Books that disappointed me in 2016

Following Jo’s request, I will present the books that disappointed me this year.

• The Heart Goes Last, by Margeret Atwood

Such a pretty book, such a huge disappointment… The book start with a great idea: homeless people are offered jobs and houses, but they have to stay every other month in prison. It is an experiment to show that if everyone in a city spends half their time in prison, there will be no crime. Then the book becomes totally stupid… I wrote more here.

• Audition, by Ruy Murakami

Supposedly a thriller… Also a famous cult movie. Nothing scary about it, the action starts 15 pages before the end. More here.Read In the Miso Soup better.

• Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

I am sorry, but I got bored… I know it is a very important book and it is about a topic that interests me a lot. But the writing style did not agree with me. I did not find it bad or anything, but I expected more. I got lost in his writing, I prefer more precise writing and making specific points. More about it here. Read Americanah better.

• The Secret Loves of Geek Girls, edited by Hope Nicholson

Many short stories by female writers or artists… I liked the most of comics parts and some of the stories, but generally I was disappointed. More about it here.

• Tokyo Year Zero, by David Peace

Nope, just nope! I am sure many people will find his writing style amazing. But I found it very tiring and complex. I love Japan, so I thought I would love this book. But nope. More here.

• Letter from Odessa, by George Saris

She is one of my beloved childhood authors, so I was very disappointed with this book. I found it very sexist and old-fashioned, not like her at all. More about it here.

 

That was it!

Of course everyone has a different taste, this was just my opinion about some books, it does not mean they are objectively bad (although I can’t imagine how some of them could be considered good). Also the mood you have or the environment can be important factors on your opinion about a book.

This is certainly a very important factor. For example I read The Gunslinger (Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King while on a big trip and I did not enjoy it as much as I would if I read it in my own house. And always I don’t enjoy that much the first books of the readathons, because I feel I have so much to read and I should be fast. So mood is important always!