10 Books You Wouldn't Think I'd Like (But I Do!)

I know what I like. If you couldn't tell from all the recent lists, I enjoy sharing, reflecting, and even categorizing!

Today's list is 10 books you wouldn't think I'd like, but I do.

I mainly read fantasy and science fiction. I love heroes, epic adventures, space operas, new tech, magic, and world-building. I love it when those books belong in series, so that I can extend the enjoyment. Modern day/urban fantasy is rarer, but not excluded reading for me. Typically, when Earth is the setting I'm more likely to read a mystery, history, or historical fiction. Most of the books I enjoy include some combination of comedy, violence, and suspense. I value fun over prose or philosophy.

I typically don't read romance, drama, tragedies, or horrors. I'm okay with a sad ending when it's part of series (aka the story is not done!). Both tragedies and horror novels typically make me mad. I want to yell at the characters (but they obviously can't hear). I remember clearly the endings for All Quiet on the Western Front, My Brother Sam is Dead, and Nothing But the Truth...and I definitely have never read them again. Stephen King is probably one of the few modern day authors who will be remembered in a 100 years. He's got some fantastic creepy quotes in interviews, but I've never finished one of his novels. I have finished some short stories, but I only liked one (and it's in a sci-fi/fantasy setting rather than horror!). As for Romance books, I don't mind romance in books. I don't pick books up where the romance (and 'climactic action') are the draw.

I did not include some well known, fantastic books that were required school reads. For example, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Giver are two books that I wouldn't have sought out myself, but are well known for being much better than students expect!

The List

Honorable Mention: The Magnus Archives - I'm not a horror fan, so I was surprised to find a horror podcast I enjoyed. This doesn't exist in book format to my knowledge. Each episode has the archivist reading the transcript from an interview and then giving his ideas or interacting with a coworker. They felt more spooky/creepy than gory/gross. I listened to 20 episodes before there was a set of episodes that went too far on a topic for me. I was starting to see how things linked together which was really neat, but the horror mood passed. There are hundreds of episodes left and free online, so I may go back if I'm ever in the mood again. Which brings me to the first "book" of my list.

The Beating of the Tale-tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe - 

This tale is undoubtedly creepy. It's a bit short to be considered a book, but whenever I've been asked if I like any horror books, this is it. I loved it as a kid. It ended at just the right time and didn't overstay it's welcome. I don't know if this was the tale that started my Poe phase, but I read a lot of his stuff in elementary school (including poetry! Very unusual for me!). I even read about the circumstances of his death. To this day, if you asked me for horror writers I like, Poe would top the list.

Sweet Valley Twins: Keeping Secrets by Francine Pascal - 

Believe it or not, I've read a bunch of Sweet Valley Kids. Why? I have twin sisters. They collected them. Sometimes, I ran out of books and Megan and Kathleen had a lot (We were a family of readers). The twins and I would trade recommendations. The best book they recommended to me as a kid was Being of Two Minds by Pamela Service, but what they had a lot of were series. The Twins collected Sweet Valley, Babysitters Club, the Gymnasts, etc. Being twins, the twins liked books with twins (surprise!). And yes, I'd read them. I read a lot of books that targeted young girls. Mostly the short ones, because I could blitz through them before looking elsewhere for heroes and violence. The first one that came to mind for this list was "the ithig one." I had no idea what it was called, but I remembered the twins went on a secret language kick (Pig Latin and Ithig). Ironically, when I tried to find the name of the book, I found a website going on about how much they hated it! I probably wouldn't enjoy these books as an adult, but they were fine as a kid. 

Song of Lioness Quartet: Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

I found this book without my sisters. I was in 6th grade, I think. There was a girl and she had to hide her identity to go to an all-boys academy. Everyone has felt like they needed to hide something about themselves to be treated fairly, so that resonated with me. If you couldn't tell from my previous book, girl protagonists weren't a turn-off for me either (nor should they be for anyone). There was fighting, swords, and magic, so I signed up for the adventure! I was puberty-ish, though. I was aware it was a girl book and didn't advertise I read it in case anyone gave me grief. Also, I remember a particular scene where the protagonist had to bind her chest to appear male. It made perfect sense to me as I read along ("Do what you need to do!") only to trigger one thought ("Wait...what would that feel like? Would it hurt?") to another ("Chest means breast. Breasts mean boobs."). Yeah, the middle ages are awkward, but this was a great book! I found out years later that my sisters read them, too. I feel like I should've probably recommended the book to them way back when, but don't think I did.

The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale -

Speaking of girl protagonists, this third book shows a trend that Shannon Hale spoke out against: Boys being afraid to read "girl books." I thought I wrote a blog post reacting to her twitter, but I can't find it anywhere (I guess I mentally drafted it). Basically, I had sisters and never had an issue reading "girl books" as long as they weren't too 'romantical.' However, what she said made sense. I didn't recommend the Lioness Quartet to anyone when I read it, because I thought I'd get grief. My internal response was "Some people can be stupid," but I shouldn't have needed to think that. Which then led me to think about Shane. He doesn't have sisters to share books with and introduce/push him to read things that don't immediately appeal to him. Shannon's book, The Princess Academy, was free on audible so I downloaded it to listen to with Shane. You know what? It was a good book! The emphasis was on the value of education and I recommend it.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl edited by Otto H Frank and Mirjam Pressler

When English class is done right, you read good books you normally would not. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Giver are all personal examples. I didn't enjoy The Illiad, The Scarlet Letter, or Nothing But the Truth, but I could see they had some historical or conversation provoking value (except Antigone - Yuck). A book I read in school that I didn't think I would like was the diary of Anne Frank. It was school work, a play, and a tragedy. The Holocaust is important to learn about, but that doesn't make it fun (and young Mike was most concerned with fun). I remember reading this aloud in class where different people read different voices. We watched the play at the end, too, and I can recall parts of it decades later. This book left a mark on me and I hope it's still being read in schools today.

