fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #1841 ]

[ SECRET POST #1841 ]

⌈ Secret Post #1841 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

FS is not your platform to advertise around to find artists to draw your doujinshi ideas for you. Seriously, "looking for an artist pls email me with samples of your work"? "Secrets" like that will not be posted and probably loled about in this section right here.

Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 96 secrets from Secret Submission Post #263.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 2 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 - too big ], [ 0 - repeats ]
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments and concerns should go here.

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01. http://i44.tinypic.com/2r7yfeh.png

I've only ever read "An Abundance of Katherines" all the way through. I've had people try and tell me that I should read his other books, and I did try with "Looking for Alaska", but I just couldn't get into it. :/

If you don't like the books, you don't like them is all. Good luck with whatever you choose to do! ♥

(Also, if they give you any shit, you should link them to this video)

Edited 2012-01-18 01:32 (UTC)

I think the It's Okay To Not Like Things song should be posted as required viewing at The Entrance To The Internet.

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loracarol.livejournal.com - 2012-01-18 03:12 (UTC) - Expand

I still think this should be F!S' anthem or theme song or something. It really is the answer to about half of the secrets posted each day.

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loracarol.livejournal.com - 2012-01-18 04:53 (UTC) - Expand

I put off reading them a long time for the same reason. I thought the last chapter of Looking for Alaska was a cop out and I couldn't really get on board with any of the characters in Katherines. His kind of books aren't really my kind of books. Which is a hard thing when you're a Nerdfighter.

Just wanted to interject here that I've been in the same boat (disappointed by LFA, not a huge fan of Katherines) and was worried that John Green books just weren't for me...and I agree entirely that it makes it kind of awkward to be a nerdfighter and not think Green is the BEST WRITER EVER OMG!! It's an unpopular opinion that I tend to keep to myself.

But I did pick up The Fault in Our Stars and really enjoyed it. I felt like I actually learned and experienced something, unlike with LFA where I felt like the morals were very specifically for an age group that hadn't dealt with those ideas yet and there was nothing there for me.

...but even TFioS had some pretty glaring flaws (example: a plot twist that felt really unnecessary and tacked on and almost threw me completely out of the book) that makes me hesitate to include Green among my favorite authors. I mean, I also love Will Grayson, Will Grayson but I liked Levithan's chapters way more. Sorry, John. :(

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jewel-song.livejournal.com - 2012-01-19 03:37 (UTC) - Expand

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shebly-the-sock.livejournal.com - 2012-01-18 17:15 (UTC) - Expand

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goldenveila.livejournal.com - 2012-01-19 02:31 (UTC) - Expand

Paper Towns was the first John Green books I read. I loved it. Tthe only other books I've read of his since is An Abundance of Katherines, which I also liked, but it made it pretty obvious to me that he has a fairly specific, consistent voice that I can see not being to some people's liking. And that's okay.

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cyren-2132.livejournal.com - 2012-01-18 01:11 (UTC) - Expand

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winter-ruins.livejournal.com - 2012-01-18 03:13 (UTC) - Expand

i've only read "looking for alaska" and i thought it was okay, not the best thing ever like a lot of people try to tell me, but not horrible... you certantly dont have to read them if you dont want to though.

I love young adult fiction, I love math, but for some reason An Abundance of Katherines left me cold, so I haven't read any of his other books.

I like his books, but I do think they get a bit...overhyped. But if you go into them without expecting TEH BEST NOVEL EVER!!!!111! you probably won't end up really hating it, at the very least.

I read Paper Towns a few weeks ago, with no prior knowledge of the author. Or awareness that his books/writing are apparently controversial? It was just next up in the list of someone-told-me-to-try-this-at-some-point-and-the-library-has-it-so-okay. That list generally has upwards of 200 books on it at any given time.

I ended up liking it more than I thought I would initially. The mystery/road trip shenanigans aspect of it was fun, but I thought the lead female was a Manic Pixie Dream Girl Vindictive Bitch with No Concept of How Reality Works. So, she definitely wasn't my favorite. But it did give me some fond flashbacks to high school friendships (I'm 28) so it's got that going for it.

If you want to give the guy's books a try, do it. It's okay not to like them. And if you do try them and don't like them, it's also okay not to mention it to your friends if you don't feel comfortable doing so. The greatest friends, fandom or otherwise, should just shrug off you not caring for their favorite books though. It really shouldn't be such a major issue.

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checkerblob.livejournal.com - 2012-01-18 02:30 (UTC) - Expand

You're not alone, anon. I was completely underwhelmed by Looking for Alaska, and I had absolutely no idea why everyone was practically creaming themselves over it. I'm on the waiting list to check out The Fault in Our Stars from the library, because everybody's raving about it like it's the seconding coming of Christ, but I'm not holding my breath. And you know what? That's okay. Not everyone has the same taste, and there's nothing wrong with honestly disliking a book that other people like. And if your fandom friends have issues with that, tell them to shove it.

It's okay to not like things. Honestly. Clearly I'm a big John Green fan, but he does have a very specific voice and that voice isn't to everyone's taste. You might love him though, so I suggest you give him a try regardless. If you don't like it, your fandom friends should understand. If they don't, you need new friends who are less judgy.

Personally, Paper Towns is my least favorite, of all his books, so if you do end up reading them, don't start there? I'd go with The Fault in Our Stars to start, it really is the best.

