Choosing a book to read is a big commitment. There are just so many out there that you definitively want to pick a good one every time.
Every now and then, you find a book that completely blows you away...while other times you might pick one that becomes a disappointment.
So I browsed the r/books subreddit and read through responses from the BuzzFeed Community to round up a list of the books that either seriously delighted or sadly underwhelmed readers. Here is a sampling!
1."All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. The novel parallels the lives of a blind French girl and an orphaned German boy during WWII. It has become the standard by which I now judge all other books. It's so much more than a war story. It's the kind of book you're devastated to finish because the journey and magic have come to an end."
2."Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb. I started reading this book because it seemed like suddenly everyone was talking about it, but I wasn't sure it would be my cup of tea. I wasn't sure I'd really enjoy a book about therapy. But turns out, I could not put it down. This was one of the best books I've read in my life. This non-fiction book was insightful, engaging, and emotional. It made me feel vulnerable, introspective, and most importantly, human. Even if you don't think therapy is 'for you,' you will take something incredibly important away from this book."
3."Circe by Madeline Miller. I tend to stay away from books that I think might be too serious in tone, and if it wasn't for the audiobook I never would have tried this one. But I listened to it at work back in April and was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. In fact, Circe led me to read another adaptation of Greek mythology by the same author, The Song of Achilles, which was my favorite book I read all year."
4."The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab. Everyone seems to love this book, and I thought a story that spans hundreds of years like this one does would have so much going on. But man, it was just so boring. The characters had no defining qualities that made them stand out, and the ending was so unsatisfactory. The fact that it's such a lengthy read doesn't help when the plot is slow and boring."
5."The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I am an avid reader, but this one really stands out as an amazing book. It's a thrilling story about revenge and the great lengths the protagonist will go to achieve it. The prose is really beautiful. I think this is a book everyone should read once in a lifetime. It's full of wise words and I've learned my fair share of life lessons by reading it."
6."1984 by George Orwell. It's such a perfect character arc. The book gets eerier the more I think about the similarities between the world depicted in the novel and the society that we actually live in today."
7."The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. A handful of friends recommended this book and I no longer speak to them. Just kidding. But seriously, I saw this book on bestseller lists and bookstands everywhere, and I truly did not understand the hype. The story felt cliché, childish, corny, and totally lacking any depth. It actually felt more like a self-help book in disguise. I kept reading hoping it would grow on me, but in the end I just felt seriously let down."
8."Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. Everyone talks about One Hundred Years of Solitude, but I struggled through that book for months. I didn't get it. It wasn't a classic and felt more like a chore to read, which made me hesitant to pick up another García Márquez book. But years later, my friend gave me Love in the Time of Cholera, and I couldn't put it down. It's funny, it's endlessly sad, it speaks of people and time, and it immediately grabs you and pulls you in. Not to mention it's a much more manageable time investment."
9."I bought Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go only because I had really enjoyed Remains of the Day. I knew nothing about the plot, and if I had known it was considered somewhat science fiction-y, I never would have read it. But I'm so glad I did because I couldn’t put it down and it is now one of my favorite books."
10."Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. I went into this book with absolutely no idea what it was about. By the end of it, I was totally blown away by some of the short, philosophical sci-fi stories and novellas. My advice: Don't do any research and just read it."
11."There are a few books that have really disappointed me, but the one that immediately comes to mind is A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (and NOT because it’s 'heartbreaking.') I found this book numbing — an exercise in torture porn. It’s empathy as written by someone who’s never experienced it, which comes off more like cruelty. It’s over 700 pages of slapping a character around because the author feels like it."
12."The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. The book felt so heavy-handed to me. It reads like a high schooler who was just getting into philosophy wrote it, and it's as if the author doesn't trust the reader to interpret anything. He's constantly hitting you over the head with overwrought 'depth.'"
13."The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It's an epic novel that is centered around the building of a cathedral in medieval England. It's the only book other than Harry Potter that made me feel emotions I didn't even know I could feel."
14."A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I first read it when I was ten years old, but I've read it every couple of years since. It's an old friend, but I wish I could discover it again for the first time. What I remember most is how much the main character resonated with me. I'd finally found someone just like me who I could relate to — a misfit outsider with an active mind and a thirst for books."
15."I absolutely loved Long Bright River by Liz Moore. It was the kind of story you finish and then immediately mourn because you can't believe it's over and you know it will take a long time to find another book of the same caliber. Your heart will pound as you tear through the pages trying to figure out the mystery, and when you finish you'll think about it for a long time."
