If you’re anything like me, you probably read a lot of books and forget a lot about them as well after reading them (also see: being ADHD)
Is there one specific book whose plot, characters, setting you just can’t get out of your mind and still think about today even when in the midst of another book?
For me, it’s 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. I think due to the sheer volume of this book (clocked in over 1000 pages) I was so invested in Tengo and Aomame’s stories that it’s quite impossible to forget them quickly. This is also why I prefer long novels, because they stick around in my memory for longer!
So what book is still stuck with you?
Annihilation was an incredible read. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin really was intellectually meaty and great to get through. Ray Bradbury’s “The Martian Chronicles” was an absolute delight. All of these have stuck with me after reading 40 books this year.
Jeff VanderMeer is a trip! If you want more weird shit I’d highly recommend Kameron Hurley’s The Stars are Legion or China Mieville’s Perdido Street Station.
Perdido Street Station is probably my favorite fantasy book, it’s a tossup between it and The Scar.
I loved Hurley’s The Light Brigade.
I loved The Lathe of Heaven! Haven’t met many people who have read it.
I read it for my senior thesis in highschool! I’d love to reread it now that I’m an adult…
I actually found the Annihilation movie better than the book - though they bare little resemblance.
I think they were each perfectly suited to the type of media they were presented as. There’s no way the movie could have included her reading all the diaries, but in the book it was a chilling insight into the minds of those who came before and what they discovered. And the book couldn’t have presented the beautiful scene at the end of the movie with the mirroring.
I read The Martian Chronicles earlier this year and I just think it is incredible. It has stayed with me long after reading. Especially as we continue to see the legacies, and active unfolding, violent colonisation.
Annihilation is one of my favorite books. The way I sucks you into the weird, mysterious world is amazing. I didn’t like the other two in the trilogy quite as much but still enjoyed them. Apparently he is working on a fourth book! I also loved Borne, which has a completely different vibe. The audiobook was great because of the voice for Borne.
I ended up not finishing the Martian chronicles for whatever reason, but I agree they’re a delight. It’s funny to read about old ideas of space travel, like that a spaceship would land somewhere and have no idea what was there (and not predicting that we’d have the whole planet mapped by probes long before anyone lands.) It makes sense though, that’s what it was like for the old explorers. I’m reading books about polar expedition from the 1800s and they used to think there was was a nice, moderate climate sea over the North Pole if they just got past the ring of ice around it. And didn’t find out differently until someone went there.
I added The Lathe of Heaven to my list
That’s funny. The voice of Borne was one of the only things I did not like. Still, really cool. Gonna read Annihilation once it’s available at the library.
Someone sold me on Borne by saying “there’s a giant, flying bear and he does not care to explain how or why he can fly.”
Absolutely love Annihilation - but couldn’t get through Authority. I’ll have to give it another shot!
I just finished Annihilation, and came here to post the same! It’s also been an Ursula heavy year for me - Tehanu has lingered with me for months.
I read Annihilation last year. It was unlike anything I had previously read. It had a few problems but I really liked it! It stuck with me. Authority was harder to get through but continued the story decently. I did not have the capacity for Acceptance at the time. I want to give it another go in future and read all three. I did read “Borne” by Vandermeer this year and again it was a new experience lol. Stepping into his worlds takes some fortitude and a suspension of disbelief! You will absolutely have to “just go with it” lmao and trust you will get to the end with no idea how. 😆
How does it compare to the movie? I’ve seen the movie but might would read the books if they’re better and give more context and details
The last time I read Martian Chronicles was in high school (I’m 41 now) and there are still certain stories that have stuck with me. Truly amazing book.
Wow lol I just put up a comment before even scrolling through the thread, I went through the trilogy in a couple weeks and loved it! What did you think of Authority, if you’ve read it? It was absolutely my favorite book of the series, similar in terms of tone but completely different in regards to the setting, the plot, etc.
I read Annihilation for my book club a few months ago - it was so unlike anything I would normally read (generally more into the destructive love triangles of inter-war aristocrats and Bloomsbury square intellectuals than sci-fi cosmic horror), but I thought it was a great read.
The image of the dolphin with a human eye still makes my skin crawl.
Yessss read Annihilation and The Martian Chronicles this year and loved them both. I hardly ever read a book twice so I don’t buy them, but when I finished listening to The Martian Chronicles I immediately bought myself a hard copy because I wanted to dive into the stories again.