Plain bad heroines (I actually liked the story from 1902 at the boarding school but the modern storyline went on my nerves) A million to one (YA), it has a great premise with it being a heist story on the Titanic but it was all just so convenient. I get it's for teenagers, but still, nope.
1. Darling Girl by Liz michalski. 2. Black Widows by Cate Quinn 3. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness The most disappointing though is probably The very secret society of irregular Witches
The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French was definitely the worst book I read this year. After that I am going to read 1 star reviews of epic fantasy books by unknown authors before giving them a try.
Some quotes from his books are burnt into my memory... like the 40yo woman in Norwegian Wood getting paragraphs about her wrinkles but also saying "she had the breast of a little girl"... like dude.
@@BookswithEmilyFox Yup - how comparing an adult to a child like that and in an explicit way even occurs to people is just shocking honestly - and there´s obviously a pattern with how much it happens to women combined with how underage girls are often harrassed when they start puberty -.-
What grinds my gears is when people try and defend him and say he’s making a social commentary… no. He’s not writing about misogyny, he’s being misogynistic.
Thank you for the Murakami critiques... I disliked all the books I read by him and I have questioned my taste over it, cause everyone seems to love him.
I like his books (mostly) but if it makes you feel any better he has a lot of critics especially because of how he writes his characters and specifically the women and for anyone who wants a book that has a beginning, middle and end that's not him either. He also repeats a lot of the same elements that there's a bingo for it. I like his book for the atmospheric-ness and the writing/translation of that writing for me and when I'm reading it that stands out most, but it's different for different people. (Although I'm currently reading one of his books where the bad stuff is particularly bad and I'm thinking about dnf-ing) I'm also learning to be okay with disliking things I dislike without questioning it based on the majority opinion.
I got a little over halfway through Kafka on the Shore, often cited as one of his great books. I found it drawn out and mildly weird in a pointless way. Aside from the cat POV stuff, it was forgettable. I'm not sure if he was trying to be "literary". Maybe it's more a case of he just writes the way he writes and for whatever reason lots of critics love it. Maybe it has something to do with how publishers hype him.
Hands down the worst book I tried to read this year was The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell. It was recommended to me as a king Arthur retelling but there is so much rape. I mean I got 9% into the audiobook before I gave up because not only did it causally mention that women were raped it also established that the only way to get magic powers involved getting raped by multiple people. I don't care what justification there was for having that be a thing because it's disgusting and the author is now on my avoid-at-all-costs list.
The worst part of Days at the Morisaki Bookshop was when (spoilers) the aunt said she had miscarried her second baby as punishment for having and abortion for her first pregnancy….. yeah absolutely no and go to h*ll.
Yes Emily!! Keep on burning Murakami, next time someone recommends him to me, im just going to direct them to this video, you are doing society a service. Im sorry for the triple comment, i usually wait till the video is over, but i just couldn't help myself.
Girl, I was at a bookstore and heard a customer telling the bookstore owner that she loved “the maid” and that it changed her life lmao like bro what? Why? Aside from the inaccuracy re the main character being on the spectrum, I find the fact that the only Mexican mentioned in the book being involved with the Sinaloa Cartel extremely offensive. I’m Mexican and it fkn pissed me off, I hated it.
Loved your diatribe on Murakami. I read 1Q84 for a book club years ago and was like WTF. I didn't WISH you to read it, but I was glad you picked it up because I wanted to hear your thoughts. Your response gave me a laugh. :)
I love the bottled energy that was released in this video. I almost want to request you read Iron Flame because it’s so much worse than Fourth Wing hahaha.
I think my worst books of the year are "Dream Department Store" by Lee Mi-ye (interesting premise, but so, so meh) and "The Christmas Murder Game" by Alexandra Benedict (found it quite a mess?) Honorable mention and very unpopular opinion: "The invisible life of Addie LaRue" by V.E. Shwab. I know everyone loves it, but I was SO bored! And whenever I found myself enjoying it, it switched to a different timeline I didn't care about😢
Addie LaRue was so dumb, like if you really sit down and think about it, it was so dumb. She was so bland and yet captivated a being that had been around for all of humanity?
