Hiya, nerds!
I’m supposed to be polishing a thinkpiece about Wuthering Heights I’ve written for the blog, but I just can’t get myself to do it. Sundays are for lazing around. I really don’t want to think about how Wuthering Heights is a gothic deconstruction of traditional romances, ‘kay?
Anywho.
Today, I saw a nice thread on Twitter about controversial book opinions.
The replies are amazing! People have a lot of controversial opinions which were fun to read, even if you don’t agree with them. Like this tweet, for instance:
We all know how much I love literary fiction. But this tweet still made me laugh out loud. And I didn’t even get mad about the fact that they misspelled “verisimilitude”!
So here are 5 spiciest, maddest, most sacrilegious book opinions of mine.
1. John Green’s books aren’t that great.
There, I said it!
I know that everyone loves his books, but I just don’t like them. The Fault in our Stars was great, but man, you gotta stop it with all the SickLit, cliches, and dying! He might be great for a younger audience, but as an adult, I HAVE to say that his books are overrated.

2. J.K. Rowling is canceled.
If you’re clutching at your pearls in shock, hear me out. The woman is milking the Harry Potter cow for all it’s worth and she needs to stop. She also isn’t a trans-ally, the Nagini debacle just wasn’t tasteful, and I hate that she changes the race of characters years later–that’s not inclusivity, it’s an afterthought.
Related: The Crimes of JK Rowling: Why Won’t She Leave the Potterverse Alone?

3. Wuthering Heights is not a love story.
…and anyone who says otherwise is an idiot.
Yup, this is the thinkpiece I’m currently working on. The full post will be up as soon as my lazy ass gets to editing it. But here’s a preview: The book is about two very self-destructive people who do not love each other and there is nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, romantic about a tortured hero. Stop telling young adults that emotionally manipulative relationships can work.

4. Books on aliens suck.
This ties back to a bigger and more sacrilegious book opinion that I hold–Science fiction is weird.

I’m cowering with fear of the backlash for this statement. But really, I find sci-fi odd. I just can’t read it, it just isn’t for me. I LOVE time travel and speculative fiction is occasionally okay, but damn, I can’t stand sci-fi.
But I also think I’m being dismissive of the genre, so if you think there’s one sci-fi book that I will definitely love, do let me know in the comments! I really want to see if my opinion changes.
The fact that I can’t read sci-fi really gets on me because I love all genres! I genuinely enjoy reading books of different types, and yet there’s this one genre I just can’t deal with.
5. A Christmas Carol sucks.
I know that everyone considers it a Yuletide classic, but I just don’t like it. It’s a weird-ass story that’s too communist for my liking. Also, Scrooge’s redemption arc in the end is not him repenting his actions. It’s more self-preservation. If three scary dudes show up in the middle of the night and foretell my dying alone, I would act like a changed leaf in the morning too.

