books I COULDN'T put down (I was hooked)!

[@StashaA.]

I read the Count of Monte Cristo in six days. Even I couldn't believe what's happening, but I just couldn't stop. 😅 When I was not reading, I was dreaming about it.

[@clairdelune779]

for me it was always Wuthering Heights. I have never ever read a book with so much passion. I remember after finishing my prayer very early in the morning I would immediately pick it up to see what was going to happen next.

[@kshegde3000]

Personally, don’t understand why I couldn’t complete reading Wuthering Heights. Is it because I am a male?! and it is more appealing to female readers?

[@magda_mf]

​@@kshegde3000 No, I am a woman and didn't really like the book. The characters were unlikeable and so miserable and I didn't care for their relationship 🙈

[@barn_ninny]

@@kshegde3000 To me, as a man, it is two people being unrelentingly hateful to each other. Whatever love they may _feel_ for each other, their behavior is hateful. I can't bear it.

[@lindawalker2451]

Wuthering Heights is my favorite book of all time. I have read it several times

[@aamnahere6250]

@@barn_ninny That's why a lot of classic literature deals with complex characters and emotions and dissects the innermost thoughts, conflicts of humans as well as depicts the human condition through them. These aren't necessarily love stories but depictions of complete characters and their messy emotions.

[@suzanyildirim5431]

For me it was jane eyre, sense and sensibility, the count of monte cristo and a tale of two cities. And east of eden, which I didnt want to end. I love east of eden so much ❤

[@Kev_Cos]

The Count of Monte Cristo for me also. All the more impressive when the book is quite the lengthy piece!

[@audreymcnair350]

I really appreciate your channel. I feel like all the booktubers I come across all talk about the same exact books, all of which I’m not interested in 🤪 You offer a lot of different options. My TBR list is quickly growing from your channel. Thank you!

[@alessiaa7375]

Heyy, Carolyn! I always get so excited when you post! Your videos always bring me so much joy, so much peace!🥰❤️❤️ The other day I was thinking about how much I love your videos and then I got some video ideas in my mind which I’d love to see from you!💞 •If you like this book, read this book! (And you could make this into four parts : - “If you like this *classic* book, read this *modern* book” -“If you like this *modern* book, read this *classic* book” -and two more parts where you recommend only classics or only modern books! •Recommending books based on the predominant emotion/feeling in the book (I don’t think I’ve seen this one done before on booktube) •Recommending books that give off the vibe of certain colors (for instance, for red, a book about passionate love, a sad melancholic book for blue etc) •I think a “Recommending books for every letter of my name” would be a very fun video! •This was done before but I’d love to see it from you “Books for every letter of the alphabet!” •”Convincing you to read a book based on quotes from it” (I got this idea when you read some quotes from “White Nights” in order to showcase how amazing this book is) •And for the autumnal season I think a “Recommending books based on different fall elements” would be an interesting video idea! I’m thinking of rainy weather, colorful leaves, eerie atmosphere, ghosts, delicious food, cozy vibes, the color orange, umbrellas, tea, coffee, trees as fall elements! Sorry if it seems like I wrote too much…😅I just thought you’ll maybe find some of these video ideas appealing!☺️

[@sarratebib2386]

You're posting so much right noow I love this The books I was hooked by recently : L'évènement by Annie Ernaux ; The Mother and East Wind, West Wind by Pearl Buck ; The Devil's Flute Murders by Seishi Yokomizo ; Orlando by Virginia Woolf ; La délicatesse by David Foenkinos ; L'effacement by Samir Toumi ; My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante ; Nulle part dans la maison de mon père by Assia Djebar ; L'astragale by Albertine Sarrazin ; Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier ; The Fury and Cries of Women by Angele Rawiri. There are probably other ones but these are the ones that came to mind when you asked.

[@circleofleaves_zigzag]

Foster by Claire Keegan was a lovely story. It felt like an Irish novella version of Anne of Green Gables, only the character was much more shy and hesitant than our bold firey Anne.

[@RandallGriffithCHt]

This reminds me of trips to the long-gone, locally-owned bookstore, where the owner would make a recommendation of a book you would otherwise not know. Thank you!

[@ameerah2324]

i know this is not what your channel is about but girl I need that hair care routine 😭

[@najwa2831]

She actually did a video about it 😆

[@Juliem00]

I really enjoyed where the crawdads sing it was a slow start for me but once the story picked up I was hooked!

