I've done posts similar to this idea in the past and I've seen other people do posts similar, but this time I decided to mix it up slightly. Rather than look at books rated low on Goodreads that I rated high, I decided to just go from the lowest rated books on my 'read' shelf and compare it to what I rated the book. Now at the end of the day we all know that ratings are pretty arbitrary on whether or not we will agree or not, but I've found I tend to like a lot of disliked books and vice versa, so I wanted to see how many I agreed with and how many I didn't. I think this should also be interesting because some of these books I read decent while ago so I might not remember all that much about them.
If this ends up being fun, I might continue it and do another part something with more books or maybe switch it up look at books with high ratings. But for now, let's begin!
Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker by Gregory Maguire
Goodreads rating: 3.21
My rating: 4
Year I Read It: 2017
I'm not overly surprised that this was rated low because Maguire seems to be a very hit or miss sort of author. This was the first book I've read by him (though I have quite a few on my TBR) and I found it pretty interesting. Maguire has a weird style of writing that at times feels a bit pretentious, but that is also very gripping and melodic. I liked it and would definitely read more from him, but I suppose I'm not too surprised. Though 3.2 does seem pretty low. Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
Goodreads rating: 3.21
My rating: 4
Year I Read It: 2017
I'm not overly surprised that this was rated low because Maguire seems to be a very hit or miss sort of author. This was the first book I've read by him (though I have quite a few on my TBR) and I found it pretty interesting. Maguire has a weird style of writing that at times feels a bit pretentious, but that is also very gripping and melodic. I liked it and would definitely read more from him, but I suppose I'm not too surprised. Though 3.2 does seem pretty low. Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
Chronicle of a Last Summer: A Novel of Egypt by Yasmine El Rashidi
Goodreads rating: 3.20
My rating: 2
Year I Read It: 2016
I am not surprised by this in the slightest. I'm honestly not even sure if I DNF'd this one or actually finished it because it was so boring and uninteresting. I don't know what to say about this because I remember next to nothing about it. It was supposed to be a really neat story about a young Egyptian woman coming of age in various turbulent times, and it was not done well. Goodreads
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Goodreads rating: 3.20
My rating: 2
Year I Read It: 2016
I am not surprised by this in the slightest. I'm honestly not even sure if I DNF'd this one or actually finished it because it was so boring and uninteresting. I don't know what to say about this because I remember next to nothing about it. It was supposed to be a really neat story about a young Egyptian woman coming of age in various turbulent times, and it was not done well. Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
The Dinner by Herman Kochs, trans. Sam Garrett
Goodreads rating: 3.22
My rating: 3
Year I Read It: 2016
Again, not too surprised. This book has a really neat concept where the entire story is supposed to be taking place over one dinner. I liked the idea and some of the themes, but I remember feeling really detached and uninterested in any of the characters. All in all, a neat experiment, but the lower rating is not too much of shock to me for this book. Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
Goodreads rating: 3.22
My rating: 3
Year I Read It: 2016
Again, not too surprised. This book has a really neat concept where the entire story is supposed to be taking place over one dinner. I liked the idea and some of the themes, but I remember feeling really detached and uninterested in any of the characters. All in all, a neat experiment, but the lower rating is not too much of shock to me for this book. Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling by Michael Boccacino
Goodreads rating: 3.24
My rating: 3
Year I Read It: 2014
Apparently I agreed with the general consensus on this rating, but I can't say I remember why. I think I liked how imaginative it was, but I think it was also a bit... all over the place and confusing? That's pretty much all I can remember about this book. I love the cover, though! Maybe this is due for a re-read to see what I think of it now. Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
Goodreads rating: 3.24
My rating: 3
Year I Read It: 2014
Apparently I agreed with the general consensus on this rating, but I can't say I remember why. I think I liked how imaginative it was, but I think it was also a bit... all over the place and confusing? That's pretty much all I can remember about this book. I love the cover, though! Maybe this is due for a re-read to see what I think of it now. Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