16."The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I'm not usually a fan of fables, but I heard that this book was life-changing so I decided to give it a try. This was also my first Coelho novel so I had no idea what to expect. I am admittedly a slow reader, but I finished this book in one sitting. And by the time I finished the book, I felt changed. I read a lot, but I honestly can't recall another book that gave me so much perspective about life. It's beautiful, it's wise without being preachy, and it touches the soul."
17."The Overstory by Richard Powers was a disappointment for me. I wanted to love this book. I really did. It's a huge sweeping novel about trees and the interactions/connection between humans and nature that won the Pulitzer Prize. And while the writing was really beautiful and powerful, I found myself seriously struggling to get into the subject matter and connecting with the characters. I finished all 500 pages and I was happy that I powered through it, but I can't say I particularly enjoyed it and wish I had gotten more out of it."
18."Atonement by Ian McEwan. I absolutely sobbed my heart out at the end of this book. I felt bereft. Then I didn't believe the ending so I read it again. I think I went through all the stages of grief after turning the last page, which is clearly the sign of a very powerful novel."
19."Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Don’t get me wrong — it’s a well written book, but it's far too enamored with its own wit and unconventional narrative structure to be an enjoyable read."
20."The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I don't always connect with books about mental illness, but this one really spoke to me and made me feel like I could relate. I finally felt like there was a voice out there that went through the same struggles that I was experiencing."
21."I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb quickly became my favorite book of all time. Reading it is quite the undertaking, but it is such a great book. The story spans a couple of generations and it's a deep look into mental illness. I only wish there were a sequel so I could see what happens to the main character."
22."Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan. The story follows the main character, Pino, who is expected to act and live like an adult, but he’s just a boy trying to understand the horrible world created by World War II. It’s a tragic love story and it paints a picture of WWII...in a new and under-portrayed way. It also happens to be based on a true story, which makes it all the more tragic."
23."The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne. I picked up this book because it kept appearing on Goodreads lists, but I wasn't expecting to be blown away. I now recommend this book to everyone. It was the perfect mix of heart-wrenching and heart-warming, witty, intense, and thought-provoking. I fell so in love with the characters that I had to remind myself it was fiction. It was one of those rare books that made me feel a million different emotions in the span of a few hundred pages."
24."Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah. Sometimes I feel like this author adds horrible situations to her books just for the sake of having tragedy in there, even when it doesn’t even necessarily contribute to the story. But my biggest problem with this book is that the characters don't grow at all. They felt totally stagnant for three decades."
25."We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. It's without a doubt the strangest book I ever read. It's a haunted house story with no ghosts. I read it in one day, took a day to think about it, and then read the entire book again the next day."
26."This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I found Normal People by Sally Rooney to be underwhelming. I got about halfway through before I decided to not finish it. The entire time I was reading I felt like the whole conflict could've been solved with a simple conversation. Also, I found the characters pretty uninteresting, and for a book that's character-driven instead of plot-driven, the characters need to pique my interest."
27."The Push by Ashley Audrain. This book blew up pretty quickly and was getting a ton of hype, so I was pretty excited to read it as soon as it was released. But all my excitement went down the drain quickly. The book starts in the most confusing manner, most of the characters are despicable, and the whole book felt repetitive to me, lacking a riveting plot. It simply seems that the author tried too hard to make it gripping but failed."
28."I would recommend Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb to just about anyone. There aren't many books that can make you hysterically laugh and then tear up on the very same page, but that's exactly what this book did over and over again to me. It's non-fiction writing at its best...and once I turned the last page I immediately called my grandma to tell her I love her."
29."The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It explores the themes of religion, culture, family saga, love, political upheaval, disability, racism, survival, and, madness. I loved it so much I have now read it three times. The story is impossible to forget."
30."The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I recently finished this book after so many people insisted it was amazing and called it a 'must read.' I thought it had so much potential at the begining, but the ending made me feel as if the author couldn't give the story what it deserved and instead took the easy way out."
31."The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. The premise seemed so promising, but the execution of the plot is absolutely abysmal. The characters have no depth and are irritating beyond belief. On top of that, the contrast between past and present perspectives is choppy, and the incorporation of magic seemed like an afterthought since it was integrated so randomly."
Have you read a book that ended up being so much better than you were expecting or one that was so overhyped it left you feeling disappointed? Tell us in the comments below.
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