But I do have to say this. If you’re ever in Atlanta, do watch the Shakespeare Tavern’s version of A Christmas Carol! It’s the same sucky story, but the acting is stellar and the music is so on-point! Read my review here.
There you go!
These are my sacrilegious book opinions. Do you agree with any? Even if you don’t, do let me know! I’m sure we can have an adult conversation about this in the comments! ๐
~ Shruti
Hey, I won’t get upset at the fact that you think Green’s books aren’t the best! I share the same sentiment.
Over the past two years I’ve been reading more sci-fi because of review requests and I’m glad I stepped out of my comfort zone but I also see where you’re coming from. I still have a hard time getting into them even if they aren’t about aliens. Not my first choice but I’ve read some good sci-fi books that stuck with me after. ๐
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Haha yay! As for sci-fi, I really, really love time travel! But I just canโt deal with aliens and other planets. I donโt know if Iโm not reading the right books, but I just canโt. A review copy on alternative life forms was so bad I went into a reading slump. After DNF-ing that book, that is. ๐
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I agree… John Green books are heavily overrated and pretty mediocre. John Green seems like a nice person in real life, but some most of his books surround a a well off kid with first world problems magically solved by their manic pixie dream girl or guy with the help of their token brown/black/poor side kick friend.
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OMG yes! Why is every girl in his book a manic pixie dream girl?! He writes very well, itโs just the stories that are overrated.
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I agree with your opinion on “Wuthering Heights”. Contrary to millions of people worldwide who loved this book, I did not like it that much!
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Oh there are actually a lot of people who didnโt like it! I for one love the book! ๐
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There’s one Sci-Fi series that I love and that’s the Zodiac series by Romina Russell, I also really loved A Wrinkle in Time, but after reading and absolutely HATING Illuminae, I’m like nope, no more sci-fi for me.
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Oh I want to read A Wrinkle in Time too! Iโm okay with anything about the space time continuum. Anything else in sci-fi just bores me. ๐
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Illuminae bored me, I loved the format but got so bored with the content of the actual story.
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Nice post!!
I havent read christmas carol (christmassy anything aint my thing.. although im born 2. Days. After christmas *aherm*) nor wuthering heights. Ive only read ONE scifi book aswell, which i like, but I agree i wouldnt pick thoses on aliens… i just, too difficult.
I also AGREE for miss Rowling! Oh my gosh, havent read the HP books and stopped watching the movies after the 4th one… just way too many for me. Only watched the first fantastic beast as Alex liked it and we didnt really had anything else to watch xD (we barely watched 30mins though..) and yeh, John Green aint too up my alley either ๐คท๐ฝโโ๏ธ Only read that one book.
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Haha! ADVANCED HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KRISTINA! โค๏ธโค๏ธ
And JKR. Damn. I still love the original series. I just donโt like her anymore and Iโm finding it a little hard to separate the books from the creator. ๐
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THANKS โค๏ธโค๏ธ
Yeah- ive seen some questionnable things she did on twitter .. as of which I couldnt say in detail what it was but.. i feel its easier when you havent grown up on Harry Potter ๐ not having that attachment do help
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Yes- I so agree with #3! Look up the comic strip Dude Watchin’ with the Brontรซs by Kate Beaton: https://vimeo.com/10318464
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Ooh Iโve seen the comic strip but I didnโt know it was a video too! It cracks me up every time. ๐
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I agree with you on all points except that I love sci-fi. I do. Aliens are mysterious and well interesting to me. So are robots.
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Ooh recommend a book to me, please! I really love time travel but aliens and robots bore me. ๐ Maybe I just donโt have the imagination for it. ๐
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Ok I agree w everything except sci fi – that genre is my one true love๐๐
And idk WHY Wuthering heights is seen as romance???? Literally reading the book itself was emotionally draining (maybe when I grow older my opinion might change?).
Great post and merry Christmas btw!! ๐
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Merry Christmas, Shreya! Ahh I know you love sci-fi. I like some aspects of it, but aliens and alternate lifeforms always bore me. Maybe I’m not reading the right kind of books..? IDK.
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I could recommend some if ya want!๐
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Go for it! Iโm sure a recommendation would help me better than just blindly picking up a book.
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ohhhhh, I have sooooo many recs! Tho you mentioned you didn’t like aliens and stuff so maybe go w the Time Riders series – it’s YA but i think all age groups will find it fascinating.
And Contact by Carl Sagan!! ๐
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Ooh Carl Sagan sounds familiar! I’ll check the books out. Thanks! ๐
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I actually love Wuthering Heights because it isn’t a romance novel, it’s destructive and obsessive and so brutally sad. Can’t wait to see your upcoming think piece on the subject!
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Oh thatโs exactly why I love it too! And it really pisses me off when people start going on about how they want a love like the one in the book. Like, no, boo, you donโt want that. ๐
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Yea that isn’t the kind of love you should be wanting, and that is awkward.
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After reading your post I came across a guest post on Jenn’s blog with recommendations for sci-fi books. Maybe you’ll be able to find something you’ll enjoy from this list! https://jenniely.com/sci-fi-recommendations-for-non-sci-fi-readers-by-the-disasters-author-m-k-england. Personally, sci-fi is the hardest genre for me to get into as well. I have no idea why but there is something about it that turns me off.
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Same! I canโt explain why it turns me off. I think a lot of it has to do with my obsession with family drama, depressed Vermonters, and reality. I think I just lack the imagination to read SFF.
But Iโll check out Jennโs post! Thanks for sharing it! ๐
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I think John Green books are over rated too. I share a lot of these opinions and I am not comfortable with Sci-fi as well. Great fun post.
