Appreciation post: That old paperback I swore was overrated actually blew my mind

My book club picked "The Overstory" by Richard Powers last month and I was so ready to hate it. I heard it was preachy about trees and thought it would be a slog. But by page 50 I was completely hooked on how the characters' stories wove together. Has anyone else had a book they resisted turn into a favorite?

2 comments

2 Comments

coleman.christopher16d ago

Did I write this post myself and forget? Because I had the exact same experience with "The Overstory" - swore I'd hate it, ended up staying up until 2am finishing it while my wife told me I looked like a crazy person reading about tree roots. Now I can't shut up about it to anyone who makes the mistake of asking what I'm reading.

skyler_craig16d ago

Yo SERIOUSLY same thing happened to me! I HATED the idea of a book about trees and was so sure I'd return it after ten pages. But man, the way Powers writes about that chestnut tree and the family history just grabbed me and I read the whole thing in two days. I used to roll my eyes at people who said fiction could change how you see the world but this book totally did that for me and now I'm that guy bringing it up at dinner parties.