I haven't read his books, but it's a big deal here because his high school is right down the road from me. It's weird to think about.

It's funny... I had just recently blogged about (http://rabbitucker.livejournal.com/343860.html) Paper Towns. I enjoyed it, but I understand that it might not be to everyone's taste.

Personally, I wonder what kind of friends you have that you opinion on a book would sour the whole friendship. It's not you in specific, either. I've seen this kind of secret over and over again, where they say, "I'm scared to say that I am apathetic toward a certain TV show, because then my friends will PUNCH ME IN THE SPLEEN AND DEEP-FRY MY BUTT-MEAT!!" (Or... you know... words to that effect.) I mean, are they really even your friends, then?

Ah, but I ramble... and digress... but mostly ramble... and use elipses...

In any case, try it. If you like it, you like it. If you dislike it, but still live in fear that people will STAB YOU WITH TOOTHPICKS IN THE GONADS through the internet, you can just lie and say you never read it.

And then live the lie for the rest of your life.

Or not. Your call.

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2012-01-18 02:09 (UTC) - Expand

Well, I read one of them, Looking for Alaska, and I have a fandom friend that LOVES that book. ADORES it. I told her that I haven't enjoyed it that much and she took it well.
I thought I'd adore it too, because we have similar tastes (we both like The Hunger Games, though lately she's been turning to The Mortal Instruments which I don't dig).
Anyway... the book suffers from Manic Pixie Dream Girl as someone pointed out above (but of another book), and it was very clear... So, yeah, it was like any other teen movie... I'm glad I didn't buy it. I was considering reading another one of his books but since everybody says they are all pretty much the same, I changed my min.
I did read one of his recommendations without knowing it: Anna and the French Kiss, and, although very different, that for me was the best book. It was a fun YA novel with real characters.

I have a LOT of feelings about John Green's books. There are parts of them I adore and parts of them that I hate. It's a very complicated relationship, really :P But there are loads of people who like, dislike, and have mixed feelings on his books, so no matter where you fall, you won't be alone. I understand the feeling, though, that's actually exactly how I was with his books before I read them- I loved his videos so much but I was afraid his books would be annoying and pretentious and icky and I'd be alone in my opinion. But really, I'm sure your fandom friends will be open to discussion about them if you don't like them, and that they'll respect your opinion.

ALSO! If you do read his books, I HIIGGHLY recommend you start off with An Abundance of Katherines. It's the lowest on the "pretentious teenager angst scale", imo, and highest on the "wacky adventures, great characters, quotable quotes" scale. Even if you don't like the story, the book has a lot of little factoids in it that will have made reading it worthwhile. AND the moral of the book is basically "hey, you. Pretentious teenager. Stop trying to be all deep and meaningful and enjoy your life with people you like." ALSO there's this character named Hassan and he's the main character's best friend and he's perfect. There is no way you'll dislike him. Promise!

His two books most likely to induce dislike are Paper Towns and Looking For Alaska- but the stories are kind of parallel and Paper Towns is sort of mocking LfA, so I suggest you read LfA, then Paper Towns. Then finish off with Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which was great- I don't remember it in full detail, but there's this one speech in it a character gives about best friendship and I've almost got in memorized.

Anyway, I'm sorry for all the unsolicited advice. Basically, I do recommend you read them if you want to, but don't worry about disliking them, lots of people do. I know worrying about what other people will think about your taste is, well, worrisome, but try not to worry about it. If you dislike them, it'll be for a perfectly valid reason (and there are plenty) and I'm willing to bet there are people among your fandom friends who will actually agree with you (and maybe even be happy that someone else is willing to point out the flaws and discuss them).

Hmmm. Well, if you do end up deciding you'd like to try one of his novels, I would recommend The Fault in Our Stars above any of his others. I thought Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines were just "okay" books, but TFiOS has more heart.

Oh thank goodness for this thread. I never liked John Green's books and find all of them underwhelming but the way people scream for his books it's like they're second coming. I've read better books, tbh.

If it makes you feel any better, OP, I've never even heard of these books/this author. So you're better off than at least one person!

Ug, I hated, hated, hated Paper Towns.

I LOVE John Green as a person and a vlogger and an inspirational figure - I cannot get into his books.

I loathed Looking for Alaska. Reading every page felt like a chore, and I was bored and irritated by the time I finished it. I read Will Grayson, Will Grayson which I expected to love because I adore David Levithan's work (who he co-wrote it with) but while it was okay, I found myself extremely underwhelmed. I haven't read An Abundance For Katherines or Paper Towns, or his newest book yet, and I'm wary. I WANT to like his books, so much, because of who he is! He's such a GREAT GUY. But maybe I just don't like the way he writes. Different strokes for different folks.

It's okay not to like things. Not everyone has the same taste. I loved "Looking for Alaska" but couldn't get into "Paper Towns". I'm hoping for redemption with "The Fault in Our Stars" but considering he's a US writer and he wrote a part about Holland, I'm afraid that I'm not going to like it either.

Who cares? Nerdfighteria is very accepting of people's opinions. IMO, nerdfighters have a huge respect for each other.

John Green is an awesome vlogger (I like his vlogs more than Hank's) but that doesn't mean I have to like his books.

DFTBA.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH i know this is late but I HATED PAPER TOWNS. and incidentally, i picked it up because i loved will grayson will grayson, but come to think of it i did like leviathan's chapters a lot more.

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