a book that was recommended to you if you know nothing about the book. Also, next time, consider reading reviews and the description of what the book is about.

Hope this helped!

Good Luck!

I know a lot of people will say this is blasphemy, but I didn't like Nicholas Spark's 'The Notebook'. I preferred the movie.

And I also did not like Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' or Margaret Mitchell's 'Gone With the Wind', and since they were so acclaimed I thought it would be impossible not to like them. But I detested the main character of 'Gone With the Wind', and when I finished the book, I was like, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? That is the ending?! Maybe it's just because I'm a sucker for a nice happy ending, but it just wasn't my taste.

And with Dracula, I expected the book to be from Dracula's point of view, and it wasn't. It was from the point of view of, like, six other people besides him, and you never get to see inside his head. And the other heads are boring.

ALL. THE. TIME.

My expectations are basically high for absolutely everything. I thought the Immortals Series books would be good... 30 pages in, my brain cells have already begin to suicide.

I think it's just because most of the books recommended these days are YA fantasy romances. Not trying to generalize here but they generally... suck ****. Not ALL of them, but the majority.

There are very, very few books that live up to my expectations, and VERRRRYYY few that exceed them.

Yes, I know what you mean. My friends nearly shoved Twilight down my throat and kept saying it was "sooooo gooooood! so so soooooooo goood!!!!" and I read it all I could think was "gag me". Ha ha.

Yeah because I know that because I didn't like it, they would love it haha

So far...yes...

Not always...