Books that I did not particularly enjoy
Okay so a few weeks ago I made a post about books that really impacted my life and at the end I made a comment that perhaps in the future, I would make one about books I didn't particularly enjoy. Well here it is.
I want to preface this post with two things. One is that I 100% believe that reading all kinds of books, whether you like them or not, is good for you. I think reading books you don't like can be useful and can help you broaden your perspectives in different ways. That being said, you don't need to enjoy or gain something from all the books you ever read in your life.
The second preface I want to say is that, if I don't like certain books, that does not mean that someone else won't like them too. It's just difference of opinion. So do not take this post as a 'You shouldn't read this book ever' because there is a chance that you may really love some of these.
All right, we good? Good. Let us get on with it then.
Bachelor of Arts by RK Narayan
This might be the only book that I viscerally did not enjoy while reading it. But then why did I even continue? I don't know. I've already talked about this book but the gist is, theres a guy who graduated college and then he's chilling at his parents house doing nothing post graduation. He sees a young 15 year old girl, stalks her around, then tries to marry her but their astrological signs don't align so they can't get married and he gets depressed but then it all turns out alright because he finds a different 15 year old girl to marry. Wow. Do I really even need to explain why I didn't thoroughly enjoy this? No? Okay good.
A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
This book wasn't even bad, I was just confused the whole time. There are like 8 different storylines and things are always slightly disjointed, but it was clever how the author managed to connect the 8 different storylines. I've always thought that this book would make a better movie, with an ensemble cast or something (think 'Valentines Day' or 'New Years Eve'). I felt slightly dumb while reading it which just made it irritating to read. No one wants to feel not smart while trying to read a contemporary book.
Pan by Knut Hamsun
This book was so weird. I feel like the actual essence of the book was lost on someone like me. Knut Hamsun won the Nobel Prize in Literature, so the problem is with me and not him. The thing is, I just really disliked the main protagonist. I mean the guy throws the female protagonist's shoe off of a boat because she didn't pay that much attention to him at a party she was hosting. Seriously? Is he 5? This woman is hosting a party, she's trying to play a good hostess by meeting all of her guests. Why is this man so needy?
Translucent Tree by Nobuko Takagi
When I finished this book I was literally like what in the world did I just read? The basic gist : 2 people meet after 25 years and have an affair. I will be honest, it is really weird. Like REALLY weird. Normally, weird doesn't really bother me, like its usually all fine. My problem with this book was that it was weird for no reason. The characters are normal people. They are slightly one dimensional, but they are just going about their life and having an affair, so why is this author trying to make things weirder than necessary. The ending of this book made no sense to me. I was like how did I reach here, why am I here, I didn't want to be here, how do I exit this situation?
So there you have it, a few books that I didn't particularly enjoy. I have more, but I'll keep them for another post on another day. If you enjoyed this, let me know. If you didn't enjoy this, also let me know. Hope you all have a great week!
