I Can’t Believe These Books Were Published || Worst Books of 2024

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

What are the worst books you've read in 2024?

[@Lilabeanx]

I was excited for The Bell Jar as I've heard it was good representation for mental illness... but the racism... the fatphobia... the homophobia ☹ I know things were different in the 50-60s but knowing that it's also supposed to be semi-autobiographical made me not want to read anything else by Sylvia Plath.🤷‍♀

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I've heard her poetry was good but I can't see myself reading anything else by her...

[@febefrombelgium5281]

"The Bridget Jones Diary" by Helen Fielding. Fatphobic, poorly written, and just boring!

[@zahraasalam3068]

I couldn’t stand Howls Moving Castle. I read it in preparation for the movie and the character interactions were strangely angry and bored to the point of being annoying. The writing flip-flopped between good and bad. The only redeeming thing about it was the magic system, and it was why I didn’t dnf it.

[@ldillaway89]

Pod. I read it becasue it was shortlisted for last year’s women’s prize and I truly don’t understand why. It was so bad. It’s about anthropomorphized dolphins and is supposed to thematically be about climate change, but it is so gross and has so much r*pe for literally no reason

[@caseyc2497]

THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR!!! SALTY EMILY HAS RISEN

[@ReemYousif-y6c]

I love how you call out misogyny and sexism in literature.

[@fragility20]

LOL @ "Allegedly... don't sue me, I have 4 mouths to feed"... *cats pop up on screen*... OMG, dead.... Emily you are so funny, girl.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

LOL I was waiting for someone to comment on that! Listen, I can’t get sued. I need money so I can feed them. If they get too hungry I'm 💀

[@kbird6208]

I was only listening so I had to go back and find that part and rerun it 10x to see the cat photos 😂

[@febefrombelgium5281]

It's good that you highlight problematic elements in books. Personally, I watch your videos not only for my entertainment, or for book recommendations, but also because I appreciate your opinion and appreciate that you draw my attention to problematic parts. It motivates me to read more critically myself. I have read the 2 books you highlight in this video myself and their problematic parts did not strike me at the time. Or at least not to the extent that I still remember it now. Your review allows me to revise my opinion. Happy holidays in advance! 🎄✨

[@BookishTexan]

“Who is she paying? Because her books are shizz.” 😂😂😂

[@michellecgb]

I love a Freida McFadden hater cause I’m sick of lukewarm takes on her, “her books are popcorn fun thrillers, turn your brain off kind of books” NO, I disagree, they’re bad books. I gave her 3 changes, 3 strikes.

[@blythea35]

I read The Boyfriend this year because I heard people raving about the author. It was bad, so bad. Toxic relationships that made no sense and poor writing. Never again.

[@tillthestarsevaporate]

Immense respect for your review of The Bell Jar

[@wargodest]

YESSS MY FAVORITE YEARLY EMILY VIDEO 🔥🔥🔥 I appreciate sm how you read popular stuff (because it's a part of being a book tuber) but then you're so brutally honest and critical about it. I always feel like booktubers only touch on the surface level with some books, but you ALWAYS point out misogyny and problematic things (which always bother me when I read). It's concerning how many popular books tout problematic love interests as sexy and all that. Basically, I appreciate how genuine and critical you are and it's so refreshing❤

[@badfaith4u]

Thank you so much for calling out problematic things in books. It is very important to know about these issues. I love your rants.

[@elsielinstrom]

I love your critiques!!! This is THE video of the year 😂😄😄

[@iamthatxx]

Thanks for putting my discomfort and dissatisfaction on Annie Bot. The social commentary was present but only faintly. It was definitely not explored enough especially after torturing us with all the spicy scenes.

[@JessOwens]

10000% agree on Magical Overthinking, it is a memoir for sure. What a disappointment. She just used popular psychology terms and didn’t go any deeper. What a waste

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Apparently a few of these essays were already on her website? It really felt like she just needed to publish something :/

[@llaiyaz]

My worsts this year were: The painted man (same issues like you had) Tigana (too long, too sexist, plot makes no sense, characters are flat and dumb) Orbital (no plot, flat characters, "deep thoughts TM", all vibes) A little life (so problematic, unbelievable)

[@labelle1301]

A little life was just trauma porn and the author is extremely problematic

[@michaelravvennous4183]

Confession: I judge people who read and gush about Sarah J. Maas books. If I watch a you tuber with her books on their shelves I take what they say with a grain of salt.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I don’t understand why people say you can’t judge people based on what they like because we all do lol Your taste doesn’t exist in vacuum. It means something. I’ve definitely judged people in real life that told me they liked Murakami 😂

[@booksbymeganpdf]

I like Sarah J Maas' books but I also recognise that they are trash however I don't think judging people based on what they read is a bad thing. I definitely judge people obsessed with Colleen Hoover and ditto Murakami (teenage me read ALL his books but it was the only japanese fiction in translation then and now I wonder why☠️)

[@TildaHansson-u9w]

same for me. I judge alot about mulitple authors I find either bad or problematic or alot of times both.

[@goatbleats]

Does hate-reading them count? I despise her writing style but my friend makes me read them, so I've learned to love hating hem.

[@renee_3364]

Sipping my tea while Emily spills hers 🫖

[@Neverforgetnarwhal]

Emily you really are one of the only booktubers we have with some common sense and critical thinking skills!

[@natalieontheroad]

For real. I also really love @abookolive. She is an actual book reviewer and is smart as a whip. I wish we had more people like her and Emily.

[@womenwotreads]

well you sent me down several rabbit holes ; looking up people on good reads who loved the books and looking at their profiles to see what else they could possible like to read. [does any one else do that or is it just me who's that sad].Thankfully, none of my goodreads friends particularly liked any of these books except one! The Bell Jar . So many words like beautiful, moving inspiring with no But , followed by at least a mention of the racism etc I was shocked but happy to tell you my eldest non binary child , while saying it was well written etc, the extreme racism took them out of the story and they could enjoy it. They describe themself as "too woke" to which I countered you can't be too woke -it's what everyone should aspire to be . I'm so proud! 😂🥰

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I've definitely checked people's account on Goodreads after they leave rude comments. They're favorite books absolutely make sense... and they only follow male authors 😂

[@kaktuskukkarossa]

Oh wow, my mouth dropped open several times during the explanation for the first book 😅😂

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

There was so much more! The first girl that wanted to marry him... her sister was now in their father's bed because their mom died. Just a random incest moment in the book. The second girl who wanted to marry him... her father was important and she had access to a library but all she wanted is to marry him and have babies... & so much more 🙄

[@kaktuskukkarossa]

@BookswithEmilyFox wtf 😳 i have no idea what else to say to that

[@ollieb.9731]

The Bell Jar was one of my worst books of the year too. It's currently sitting in my unhaul pile.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Same!! Brutal after it was a 5 star prediction on my shelf for 5+ years...

[@emilyk6510]

I read it as an incredibly depressed teenager 20 years ago so I don’t remember many specifics other then it made me even more depressed. Lol

[@kristi4439]

Peter V. Brett is a terrible writer. Normally I can get by some sexist things in books, but his remarks are just ranpant throughout it blew my mind when I tried reading a few of his books.

[@vcarr938]

The Warded Man (name here in the US) i put down within the first 100 pages cause it was so gross!!!

[@tanja9364]

I read The Warded Man (UK here), hated it (for all the reasons you mention, plus some!) but for some reason carried on with subsequent books! Oh gawd, I am permanently in a state of anger and am severely scarred! We’ve read them so you don’t have to - be warned!

[@imperfected6513]

My worst books of the year were The Tyranny of Faith (Empire of the Wolf 2), An Academy for Liars and The Songbird and the Heart of Stone (Crowns of Nyaxia 3). My main complaint after the problematic stuff (for which I appreciate you so much, bringing up in your reviews!!) is always when the world or the plot doesn't make sense. Bonus points if the ending makes it fall apart, which happened in all 3 of those. If nothing makes sense it's not a story! Just words on a page!

[@abendstern782]

Some of my worst books were classics that did not age well, and I read a lot in my life so no excuse here, the two are: - Huckleberry Finn - Robinson Crusoe Both were so racist I could not stand it. And I even found Tom Sawyer actually ok (minus the animal killings). And in Robinson Crusoe every Person living in africa was a kannibal, like really? And don't get me started about friday, he just does not deserve him. The only good thing about the books is, that we get nearly no sexism because no woman are involved.

[@maudereads]

I had the ministry of time on my end of 2024 reading list - thank you so much for deinfluencing me from spending time on it! Ill find a better sci-fi book somewhere for the next few days 😊 Annie-Bot was on the list too as a "maybe" since it was on the goodreads best sci-fi books list, but this year has been so poor in that genre... guess I'll have to tackle my existing physical TBR this winter instead!

[@Iggystar71]

My worst book was A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder which was hugely popular. The Girl..her actions were implausible and would get her murdered before page 50. The reveal…I laughed so hard. I can’t believe the love it got.

[@ZS-dr7bi]

Thanking you for going through the pain of experiencing such books and then warning me off. I've taken two books off my tbr just now 😅

[@CluelessWonder]

If you think The Housemaid was bad, the sequel (The Housemaid’s Secret) is even worse. It was a 1 star read that I wanted to dnf several times, but pushed through since it won the Goodreads mystery/thriller award. I need to trust my own feelings, even if thousands of people have a different opinion. I won’t read any of her other books since I hated it so much. Come Closer is another one star that I pushed through since it was so short. I finished it since I was over 50% and I could finish in a couple hours. I need to learn to drop books I don’t like no matter how much I have read and even if I can finish it in a short amount of time.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I really can’t imagine how much worse it could’ve gotten in book 2, but I still can’t believe her books are winning awards 💀

[@booksbymeganpdf]

Yes for your response to the backlash for your comments about the Bell Jar because I read Death on The Nile by Agatha Christie and it was HORRIBLY racist but people overlooked this and were actually offended because "it was normal to be racist back then", like ??? Ok but that doesn't mean we should continue to consume and support those views?

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I hate these excuses (that's why I gave a shoutout to Benjamin Lay en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Lay). Even if it was more normalized back then, it doesn't mean it was ever okay, and it certainly doesn't mean you aren't allowed to call it out now!

[@slayra]

So... basically we ban the book? Look I have no problem with pointing out that a certain book is problematic and for which reasons but I also believe that YES, the time it was written does matter. And I'd never judge people bc they still like it. You can like a problematic piece of literature and still not be racist/sexist/fatphobic, etc. Like it or not these books are part of our history and culture and they should never be erased

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Nobody is talking about banning books? But it is your responsibility to read critically. The anti intellectualism movement in the book community is scary. The amount of comments I get from people saying I’m being too political in my videos and that I should let them read books based on vibes is just… 🤮

[@booksbymeganpdf]

@@slayra No, they don't need to be banned. People should just be honest about a books content so that others can make a personal choice whether they want to consume something racist/homophobic etc based on their own judgement of the context and whether the good outweighs the less good. I think we should just be careful of putting authors or books on a pedastal in today's time if their books contain offensive language (as Emily mentioned about the Bell Jar being touted as one of the top feminist books - perhaps at the time but as times and attitudes shift, this wouldnt meet the same standard nowl

[@goatbleats]

@@BookswithEmilyFox Truly. Reading, of all things, should be an activity that encourages critical thinking. The amount of people who say that you shouldn't be critical of a book because "just let people enjoy things" is wild to me. I love how vocal you are about calling out Murakami's sexism. Every time I see someone (mostly women!) on booktube praising him to the moon, I'm shocked by how they were apparently able to overlook the extremely prevalent sexism. It's not like he's subtle about it lol.

[@avahsnart99]

I’m so glad you didn’t like Annie Bot either, I felt like I was going crazy seeing everyone gushing about it! It was just so straightforward and simple, didn’t really do anything surprising or unexpected with the concept, I had to DNF at 65% because I decided no matter what the ending was, it wouldn’t redeem how boring it was. Great video!

[@Liriodelagua]

This was fun. And I agree with the other commenter from Belgium below (or above or wherever). I haven't had a bad read in a couple of years now, mostly thanks to you people here on booktube. Anyways, I hope your year ends well, Emily.

[@lissavanhouten6628]

I quit reading The Painted Man series because of the Grape scene. It was horrible. I know it happens in real life, but I'm tired of that stuff and I don't want to read it anymore.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

That’s how I feel about it in movies and TV shows. Sure it might be realistic, sure they might make a social commentary with it, but it doesn’t mean that I want to see a graphic scene ever again. It always feel gratuitous anyway.

[@christinedugas3089]

I haven't read Annie Bot, but if you ever want to give another book about a sexbot a try, I loved The Hierarchies by Ros Anderson. I thought it had enough commentary on society without being heavy-handed about it. A book with even more commentary on how society would impact artificial people, not involving sexbots this time, is The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis, which is the start of an alternate history trilogy. And your collection of winter sweaters is amazing!

[@becklebooks]

The Painted Man continues to be a book I carry a visceral hatred for and I think it's also because it had SO MUCH potential with the demon apocalypse setting. AAAAAAAAAAAH. Also this year I tried When the Moon Hatched and it was the most god-awful book I have ever picked up. I rage-quit at 60% just because I couldn't do it anymore. There was no plot, the main female character was angry 'edgy' and the male love interest was aloof and didn't communicate at all. Then one night the protagonist did a mental 180 and just went 'yes we could bone now I am all for it' like WHY, WHAT, NO. I'm glad it was a library book because I returned it with rage and horror LOL.

[@RyeMiArt]

My worst ones were How to become a dark lord and die trying, dnfed after an hour and should've sooner. A fate inked in blood - finished but at what cost. Last 30 pages made me so frustrated I never want to read anything else by the author.

[@theactingfantasy]

I DNF’d Dark Lord after 8 pages and I should’ve put it down after 2 🥴

[@dazzling9982]

“I know that she’s very depressed and some people might have found that relatable” 🗣🗣

[@_daniela_s]

One of my worst books of the year that I actually finished was Masters of Death by Olivie Blake. Just weird, the plot made no sense... Another book that I was 95% sure I wanted to throw away unread was Mists of Avalon, mainly because of the author. I read like 22 pages to be sure and yep, no need for me to read that, one unread book less on my shelf 😅

[@kiute.c]

Ooh worst books. Where do I start? 😂 When the Moon Hatched, Lady Macbeth, Powerless (Lauren Roberts), A Fate Inked in Blood, Iron Flame…I need to read less romantasy next year 🙃

[@dazzling9982]

I want a full video of you reading/reacting to self-published books please 😂😂😂

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I feel like it’d be too mean 😂 Once they’re picked up by publishers it feels like fair game

[@roserobb]

Annie Bot sounds like Ex Machina but much less satisfying...

[@readknitwithcheryl]

Yeah, I don't get the love of Freida McFadden books, either. I DNF'd The Housemaid and I agree, it was very badly written. I wanted to read The Ministry of Time but now that you didn't like it and I've seen other booktubers who didn't like it, I'm not sure if I should. Love your dramatic end-of-the-year videos! Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays Emily!

[@maryn3606]

I'm glad I stumbled upon your channel before this years ends !! . Please do a review on Lights out by navessa Allen

[@stellamartin9381]

I agree with you totally with the Ministry of Time, it freaked me out that the author chose a REAL person to bring back and have a romance with, it left me feeling a bit ick to tell you the truth. Also agree with you on the Bell Jar and The Murder at the End of the World, Stuart's books do seem to be becoming less and less enjoyable. Annie Bot yes I do agree. The abuse was awful and I felt that the author should have addressed if Annie (not being human) it made a difference. What worried me most were the comments about how the abuser had a redemption arc. NO HE DIDN'T, what are these people's relationships like. I wanted Annie at the very least to leave him locked in somewhere, or stayed and gave him back some of his own medicine. However, I was glad I had read that one at least it made me think about things concerning AI and our responses to human like machines. I would like to read other books that address this subject. Thanks for this Emily have read some great books this year that you have recommended.

[@bookmarcreads]

Emily salty rants! Let’s go! 🍿📚🔥

[@mint-pumpkins]

I really liked Ministry of Time because I enjoyed the characters/dynamics and how ridiculous the concept was lmao, it’s wild to write a romance about a man who actually existed haha, I in no capacity agree with it winning the sci fi category for Goodreads awards though that just doesn’t make any sense to me, I enjoyed it as more a general fiction book that was kinda goofy than anything else.

[@noct505]

I also did not understand the hype for Annie Bot but if you found some of the themes at all interesting and just wanted it to be better then I'd highly recommend Hierarchies by Ros Anderson

[@andrewannotates]

If 👏 your 👏 feminism 👏 doesn’t 👏 include 👏 women 👏 of 👏 color 👏 what’s 👏 the 👏 point 👏!!!!!!!

[@charityyoder9028]

My worst: The list by yomi adegoke The godfather Powerless by Lauren Robert Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams Flawless by Elsie silver (and honestly that entire series was hit or miss, mostly miss).

[@abbywonder3825]

If you do a vlog where you read our worst books: WHAT LIES BEYOND THE VEIL. Will gross you out and piss you off. It was terrible

[@Kafia_]

When i was in my preteens i always saw the painted man in the fantasy section and it looked like a long fantasy series for adults I always wanted to read it so so so glad i never got around to it 😭

[@zachreads]

We don't get enough mean Emily anymore (despite what some commenter's say), It was more fun when you could swear more lol.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

It's nice to give up on books I'm not enjoying quickly but it does make for less interesting end of the year videos lol

[@dissidentfairy4264]

I only read two books out of your hate list. The Housemaid and the Bell Jar. It's been so many years since I read the Sylvia Plath book, but I think I liked it, if I remember right. I might feel different about it if I read it today, I don't know. The Housemaid was okay at times but there were a lot of things I didn't like about the book too. I found it to be underwhelming considering all the hype.

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

I’ve yet to read a Frieda McFadden book lol. I’ve heard not great things. But then other people LOVE her

[@kriseaf]

_I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons_ by Peter S Beagel was AWFUL. It reads like it was written in the 80s but it came out this May! The story meanders like he forgot what he wrote the previous chapter until he suddenly remembers, the MC's dad used to hit him and no one even comments, it doesn't pass the Bechdel test, our soft-good-boy MC is a dragon hunter that actually DOES hunt and kill dragons--it's not slight of hand and we're meant to feel bad for him, and it's literally just a children's book marketed to adults for some insane reason ("cozy fantasy" is the reason, it's a terrible reason). My blood boils every time I think about this book and it BAFFLES me that a handful of people whose tastes I trusted LIKED this.

[@dailycarolina.]

Suggestion for next year's worst book video is to wear black clothes because bad books don't deserve happy colors hahahha

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I usually do! I was wondering if people would think me less of a b word if I didn’t. Doing it for science 😂

[@jasrianna]

Two words: Fourth. Wing. Z-list Sarah J.Mass clone with some of the worst dialogue I've ever had the misfortune to read, repetitive plotlines, dull plank of wood characters who appear for a scene or two only to be killed off as if there's even a fraction of emotional weight to it, and worst of all so-called representation of EDS which is surface level at best and takes little account of the significant impairments which could have been used as a source of character growth, but that would require actual writing talent. Every good idea is 'borrowed' from a superior author. I have no idea why this is popular other than the cover making for good Insta/Tiktok shots and you seem (keyword: *seem*) smarter reading this than you do fanfic fantasy smut which is all anyone really seems to want out of the series. I am not wasting time on the second book, but from what I've heard/watched it's even worse, with the added benefit of the always wonderful 'the other woman is a b*tch ' trope. Lovely.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I particularly liked the fact that she overhears important info twice while she's up a tree... Also the horny dragons!

[@Katertot8895]

If you think Fourth Wing is bad, the sequel, Iron Flame, makes Fourth Wing seem like the Mona Lisa in comparison. It's so badly paced and so boring and yet still manages to be confusing and predictable at the same time. I heard that the imprint or publishing house the author is at wanted to try their hand at romantasy and she volunteered, even though she's never done it before, which I guess, good for her for trying something new? But it's SO bad and so predictable that she should probably just stop.

[@roxanatalos4429]

I read the Housemaid in romanian, now you made me curious to see how bad it is in English🤣 I also wasn’t impressed by the plot but the writing wasn’t that bad, but translated books do feel different

[@kwiyomi2024]

There's something about Freida McFadden's books that I dont wanna read . And she keeps releasing books that made me think it's mainly for money.

[@barbaralemon4170]

Worst book is POD by Laline Paull. It's all about dolphins raping each other. I thought this award winning novel was so awful that I started laughing. Some book reviewers felt likewise and their reviews were hysterically funny as they made dolphin noises etc.

[@zachreads]

Ones I agree on! -Annie Bot (garbage gross story, that didn't even make sense on a basic technical level). -Dys of Abandonment (not the worst but unpleasant with little value). -The Grace of Kings (I read the entire thing, long boring and should have read a Chinese history book)

[@teneshaanderson4761]

Loved Annie bot and ministry of time. A little harsh

[@FormerBiped]

That first book…I'm wondering if the author is a fan of John Norman (Gor series). The women look like Boris Vallejo creations and want to be dominated by men, though it takes a couple hundred pages for her to find her true submissive self.…I read one of those 40-some years ago. One was more than enough.

[@MichiruEll]

My worst book of 2024 was Crying in H mart. It's a memoire about someone dealing with grief after her mother dies. It is focused on a lot of food talk. But mostly, the mother was absolutely horrible, and it goes completely uninterrogated. The book is the embodiment of the phrase "but she's your mother". I guess one could write an excellent essay comparing this book to the book "I'm glad my mom died".

[@womenwotreads]

ery good point , I felt the same

[@theactingfantasy]

I liked The Ministry of Time! I hhhhhhate romance. To me, this was not a romance book. It’s more literary fiction or speculative fiction. I enjoyed the lyrical writing; there were quite a few sentences that I paused and reflected on. I enjoyed seeing these people from the past adapt to our present; they came from different time periods but developed close bonds and I liked seeing them develop personalities and what little things we don’t think twice about that were actually a big deal for them. I liked the themes and how they were introduced and expanded on throughout the book. I will say that the book lost points for me at the end. It was a little bit cartoony and unrealistic. I expect sci-fi to be a bit fantastical, but with good logic that sounds like it could be plausible. The ending kind of got out of hand. Like I said, I don’t read romance books, and I fully agree that this isn’t really a romance. It’s more of an exploration of the “man out of time” thing with a romance subplot.

[@Katertot8895]

My worst/most disappointing books of 2024 were: 1. Conclave (I loved it until the ending which was so stupid and ruined the book), 2. The Bone Season (Very poorly explained magical world and system), 3. Rainbow Valley (It's part of the Anne of Green Gables series and Anne isn't even in it so yeah I pretty much hated it), and 4. The Three Body Problem (Honestly the science part was cool but why are sci fi authors so bad at writing compelling plots and dialogue). I make shelves on my Goodreads with my favorites and least favorites of the year and I'm glad to say I have a lot more favorites than least favorites, but it's still disappointing when a book you were excited about ends up being a piece of garbage.

[@SixthSenseSynesthete]

The Housemaid wasn't terrible but it was also just extremely predictable and not a standout in any way within the genre. I think it's popular because it's easy to read and therefore very accessible to a wide audience. But no, definitely does not deserve the hype it gets!

[@juditkovacse]

One of the worst (and most sexist) things I've read this year was the duology by Claudia Piñeiro. The marketing of Time of the Flies does not mention that it is a sequel to Yours, because that book is so poorly written and sexist. But the second book, written many-many years later, is just as bad. I am mentioning this here, because I know you have Elena Knows, because it was hyped. That book is great. And I loved it as well. But this duology was horrible. Very sexist, and mean, no character development, and just so poorly written, and insufficiency edited. On the non-fiction front Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker was one of the worst nonfiction books I've read this year. And looking into it I saw that it is not even scientifically correct.

[@dissidentfairy4264]

I feel that most of the books I read in 2024 were mediocre at best, and hard to finish at worst.

[@sofsofsof9338]

I removed the bell jar from my tbr not reading that

[@yaz_B24]

Worst books I read this year: The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore, Fourth Wing, Starling House, The Unfortunate Side Effects of Hearbreak and Magic, Evocation, A novel love story.

[@MarcelleLeiturasPreguicosas]

SOMEBODY HAS TO STOP ASHLEY POSTON, HER BOOKS ALWAYS HAVE A GOOD PREMISE THEN HER WRITING AND CHOICES RUIN EVERYTHING, I WISH SHE NEVER WRITES ANOTHER BOOK EVER AGAIN. and people who like her books must have never seen the kale house or that movie with renee witherspoon and mark ruffallo, ASHLEY POSTON IS JUST WATCHING MOVIES AND WRITING BAD FANFIC BASED ON THE MOVIES

[@booklover6963]

My worst book of 2024 was Bear by Julia Phillips. I wish you would read it and review it.

[@dreamwalker1919]

I hated The Troop by Nick Cutter, I feel like he was trying too hard to be Stephen King. I can clearly see the influence but King does it way better.

[@vickihakansson1375]

I enjoyed never lie haven't read the housemaid the other two books I read by Frieda McFadden I also liked.

[@sparklyunicorn5431]

You’re the best Emily!!!

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

❤️

[@lissavanhouten6628]

I got upset with Tigana because of what happens with major female character. Guy Gavriel Kaye doesn't portray it this way but it was like she was in a Stockholm Syndrome situation by a captor who did horrible stuff.

[@edwardsjarje]

The Painted Man is vile. Not interested in the author either. I remember my teacher gushing about The Bell Jar and me just not getting the reason for it.

[@slayra]

I've read a few bad ones, but the one that pissed me off more.... probably Verity by Colleen Hoover. It was sooo bad, so bad. 😢 Oh and the Freidda McFadden ones. I just listened because they require 0 braincells

[@arriatta_d681]

The ministry of time was absolutely terrible. The romance was actually disgusting is you look into it…the ending did not make send at all and the science is a joke

[@ДарьяЧернышева-н4х]

I mean... incidents around the house audio was a teenager voicing a small child, I don't know what options were there %)

[@mwk2216]

Love your commentary about The Bell Jar. Applause.

[@LALALALALALDJDNCJC]

The painted man was absolutely ridiculous, to keep it short

[@nat6098]

I didn't read any horrible books because I dnf a kot of books within the forst 50 pages, but i was disappointed a couple of times. My most disappointing book was Long Live Evil because it's such a good premise ruined by an awful main character. I can't take the world seriously when the main character acts like an idiot. I didn't read enough to really pinpont why I didn't like the mc all i know is she irritated me from the start. Superior: A Return to Race Science had one major issue that dropped it down to a 1 star for me. It's all about minorities and how race science dehumanizes them yet the book uses the word "eskimo" which is considered a slur. I don't expect the average person to know that but I would like to think that a person writing about racism would make sure not to use any slurs. It makes me wonder about how well the rest of the book was researched.

[@natalieontheroad]

Ugh. Amanda Montell is insufferable. Wordslut had an interesting point or two but I felt she was really reaching with some things. I read Cultish and thought it had a good premise but it didn't live up to its potential- so little actual research. I used to listen to the "Sounds Like a Cult" podcast but the episodes went downhill quickly- zero research, all judgement, talking about things she and the then co-host knew nothing about and then coming after people in the comments and reviews for saying so. There was all sorts of crazy drama. Nope. She's not getting any more of my money.

[@zachreads]

"Where I talk trash about your favorite books and you resent me for it"… My turn! 🔥😈🔥! -One Dark Window. (Trash characters, surprised you weren't mad that the only card with a woman only had the power to make ppl prettier) -Song of Achilles. (Butchered the myth (which I don't like Achilles in the first place), and making him gay and monogamous to cover up that in the real story he graped men and women is dishonest and super gross to me). -How to Sell a haunted house and Horrorstör. (I don't think he's funny, and his characters are miserable jerks). -What Moves the dead. (The best on the list 2☆! Adding a bunch of stupid jokes and pointless drama to a mid 20 minute E.A. Poe story). Don't take this too seriously, just having fun going extra hard).

[@alysia_nevermore5860]

God of fury by Rina Kent! The Invisible life of addie larue Fourth Wing! I know all three of them are very popular but I just didn’t like them! They were snooze fest for me.

[@Uphere-do9zh]

Ministry of Time was sooo disappointing. I tried the audiobook, and even on 1.25 speed, there were enormous, seconds-long pauses between sentences. So strange and added to the overall boring gestalt.

[@avsambart]

Yeah I also wish she had clocked him off at the end of Annie-Bot.

[@TurningPagesWithAnne]

The Housemaid was my worst book! I am honestly shocked that it received that hype 😂

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I really didn't get it! There are books I've enjoyed that I'd consider "popcorn reads" so that's what I expected... it was so much worse than I could have imagined XD

[@TurningPagesWithAnne]

I also like that I am not the only one being thrown off when brands are being mentioned in books !! It lowers the writing quality almost immediately for me!

[@labelle1301]

15:00 MMMMM SPILL SPILL SPILLLLLL TRAKAAAAAAA

[@ohoodmohammed1539]

I love how you point out problematic points in books i usually hate those but can't articulate it like you do or they would go over my head. I would be like i don't know why i hated that

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I always hesitate before posting my worst books of the year, because I feel like my English isn’t good enough to articulate my thoughts so I appreciate it 😂❤️

[@womenwotreads]

@@BookswithEmilyFox are you mad? Your English is amazing . I couldn't think of speaking so fast and so eloquently in another language

[@kissofarose100]

the worst writing goes to the paper princess

[@Potato_Disco]

YES FRIEDAs writing is soooo bad. It’s like a 5th grader wrote it. I read Never Lie and I literally couldn’t almost get through it. Idk how people rave about her books. Language so simplistic my 12 year old niece could wrote better!😂

[@andreeablaj3414]

The worst book: Lighthousekeeping, by Jeanette Winterson. Short, but a waste of time nontheless.

[@gordontheobald]

Yeah The Warded/Painted Man. Those were some decisions alright.

[@MercurialAU]

An author advertising themselves as a physician specialising in brain injury sounds like a Con.

[@Libraryoferikaruss]

I picked up The Windup Girl because it was on best scifi books of all time lists. It was just continuous grape scenes. Why do people enjoy this shiz?

[@SuperStrangSshadow]

No spoilers. 😑

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

You can't described how problematic a book is without spoilers. I usually avoid it but not in this video.

[@SuperStrangSshadow]

@BookswithEmilyFox I get that but hoping for a warning on the screen or something next time. Not mad just annoyed. 🤭Merry Christmas. It seems like you had a better reading year than me.

[@joyceredman2136]

Do not waste your time reading Albert Camus's The Stranger because there are better classics to read than this book.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Unfortunately, I had to read it three times in school (in French!) and I hated it the first time 😂

[@rafd3593]

I started watching this vlog but then decided that hearing about rotten books was a waste of time. I’ll stick to the best book vlogs.

[@chellyfishing]

About the Bell Jar: there have been a few times I’ve picked up or intended to pick up a book that got raves on booktube and then it turns out there’s a ton of unexamined fatphobia or ableism or something that NOBODY mentioned! It does certainly make me look at people differently when that kind of thing happens. And it’s like, okay, maybe you forgot, but at the time you read the book it clearly didn’t bother you? It’s really disappointing.