CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

We've all done it. We've all judged a book wrongly and ended up liking it. So are there any books out there you didn't expect to like? For me, one title that comes to mind was Needful Things, the first Stephen King book I ever read. It took a lot of nerve for me to finally see why Stephen King deserves his following and fame, and this book made me a fan of his.

The Twilight Saga I REALLY expected to hate this series...but I in fact love it. XD (it's no secret is it?) Its not the perfect series out there, not by a long shot. But I did find the writing and the story to be entertaining.

I also expected to hate Harry Potter and although I'm on Book 3, (and have been for about 3 years now XD) I actually like the series, I just haven't found the time to read more...

Other than those two though, I usually research a bit on books before I try to read them... but because those book series were really hyped. So I wasn't sure I WOULD like them or not... (HP moreso than Twilight for me, because I hadn't heard of the latter much before my sister roped me into reading them).

The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I had to read it for class and, since I had to read his other novel The Crossing for another class with the same professor --it was the most depressing thing I have ever read --I expected to really hate The Road. But I actually like it (not one of my favorites, but I did enjoy it). It's a sad book and there are some tough themes in it, but the story and the relationship between the father and son are amazing.

Also, Schindler's List. I didn't expect to hate it, but I wasn't sure I'd like it. But it is one of my favorite novels ever. I never saw the movie, but I knew the basic setting (the Holocaust). Man, the book is sad, but really amazing.

I was a little iffy on the Harry Potter series. I thought it was about some weird satanic witch school, which makes me wonder how I ever got around to reading it. But I fell in love with it one paragraph in, and have been a big fan ever since.

That's the only one that comes to mind for now. There aren't many books that go against my expectations.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. All I had ever heard of it was negative (mostly being that it's long, difficult to read, and by Dickens) so I decided I would give it a go myself. Perhaps the fact that I read it of my own accord and was not forced by a teacher helped, but I enjoyed it and when I have time, I want to read more Dickens.

Francine River's "Mark of the Lion" trilogy. Just a wonderful series, and would make a wonderful anime or manga.

I tried to avoid Harry Potter for the longest time. I made it like 3 years after it became huge here, and then I gave in and fell in love and have been obsessed with it ever since

The Stand by Stephen King

Lord of the Flies by William Golding.... I thought it was going to be weird and creepy. It was creepy, but I actually thought it was very good. Dark, but good, and had lots of interesting symbolism in it.

mysngoeshere56 (post: 1305832) wrote:Lord of the Flies by William Golding.... I thought it was going to be weird and creepy. It was creepy, but I actually thought it was very good. Dark, but good, and had lots of interesting symbolism in it.

Oh man I love that book so much. XD I need to read it again soon.

Anyways, I'd say The Giver by Lois Lowry. I had to read the book for class, and I finished it the day I cracked open the cover. It still sits happily on the top of my list of favorites. XD

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achibe. My sister read this book and said that it was just about yams. I read this book and found it to be an increadibly interesting commentary on manhood and societal expectations...

There is also Anthem by Ayn Rand...in fact I'm still not sure why I liked this book so much. I completely disagree with the author's philosophical stance and when I read this book I was in 9th grade...meaning I wasn't expecting it to be great...and yet I still loved it...

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, which is coincidentally also one of my favorite books. There are a couple I tend to like more, but To Kill A Mocking Bird is still, to this day, the only book I haven't been able to put down.

Even more surprising considering how much I dislike first person narrative.

Radical Dreamer (post: 1305834) wrote:Oh man I love that book so much. XD I need to read it again soon.

Woot woot! High five, Corrie?

WARNING: Lord of the Flies spoiler ahead...

[spoiler]I was sad when Piggy died though. T_T[/spoiler]

Kkun (post: 1254878) wrote:Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. All I had ever heard of it was negative (mostly being that it's long, difficult to read, and by Dickens) so I decided I would give it a go myself. Perhaps the fact that I read it of my own accord and was not forced by a teacher helped, but I enjoyed it and when I have time, I want to read more Dickens.

I love Charles Dickens --Great Expectations is definitely one of my favorites. I hope to get around to A Christmas Carol sometime soon.

One book I didn't expect to like was The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I had to read it for class --and I had to read The Crossing for another class by this professor (and it was one of the most depressing things I've ever read --apparently, Cormac does not like the stereotypical "happy ending."). But I actually enjoyed reading The Road --sure, it was really sad, but it was still a great read and I recommend it.
I hope to be able to get around to reading All the Pretty Horses (also by Cormac McCarthy) --I've heard it is good.

Kkun (post: 1254878) wrote:All I had ever heard of it was negative (mostly being that it's long, difficult to read, and by Dickens)

Wha? All those three adjectives are positive

Anyway, let me jump in the Harry potter Bandwagon. I did looked down them from afar with disdain, mostly for being so mainstream and popular. When I move here, the girl on my homestay had all of them so I decided to give them a try if just because they were there. It turns out they are actually well written and the humour is quite witty. The overarching story is by no means great but each book manages to shine on its own, with the sore exception of the Goblet of Fire which is ridiculously and uselessly convoluted and riddled with cliches and fanservice. It is so lacking in quality compared to the others that one could be tempted to think it's not even by the same author.

The other one would be Anansi Boys. I love Neil Gaiman's graphic novels so it was with great expectations that I picked his "bestseller" American Gods. It greatly disappointed me for several reasons. The penmanship was as good as one could expect but the plot itself was gritty and depressing, to tell in an extremelly long and dragging book a story that was a lot better told by Douglas Adams in The Long, Dark Teatime of the Soul. After that I was quite wary about picking up the follow-up, Anansi Boys. I finally forced myself to do so on the basis that Anansi was with no doubt the most loveable character of American Gods and also a nice memory of my childhood when I first heard tales of Anansi and I never looked back. Anansi Boys is one of the best books I've ever read. It laughs where American Gods casts a pall, teaches where the other steals, triumphs where the other gives up. I strongly encourage everyone to read it.