My husband read 1Q84 and was determined to finish it because he was trying to understand where the author was coming from from a cultural point of view, but every day he'd rant about whatever had happened in the book that day. Cemented that I never needed to try it 😂
Oh man, I agree with you on so many of these. My soul still bares the burnscars from every single Murakami book I’ve ever read 😂 The one I disagree with you on is How High We Go In The Dark. I fully see your point about the short snippets, but that didn’t lessen the impact of any of them for me
@renee_3364 I'm glad you liked How High We Go in the Dark! I was certain I was going to love it based on the hype. Murakami - you read more than one?! 😅
@@OnefortheBooks Like a stubborn donkey, I kept trying😅 "there's got to be a reason people love these books right?!". I forced my way through 1Q84 and DNF'ed Norwegian Wood and The Windup Bird Chronicals...
How high we go in the dark, I couldn't finish it. The book needed all the hugs, but the sadness was relentless and after a while I had no more hugs to give.
I had Great Circle on the TBR but I took it off because everything you described were all the things I really don't like rolled into one book. Thanks for saving me the time.
I read the novel Don Quijote in English when I was in high school. Then I read it again for Spanish literature class in college. I don't remember any short stories associated with it though. I do remember it being very funny.
The concept of When Women Were Dragons was so good but was so poorly executed it annoys me to this day. I pushed myself to finish it but it put me in the worst of moods
This will shock some people. My lowest rated and only DNFed book of the year was The Blade Itself. I couldn't stand characters, and at 50% into the book there was exactly.... 0% plot. I need people I like in a story, and I need it to trying to go somewhere.
@alexanderlavoie5461 I also struggled with the first book in that series, because there wasn't a plot. I found the characters fascinating though so I pushed through. The rest of the books are better about that, but the characters are certainly not likeable
Oh man, Murakami. I read a different one of his books and just the way he writes women is so--well, you know. It's extra frustrating because some of the ideas are fascinating to me, but then it just drives into a sexist ditch.
I'm so relieved to see Howling Dark on this list. I found the best bits great, but there were way too many chapters where, in my opinion, absolutely nothing happened. Also, another hot take incoming, Don Quixote is the most boring work of literature I've ever read. Okay, I'm done saying triggering things now, I promise.
My worst books this year have been Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein', Ted Kosmatka's 'The Flicker Men' (not bad, just disappointingly average), and Jerome K. Jerome's 'Three Men in a Boat'.
I thoroughly enjoyed 1Q84 but didn't enjoy 'Killing Commendatore'. Those are the only two of the author I've read. 1Q84 though was 5 star read for me. I live under two moons anyway, so there!
I've read Kafka On the Shore, and my Goodreads review states "A book 300 pages too long. [At 97.43%] I've generally enjoyed half this book, but it's dragging on and the characters talk pointlessly - Is Murakami showing off what he knows about Western Classical music? Can't really tell, but all I know is that I've started skipping through the inane dialogue and just want the book to end." I'd probably read Norwegian Wood at some point, but KotS and @OnefortheBooks' review of 1Q84 doesn't inspire me to read anything else. I remember picking up 1Q84 and the writing style in no way captured my interest.
I haven't read 1Q84 but I have read a lot of Murakami's other Novels. Dance Dance Dance is his the best work IMO. Wind Up Bird Conical and Killing Commendatore were both mostly enjoyable reads, but the latter was a few hundred pages too long. I found the way he wrote the female characters in Norwegian wood infuriating and Kafka on the shore is an excruciatingly long Oedipus Rex reference interspersed with a fun story about an old man who talks to cats. In general he has a real problem with sexualizing teenagers (or younger kids) and he is very bad a writing female characters. The guy has some real flaws and I think a lot of his writing is heavily affected by his personal psychosexual issues, but I do think some of his books are worth a read.
My husband read 1Q84 and was determined to finish it because he was trying to understand where the author was coming from from a cultural point of view, but every day he'd rant about whatever had happened in the book that day. Cemented that I never needed to try it 😂
Haha I'm impressed he pushed through! But I love that he ranted to you about it the whole way.
I tried to read 1Q84 multiple times because I was convinced I needed to read it… finally put it down for good a couple years ago
Oh man, I agree with you on so many of these. My soul still bares the burnscars from every single Murakami book I’ve ever read 😂
The one I disagree with you on is How High We Go In The Dark. I fully see your point about the short snippets, but that didn’t lessen the impact of any of them for me
@renee_3364 I'm glad you liked How High We Go in the Dark! I was certain I was going to love it based on the hype.