The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy

As a senior, I took a regular English class. Previously, I'd been in honors/center classes. Most of my classmates went to AP courses while I had senioritis. My teacher was crazy. Functionally so, but still one odd duck. The students weren't interested in most of what she taught (or motivated to fake it), so I think she pulled this book out to shock everyone. "Please don't tell anyone we're reading it or I'll get fired." Which immediately bought her the class' attention. I remembered it having a lot of cussing, hazing/torture, and even sex. When a black student enrolls, racism gets added to the mix as the main character tries to expose The Ten. I remember some scenes well, but went back to Wikipedia to skim the plot and see how many memory shaped up. Honestly, I'm surprised I remember liking the book! It's probably because it was a "forbidden book" and after we read something I didn't like such as The Crucible. I remember the book being well constructed and the descriptions/topics as being "brutally honest/real-world."

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Dan Jeffers recommended this book and loaned it to me. He'd read it in his English class and liked it so much he kept the book (It had 'Property of Robinson Secondary School' stamped on it). The book is nuts. It's written out of chronological order and absolutely absurd (Dan's the guy who recommended The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to me, so that tells you something about his tastes!). The premise of the book is war is crazy. The main character wants to be declared insane, so he doesn't have to fight. However, not wanting to fight is a sign of sanity. He has to fight, because he doesn't want to: Catch 22. This is another book that doesn't shy away from language (much less insanity!). There's a character who is named Major Major, who gets promoted to Major because of his name (Making him Major Major Major). It wasn't an easy read, but it was a memorable one.

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare -

Speaking of difficult reads, there is Shakespeare. I'm not a huge fan, but I respect the man's writing. I'm not a fan of reading tragedies, and didn't enjoy Romeo and Juliet. I laughed out loud to a troupe performing part of The Taming of the Shrew and thought Iago's descriptions in Othello were quite hilarious (before I got upset about how nobody talked to each other and ended up dying). Shakespeare is easier to experience in the theater. The performance won't have all the side notes explaining references, but there's a cadence to it and the action moves along. I read A Midsummer Night's Dream in class before seeing it preformed and it's by far my favorite play by Shakespeare. Somebody's head gets turned into an ass's, there's merriment, and no mass character extinction event. 

The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Paul Curtis -

This was a school read, but not as a student! I was a SPED Teacher at an ALC in NoVA when I read The Watsons Go to Birmingham. I honestly can't remember if it was the English teacher or the history teacher who assigned the book to read (Either way, they were both fantastic, veteran teachers). I happened to listen in to some of the discussions, and picked up a copy from the class set. The Watsons started off goofy and fun with the loving family front and center. Racism was brought up, but the book was lighter hearted until it got to the tragic history at the climax. Some people online have complained that the book could have been shortened, but I enjoyed the family antics. It brought up all sorts of conversations while the class moved through it (especially, because most of the students were from broken homes...). I've read other books because of teaching (like the entire The Hunger Games), but The Watsons Go to Birmingham stands out as one I wouldn't have picked up on my own. From the cover, I thought it would more academic and tragic. Those elements were there and are honestly important even if I normally don't want them in a 'fun' read, but they came after a silly romp the got me attached to the family. 

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs -

Not quite as old as Shakespeare are The Barsoom Chronicles. A Princess of Mars was written in 1912. I like history and I like to read old books, too. It's neat to see where tropes and ideas originate from. Isaac Asimov was brilliant in Prelude to Foundation (1988) and I, Robot (1950). Roger Zelazny captivated me with Nine Princes in Amber(1970). The Fremen in Dune(1965) by Frank Herbert were blue-eyed BA's. Writing tends to improve over time (and since language changes it's easier to read contemporary works), so I find people are surprised I enjoyed something so old....especially after John Carter the movie flopped so hard for Disney. I thought this story was fun and different in fun ways. Normally, humans are used as the baseline for what's normal in fantasy. Elves are faster, dwarves are tougher, orcs are stronger, yada, yada, while humans are plain flavored yogurt. On Mars/Barsoom, John Carter is used to Earth's gravity and able to catapult around like superman! I thought the book was pulpy fun, but due to aging it won't be for everyone. I got it free online from Project Gutenberg before Shane was born.

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman -

Did you think a self-help book would hit this list? I've recommended this book to multiple people. Pastor John required Carrie and I to read it for our marriage counseling. It's a fast, easy read, but it makes a lot of sense. The writer is Christian and, while I appreciate that, non-Christians I've recommended it to have found it worthwhile. The general idea is we communicate love and feel loved in different ways. If we're aware of someone's receiving language, we can try to communicate more through it, so that the message isn't misinterpreted or lost in translation. The concepts are simple and the book is short. It's one of the few books in the genre I've read and probably the only one I stand on a soapbox for.