It didn't come out this year but reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was a mistake. Oof that was a bad read which is a shame because I enjoyed the original trilogy.
It was a pretty meh reading year overall though. Next year should already be better with the next Stormlight Archive book coming out at end of 2024.
Either The Beast Within: Stories by Paul Tremblay (most of the stories were a slog to get through, and the titular story was awful, awful, awful) or A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand for absolutely squandering the privilege of being given permission to write a story set in the world of 'Hill House.' Writing was sparse, characters were all exaggerated unlikeable assholes, the "horror" was not like Hill House horror at all (it was more modern haunted house than Hill House, most of the time) and I felt like Hand just didn't understand the actual Hill House or the original story. There was like.. one genuinely goosebump-giving scare but the rest of the book was such a let down, I don't even remember what it was now.
I didn't read too many new books this year, I wish I did so that the "worst books of 2023" lists would mean something. I remember the year "Survive the Night" by Riley Sager came out, I got such joy out of it being on tons of "worst books of the year" lists. I hated that book so, so
i have yet to hear anything positive about A Haunting on the Hill :( i'm still gonna read it bc i'm curious and as a Shirley fan i feel like i gotta! but "squandering the privilege" is an excellent way to put it.
i will say i was not a fan of Hand's Wylding Hall so i wasn't overly optimistic anyway :\
It just feels like such a waste IMO. And it's odd because Hand is apparently such a big fan of Jackson's writing and the original book, but like... this is what Hand did with it? I went into the book with a wide open mind, completely open to it, excited, hyped as heck, I was ready to adore this book and it just let me down lol.
It doesn't help that the characters are that very grating specific brand of "modern writer making everyone insufferable, backstabbing, mean, petty because that's cooler" character. Like the characters in the original have flaws, but they don't feel like caricatures. Hand's characters very much do.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree was a real disappointment too. It was completely charmless.
I’m glad I am not alone in this. I bought it to read it on my trip during the summer and it was a total snore. And I was excited about it since a lot of people were praising it.
Aww I loved Legends&Lattes. The only thing I didn't like about it was that I felt the conflict of the book was forced. I was perfectly happy just spending time with the coffee shop tbh
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It was a pretty meh reading year overall though. Next year should already be better with the next Stormlight Archive book coming out at end of 2024.
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Either The Beast Within: Stories by Paul Tremblay (most of the stories were a slog to get through, and the titular story was awful, awful, awful) or A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand for absolutely squandering the privilege of being given permission to write a story set in the world of 'Hill House.' Writing was sparse, characters were all exaggerated unlikeable assholes, the "horror" was not like Hill House horror at all (it was more modern haunted house than Hill House, most of the time) and I felt like Hand just didn't understand the actual Hill House or the original story. There was like.. one genuinely goosebump-giving scare but the rest of the book was such a let down, I don't even remember what it was now.
I didn't read too many new books this year, I wish I did so that the "worst books of 2023" lists would mean something. I remember the year "Survive the Night" by Riley Sager came out, I got such joy out of it being on tons of "worst books of the year" lists. I hated that book so, so
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i will say i was not a fan of Hand's Wylding Hall so i wasn't overly optimistic anyway :\
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It doesn't help that the characters are that very grating specific brand of "modern writer making everyone insufferable, backstabbing, mean, petty because that's cooler" character. Like the characters in the original have flaws, but they don't feel like caricatures. Hand's characters very much do.
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I really wanted to like it, but Gluck: 1895-1978 : Her Biography by Diana Souhami was a real disappointment.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree was a real disappointment too. It was completely charmless.
I've had a pretty solid reading year though. I've enjoyed most of what I've read.
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I’m glad I am not alone in this. I bought it to read it on my trip during the summer and it was a total snore. And I was excited about it since a lot of people were praising it.
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I can totally see why people like it! It just didn't have enough charm to really engage me fully.
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