Young Writers Society

By popular I mean the books that everybody, not even huge readers, read and love.

I don't know if I like reading them. I did love Harry Potter, but I'm wary of reading Twilight, because it's so popular. All my friends have read it and love it, but what if I read it and hate it? That would be weird. I was going to read it, but once it because so huge, I was put off by the idea. It doesn't sound very good, and I'm not sure I want to, even though everybody says I should.

Oh, I don't know. Do you guys read books just because they're popular? If you do, do you usually think it was worthwhile, or are they mostly rubbish? And should I read Twilight. I think I'd be more inclinded to read the Host first, and see what I think of that.

Best Sellers aren't always the best. Sometimes, they are! But the ones you always here about, in my opinion, are more entertainment than good writing. Without upsetting too many Twilight fans, the Meyer isn't that great of a writer. If you can ignore the ugly writing, and just get into it, it's not so bad. But then when you start thinking about all the stupid problems she has with her character's and plot...A friend and I make fun of it, haha.

I don't tend to read the overly popular books, or the popular ones in general. Unless a good friend says I should read it, and gives me a good reason why, I won't. I'm a bit of an odd one though. I don't like things that are overly popular. They scare me.

I've read all the Harry Potter books and I'm starting to read New Moon - the next one after Twilight.

None of the aforementioned books are my favourites. Sure, I've enjoyed reading them but I know that there are much better writers/books out there.

When I picked up Twilight about 18 months ago, it was unheard of here in England. The craze happened a few months later and I only recognised it because of YWS. So I wasn't expecting much. Although Meyer isn't amazing, I did enjoy Twilight. But now that I'm reading New Moon, I'm disliking it a bit. Hopefully it will get better but you never know.

Books are about opinions. If you're interested in the plot then go ahead and read it. Even if you end up hating a book at least you know that you had a go and tried to like it. And it doesn't matter if you disliked it. That's your opinion.

Alainna
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One thing that an editor I met once made a really good point about books that end up that popular. True, these books are not always great literature. In fact, you can find better writing on this site than some best selling authors. However, when books reach that level of popularity, it does mean that there really is something good about them. They do have some qualities that people like. With Harry Potter, it taps into the "I gotta know what happens next!" feelings. So who cares if a book is popular? You just have to remember that the general population does not have the same consern for literary style as we do. It may or may not be literature, but there is something good about it. You will never know what that good thing is unless you read it.

I say just read Twilight. It's my favorite book but not because of Meyers writing. I actually don't like her style of writing at all. It's the actual idea of the book that makes me love it and the rest of it's series.

As for me, I read books because they catch my eye. It sounds horrible but I usually only find books I like because I judge if I'd like it or not by the title and cover *cringes*. I hate that I do that but it's just how I work =3. As for reading popular books, I don't know if I do that. I read the books my friends shove at me =P. I read whatever interests me. If Twilight sounds interesting to you, choc, read it.

There's an author in Ireland, I don't know if you've heard of the film, Hilary Swank starred in it who wrote 'P.S I Love you'- and her books are very popular with my friends and family. But the writing is really quite atrocious. My nephew- well, with my help, haha- could do better. I've read half of one, but on the whole I'm big into my classics and modern classics. I don't know. I guess I just like stuff from a while ago.

I don't happen to like the popular books--especially old classics. For some reason, the old English language annoys me. I haven't read Twilight and I don't think I will because unless I can manage to sneak it past my mom, I'm not even allowed to read it. She has issues against things that mention vampires and everything. Anyway, I'd say just read it. If its bad, you can always put it down.

I think I just...read. If someone recommends something, sure, I'll pick it up, but I tend to make my own judgments. Actually, sometimes I'll read something specifically because someone told me it was awful.

I personally hate all the current big books: Maximum Ride, Twilight, and Harry Potter. I found the style terrible.

But I've still read all of them (except Twilight.) Why? They hooked me. They had amazing characters I fell in love with (literally in the case of Fang. ) They kept me interested with suspense. But when I reread it, when the suspense was gone and the characters were old, I realized how much I hated them.

I like books no one has ever heard of.

~JFW1415

They had amazing characters I fell in love with (literally in the case of Fang. Smile)

The dog in Harry Potter? Or the guy in Maximum Ride?

I used to love Harry Potter, and even now I'm trying to decide whether I should reread the series or not to double-check. I definitely don't like the movies anymore, but I never really did anyway.

I read Twilight, and it definitely frustrates me. The characters frustrate me, to be more specific. I debated whether buying the books (I had to borrow them from a friend.), but I decided against it. I'm not a fan of Meyer; I ain't giving her my money.

I think Suz is right in saying these books are more for entertainment. They're best sellers, not necessarily the best writings. You don't really know for sure what group of people is attracted to the books until you read the books yourself.

I still read the bestsellers just to find out why it's a bestseller, or what everyone's reading while I'm reading some ancient yellow-paged fantasy book I found in the library, lol. In the end, I want to reread my yellow-paged fantasy book usually, but I can sometimes identify the reasons why those bestsellers attract readers. [Though I'm still figuring out Twilight...]

[/jabber]

~ Jabber ~

To be completely honest, I don't look for best sellers, I just pick what fits my interest. Reading books just because they're popular seems a bit shallow and is a waste of time. Sure, there's A Good chance you might like it, but if you don't, then you're SOL. The point is, don't just pick a book because it's popular, at least read the first fifty pages while your at the strore before you buy a best seller.

JabberHut wrote:

They had amazing characters I fell in love with (literally in the case of Fang. Smile)

The dog in Harry Potter? Or the guy in Maximum Ride?

I used to love Harry Potter, and even now I'm trying to decide whether I should reread the series or not to double-check. I definitely don't like the movies anymore, but I never really did anyway.

Haha, definitely the guy. *Drools*

Rereading the series is what made me realize how awful the books are. O.o I actually love the movies, but that's just because I love action stuff. Also, I know that no movie can do a book justice - I just expect the same character names. The rest will be altered.

~JFW1415

I don't go with the mainstream. Whenever I step into a bookstore, I take my time scouring every bookshelf available for books that catch my attention. I don't usually look at the list of topsellers or anything of the sort. I'd like to keep the contents of my bookshelf with what I want to read, not with what others think is good.

I try to remind myself that not all mainstream books are bad too just because most of what I've read are just... well, bleh. It's only because of the characters that I like that I continue reading books that could be more well-written.

When a book is popular, it means a lot of people like it. That may or may not mean it's good, but I generally risk it. It's also nice to be able to talk about a book with other people-- with some of the more obscure books I read that isn't an option except for online.

I don't have particularly sophisticated taste in books. If something is entertaining to me, I'll read it. It doesn't have to be a classic, or educational, unique, old, translated, deep, or really anything else. I love Ray Bradbury and J.K. Rowling and Augusten Burroughs. Sort of like my taste in music: I judge each band by its songs, not its genre. Just because something is mainstream doesn't mean you won't like it.

Not every book is profound. Not every book is "literature." Some books are just meant to be entertaining.

And that's fine.

Prokaryote