I am right there with you in your reaction to Haruki Murakami and IQ84. I’ve not read one more word spewed by him and though I don’t consider my choice-making ability to be sterling, the decision to forswear this guy’s output has been very wise. (Ugh!)
oh, Dan Simmons lmaooo. I was OBSESSED with the tv show version of The Terror and decided to read the book… and hated it. The (teenage!) female lead (and pretty much only woman in the book) was taking her clothes off constantly in the arctic?? and it was just constantly describing women’s bodies in great detail. At least in the early chapters bc I DNF’d it. Sometimes the book truly is not better.
If you were inclined to read Defiant, don't worry about skipping Evershore (the 3rd novella) if you didn't like the first two. The important bits from the novellas are recapped in the beginning of Defiant and I've heard from people who skipped the novellas altogether that they weren't confused about things.
Thank you! I lived through the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s and I swear to gawd there is no excuse for the ‘isms in the 80’s and 90’s. The revolution happened in the 60’s & 70’s. So it took some people to catch up, but there’s no excuse.
ice planet barbarians is exactly for getting out of a reading slump, or when you are reading a dense book and need something else for balance. and later on the series dixon starts to care about representation, there's a FMC character that is hard of hearing and the characters don't see it as a disease.
It's probably not fair bc I would have never picked them on my own; but my two 0☆s were The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi and Notes on Execution by Danya Kukafka. You still liked Hyperion way more than I expected lol. My two dnfs are Ninth House by Leigh Bardough and A Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier.
Oh man, I'm in tears just thinking back to that Iceplanet reading vlog, I gotta go and rewatch it. Imo one of your best ever vlogs for your "worst" read books.
You deserve to relax and have a good holiday Emily 🎄❤️💚💚💚🎄☃️🎄🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻🎁❄️❄️❄️❄️📚🎁❤️❤️💚💚💚❤️☃️☃️☃️🎄❤️💚🎅🏻🎅🏻📙📚📚❄️❄️❄️☃️☃️📖☃️🎄❤️💚💚💚❤️❤️🎄🎄☃️📖📖🎄❤️💚🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻📙🎁📚❄️❄️📖📖📖📖☃️
I don't get the hype around Murakami Haruki either!!!!!!! In fact I hate him! At first, I thought he was only popular in East Asia, but... I was really surprised that he is popular in the west as well?....... I feel East Asia is less sensitive to misogyny so I thought that might be why he is popular here, but I didn't think he would be popular in other places as well... Is it because of the translation, or is it because it is not written by a Western author, so people feel it's ok to distance themselves? Anyway I loved this video! ❤
Emily, I love your energy! You inspire me to be equally cut-throat with books I find just plain bad 🤣 The worst books for me this year have been The Snow Child and Sea of Tranquility. In both cases the ideas were great, but it was just so booooriiing!! Also I'm here for the Murakami hate
I completely agree on all your comments about Cytonic, it felt just wrong. However, the novellas were amazing and are the only reason that I'll actually end up finishing the series, just to get to the end of the characters that the novellas helped me fall in love with.
Agree with Murikami!!!! A friend was like he's my fave and I read Dance, Dance, Dance and am now worried about said friend. Like you said, HOW DO YOU IGNORE THIS?!?!?! He is so alarming.
I have exactly 17 books that are on my Worst Books of 2023 list 😂 But the ones that pissed me off were Sorrow and Bliss (because of that ending and its whole freaking discourse about pregnancy and that betrayal of a revelation towards the end) and the Twisted series by Ana Huang. I can't even explain why I sat through 4 books of Twisted.
I liked the writing but wanted more from Leah in the submarine. I also read her short story collection, and unfortunately, it's the same here. It's great writing, but mostly boring.
I haven't read The Maid so can't speak about the autism rep there but in general autistic people can be incredibly observant in one moment and incredibly unobservant the next.
My worst book was Hidden Pictures, dont know how that won the horror category last year- yikes. Also Cytonic was my most disappointing book of last year. I just started the 4th book and so far its better!