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Yass join the club! Some sci-fi is okay for me, but aliens, ugh. I just canโt stand them.
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YES YES JKR GETS WORSE AND WORSE AND JOHN GREEN IS A COOL PERSON BUT A MEDIOCRE WRITER
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Hahaha yesss! I like John Greenโs writing. Itโs the stories and cliches that I hate. Like, I hated Looking for Alaska, but one of my favorite quotes is from that book (the labyrinth one).
Iโm not even going to talk about JKR. ๐
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I actually agree with EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE. However, I particularly fist pumped John Green and J.K. Rowling. Funnily enough, I love Dickens but A Christmas Carroll is one of my least favorites. It’s so different to the rest of his work and no matter how many times I try to like it or any adaptations, I just don’t :’D
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Haha! I like Dickensโ other books too! But A Christmas Carol is just bad. Itโs not a Yuletide classic because he doesnโt reform out of goodness in his heart. He changes because heโs afraid of dying alone. And thatโs a stupid storyline.
I really loved Atlanta Shakespeare Tavernโs musical interpretation of it, though. Same story, but the music and acting is brilliant!
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Haha, agreed! I watched The Man Who Invented Christmas last week, which is based around Dickens life as he was writing A Christmas Carol. I imagine it’s not very historically accurate, but it did portray him going through some interesting things at the time that may have influenced the storyline which is quite interesting. I definitely need to get my hands on a biography of Dickens so I can find all these sorts of things out. ๐
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Ooh that sounds like a good idea! Iโm going to look up Dickens too. xD
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Amen to #1 and #2! I have never understood the fervent appreciation for John Green’s books, and JKR just needs to stop. Please, for the love of all things Potter, STAHP.
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IKR! I think itโs mostly young adults who appreciate John Greenโs books and thatโs okay! At least theyโre reading. ๐ I hope they realise thereโs better YA out there, though.
As for JKR, *shudders*. Itโs so difficult to separate the books from the author, but thatโs just what we can do at this point. ๐
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I’d recommend Illuminae because it’s sci-fi but I don’t think there are any aliens in it. There’s a virus, so sort of plague zombies at one point, but other than that it’s mostly humans being human which is scarier IMO.
Maybe All Systems Red by Martha Wells? Murderbot is an awesome AI system that was programmed to be a security bot but it hacked its system and now just wants to read and watch programs, but has to pretend it’s still doing the job so it won’t be scrapped. Book 1 was really good. ๐
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Ooh both of these books sound amazing! I really like zombies and post-apocalyptic fiction, so I think the first one should be a good pick for me.
Thanks, Harker! Iโll check these books out. ๐
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You’re welcome! ๐ I hope it works out for you.
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You are so funny Shruti… damn my sense of humor is zero when it comes to writing ๐๐
And I think I agree with most of what youโve written here… I havenโt read John Green yet because even the premise doesnโt interest me… and sicklit is not my thing…
I never read sci-fi too because I just donโt understand it… aliens are not my thing at all… But I did read A Spark of White Fire this year which is supposed to be sci-fi because itโs set in space, but I loved that it felt more like a fantasy… I would have never read it if it wasnโt based on Mahabharata…
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Whaaaat! Sci-fi based on Mahabharata? This sounds intriguing! I’ll definitely check the book out!
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Me and Nandini did a buddy read couple months ago… we had so much fun comparing everything in the story to Mahabharata ๐๐๐
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Ah nice! Iโll definitely check it out.
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OMG I AGREE WITH SO MANY OF THESE!
I really don’t get what people see in John Green and A Christmas Carol. Both are mehhhh and do not deserve the hype. That set aside I did like TFIOS and Looking for Alaska buy nope. I got tired of John Green after that.
YES JK ROWLING IS CANCELLED. I keep advocating my friends about why. I literally gave them this seems while watching the Philosopher’s Stone.
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Hahaha yasss! I loved TFIOS too! Looking for Alaska, not at all. ๐ ๐
JK Rowling is just weird. I even unfollowed her on Twitter. ๐
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Same, I used to follow her but then I unfollowed.
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I totally agree with you about John Green. And Wuthering Heights. And I really don’t like alien stories though I do enjoy sci-fi somewhat (like the Lunar Chronicles, Illuminae Files, In Death series) – basically, not pure sci-fi, I guess. Always a mix of several genres.
I do like A Christmas Carol, it’s one of my favorite classics (and I’ve only read 2 or 3 so that’s a big thing for me). It’s too hard for me to read classics otherwise. I’ve been trying to read Pride and Prejudice since a couple years and I still haven’t finished it.
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Oh damn! Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors! Iโve re-read Pride and Prejudice multiple times, but one of my favorite Austens is Persuasion. Try that maybe? ๐
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Oh it’s not the book, or the author, I mean, I don’t think. I like the story, I love the adaptations I’ve watched. It’s just the writing is different from what I prefer. It takes me longer to get through each chapter and then I feel like reading something more fast-paced and intriguing and I just haven’t felt like picking it up since over 2 years ago now๐ I still want to finish it though. ๐ It’s just classics, in general, they were mostly slow and quite verbose, from what I’ve seen.
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But I’ll give Persuasion a try if I ever get through Pride And Prejudice. I know I’ll love it, I just need to finish reading it. ๐
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Ahh I get that. I’ve been trying to read A Tale of Two Cities for AGES now. I can read other classics, but this one is just too verbose for me.
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๐๐ I remember I went through a phase where I wanted alllll the classics but thankfully, my uncle advised my parents that I wasn’t ready for them, I was too young and probably wouldn’t have grasped everything and maybe even stopped reading altogether. That sounds so scary to me now, what would my life be like if I didn’t read..๐ฑ
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Damn, thatโs scary to think of!
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