“The Road” by Cormac McCarthy held me captive, staying up all night immersed in its pages, awakening the next morning with a lingering sense of melancholy. Stephen King’s works, especially “The Shining,” share that unique ability to make you eagerly anticipate the next page, constantly wondering what twist awaits.
Sleep comes first!
Shogun. I was in high school and got basically no sleep until I finished it. Whew!
It happened to me last week.
I decided to give a chance to a book genre that I don’t usually read (romance) and I started reading Normal People by Sally Rooney.
It did not captivate me from the start. The first day I didn’t stay up longer than usual. But the second day, when I had passed the first fifty pages, I found it hard to put it down because I wanted to know what happened next.
I stayed up until pretty late that night even though I had to get up early to study before going to university.
It took me a year before I could break through the first few chapter cause of the whole damn no quotations marks the author got going, but after I got over that, it took me only two seatings to finish the book. I wouldn’t say it was a great book. I don’t think I could even recall a huge middle part of the story, but as far as engaging writing goes, the fact that it was a page-turner is already high enough praise.
The quotation mark thingy also happened to me. At first I thought I had bought an ill formated version (I mostly read digital).
After trying to find out what had gone wrong with my book on the internet, I came across an article talking about this and that’s how I found out it was supposed to be that way.
It took me a bit aback, but after a few pages I forgot about it.
The title intrigues me, would you say it’s not your average run of the mill romance story?
I don’t know, really, I don’t usually read this genre. I just knew of the stereotypes surrounding this genre and the book was nothing like that.
If you don’t know about the book I recommend you check the book blurb, it will most likely do a better job than me.
I enjoyed the book overall and would recommend it to other people like me who don’t usually read romance novels. I don’t know what people who use to read this genre would think about the book, perhaps it might not be their cup of tea or perhaps it might be.
Actual romances are not like romance stereotypes when they are well-written.
But Sally Rooney is not a romance writer and people who read her books expecting them to be romances will be disappointed, it’s a much bleaker and cynical world view.
definitely not a romance but more about a shifting envolving relationship over years, and the beautiful/ugly realities of what that entails especially between two people who have a hard time connecting with others
I recently read this and finished it in two days! I couldn’t put it down!
You’ve intrigued me. I kind of hate romance novels because of the tropes that get overused, but this might be up my alley. Just reserved it on Libby 🙂
If you liked the book you might want to take a look at the series, it is a great adaptation!
War & Peace. When I was broke and starving in university I’d stay up with a friend in a similar predicament to keep each other company. I’d read that until 4 or 5 in the morning.
Can I ask you where you’re from? You used university so you’re obviously not an American (we say college, don’t know why) and the reason I’m asking is because I read war and peace last year and didn’t love it. Can’t say I didn’t like it because the characters were great and it was following the Napoleonic Wars but when i was all done i just felt meh about it. What made you love it so much? Might it be that im an American and I don’t resonate with it the same way Europeans do?
Close range, Annie Proulx. Happened just a few nighta ago
LOTR, IT, The Shining, Wheel of Time, GOT.
I guess most good thrillers would do that, but even in the genre, I give The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy my vote. Lisbeth is still living rent free in my mind now.
Fucking Dan Brown. I just had to know the ending - 3 hours later it’s 3 AM and I’m fucked.
Back when I was a teen I read the Eye of the dragon by Stephen King on a bus, and I did a few rounds because getting off at my stop was less important.
Then nothing such until I became greybearded, until I read the last third of the first Honor Harrington book after work, at the front of the building on a bench. Time just flew until the receptionist came out to ask if everything is okay, around 21:00.
Since then several of the Peter Grand and Dresden and Laundry Files books had the same effect. And Project Hail Mary.
I work flexible hours so no problems if I had to read until dawn.
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
Lockwood & Co book series
Gone Girl
Recently, “When We Cease to Understand the World” and “The Maniac” by Benjamin Labatut. Read them back to back in a couple of days, just could not put them down… both are masterpieces, imho. In the past, Child of God and Blood Meridian by McCarthy, same deal, also masterpieces.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
…aaaaand at the opposite end of the literary spectrum:
Vicious by VE Schwab (the only one of this author’s books I actually enjoyed)
Bird Box, Josh Malerman. I started it at 9:30pm thinking I’d read a few chapters and then go to bed.
Finished it at 1am, and then had nightmares for weeks.
Great book.