THE ANTI-TBR TAG | BOOKS I WILL NEVER READ

[@agalo3631]

“Lord of the Flies” can be read at any age (after 12 years old). I enjoyed it because the premise of adolescent boys being stranded on an island and what they did to survive was appealing to me. I did have to read it for school, but I immensely enjoyed it because it did show the basic two sides to humanity: law & order and anarchy/chaos, and why people will choose one over the other & how it plays out to some of the characters downfalls. It was shocking to read about what lengths some of the children would go to to survive and how some didn’t take life so seriously since they were no longer in a “civilized society,” aka having structure and social norms.

[@KDbooks]

“And don’t write ‘society’” OOF 😂

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

Interesting answers. Ayn Rand was on my anti-TBR list, too. Liked and subscribed.

[@SophiaClef]

Thank you! I've noticed that she's quite a popular choice :)

[@jeffseng6385]

“ Initially I though my torture would have meaning, but it didn’t”. Very funny!

[@BookishTexan]

Loved your take down of Ayn Rand.

[@SophiaClef]

Thank you!

[@tnan123]

Always enjoy seeing this tag. I think your take on these questions is quite good!

[@SophiaClef]

Thank you! I couldn't go into detail about most of the books I mentioned, but I think that the beauty of this tag is that it's usually short and a little bit controversial.

[@elmariachi2166]

In general, I feel the same about Stephen King except for "Pet Sematary" which is pure magic.

[@lilouloulou1993]

You are missing out on a lot by not reading stephen king. He’s not just about horror, he writes love stories,romance,fantasy,thriller, many more genres than horror Even "It" considered a horror book is just so much more it has psychology,friendships,criticism of society I can’t stress enough how much he is more than horror He also has a very unique style that reminds me of classic authors and a sense of detail I litteraly can’t find in any other author A true litterary genious ,you should give him a chance :)

[@AnniesBookNook]

I hated lord of the flies so i understand lol But I hope you try Jane Austen again someday!

[@onfaerystories]

Wow, I can relate to your pick: Stephen King (I've heard his endings are often disappointing and I couldn't care less about horror), Marquis de Sade (this man was not deep, just a sadist), Mark Twain (I've read Tom Sawyer, didn't care much)... I wanted to read The Phantom of The Opera, but your description turned me off so hard. :0 I really enjoyed The Lord of The Flies, but I wished the ending was more memorable (but I'm still planning on reading it again, probably next year). The dialogues between these children were childish, that's no surprise (they all are between 3 and 8 years old, I think) but I found the themes explored very interesting and disturbing. Some quotes are quite memorable and the symbolism as well. I've heard someone say that she didn't like this idea of children/humans being inherently evil. It annoyed me because some of these children were actually the victims of the most dominating ones, which is something our human history has proved to be true: many humans love exploiting other ones. It has nothing to do with "everyone being equally evil". And I do believe that leaving children without supervision or discipline of any kind could easily turn into something quite ugly and chaotic. This book stayed with me, but I wouldn't say it's among my favourite books (it's a 4 stars for me).

[@SophiaClef]

Thank you for your thoughtful comment! Some people love the writing style of Leroux, though. For some readers it is very poetic, for others it's melodramatic.

[@agalo3631]

“Mansfield Park” is definitely not the novel you want to start when reading Jane Austen. “Northanger Abbey” is great if you like some cheeky gothic retelling with a semi-dramatic, but endearing heroine. “Persuasion” is great if you like a slow-burn romance and the heroine seems timid, but she is a woman of her time and can only say or do so much, but she has a big heart full of compassion. “Emma” is great if you like a cheeky heroine, who is pretty much independent, as in she doesn’t have to marry, she chooses to stay single because that would lead to a better lifestyle for her. “Pride & Prejudice” is a bit too overdone, but for a reason, and I’m sure you know the details.

[@SophiaClef]

Thank you!

[@agalo3631]

@@SophiaClef you’re welcome! And I highly recommend 2009 BBC “Emma” if you want to see it before reading. It’s in 4 1-hour episodes. The acting, costumes, and settings are superb.

[@SophiaClef]

I'll check it out! I usually enjoy BBC miniseries.

[@MayberryBookclub]

Oh my goodness 120 Days of Sodom! I was disappointed with Tom Sawyer's characterization in Huck Finn. Great discussion!

[@SophiaClef]

Thank you!

[@pereiraplaza222]

Charles Dickens and George Eliot are 2 famous authors I am not really interested in reading. Maybe blasphemy, maybe some day I will see I was wrong about them... Stephen King I will probably never read. How do you feel about Milan Kundera, did you read The Unbearable Lightness of Being?

[@SophiaClef]

I have reviewed it in one of my wrap-ups last year. It had a few great passages, so I don't regret reading it, but I didn't love it.