I listened to the Serpent and Dove trilogy this year and, while none of them were good, the second book was terrible. I'd be very interested in a video about your favourite books in translation!
Okay don't come for me, but I love Murakami XD I also totally understand the discomfort with how he writes about women. I personally find it easy to leave most moral qualms at the door when I read a book since I see literature/art as the one place where we can safely explore all shades of humanity. Also, there is something to be said for Murakami's treatment of women being shaped by Japanese culture, so from that standpoint it's interesting to explore his female characters and imagine what sort of archetypes they represent in the Japanese subconscious. Also I came across your channel while looking up reviews for The Girl in the Eagle's Talon (latest installment in the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series, written by a new author). Definitely adding that one to my worst books of 2023! For such an incredible and beloved series, it was a huge disappointment.
I really hate it when people mask Murakami's tedious endings, absurd relations and narrations in the books, and lost plots, and say oh, it's his beauty of writing. Like shit! Everytime someones says they love Murakami, I take a U turn and escape. 😂 I don't get the hype.
I was reading the wind up bird by Murakami, didn’t finish it. I enjoyed read in his description of everyday life, in a way a beautiful way that I could imagine it and see it while reading, however I remember the scene about the main character running into a teenage girl and his description of her and dialogue just made me uncomfortable, I couldn’t really place it because I thought there was a point to the story, but hearing you describe how creepy he is with his description of women in his books made me realize, there wasn’t a point to that interaction. I blunt it because of everyone’s praise about his work but… nah won’t finish him if he has this young girl fetishes.
Things we hide from the light tops my list. I absolutely DO NOT understand how people find it romantic. I remember thinking that nash was the book equivalent of pressuring a girl into something she doesn't want until she can't say no any more. ... how is a guy that doesn't take no for an answer or respect boundaries romantic ? How??? Book 3 didn't even focus on the same couple but it 10/10 solidified my opinion for book 2. 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
I tried to read a Mirukami book but I just couldn’t get past that cringe weird thing with the mysterious woman. Worst books I read: the Holidaze , court of thorns and rose by Sarah Maas, people we meet on vacation The midnight library (had so much potential) Phew that felt good to get off my chest!
Hi lovely 😊 I enjoy watching you so much. So I am curios about this one book, I can't remember did you already talk about it. It's called "The Lost Bookshop" by Evie Woods. I personaly liked it, it was fun to read. Sending you lots of love 😘
Loll j ai tellement ris quand tu as présenté Les fourmis... y'a quelques années, j'avais eu si hâte de le lire... euhhh 😂 Disons que j'ai eu la même réaction que toi!😅
I only had a few really hated books this year. I really hated The Inmate by Freida McFadden because it was not only poorly written but also ethically concerning. I was also very disappointed in The Cherry Robbers by Sarai Walker because it was a 5-star prediction. I also hated The Family Game by Katherine Steadman because it was just too extra and unserious.
Anyone else disappointed by Eleanor Catton's "Birnam Woods"? Hated being hit by a hammer over the head in Geraldine Brooks' "Horse" which could've been a really good book.
The final book, Defiant is a return to form for the series and good conclusion but I dont think you'll have a good time if you don't care anymore. I think the first two books are the best but Defiant is much much better than Cytonic.
@@stardroplet9499 I would read a synopsis at least. Some of the plot won't make sense unless you know what happened in Cytonic. Cytonic isn't so bad more disappointing compared to the first two books. It really is a sidequest book and Sanderson said it was one of the most difficult books he's written and it shows in the quality of the plot. It's still fine.
Totally agree with your opinion on The Maid. I passed it up numerous times but then decided to buy it because my best friend read and enjoyed it. Will never trust her book opinions again. Horrid, horrid book.
Best thing i inherited from you this year... You should stop reading a book if you're not enjoying it. I learned to make those decisions much sooner and then bada Boom bada Bing ....Next!!!
I know this is your book channel but I just can't take my eyes off your lipstick/lipgloss lol. So may I ask what brand and shade is it? Thank you. Oh and my worst book of 2023 is American War.
