Sunday, September 1, 2013

Discussion: The awkward moment when...


Today, we're going to talk about the awkward moment when...hmm, actually, let me begin by telling you a little story. (Yay! Story time!)

By the way, in case this is your first time visiting the blog, Chantelle and I are co-bloggers here at Looking for the Panacea.

So, back before we really got into blogging, Chantelle recommended a book to me. This book was Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. She raved about how amazing it was, and how swoon worthy Travis was and how incredible the romance was etc. etc. So I was obviously completely excited for the book and got started on it as soon as humanly possible. But...I didn't like it. It's not that I just didn't like it, I hated it. It still remains possibly one of my least favourite books ever.

A few months after, Chantelle recommended another book to me: The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons. Again, she raved about how awesome it was. She even said that it was the greatest romance novel of all time. So obviously, again, I was ridiculously excited to read the book that earned this high praise. And, yep, you guessed it, again, I was disappointed. This time, the book wasn't absolutely terrible, but it wasn't great either. It was just an okay read.

So what was the point of the story? The point was to illustrate the awkward moment when you don't like a book that was recommended to you by a friend. Especially when that friend is one that usually has similar tastes in books to you. But also just the fact that it's happened multiple times with Chantelle, often I just can't (I'M SO SORRY CHANTELLE!!!) completely trust her recommendations anymore...


What do you think about recommendations from other people? Do you completely trust recommendations? Have you ever experienced anything similar to me?



50 comments:

  1. I love this discussion, this frequently happens with me and my blogging friends. It's awkward, but I wouldn't completely lose faith in Chantelle's recs!
    -Scott Reads It

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    1. hahaha Don't worry! I haven't completely lost faith in the recs! I am just slightly more cautious with them hehe

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  2. Well...I don't often get recommendations from friends because as a blogger, I usually already have the inside scoop on a vast number of books. So I can't say this has ever happened to me but I can imagine how awkward it is!

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    1. I suppose we do know about a lot of books, but I find that recommendations can often bring books up on the TBR :)
      And yeah, slightly awkward. Because the person i.e. Chantelle is all "did you like it?!" and I'm just like "err...about that..."

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  3. No I don't trust recommendations from other people (sorry to all those who have done it so far) because 1. among my friends, I have very few people who actually have the same tastes as me. 2. my Goodreads friends recommend something I already have on my TBR.

    The only instances when I was actually happy with a recommendation was for Twilight (a friend suggested it to me, but she hadn't read it herself - her friend had loved it) and Fallen by Lauren Kate (a good friend of mine and who I always enjoy gushing over books with had suggested it). But the vast majority of the books I have read have been my own choices and without someone else's suggestion.

    And truth be told, I am more often asked for suggestions than being advised to on which book I read. So, yeah - whenever anyone suggests me a book, I go something like this - which genre? oh, is it YA? (confused look on other person's face) not fiction? meh, not my type..(this conversation actually happened)

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    1. Kind of like what I just replied to Annie, it's true that the books might already be on the TBR, but if someone recommends them, then they're brought up higher on the TBR (because let's be honest, the TBR is a deep abyss from which many books never return....)

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  4. Haha, yes it's awkward. It happened a few times that I didn't love a book that came highly recommended by someone I usually trust and I always feel a little bad admitting it. It was never as extreme as your cases though. Just so-so (3 stars), but I still felt really let down every time because I was sure I'd love it...
    I've read Beautiful Disaster aaand I kinda sorta hated it too ;)

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    1. *hi-fives quietly so Chantelle doesn't see*
      I know right! I just couldn't take that book...

      And yeah, it's awkward admitting it, because then it's like I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT LIKING IT :(

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  5. I hate recommending stuff to people, because my mind goes all blank except for "The Fault in Our Stars." Oh gosh. It's so awkward sometimes, because I have a reputation for reading a lot of books.

    But no one recommends books to me, because I don't bother following their recommendation.

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    1. OMG YES THE FAULT IN OUR STARS.
      That book is legit the book I always recommend to people haha. Unless they're literary snobs in which case I recommend Captain Corelli's Mandolin or The Elegance of the Hedgehog :D

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  6. OMG I can totally relate. It especially sucks because you two are co-bloggers.

