Follow Friday

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. This week's question is:

What hyped up book do you think was not worth all the talk?

I hope nobody is going to hate me for this, but I really thought The Mortal Instruments weren't that amazing. I don't know what I was expecting, but it's not as awesome as some of the fans make it out to be, for me anyways. I do admit I started reading it because Jonathan Rhys Meyers is going to be in the movie and he rocks my world, but after reading the first book I had to ever so slightly force myself to read the others. I reviewed 'City of Bones' quite positively because I hoped perhaps it would slowly pick up in the other books, but I was ever so slightly disappointed. I mean, after the third book I had sort of hoped for a little more knowledge of the setting of the books. I haven't read 'The Infernal Devices', so perhaps that's why I lack more knowledge, but I got really sick of Clary and her inexplicable actions. The entire sibling thing also bothered me, not because I think it's wrong to use; George Lucas did it ages ago and better, but because it felt really contrived. I quite liked Jace and felt he was the only character who was allowed some kind of development, whereas the rest stays the same. I also thought Sebastian's character could've used some work although I liked the idea of him. Perhaps I should read the others too, just to be able to decide at the end whether it was a waste of time or not. 

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and Friday 56 by Freda's Voice. I am going to review this book tomorrow, so I decided to use it for these two memes: 'Franny and Zooey' by J.D. Salinger.

BB:

'THOUGH brilliantly sunny, Saturday morning was overcoat weather again, not just topcoat weather, as it had been all week and as everyone had hoped it would stay for the big weekend— the weekend of the Yale game.'

Sometimes it's just one of those days, you look outside and realize you are going to have to bring a coat when you'd rather have left it at home. I quite like Salinger's writing style, I liked 'Catcher in the Rye', but his writing style is a bit long sometimes, as if he wants to make something clear and decides to take 3 pages rather than 1 for it. I mean, there is one scene in the bathroom which takes up a third of the book (admittedly, it's a short book).

F56:

"I didn't say good, I said courageous. Let's keep on our toes here, buddy. The morning after it's produced, everybody in the building'll go around slamming each other on the back in an orgy of mutual appreciation."

Zooey, who is a man by the way, is talking about a play he is in. Just like 'Catcher in the Rye', there is a lot of observation and judgement in this novel, again of intellectuals. I like this description though because I do feel a lot of people are very appreciative of what they themselves do. 

So, does this sound like your book? And has a book not lived up to your expectations and its hype?