Top Ten Tuesday: Books I feel differently about now that time has passed

Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Today’s theme is a total freebie, so I scrolled back through the depths of the TTT archives to find a topic that sounded fun that I hadn’t done yet. I decided to go with books I feel differently about now that time has passed.

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Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

original (2012) rating: ★★★★☆

I very vividly remember reading this book during my last shift of my last college job. I was completely engrossed. I had to know what happened next. Looking back, there are a lot of problems with this book. The whole attitude toward suicide in this book is problematic at best, and Hannah blaming her suicide on several classmates and forcing them to not only listen to her tapes but also pass them along so everyone else can find out their “crimes” is just… not great. I couldn’t even make it halfway through the first season of the show.

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Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer

original (2006) rating: ★★★★★

I didn’t have a Goodreads account when I first read Twilight, but please believe me when I say that I was obsessed. I thought that this book was the greatest thing. Edward and Bella were meant to be. I don’t think that this book is the worst thing ever written, but I can definitely recognize the problems it has now that I’m older.

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The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

original (2006-ish) rating: ★★★☆☆

I was about sixteen years old the first time that I read The Catcher in the Rye, and while I didn’t hate it, I also didn’t really appreciate it. I thought Holden was a bit annoying. I didn’t really like the writing style. I just didn’t click with it. I re-read it last year and absolutely adored it.

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Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

original (2017) rating: ★★★★☆

This was the first collection of Instagram-type poetry that I ever read, and I more or less enjoyed it, so I gave it four stars. As time has gone on, I’ve learned that basically all of these collections are the same, and about half of the poems in each collection are just sentences with line breaks.

(anybody can write
sentences with line breaks
that doesn’t make it
poetry)

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The Naughty Corner by Jasmine Haynes

original (2014) rating: ★★★★☆

The Naughty Corner was one of the first erotic novels I ever read, and because of that, I think I liked it a lot more then than I would now. Looking back, there isn’t anything particularly exciting about this book. It’s kind of a gross concept, to be honest, and I feel like it would probably get one star if I read it today.

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The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

original (2013) rating: ★★★★☆

When I first read the first three books of the Mortal Instruments series back in 2013, I was swept away by the world of the Shadowhunters. As I continued on with the series, I was really disappointed by the lack of plot and character development. Looking back, this series is basically just a bunch of popular books thrown together with some fake incest added in for good measure. Add to that all of the Cassandra Clare drama I’ve learned about, and I’ll just stay away from this series (and her others).

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Under My Skin by Shawntelle Madison

original (2014) rating: ★★★★☆

Having re-read my review for this book, here’s what I can tell you I liked about this book at the time: the intriguing plot and the well-developed characters. Thinking back, all I can remember is being really confused about what was happening and wondering when I was going to get any resolution at all. Apparently it all came together in the end, but I think this would probably get two stars if I read it today.

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Off the Record by K.A. Linde

original (2014) rating: ★★★☆☆

To be honest, I’m not sure quite why I gave this book three stars when I originally read it since I actually hated it. I hated the characters, I hated the relationship, I hated everyone’s attitude, and I didn’t even think the writing was very good.

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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

original (2016) rating: ★★★☆☆

Sometime between 2016 and now, I’ve become much harsher in my ratings. I didn’t really enjoy this book very much and thought it didn’t really live up to the hype, and yet I still gave it three stars for some reason. I don’t think it’s terrible or anything, but I did think that the ending was completely over-the-top and far too many convenient things happened for the book to seem even remotely realistic.

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Permanent Record by Leslie Stella

original (2013) rating: ★★★☆☆

This is another book that I didn’t actually like that I mysteriously gave three stars. It’s been years since I read this, but I remember feeling so relieved once I finished, and getting rid of this in one of my unhauls was probably one of the easiest decisions I’ve made.

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Did you do your own Top Ten Tuesday post today? Feel free to leave your link in the comments and I’ll check it out! What are some books you’ve changed your mind about? Let’s talk in the comments!