[@pereiraplaza222]

@@SophiaClef I'll look the video up thanks👌

[@chhhhhris]

I think _"master and margarita,"_ also _"the white guard"_ was written from the upper-middle class opposition to the worker-peasant Bolsheviks. I bet they tell the story of how upper-middle class citizens are _somehow_ the victims. Yet the peasants and workers were _always_ the ones hit the hardest during food shortages, and wartime _caused by the upper-classes._

[@SophiaClef]

Have you read them?

[@chhhhhris]

@@SophiaClef No just the reviews! :D Also your criticisms of Ayn Rand are spot on.

[@1siddynickhead]

Oh no! I had high hopes for Alexandria Quartet! Now I'm wondering if it's worth the time lol

[@SophiaClef]

Most people give at least the first 2 books a try, because Justine (the 1st) can de deceiving.

[@1siddynickhead]

@@SophiaClef oh I see! I will check those out then. I've heard the writing is sublime..sigh..hope it actually is. Thanks Sophia! Btw me and a friend are diving into Gogol and using your video as a resource.

[@SophiaClef]

@@1siddynickhead I'm honored 😊

[@devilmann6996]

It hurts me to see Murakami on this list, he's one of my favourite authors. I urge you to give him another chance because The Norwegian Wood is not a good representation of his style, and I myself didn't finish it but loved the rest of his works. The Norwegian Wood falls more into realism than his other stories, there's no magical realism or science fiction.. no psychic cats, skies raining fish, small people or double moons... And this is what makes it dull, because for me the appeal of Murakami is the magical element that he just knows how to perfectly implement, and the confusion that comes with trying to understand his plots. He leaves you with questions, and you can only hope that you have missed the answer earlier.

[@SophiaClef]

Which book would be a better choice for someone new to his works?

[@devilmann6996]

@@SophiaClef I think Kafka on the shore is the best choice, because it contains all: the beautiful writing, the magical element, and the confusing plot.. No wonder it is his most famous work. And then there's Hard-boiled Wonderland and the end of the world, and 1Q84.

[@MrMikkyn]

After listening to this list of anti-tbr fiction, I’m still only interested in Dostoyevsky lol. My favourite non fiction that I have read are Bhagavad Gita, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. This year I enjoyed reading Fourth Political Theory by Alexander Dugin. Although he makes one comment which scares me “the individual must be thrown off the pedestal.”, and this is in reference to defeating the ideology of Western Liberalism. But as a critique on Western Culture I find it very fascinating. I also enjoyed Metaphysics of War by Julius Evola, but I didn’t feel comfortable with his anti semitic comments. I’m currently reading two books: Vol II of Decline of the West by Oswald Spengler which is boring so I took a break from it; The Horse, The Wheel, and Language by David W Anthony which is really interesting. My never to read will be Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. To be honest, after I finish with my two books in non fiction, I want to read Aion by Carl Jung. Or perhaps force myself to read Thus Spake Zarathustra by Nietzsche, which is so damn poetically dense and obscure but I want to try really hard. I did start it a few months ago, but only a few chapter in, I think page 50 or 70. Sometimes I just want to feel something while I’m reading, not not necessarily entertained, but captivated. I want to love the text. And Vol 1 of Oswald Spengler was a nitemare, reading Quran was also very exhausting due to the repetition and stream of consciousness and lack of chronological order but at least there God there and something spiritual, just the addition of a lot of law, and confusing out of context storytelling in non-linear order. But after force-reading Spengler, Quran, Alain de Benoist on Being Pagan, and a bunch of other texts, I just want to be riveted and captivated. Not mentally exhausted, and rushing to finish.

[@MalloryMinerva]

I started reading Lord of The Flies and gave up. I do find its concept to be intriguing but the prose is very dry and boring. I found it so much of a chore that I stopped.

[@SophiaClef]

Then I'm glad I don't have it on my reading list!

[@katrinabrown]

I love watching this tag! I have no interest in reading the lord of the flies either 😂. I read Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain and I have no interest in reading more ad well!

[@AmritabytheBook]

meh, Stephen King is alright but at some point they decided he doesn't need an editor and also he writes weird women characters, so you're fine. LMAO at the library handing you Sodom Your thoughts about Hemingway 💀💀😂 I feel the same way about the Witcher. I dont know why.

[@ofbooksandmen7899]

Oh my goodness, I found you. I found another person in the universe who isn't interested in reading Jane Austen. Is this even real? I honestly try not to mention that when I talk to people, but Pride and Prejudice really didn't leave any impression on me. I love Hemingway, but I understand when people don't like him. I think he's quite deep, actually, but he doesn't write romance and women well.

[@SophiaClef]

Really? Pride and Prejudice isn't the best book ever? Whaaaat? 😀

[@HugoReads]

Nooooo Stephen King :'(

[@SophiaClef]

Maybe your videos will inspire me to give him a chance. You never know...