Fiction Books

The bible

The Fault in Our Stars

The Secret History by Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (no, I’m not reading anymore Donna Tartt), Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Romeo and Juliet

Dracula, I suppose?

I’m fond of some of the vampire lore the story created that pop culture has completely forgotten… but after Dracula goes on a cruise, the book becomes criminally repetitive and goes absolutely nowhere.

Three Body Problem

Had to read Little Women at school and found it unbearably boring. So boring I almost forgot everything in it, which is unusual. Only thing I remember is that Jo was an interesting character. My classmates seemed okay reading it and some even liked it, but for me every page turned was "oof there's still more pages still, oof".

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

It wasn't terrible by any means. But I kept being told how-fast paced and gripping it was.

The fastest the pace went was the main character ducking behind a barrier in a very brief firefight.

I'm not one of those action junkies, but I was kind of expecting more.

Ready Player One. It has a lot of really problematic stuff in it, the entire plot was "This kid remembers the 80s so he's the chosen one," and countless people you used to respect love it

Anything Cormac McCarthy.

I heard a lot of people liked Watership Down, so I got it digitally. I tried to like it, I really did, but I just couldn't... I don't know, care? It just started feeling like a labor to read it so I stopped about 20% of the way in.

Idk maybe one day I'll give it another try.

The Old Man and the Sea. A junior high teacher assigned it as an individual project, and I was bored out of my mind. After one of my own university students recommended it a few months ago, I tried it again. Forty years has not improved my opinion of it.

Come to think of it, even teaching an intro lit & philosophy course, I still think any book that’s only in print because it’s on a reading list is probably garbage.