Book Blogger Hop; Do I Enjoy Reading Retellings?

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It's Friday and time for another Book Blogger Hop post thanks to Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. The question of the week was "Do you enjoy reading retelling of, or "sequels" to, classic novels? Why or why not?".
For me, it largely depends on the book(s) in question as I felt some of them were better than others. For instance, I enjoyed reading Longbourn by Jo Baker, but seriously struggled with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Steve Hockensmith. While I do love both Jane Austen and a good zombie novel, I had my moments of envisioning Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy slaying zombies while reading the latter, which made me struggle reading it. In some cases, it's probably best to leave a classic novel alone, while in other cases, it's okay to play around a bit.

Comments

  1. Katherine P9 March 2018 at 14:52

    I haven't read many though I did read maybe 20 or 30 pages of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I think I'd like Longbourn way better too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Katiria9 March 2018 at 22:20

    I haven't read Pride and Prejudice yet, but I will not read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Not because that the book sounds bad or anything I actually think it sounds very intriguing, but I just think it is not my kind of book too read. The book really doesn't appeal too me and that it is totally weird that I feel that way for this specific book, because I absolutely love classics and zombies. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post here is my blog hop answer

    http://katisbookaholicramblingreviews.blogspot.com/2018/03/book-blogger-hop-67.html#more

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nicki J. Markus / Asta Idonea10 March 2018 at 01:01

    I agree: you get some good ones and some bad ones.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown10 March 2018 at 03:25

    How do you feel about fairy tale retellings? I love books like Cinder by Meyer or Beauty by McKinley.

    Alli Cat's Meow

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GothicVamperstein15 March 2018 at 18:07

      Fairy tale retellings are fine as long as it's done in a good way. I have enjoyed both Cinder by Marissa Meyer and The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. :-)

      Delete
  5. Anstice Brown10 March 2018 at 16:11

    Yeah, I can't imagine Mr Darcy slaying zombies either. Is it a comedy? I always thought it was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek humour.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GothicVamperstein15 March 2018 at 18:08

      Well, if it is humour, I did struggle to see it.

      Delete
  6. RuffDayReviews10 March 2018 at 20:07

    I agree, and I think this is what most are answering. It really depends, not only on the book, but also on the way in which an author attacks the stories. I have yet to read Austen but was excited about Pride and Prejudice with Zombies but when my daughter read it she just said MEH. That was her review for it! And maybe that's really all she could say, because she IS a Jane Austen fan. It really comes down to personal choice and whether or not you liked the original to begin with, but also if the story captures its audience as well as it hopefully did the first time around. Great post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GothicVamperstein15 March 2018 at 18:09

      I don't blame your daughter for having that reaction to the book. :-)

      Delete
  7. EFC Chrissy11 March 2018 at 14:23

    I didn't get into Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. There are other P&P retellings I have enjoyed, but it just depends on how well they are written and whether I like the new angle. Same for other retellings.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Elizabeth11 March 2018 at 15:05

    I have never read a retelling, and agree with you that leave the classics alone. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GothicVamperstein15 March 2018 at 18:11

      At least it's best to leave the classics alone unless one can write a really good retelling of it. :-)

      Delete

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