The Faculty Club by Danny Tobey
Goodreads rating: 3.05
My rating: 1
Year I Read It: 2013
So I didn't agree with this average because I must have hated it. I definitely think I used to be harsher in my ratings, but I do recall not liking this one. I remember it having a strong start and then just plummeting from there. I guess I don't recommend it? Goodreads
"Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
Goodreads rating: 3.05
My rating: 1
Year I Read It: 2013
So I didn't agree with this average because I must have hated it. I definitely think I used to be harsher in my ratings, but I do recall not liking this one. I remember it having a strong start and then just plummeting from there. I guess I don't recommend it? Goodreads
"Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge by Lisa Jensen
Goodreads rating: 3.14
My rating: 4
Year I Read It: 2018
Okay, so I know a few reasons why this might have a low rating, but I don't agree with all of them. I think a lot of people didn't like this because there is a rather unexpected sexual assault--which is totally fair--but if you don't read until the end of the book, you're probably going to end up with a bad impression of the message the author is trying to send and a lot of people DNF'd before getting to that. Again, totally fair and it's absolutely everyone's individual choice about what they want to read, but it's just something that I think affected this book a lot. Aside from that, this is a slower book and that doesn't always appeal to everyone. Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
Goodreads rating: 3.14
My rating: 4
Year I Read It: 2018
Okay, so I know a few reasons why this might have a low rating, but I don't agree with all of them. I think a lot of people didn't like this because there is a rather unexpected sexual assault--which is totally fair--but if you don't read until the end of the book, you're probably going to end up with a bad impression of the message the author is trying to send and a lot of people DNF'd before getting to that. Again, totally fair and it's absolutely everyone's individual choice about what they want to read, but it's just something that I think affected this book a lot. Aside from that, this is a slower book and that doesn't always appeal to everyone. Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry
Goodreads rating: 3.20
My rating: 4
Year I Read It: 2016
I have to say, I'm not sure why I gave this four stars and I'm pretty sure I would lower that to a three if I decided to go and change my rating. I don't know why I gave it higher, so I have to say I agree with that rating. I actually remember reading this book decently well (maybe because I don't read a lot of YA contemporary?) and although it had a neat premise and setting, the story itself was just a bit flat and odd. Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
Goodreads rating: 3.20
My rating: 4
Year I Read It: 2016
I have to say, I'm not sure why I gave this four stars and I'm pretty sure I would lower that to a three if I decided to go and change my rating. I don't know why I gave it higher, so I have to say I agree with that rating. I actually remember reading this book decently well (maybe because I don't read a lot of YA contemporary?) and although it had a neat premise and setting, the story itself was just a bit flat and odd. Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
Aether & Empire, Volume 1: Eternal Glory by Mike Horan, Tim Yates, Bong Dazo
Goodreads rating: 2.91
My rating: 3
Year I Read It: 2017
This was the first installment in a graphic novel series that was really a case of too many ideas, too little explanation and time to develop. There really are some neat ideas in this volume, but I remember feeling confused most of the time and finding things jumped around too much. Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
Goodreads rating: 2.91
My rating: 3
Year I Read It: 2017
This was the first installment in a graphic novel series that was really a case of too many ideas, too little explanation and time to develop. There really are some neat ideas in this volume, but I remember feeling confused most of the time and finding things jumped around too much. Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
Have you read any of these books? Are you ever surprised by the ratings on some books on Goodreads?
I agree that Maguire is hit or miss. I enjoyed Wicked, but then I read After Alice and it was pretty awful.
ReplyDeleteI am sometimes surprised by the ratings on Goodreads, particularly really hyped books that have super-high ratings - those are the ones I often dislike!
He really is! I feel like I have no idea what to expect from the next books I read.
DeleteAnd same here! It's always surprising.
ahhh, this is a fun idea! My ratings typically don't line up too often with the GR average either.
ReplyDeleteIt's always weird to see how off I am from the 'consensus' on so many books. Oh well!
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