[@jonanderson559]

It's always nice to see Bulgakov, and nicer still to see Irish literature get a shout out. To stay on the Irish theme, for me it's always been The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien. I discovered it when I was young, couldn't put it down and it's still a one-sitting book for me today. I don't want to give much away, but it starts with a murder and veers off on some very strange tangents. It's also got one of the oddest writing styles I know of - as if it had been written in Irish and translated very literally into English - but for me that just adds to it.

[@jeevratankaur]

I love the 2 uploads per week ❤ Thank you and Keep them coming!!!!!

[@mabelmoreno1]

I remember feeling that way with The Book Thief (which was very difficult considering I didn’t want to put it down, but at the same time I didn’t want it to be over). 😂 Other books that I haven’t been able to put down are The Count of Monte Cristo, Dracula and Crime and Punishment. 📚On the other hand, you’ve spoken so dearly about Friedrik Backman’s books that I want to read them now. The thing is, my TBR looked at me and said: “Don’t you dare buy more books”. 😂 My response? This look: 😏

[@michelleizoco]

Lord of the Rings (all three books in one) puts me in a chokehold every time I read it. It doesn't matter if I read it a billion times before, it hooks me each time. I really need to read If Beale Street Could Talk - I've heard amazing things.

[@trishnickles2236]

Hi, Carolyn, This is an older book, but A Fine Balance by Rohan Mistry was one I couldn't put down. Thank you for another excellent video! Be well. 💕💕

[@TheBookSquirrelUK]

2:26 I adored Where the Crawdads Sing! As did my stepmum. Such a beautifully written book, with a great twist.

[@reneepasich]

Pachinko, Resistance Women, The Nightengale, The Woman in Room Three, The Covenant of Water, and East of Eden are some of the books I couldn’t put down. Just a few of my favorites.

[@andrei.ionut77]

Gone Girl was definitely the book that got me hooked the most. It was simply intoxicating.

[@tp06]

I just finished Where the Crawdads Sing and I'm blown away and left speechless! Such an incredible story! I finished it in 3 days.

[@cherish6084]

I've only read Giovanni's Room by Baldwin, I need to pick up more! Last couple of books I couldnt put down were Piranesi and Lonely Castle in the Mirror (I like slow reads though). I would look up what the author of where the crawdads sing and her family did while she was in Zambia, haunted me especially with the context of that novel.

[@lamaalsalem]

The book I couldn't put down was The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy :)

[@hannahandherstories]

Octavia E Butler is an author whose books always grip me. Her writing style is so straightforward, but the premises are completely unique. She takes a thought experiment and carries it all the way through. I was totally hooked by Dawn, Kindred, and Parable of the Sower.

[@adrienne4028]

Book I couldn’t put down. The Count of Monte Cristo A Man Called Ove The Blue Castle The Other Bennet Sister The Girl Who Drank the Moon

[@vmestrada2822]

Where the Crawdads sing is a good one!

[@hmm6411]

Anxious People is my current Book Club read. I was the leader of the last meeting ( A Gentleman in Moscow ) and I purposefully raffled off Anxious People to influence the vote for the next book. Since you introduced me to, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, I happily blame you for my heavy-handedness. Lol

[@scox0005]

I felt this way about all four Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante! It also has an amazing tv adaptation!!!!!!

[@natasham4184]

I recently read a book that I wished I could put down because the themes were incredibly dark and disturbing, but the plot was just so engaging. It was Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent. I'm usually a very slow reader but I read this in a week and was left emotionally drained. I'd recommend it, but definitely look up any content warnings because it's not going to be for everyone. I love nothing more than short chapters!

[@lindavelasquez-sanchez2939]

SHE'S COME UNDONE BY WALLY LAMB. LOVE THIS BOOK!

[@jessicaloomis2687]

Thank you for the great recommendations. I'm in a bit of a reading slump, so this will help. I also love Sense & Sensibility, and after listening to several on audio this summer, I've decided that it's my favorite Jane Austen novel.

[@apak78]

Call me by your name was so beautiful and I loved the ending - in general I don’t like when books end according to expectations. Thank you for suggesting Jane Eyre a few days ago ❤❤❤

[@aamnahere6250]

There are so many books I've read that I couldn't put down so I'll just mention the ones I've recently read. 1) Cockroaches by Scholastique Mukasonga. 2) Dept. Of Speculation by Jenny Offill. 3) Pachinko by Min Jin Lee 4) Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi.

[@veronicaalejandra20]

I haven’t read them all, yet, but I loved your recommendations! ❤

[@chandrareaux6700]

I couldn't put down Love the one you're with by Emily Giffin and also Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine. I read Where the crawdads sing and I agree it's really really good. The tattooist of auwshiz is also a great read.

[@Beery1962]

My most unputdownable book is "Ancillary Justice". I got so invested in the character that I think I read it in one sitting, maybe two.

[@Scottlp2]

The atmosphere in Rebecca from almost the first page draws you in. Read 3 other books of hers and they are magnetic.

[@subtlefire7256]

I recently re-read In Memoriam by Alice Winn because not only could I not put that book down when I first read it last year, I also haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since. Other books I couldn't put down include Our Wives Under the Sea, Anna Karenina, East of Eden, 1984, and pretty much every Terry Pratchett book I've read so far. Definitely not an exhaustive list, but these are the first ones popping up in my head right now. 😄

[@mahi_in_wonderland]

for me; I think it was The Secret History, Great Expectations, And Narnia these three books were the most amazing experiences I've ever had in my life. also Murakami books do this to me too, and I love them so much :))

[@circleofleaves_zigzag]

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr was the book this year that I just didn't want to put down. It was the kind of book where I wanted to just cancel all my appointments and cancel sleep so I could keep reading that book.

[@caspiansvensson]

If it didn't have such clear chapters with different MC I would not have been able to out down "What you are lloking for is in the library" that I read because you recommended it. I read it in two days and I was sad when it was over, I wanted to enter that library again.

[@zida]

The first book I couldn’t put down was The Outsiders - it was assigned in seventh grade English. I finished the book the first night - I just couldn’t stop reading.

[@miriam2526]

The last book I read until 3am was Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. Dystopian but at the same absolutely poetic !

[@starlasell5698]

❤📚❤️ I've read so many over the years that I couldn't put down. One of the more recent would definitely be Anxious People! 🤗

[@EP-hm5ue]

When I was 10, the books I couldn’t put down were the Nancy Drew series and From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs.Basil E.Frankweiler. As an adult, I’d say Wuthering Heights, The Odyssey, Frankenstein and Dracula.

[@denisefreitas6727]

Carolyn, i totally agree with you about If Beale Street Could Talk and Sense and Sensibility. I'm currently reading Perfume, by Patrick Süskind, and it's hard to put it down!

[@asan1050]

CarolynMarieReads Thanks for posting this video

[@njm2496]

5:26 I once saw sally says that she wrote the main character as characters, like it’s not about men and women and all the relationships that are similar to theirs. And it really shows in the book

[@tarareads23]

I’m reading Foster by Claire Keegan now. By your rec. 😊 It is really good. I can’t put it down. Well, I did to write this comment. lol Thanks for the recs, Carolyn Marie!

[@tarareads23]

I ended up loving it! 5/5 Definitely going to read more of Claire Keegan’s work. 😊

[@toliyeptho3313]

Where the crawdads sing was the one, I finished in one sitting.

[@danijelaostojic6182]

One of my new reads that i couldn't put down was South of the border, west from the sun by Murakami and I've cry my eyes out at the last 20 pages.... And it's such a short book but holds, i think, so much life's truets. Even my husband (who don't read much) read it and was wowed by it and couldn't put it down. He read it in a few hours.

[@erika20099]

Jane Eyre, North and South, Anna Karenina.

[@AllyEmReads]

The last book that I couldn't put down was I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. I started it in the afternoon one day and before I knew it it was almost midnight and I read the last page. I wasn't even aware that I had spent the entire day reading it, I only knew that I needed to know what happened next!

[@poncedeleon759]

The Road by Cormac McCarthy reading it was like being hit by a freight train, over and over

[@rosenthal111]

this month i’ve read northanger abbey and rebecca (very much so in the autumn mood) and i found those books hard to put down. both 5 stars 🩷

[@vintagelace7076]

Salt and Broom was the retelling of Jane Eyre with a twist it was so good. I've never read Jane Eyre and now I want to.

[@worldobserver3515]

The Road by Cormac McCarthy, All the Light We Cannot See, Cutting for Stone. When I was much younger, I remember that I could not put down The Bourne Identity. Recently, Calico by Lee Goldberg was a really fun book to read.

[@beatrizpardal9705]

Book: Call me by your name

[@artfuladjunct8224]

Salem's Lot by Stephen King. Slow in the beginning but by the middle I found myself unable to put it down and obsessed to get back to it.

[@hrududu1690]

There was an excellent adaptation of Foster a couple of years ago: An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) that is really worth checking out. It was nominated for an Oscar

[@DefaultName-nt7tk]

Long Island, it is the continuation of Brooklyn by Toibin. Highly recommend 😊

[@kimbarbeaureads]

I loved Crawdads. Basically I love all foundling child-type stories. The survival aspect fascinates me. Recently I read Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena. It is kinda twisted. Check the triggers if that concerns you. Also, the first two books in the Cape Refuge series by Terri Blackstock

[@kailynevans]

Where the Crawdads Sing was a great book but Delia Owen’s is literally wanted for questioning in relation to a murder in Zambia. So that’s something to keep in mind…

[@TonyChiba]

Philip Roth has this effect on me. American Pastoral all time fave. Same with Zadie Smith, couldn't put NW or Swing Time down.

[@carolineharnish5633]

Books that I couldnt put down: "The Hacienda", by Lisa St. Aubin de Teran, " The Endless Steppe"; by Esther Hautzig, " "Bruchko"; by Bruce Olsen, "The Count of Monte Cristo"; , " The Boys Who Challenged Hitler"; by Philip Hoose, & there are more!

[@hannahh.7770]

I've spent my whole life in the South (Northeast Tennessee) and could NOT handle Where the Crawdads Sing because it seemed like the author was trying to cram as many "Southernisms" as possible into every page. I'm glad so many people love it though.

[@sharmanyoung5591]

Jane eyre,the other side of midnight, little women and to kill a mocking birrd

[@ambarrose]

I would suggest you "Mother Rice" from Rani Manicka. Nobody remembers that book anymore but it's a stunning tale

[@karenlittlefield]

Lark Ascending by Silas House. It’s one simply beautiful story

[@TexasDoug393]

It's so interesting how tastes differ in literature (and pretty much everything else). I read Where the Crawdads Sing and really did not like it for two reasons. I thought it was a bit like Moby Dick with way too much time spent describing, I think in this case, seashells (it's been a while; I may be remembering that wrong), and I thought the main premise was wildly unrealistic. Which is funny because one of my first can't-put-it-down books and probably my all-time favorite involved hobbits and wizards and Orcs. : ) I think my first as a younger kid was Rifles for Watie, but I was absolutely most influenced by Jim Bouton's Ball Four as a 9th grader. I started journaling then and did over 400 pages in high school. I've mentioned before that I became an audiobook fan because of a long commute, but I do try to read as well. I finally currently took on Anna Kerenina recently. That Tolstoy fella can sure strings some words together. : ) The preface or forward kind of spoiled the book, explaining what happens with Anna at te end, but it's still been great so far. Enjoying your channel, thanks!

[@jamesduggan7200]

I remember that feeling, though it doesn't happen often anymore : ( Perhaps most recently it was BE Ellis' American Psycho, which kept drawing me in deeper and deeper until the final two twists. After them I felt I needed to start again because the world I thought I recognised and understood had disappeared - as if by magic. Recently, I read two novels from BookTubers that I liked a lot: Katie Lumsden's The Trouble with Mrs. Montgomery Hurst, about which I was extremely curious to learn how she would bring everything together at the end. Also I recently finished a horror/thriller written by Briana Fenty, which was quite good.

[@Ricky-es9vg]

For me; Crime and Punishment, Bleak House, East of Eden, Heart of Darkness, and Hunger

[@kevin-1w]

The best book I've read in ages is Gathering Evidence by Martin MacInnes -- it gave me such a high I could never sleep after reading it. It's a techno, eco thriller about data mining and conservation, but infused with a whole bunch of unsettling weirdness

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Totally agree about Baldwin, Keegan and Kawakami! I found it really difficult to put down Paul Murray’s novel The Bee Sting. 🐝

[@Bookly1]

Count of Monte Cristo 🙂

[@tdawna]

As you were mentioning “all the twists and turns” of Sense and Sensibility, does that mean you haven’t seen the 1995 Ang Lee film with Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, etc.? If not, you should rectify that immediately. I think you would love it.

[@janebaily3758]

Really wonderful movie.

[@pallavikrishnan8660]

Ooooooh.... I'm early today ❤❤❤

[@leademailly7510]

Carolyn I don’t know the likelihood of you seeing this comment but I am so so excited for you to read Mansfield Park in 2025!!! Unpopular opinion but it is my favorite Austen. Based on your videos, I have an inkling you might absolutely fall in love with it as well. Regardless of your experience with it I am hoping you make a video about it, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts. I hope you are having a wonderful day, thanks for making such great videos :)

[@jordonvh91]

The Road by Cormac McCarthy really sucked me in. Read it in one sitting when i called in sick from work. More recently though would be The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin.

[@mediumjohnsilver]

Some books I could not put down are: _Death Note_ (2003) by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. I stayed up to 4 A.M. finishing the final volume of this graphic novel. _The Big Clock_ (1946) by Kenneth Fearing. The editor of a true crime magazine is tasked with using his staff to solve the murder of a woman, but he had a fling with that woman the night before, and since he was one of the last people to see her alive, he’s aware that most clues he uncovers are going to point to himself. _A World Out of Time_ (1976) by Larry Niven. A 20th Century man awakes in the 22nd century in a new body. Since he cannot fit in to the modern society, he is trained to solo pilot a space ship to seed planets. Instead, he accelerates around the galactic core and returns to the solar system three million years in the future. But Earth is now orbiting Jupiter, and other planets are missing.

[@carenome1]

Eastbound by maylis de kerangal. Translated from the French. The suspense was so thick you could cut it with a knifr.

[@noussa23-03]

I loved your video , i just want to ask you something ; as a person who wants to read clean novels & stories , does Frederick Backman write clean books ? 👉🏻👈🏻🙈 if you don’t mind me asking ❤

[@NeonRadarMusic]

For me, that book was Siddhartha. I read it in one day, which is a big deal for me cause I'm an extremely slow reader.

[@almatoledo1608]

Thank you!

[@karlfarzfamily3194]

I’m typically a very slow reader, but I breezed through The Girl On The Train in under 24 hours.

[@sergorze6453]

Martin Eden I couldn't put down, The Trial (Kafka) too. Just wanted to know how it will pan out

[@katerina9159]

Jane eyre for me!

[@tejasviroy4654]

I couldn't put down Whereabouts, Verity, A bird on my windowsill, and As long as the lemon trees grow.

[@marianacaffaro]

All the "Chocolat" series by Joanne Harris, "The picture maker" Penina keen spinka

[@zinaberger8211]

For me it was eat pray love

[@claudiacoy5518]

Cien años de Soledad, East of Eden, The Chin Kiss King, Homegoing and Pew

[@suelayman1371]

What are your thoughts on Kristin Hannah? I've really enjoyed her books lately.

[@tp06]

I read If Beale Street Could Talk based on a previous video recommendation, and I found the ending to be disappointing. It seems as though Baldwin sort of lost where to go with the plot, so he just ends it suddenly. I was hoping for more.

[@almatoledo1608]

The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon.

[@DianaLong-om3ck]

The Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann....

[@ba-gg6jo]

By accident I picked up 'What a Beautiful Sunday' by Jorge Semprun, a novel about his time in Buchenwald Concentration Camp, weaved in with his experiences before and after this part of his life. He was a resistance fighter, communist, elected to Parliament as a socialist MP, and wrote screenplays for a number for films. It might sound daunting but it is so well written, if you find it in a book fair worth giving a go. The Heart of a Dog is great, another biting satire on life under Stalin, another great book by Bulgakov is 'The Master and Margarita' another satire which includes the Devil and a 6ft black cat.

[@OrdenJust]

Still Life, by Louise Penny.

[@justine4652]

The Woman in White and Dracula

[@joceanna3461]

The Nightingale.

[@barbaralemon4170]

Couldn't put down Death Valley by Melissa Broder!

[@michellewilson-zh2jx]

Has anyone read the splendid ticket?

[@almatoledo1608]

Cadaver Exqusito.