I tried to read An Abundance of Katherines for the first time quite a while ago. At least four years ago. I only made it to page 50 before deciding it was infinitely boring and putting it aside. I never made any plans to read it again, and at one point I thought it would forever gather dust on my shelf as unread material. I'm not sure what it was about that first attempt, but the second time around was much more successful. I really enjoyed it. 
 But not 5-star enjoyed it. I don't know what it was about this book; I can't put my finger on why I only liked it rather than loved it. It was easy to follow, and the pace was good. The characters were interesting and well-developed. The humor was great, and I found myself actually letting out chuckles several times. For all intents and purposes, this should be 5 stars. But alas, something was just missing. I think it's mostly the stigma of "unfinished on the first try" that I've carried with me subconsciously into my second reading. 
 But I will say that I did love Looking for Alaska, so I was disappointed when Katherines, which for some reason I feel is Green's most popular book - at least before The Fault in Our Stars came out, was so bad. (Talking about the first try.) And I went as far as to assume that Alaska was simply a fluke, and I momentarily gave up on John Green altogether. This second try at Katherines has changed my opinion, and I'm eager to read other works by Green.