Murakami - you read more than one?! 😅
@@OnefortheBooks Like a stubborn donkey, I kept trying😅 "there's got to be a reason people love these books right?!". I forced my way through 1Q84 and DNF'ed Norwegian Wood and The Windup Bird Chronicals...
@@renee_3364 omg 🤣
How high we go in the dark, I couldn't finish it. The book needed all the hugs, but the sadness was relentless and after a while I had no more hugs to give.
@@jeroenadmiraal8714 I know! It was too much. 😟
I had Great Circle on the TBR but I took it off because everything you described were all the things I really don't like rolled into one book. Thanks for saving me the time.
@@ABookForest Sorry! I really wish it had been different. But it was definitely a struggle for me
I read the novel Don Quijote in English when I was in high school. Then I read it again for Spanish literature class in college. I don't remember any short stories associated with it though. I do remember it being very funny.
The concept of When Women Were Dragons was so good but was so poorly executed it annoys me to this day. I pushed myself to finish it but it put me in the worst of moods
@@LulaRu exactly!
An epically entertaining demolition job on IQ84. That's you off Murakami's Christmas card list.
😂 Yes, unfortunately. I had to report Murakami to HR, and we are no longer on speaking terms.
@@OnefortheBooks Haha!
This will shock some people. My lowest rated and only DNFed book of the year was The Blade Itself. I couldn't stand characters, and at 50% into the book there was exactly.... 0% plot. I need people I like in a story, and I need it to trying to go somewhere.
@alexanderlavoie5461 I also struggled with the first book in that series, because there wasn't a plot. I found the characters fascinating though so I pushed through. The rest of the books are better about that, but the characters are certainly not likeable
Oh man, Murakami. I read a different one of his books and just the way he writes women is so--well, you know. It's extra frustrating because some of the ideas are fascinating to me, but then it just drives into a sexist ditch.
I understand your problem with the stardust grail, I felt the same
@sophiesonozaki5886 ahh, always such a bummer to be disappointed by a book 🫤
I'm so relieved to see Howling Dark on this list. I found the best bits great, but there were way too many chapters where, in my opinion, absolutely nothing happened.
Also, another hot take incoming, Don Quixote is the most boring work of literature I've ever read.
Okay, I'm done saying triggering things now, I promise.
this is my first time here - have to love the eclectic reading taste (despite these being basically anti-recommendations hehe)
My worst books this year have been Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein', Ted Kosmatka's 'The Flicker Men' (not bad, just disappointingly average), and Jerome K. Jerome's 'Three Men in a Boat'.
I read Frankenstein two years ago and was also disappointed.
Hard agree on Howling Dark. I think the main character was in a literal waiting room or taken hostage three or four times…
@Uphere-do9zh I didn't even think about that but that's so true! 😅
I thoroughly enjoyed 1Q84 but didn't enjoy 'Killing Commendatore'. Those are the only two of the author I've read. 1Q84 though was 5 star read for me. I live under two moons anyway, so there!
Damn - if you review bad books I should send you mine 'The Green Eyed Girl'.
That could have upped your video to eleven bad books!
@@toakreon 🤣
Are all murakami novels like this? Because i have a backlog of murakami books someone lent me
I'm honestly not sure, this was my first one. 🫠
I've read Kafka On the Shore, and my Goodreads review states "A book 300 pages too long. [At 97.43%] I've generally enjoyed half this book, but it's dragging on and the characters talk pointlessly - Is Murakami showing off what he knows about Western Classical music? Can't really tell, but all I know is that I've started skipping through the inane dialogue and just want the book to end."
I'd probably read Norwegian Wood at some point, but KotS and @OnefortheBooks' review of 1Q84 doesn't inspire me to read anything else. I remember picking up 1Q84 and the writing style in no way captured my interest.
I haven't read 1Q84 but I have read a lot of Murakami's other Novels. Dance Dance Dance is his the best work IMO. Wind Up Bird Conical and Killing Commendatore were both mostly enjoyable reads, but the latter was a few hundred pages too long. I found the way he wrote the female characters in Norwegian wood infuriating and Kafka on the shore is an excruciatingly long Oedipus Rex reference interspersed with a fun story about an old man who talks to cats. In general he has a real problem with sexualizing teenagers (or younger kids) and he is very bad a writing female characters. The guy has some real flaws and I think a lot of his writing is heavily affected by his personal psychosexual issues, but I do think some of his books are worth a read.
Listen to the audio version of Don Quixote.
Translated by Edith Grossman, read by George Guidall.
Or just read Edith Grossman's translation. It has a picture of a helmet out of focus on the cover.
That's a good idea!
Audiobooks are the only way I managed to read Les Miserables, Anna Karenina and Moby Dick.