"Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion." - Jane Austen (well, a Jane Austen character, but... that counts)

 Unfortunately, sometimes the opinions we have are unpopular on top of laugh-inducing, and we are alone in the bookish wilderness, left to our own devices with nothing but those opinions to keep us company. (And you can't eat opinions. This is an excellent example of a universally agreed-upon opinion.) Every now and then, however, we'll stumble upon another soul outside of Popularopinionville, fending for themselves.

 "You've been cast out, too?! I thought it was just me!"

 They forge friendships in the wilderness, those unpopular opinions. Or at least they give you someone to eat if worse comes to worse. So in the name of individuality, hipsterdom and potential wilderness-partnership, this week for our top 10 list, we've compiled our 10 unpopular opinions (well, 5 each) which we feel precious few out there share.

 If you're firmly in Popularopinionville, we beg that you not stone us.
If you're out in the wilderness, please let us know. We do so welcome the company.





1. I love to read paperbacks

Picked by: Natalie

 Whether it's just me admitting defeat where hardback prices are concerned (and that they're not that accessible here), or I actually do prefer them, I don't know. But I love paperbacks! And even though they look 'read', it shows that the book is loved. I don't want my bookshelf to look like a bookshop, I want it to look like a library! Floppy paperbacks are the best. Am I right? I know everyone else loves hardbacks, but they're just okay. I'm not really fussy, it's what's inside that counts.

2. I don't mind a slow-paced book

Picked by: Lexie

 No, really. For me it matters more that the pacing be consistent than that it be fast. A slow-paced books also leaves lots of room for character development, which tends to separate the okays from the greats for me. My arguably-favorite-living-author, Maggie Stiefvater, even admits to desiring to write fast-paced thrillers but always ending up with a slow, dreamlike pace, because of the effort she puts into characterization. And that's it. Pack my bags, I'm off to a book world. I hear bombs don't explode there every few hours, but the people are exhaustively intricate and I will probably want to marry/adopt/hug all of them. We can run from bombs in the interim.


3. I prefer short books to long books

Picked by: Natalie

 I'm not sure how unpopular this opinion is, but I love to get through a book quickly. Having a huge-ass book and knowing I have a lot more to get through, even though I'm enjoying it, is always quite daunting to me. I'm a slow reader, so you'll know the struggle if you're like me. Even a series as a short book is fine, like The Hunger Games series. They're quite small books, but so much is packed in there and it's so easy to fly through them. Not intimidating at all.

4. I don't mind love triangles

Picked by: Lexie
Now here's a caveat before I go into this - I rarely like romance as a primary plot device. It's probably why I don't read too much romance. I do, however, thrive on romance as a minor, subtle, hinted-at subplot in the background. I therefore don't mind if this subplot features three or thirty-three people, as long as the actual writing and the (main) plot are good. They carry the story for me. The rest are cherries on top. And, hey, three cherries are better than two cherries. All I'm sayin'. (If the love triangle, however, takes over the plot and causes horrendous drama, then - yeah - that's a cherry liqueur overdose.)


5. I dislike John Green books 

Picked by: Natalie
I really, truly tried. I've read three of his books and I just... can't get into them. If you like his style, go ahead and read them, but it's just not for me. I find John Green's writing to be too preachy and metaphysical.  I am expecting some hate for this, but it's a matter of personal taste. We all have different opinions, hence why this is in the 'unpopular bookish opinions' post.
Disclaimer: I really like John Green as a person, his and Hank's Crash Course videos on YT have saved my life many times with university work. God bless you, Greens!


6. I live in fear of movie adaptations

Picked by: Lexie
Precious few things are as horrifying to me as hearing the movie option announcement. Stains on books. Lost books. And destroyed books. That's about it. But the movie adaptation clocks in at a high number four, and I am not a fan. I am very, very much not a fan of movie adaptations. For every one that's done right, I've seen fifty that just wounded my soooooul, and I don't like those odds, really. Don't trifle with my favorite books, Hollywood. Step awaaaaay! (Guess who instigated our post on the 10 Books We'd Rather Not See As Movies. Guess!)


7. I don't organise my bookshelf 

Picked by: Natalie

 This is partly due to laziness but also due to that it looks better. I love a messy bookshelf, it looks loved, used and homely. As stated before, I don't want it to look like a bookshop. When people organise by colours, as stunning and beautiful as it is, I wouldn't ever be able to find anything. To me, it would be a nightmare trying to find that one book. I only keep my series together, that's about it. So, for now, I'll stick with my organised-mess of a bookshelf. I know where things are, just like my messy bedroom!

8. I don't fancast books

Picked by: Lexie
I'll be the first to admit - books come with a hindrance of rarely offering up a visual. We're left to our own devices. The place, the characters, and just about everything is left purely to the imagination. And this is where I feel like a large portion of the bookish community turn to fancasts - finding celebrities to represent their characters. I get it. But I never do it. (This is a blanket never. I just never do it, truly.) If a writer is halfway decent, they'll succeed in having me conjure up those places and faces in my head. And nothing outside of it will never quite match. (My head is a mysterious, mysterious place full of cobwebs and dragon lairs.) This, in fact, is probably some of my problem with movie adaptations. I will, however, say that I tend to actively look for visuals when I begin a story of my own. It won't be celebrities so much as random people I find on Tumblr, though. I have no shame about this.

9. I prefer standalones to series

Picked by: Natalie

 *gasp!* Why? You want to know why? Because I'm super lazy, that's why. I will start a series and I'll be like 'Oh look, the last book is out in 4 months' and then I'll forget to read it. A year will pass and I'm remembering it like 'Hmm, that means I have to re-read the series agai- ah, forget it.'
I just never get around to the last book, so I just think that it's such a waste. I won't get the full story due to my laziness. I'm not a re-reader. I will read a series if it's complete though, so I don't have to wait and not forget the story. Get it all done in one. Yes!

10. I eat genres

Picked by: Lexie

 With the exception of erotica (and even this I gave a chance, but it really, really, really, really, really didn't work for me), I will devour anything if the premise is compelling enough. This probably shouldn't be an unpopular opinion - books are tasty morsels of deliciousness, my friends - but it often is, and I am sad. I'll happily read fantasy and contemporary and mystery and horror and thriller and sci-fi and - yes - even the dreaded classics. Most of these genres have really good rating averages for me, too (yes, even the dreaded classics). What can I say? I WANT TO KNOW ALL OF EVERYTHING! So, y'know. A lowkey goal to pursue in life.




 We aren't here at the moment. We are currently cowering behind really large cacti in the wild, making sure that no one can hunt us down. But in our absence, feel free to leave us a comment and let us know how badly you hate us strongly you agree with us. Or find us on social media, where we spew all sorts of opinions that would get us lynched in most of the books we read. 'Tis half the fun of reading them, really.