I stumbled across this 30 day book challenge by The Chronicles of Radiya and decided to give it a try. Hopefully it will lead to 30 consecutive days of blogging that liven up the blog a bit and give us a chance to get to know each other a little better.
Day 12: A Book You Used To Love But Don’t Anymore
Way back when, before I really got into YA novels and long before I started blogging, I went through a phase where I read all the mystery/true crime novels. Harlan Coben’s books were some of my favourites, and I especially enjoyed The Woods and the Myron Bolitar series. I still make it a habit to pick up his books as soon as they’re released, but I’ve recently found myself growing bored while reading them. There’s no element of surprise anymore, and I’m able to correctly identify the perpetrator and their motives almost immediately. I’m not sure if it’s because all of his plots follow a specific pattern or because I suddenly developed super sleuthing abilities overnight, but one thing’s for certain: I miss the way I felt when I first read these books.
… this post always makes me want to sing the Gotye song, Somebody That I Used To Know. “Now you’re just some old book that I used to love.”
Anyways, are there any books that you used to love but aren’t that fond of anymore?
I feel like I would be really compelled while reading true crime and mystery, but like you I used to really like Nicholas Sparks books (sad, I know) and then as I kept reading his novels I realized that they’re all the same, but just change a few of the characters. I definitely understand where you’re coming from.
I haven’t actually read any Nicholas Sparks books – I feel like I’d need to emotionally prepare myself before going into them since I’ve heard that they’ll make me cry a lot. I have seen The Notebook and Dear John though (if that counts), and they had a lot of similarities.
I have recently been getting into Harlan Coben books. I’m on my third one and already I’m picking up more clues and predicting more about the ending. I totally agree with you on this one!
I’m so excited that you know who Harlan Coben is! I usually get a blank stare or “that has to be a pen name” when I mention his books, haha. Which ones have you read so far?
The Woods, Tell No One, and I’m currently in the middle of Play Dead
I really liked The Woods and Tell No One. I think they were actually the first ones I read by him, along with Promise Me.
I lived for mysteries/thrillers before getting into YA as well. I’m still a huge fan and to this day certain authors are my go-to comfort reads. That said, I do agree with you that after reading so many you begin to see the formula. Plot twists that would have shocked me 10 years ago are no longer surprising. I’m able to pick up the Bad Guy early on.
I occasionally read mysteries/thrillers if they’re new releases by authors that I like (except James Patterson, since he puts out so many books in a year that it’s hard to keep track of them all). I don’t read them as much as I used to though because the last one I read (The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler) really creeped me out and had me jumping at tiny noises for days.