The Ups & Downs of Recommendations: Part 1

Recommending books is a scary thing.

I mean, what if you recommend a book to someone, and they absolutely hate it?  What if it changes their opinion of you, like "OMG how could you even finish this book, let alone like it? There is something wrong with you."  Of course, if they love it, you can give yourself a big pat on the back and take all the credit, but there's a 50/50 chance that won't happen.

If you couldn't tell, I tend to not recommend books unless I am 98% sure that it's going to be a success.  And I'm even less likely to recommend something to someone I know isn't a big reader or who's disliked a past recommendation.  I've mentioned in the past that my younger sister isn't into reading like me.  It's not that she doesn't like reading at all; she only likes books that grab and hold her attention, that don't lag or get bogged down in details.  I've made a couple of good suggestions in the past (Beastly and Austenland), but then I recently advised her to read Altered by Jennifer Rush, and she wasn't a fan.  So I usually try to avoid pushing books on her.

So I was really happy but SUPER nervous when she told me she wanted to read some books over the summer and asked for some recommendations.  Instead of just handing her a pile of books I love, I thought about her past likes & dislikes, her personality, and her preferences before lending her anything.  And I'm fairly confident that she will like... at least half of them.  I'm looking forward to seeing which ones they are, and finding out the reasons why she likes or loathes each book.

My sister's summer reading list

• Because she likes murder mysteries and Austenland...
• Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale
• Because she likes the miniseries Alice...
• Splintered by A.G. Howard
• Because the covers intrigue her...
• Abandon by Meg Cabot
• Amber House by Kelly Moore, Larkin Reed, & Tucker Reed
• Because she likes fast-paced, action-packed stories...
• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Because she loves Edgar Allen Poe and Frankenstein...
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
• The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
• Because she sometimes likes things that are different/weird...
• The Selected Short Stories of Philip K. Dick
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick