Unpopular opinion: that $60 literary fiction book was a total waste of time

My book club picked this novel that won some big award last year. Paid $60 for the hardcover because I wanted to support a local bookstore, figure it had to be good if it won all those prizes. Read 200 pages before I realized I hated every character and nothing was happening. Kept going because everyone in the chat was raving about it, thought maybe I was missing something. Finished it and honestly felt like I wasted 12 hours of my life plus the money. The writing was fancy but it was just about a rich family arguing over a house in Maine. Anyone else ever stick with a book too long because the hype made you feel like you had to like it?

2 comments

2 Comments

king.andrew1mo ago

...and that reminds me of when I bought a copy of "Infinite Jest" because everyone said it was a masterpiece. I got about 150 pages in and had no clue what was happening with the tennis academy and the film cartridges. I kept it on my shelf for two years just so people would see it and think I was smart.

the_margaret1mo ago

lol honestly this is why I stopped trusting award books. They're picked by a bunch of critics who want to look smart, not by actual people who just want a good story. I'm convinced half the time they just pick the most boring, pretentious thing they can find and pat themselves on the back for liking it. I mean a rich family fighting over a house in Maine? That's a Lifetime movie plot with fancier sentences. Don't beat yourself up over the 12 hours, just take it as a lesson that hype is usually fake. Next time someone raves about a literary prize winner, just borrow it from the library first and save your $60 for something actually fun to read.