I completely agree with you about Fourth Wing. So very badly written but readable, I don’t get it. At least that book got me into wanting to read dragons again, so there’s that.
I read 169 books between January 1th and today. The worst were: The Years by Annie Ernaux (this is a draft, not a novel/memoir/book, don't get the hype) Waterson by Clarissa Goenawan (talk about needing an editor) Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (also needed an editor) This Is How Yo Lose the Time War by Amal el-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (confusing, and overwritten) The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (fortune cookie shallowness) Dead Lands by Núria Bendicho Giró (condemning child SA) Leonard and Hungry Paul by Rónán Hession Moonstone by Sjón (unnecessarily disgusting, and a terribly executed twist/change of style in the last third) The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber (sexist AF)
Hearing you rant off about Murakami was ~chef's kiss~ because I just DNF'd Kafka on the Shore which is possibly the worst book I ever read and ever will read, and the final straw in me reading his books. I don't care if it's 'social commentary' or if it ascends you to heaven or whatever, I'm never reading his books xD
I had one of Murakami's books on my shelf, called After Dark, and decided to read it or unhaul it. Spoiler: with 8 pages remaining, the FL decides to kiss her sleeping sister. TWICE. What. Was. The. Reason. I will never get the hype arounf Murakami.
Some of the worst books I‘ve read this year were Yes Please by Amy Poehler (her book made me dislike her!) and First Frost because I hated all the storylines which was so disappointing as I really enjoy the first book. 😭 I definitely would have ranked Fourth Wing among the worst books if I‘d have continued on but thankfully the narrator was so bad that I DNF‘d in chapter two. 😂
Worst book of the year: none of this is true by lisa jewel. CANT believe it is so popular? what did you guys read? it’s boring, predictable and has such an unsatisfying ending lol
My worst book this year is by far "The Offing" by Benjamin Myers. I have never read a book that made me angry for so many reasons... And even if I don't want ro judge authors by just one book I've read from them, I probably never touch another book written by Myers.
the worst book i read this year was BUNNY by mona awad, i will never get that time back, it was yes, short but so stupid it almost put me on a reading slump, i hated it so much
To me Fourth Wing was such a Flop. Don’t know why everyone Hypes it so much, Violet is like Bella 2.0 But much more annoying and Xaden makes me want to gag.
I had a pretty solid year but there were some awful books, too. I mostly dnfd everything I didn't enjoy but there are books that you just can't put down. The 3 worst books of the year were: 1. Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams. It was advertised as the black Bridget Jones. NO! Bridget is funny, Queenie is just sad. Just a bad character who is having sex with everybody altough doesn't enjoy it, doesn't realize that her ex-boyfriend is an ex, she thinks they are on a break (and the ex's family is racist and probably the ex, too), her friendships are awful and she is constantly talking about her hair. Awful, just totally awful book. It gets a redeeming half star for the ending. 2. One year after by William R Forstchen: It's a second book in a post-apocalyptic series. It had the problems of the first book ("we are still americans", "this is still America" in every second page)and some new ones that I don't even remember anymore, something with the government. At least the first one had some good ideas. 3. The twisted ones by T. Kingfisher. It was recommended by another youtuber. The protagonist is almost as stupid as in Queenie and in some cases are more annoying. You just don't act like this in situation like this (ok, the situation will probably not happen in real life, but if... ) I just wanted her to die.
My worst book was Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep. It had some cool concepts that it could have done a lot with but instead it focused on its offensively bad female characters and "romance", and being as boring as possible.
I did a similar read it or unhaul it personal challenge and read Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris and it was easily my worst book of the year. Racist, sexist and so not funny. The worst part is I got engaged the week I read it and so that will always be a tainted memory.
If you are looking for a feisty older woman who is not as nice as she appears, An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good, by Helene Tursten, is quite entertaining. This book and the sequel are both novellas and quite good in audio. The bookshop one is one of the picks of a local book club. Luckily it’s a short read so won’t waste too much time if it’s not good.