    Great post, Nara! <33

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  7. I totally get it! It's indeed an awkward moment *shudders*

    Also, I love you for using a Benedict Cumberbatch gif <3

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  8. I don't think I've had that happen yet. Probably because I rarely have time to read friend's recommendations, but when I do, they've tended to be good. But I just had something close to this happen where a blogger friend LOVED a book that I hated, and it was the awkward moment when she was like, "how could you not like this???" I felt kinda ashamed about disliking said book. And yes, that book is Waterfell ;D (P.S. just read your about section, first time on your blog, love that you're co-bloggers and you're in med school! So cool!)

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    1. I do agree that most of the time, the recommendations are good! It's just that in certain genres, I guess Chantelle and I just have different tastes.

      Yep we are indeed in med school. We go to the same uni actually :D

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  9. I have quite hectic taste and I read almost every genre. If I'm in the mood foe something YA, I'd ask Tanja for recommendation, I talk about erotic romance novels with few other girls, so... I don't know. Usually, they know me well and I like books they tell me to read.

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    1. I suppose most of the time, my friends' recommendations are pretty spot on! It's just that it's awkward when you don't like the book haha.

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  10. HAHAHA well... whoops D: I don't usually like to give out feedback for book recommendations I hate, because I honest to goodness don't like admitting that I wasn't all that into them. I try as much as possible not to offend my friends, even if they've offended me by recommending a horrendous book, though they didn't mean to. So yeah, I just try to restate my feelings, and say something harmless like 'Oh, I think you liked it better than I did. Good for you!' And then they'd usually just stop pestering me about it, eventually XD

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    1. hahaha that's a pretty good tactic. For me though, it's really only Chantelle who recommends me books. I think she understands when I don't like a book- so I don't really need to worry about offending her haha.

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  11. Thank goodness I don't really get many recommendations, but yeah! I know how it feels like. It's the same kind of feeling I get whenever LOADS of people absolutely adore a certain book and I felt so-so about it. So annoying! And really embarrassing. It's like... why am I different? :(

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    1. Yeah so true! It's like have I been reading a different book??
      You don't get many recommendations?! Mwahaha time to spam you on Goodreads...

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  12. I have one friend whose opinion I almost always trust, but sometimes there is that rare moment where she loves a book that I didn't. Awkward, indeed!

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    1. Yeah, and it's quite disappointing as well!

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  13. Unless my recommendation is being sought, I'm not really the type to recommend a book to a friend. I am afraid that they would be like you, Nara. Haha. And that would totally give me an awkward feeling about the whole thing.

    And if I ever get a chance to recommend, I would always do it in my calmest way even if I'm gushing about the book or I'm feeling the need to shove it down to a friend's throat.

    On the other hand, I love people recommending books to me. I have a friend of mine that I always ask what she's reading because I would also read it. I completely trust this friend of mine because she was the one who introduced me to Harry Potter, the story that converted me into a book addict.

    *By the way, Chantelle is already giving you the dagger looks.*

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    1. Too right I am haha Nara is going down!

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    2. Anyway, seriously replying haha: I actually give out recommendations all the time! I don't mind if people don't like the books I recommend, it's really just about giving it a try :)

      lol I'm the complete opposite and completely gush about it and practically shove the book in the friend's face. *whistles innocently*

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  14. Bahaha! This is hilarious to me because Bec does the same thing to me, she LOVES certain books and then I go and read them and I seriously despise them. It's so weird, isn't it? Especially since you guys are co-bloggers are usually share the same opinions. Great post, it's nice to know that this happens to other people! I'll have to pass this post along to Bec :)

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    1. Alise you are lovely :) But if Bec needs a shoulder... sister, I am here!

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    2. I'm sure it happens to many others! Because people can't always have the same opinions of a book.
      Yeah, definitely weird! I think Beautiful Disaster is the only book where we've had such wildly different opinions though. I just cannot stand that book...

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    3. haha yeah, to be fair though, recommended that to you at the very beginning of our book bonding days, i.e. before I discovered your hatred for most things new adult ;)

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    4. Yeah I suppose that's true haha

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  15. This is awkward, and tends to happen a lot, not just for books. Also for TV shows and movies. It really gives me perspective on just how subjective reviews truly are. And, um, I trust rec's a lot less now.

