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Author: Laura Dave

Page Count: 303

Publication Date: May 4, 2021

This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the single worst book I have ever read.

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Author: William Goldman

Page Count: 328

Publication Date: 1973

I think I'm one of the few 80s culture enthusiasts who has not seen The Princess Bride, a beloved classic film from 1987. I did, however, read the novel it's based on.

I'm not gonna comment too much on the book. Maybe the movie is better. But, let's just say, after this, I don't think I'll be watching it anytime soon.

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Author: Leigh Bardugo

Page Count: 358

Publication Date: June 5, 2012

This was my first modern YA novel... and I'm pretty sure it's gonna be my last.

Typically I avoid modern (or any) Young Adult novels like the plague--I had never bought one before or read one in its entirety. The furthest I've ever gotten through the ones I have previewed is a few excruciating chapters, and this is what I've noticed about every single one:

• They have some of the worst writing I've ever seen. Everything from descriptions to dialogue to word choice is just unbearable.

• Many YA authors lack the dedication or passion needed for writing, creating soulless works that were clearly only made because they're "trendy" and will sell quicker.

• YA books tend to be built on these same trends--now called "tropes"--and are literally advertised with the clichés they include. That, coupled with the unnecessarily colorful/ eyecatching covers, has created a whole subculture of readers that only buy books, not to read them, but to post them on the internet.

Shadow and Bone had a lot of the same problems as its shallow peers (especially the writing style) but I will give it this: the idea of a magical military nation inspired by Tsarist Russia is actually pretty unique. If the execution was better, this book might not have been so bad.

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Author: Ryan Cahill

Page Count: 521

Publication Date: February 22, 2021

This was my first read from an "indie" author... I was pleased to say that his writing style, though incredibly lacking in emotional complexity, was better than the majority of popular authors working today.

It was a decent book, though it relied heavily on classic fantasy tropes and didn't introduce any new ideas.

I also found myself struggling to get into the characters--the protagonist was a pretty basic coming-of-age hero, and the one character I found genuinely interesting disappears for most of the book.

Still, at least it was better than I thought it would be...!

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Author: Harper Lee

Page Count: 323

Publication Date: July 11, 1960

Well-developed, unique and memorable characters make the themes of this book very impactful.

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Author: Mary Shelley

Page count: 221

Publication Date: January 1, 1818

10/10. Intensely tragic, but the writing style was perfect. The imagery was so vivid, the dialogue and themes devastatingly impactful, and the characters so well thought out and understandable. (Even the monster himself--nothing like the brutish one seen in modern popular culture.)

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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

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Author: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Page Count: 290

Publication Date: 2008

Not my favorite, but a nice read nonetheless. I thought the ending was really sweet and the characters were unique.

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Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

Page Count: 276

Publication Date: September 21, 1937

This one just didn't work for me. The characters were one-dimensional and cliche. The plot was repetitive and I didn't find it charming, like many say it is, and I felt the writing style was somewhat bland.

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Author: Robin Sloan

Page Count: 288

Publication Date: 2012

While the characters and story could have been very charming, the writing was just too bland to make it enjoyable. Moments that were intended to be funny just didn't come off that way as a result.

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Author: Ray Bradbury

Page Count: 249

Publication Date: October 19, 1953

10/10. Haunting, surreal writing combined with a gripping, suspenseful story and amazing characters make this a thrilling read--but more importantly, the themes of individuality, censorship, media and the power of books are more relevant than ever, especially with technology's growing dominance in society, and with people reading books less and less.

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Author: Blake Crouch

Page Count: 368

Publication Date: July 26, 2016

As with Recursion, this book had an awesome, unique idea and a less than awesome execution. More consistent than Recursion, but never reached the heights of Recursion's first half.

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Author: Blake Crouch

Page Count: 336

Publication Date: March 10, 2020

The first half of this book: Oh my God!!! What just happened?? That twist was insane!! Did that guy just do that?? This book is so cool!!!

The second half: This is so unbelievably stupid.

Essentially, this book went from being an intellectual, amazingly original thriller to being a cliche action flick. I'm 90 percent sure that the two halves were written by different authors.

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Author: Nicholas Sparks

Page Count: 276

Publication Date: October 30, 2006

Nope. Nowhere near as good as this author's debut novel, The Notebook. Intensely boring, and towards the end it just seemed like tragic events were being thrown in every eight seconds purely for shock value. Characters were horribly bland.

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Author: Jane Austen

Page Count: 384

Publication Date: January 28, 1813

Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy this one. The dialogue is sharp and some characters were interesting, but the near-total lack of sensory descriptions makes it impossible to get into.

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Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Page Count: 180

Publication Date: April 10, 1925

I actually chose to read this one because I was always hearing people say that they hated reading it in high school. And I loved it! Haunting, dream-like, beautiful and complete with eye-opening themes.

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Author: Nicholas Sparks

Page Count: 227

Publication Date: October 1, 1996

This is one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read. Absolutely heartbreaking, and yet totally uplifting. Every character is so likable and understandable and feels so human. (Even the “other guy” in the romantic plot line, which I didn’t see coming!)

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Author: Andy Weir

Page Count: 496

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

Andy Weir strikes again!! Project Hail Mary is hilarious, twist-filled, sometimes shockingly sad and always wonderfully written. The themes of connection and kindness are so refreshing and uplifting, and are especially impactful when coupled with the bittersweet ending.

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Author: H.G. Wells

Page Count: 172

Publication Date: 1898

War of the Worlds managed to be a suspenseful and scary sci-fi novel while also including deep themes about how we treat other living things and about humanity's place in the universe. Great book!

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Author: Anna Sewell

Page Count: 141

Publication Date: November 24, 1877

Such a beautiful book. There's something so quietly impactful about the simplicity of it. The straightforward narration makes it easy to read and difficult to forget. And that final sentence is devastating.

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Author: Andy Weir

Page Count: 387

Publication Date: September 2011

Hands down the funniest book I’ve ever read, and one of the only books I can give a perfect 10/10 rating. The writing is engaging, the science is genius, the characters are great, and the ending is so surprisingly heartwarming—I could go on.

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Author: J.K. Rowling

Page Count: 752

Publication Date: July 8, 2000

This series still hasn’t let me down! This one’s the second longest of the books, but definitely doesn’t feel overstuffed. As with all the Harry Potter novels, the twists are shocking!

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

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Author: J.K. Rowling

Page Count: 435

Publication Date: July 8, 1999

Not as whimsical as the other two, but instead mysterious and gripping. Awesome book! Professor Lupin in particular was a really original and interesting character.

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Author: J.K. Rowling

Page Count: 341

Publication Date: July 2, 1998

All I want to say about this one is that the scenes with the flying car are hilarious.

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

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Author: J.K. Rowling

Page count: 320

Publication date: June 26, 1997

The book that got me into reading :)

As with all the Harry Potter books, the writing is amazing, the characters are memorable, and the world is just so incredibly unique. The author steers away from fantasy cliches and comes up tons of new ideas for her stories. I’ve never felt so immersed in a book!

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Author: Agatha Christie

Page Count: 352

Publication Date: November 1, 1937

Technically, this is the first novel I ever started reading—but halfway through it I discovered Harry Potter and didn't finish this one for a very long time...