I'm actually not much into 1.9. I actually have no reason why, but it just seems to make things harder to get stuff. But I also like that, because it makes it so you can keep going on with your world to achieve several things. So to conclude, I'm not sure if I like 1.9 or not.
But 1.8 on the other hand, is just simple updates. I recommend to give it another chance. Even though Mojang said it would revolutionize all of the gameplay, I think that is completely wrong. Hunger is easily controllable, I mean, in 1.7, we all had stockpiles of food anyway, right? Enderman, I actually noticed like to tamper with trees other than your house. I have never found a hole on one of my bases since 1.8. What's funny about the tree thing is, they like to take a log straight out of a tree then leave it on your doorstep.
So overall 1.8 isn't that huge of an update. And if you really, really want to downgrade, take a look
here.