    -P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex

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    1. That's quite true! They're completely subjective!
      Aww it's a bit awkward that it happens so often with you. Thankfully it doesn't happen excessively with me :)

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  16. Haha, how funny! I actually don't have any friends that read YA, so I never really have encountered this awkward situation. I will say that one of my distant Aunts read YA and I rarely see her, but she has started following my blog and came to my going away party. She kept telling me all these books she recommended or books she like/dislikes and they were all books I felt the opposite way about or had no interest in! Haha. I just smiled and nodded my head and pretended to like them. Should I have just told her the truth? :P

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    1. Same! Most of my friends don't read books at all, actually. Shame on them...
      And who knows! Maybe if they're easily offended just go with the smiling? It is a bit awkward when you don't know the person well, because with someone closer you can kind of just be like YOU SUCK whereas that probably wouldn't go down so well with someone you don't really know haha

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  17. That is so awkward! I guess I can sort of understand it too from a blogger's perspective. I've had people read books solely because of my reviews, and they've ended up having opposite reactions to them. :P As for getting recommendations myself, I only really listen to a few select friends who I KNOW I have similar tastes with it. So it doesn't end disastrously too often. ;) Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I guess now that I think about it while Chantelle and I have similar tastes in some respects, we totally differ in others- which is where the disastrous recommendations come into play haha.

      And yeah, from a blogger's perspective I suppose it's awkward when someone doesn't like a book you recommend through a review!

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  18. I rarely take recommendations from friends, but when it happens, I'm pretty honest on whether I like it or not. It almost never happens though, since I usually read the books that were recommended to me by someone I completely trust. But yes, sometimes it IS a little awkward if a friend tells you a book is amazing and heavenly and then you're 'meh' about it :D

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    1. Me too. I always just tell the friend whether or not I like the book, because that helps avoid future awkward situations when the friend recommends other similar books to that one :)
      It's nice that there's someone that always seems to have the same tastes as you!

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  19. Awwww, this was a discussion I missed because I keep doing ridiculous things like staying up until nearly 5 a.m. just to finish with blogger duties o.O.

    Ooh, yeah. That's why I always hesitate when giving recommendations. Sometimes even when you know each other's tastes really well, it still doesn't quite work out because there might be one little thing that'll turn the story awry. Beautiful Disaster though o.O. Oooh, man. If I get that recc'd to me, I'm probably not going to read just because of the reviews I've read -- even if someone I dearly love tells me it's great.

    I have a recommendation feature for reviews on my blog right now, so I've run into this situation before too. But I don't know -- even if you don't quite trust Chantelle's recs, you're still friends :). That's the best part, eh? I DNFed one of my friend's books and she still sent me an email full of recs when I asked. Granted, she has very different tastes and reading goals than I do, so I'm tempering my reaction according to that. I don't think it's so much as completely trusting the other person to give you recs as you playing the master filter, if that makes sense?

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    1. HOLY CRAP 5AM THAT IS RIDICULOUS O.O Fair enough for having missed this discussion! I don't blame you at all!

      Oh God, Beautiful Disaster is so terrible. There's just drama, drama, drama + overprotective male lead and it's like SHOOT ME NOW.

      Yeah that makes a lot of sense! And I guess you always have to acknowledge that you might not like a book that another person has recommended to you, whether they're your best friend or a distant relative or whatever.

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  20. Gosh that's so awkward!! I think it's only happened to me once or twice but it's not fun.

    I don't read books based on recommendations. There are some bloggers who I agree with 90% of the time, but even then, I still don't go off of recommendations. I know that everyone has different tastes, and even if we agree 90% of the time, there's still the other 10%.

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    1. Yeah that's quite true! I still take recommendations, but I guess I always take into account the fact that I might not like the book. Still, it's always awkward when you have to tell them that you didn't like it, especially when it's one of their favourites...

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  21. I'm usually on the other side: the person who recommends the book my friend doesn't like. That's no fun either, so I pretty much stopped giving recommendations and started a blog. Most of my friends don't like YA, and the ones who do, I guess they don't like the genres I like.

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    1. Yeah, I have to agree most of my friends don't like YA so I wouldn't be recommending books to them anyway. I do like giving out recommendations to blogger friends though :)

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  22. I live in fear that I will end up not liking somebody's recommendation. I don't want to disappoint the person who recommended the book, but that's always the case, especially when I'm feeling "meh" about the book in the first place. I don't remember the last time I read a book somebody recommended to me. I remember feeling disappointed only because the book didn't live up to the hype.

    Luckily, my BFF loved/enjoyed all the books I've recommended to her so far, but every time I recommend something to her, I'm always worry she won't like it. At times, I feel like it's a reflection on me, but that's stupid because people like different things.

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    1. Yeah it's always a bit awkward admitting you don't like a book someone's recommended to you. Especially if it's a book that they absolutely love.

      I suppose you do have to acknowledge that not everyone's going to like the books that you like. It's pretty lucky that your BFF has liked all the ones you've recommended! You must have pretty similar tastes :)

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