r/BookDiscussions

Despite the fact that I am an avid gamer and I love Fantasy and Sci-Fi novels, I could not get into DCC (Dungeon Crawler Carl). I know this may be shocking for most, because everywhere you turn online, people are recommending this series, and especially for the book Bros out there I'm sure this is probably as close to a sin and you can get but I have tried to read this book multiple times and I just can't get into it. Given the premise is essentially being inside of a videogame, I figured this would be an easy win for me. Because who as a gamer doesn't want to read a book about being stuck in an RPG? Sadly I find myself bored and honestly not enveloped inside the world. While a lot is thrown at you from the beginning, that did not bother me and everything was easy to understand, I struggle to maintain interest about a third of the way through the book. I attempted to give the audiobook a shot because maybe hearing it inside of reading would provide an easier way for me to keep interest. I'm not sure if there is more than one audio book for it but the one I listened to made me dislike it even more. This is no hate toward the Narrator, at all, I think they did a fantastic job for what of the book I had listened to. However after multiple reading attempts and an audiobook attempt, I don't think this one is for me. Maybe ill try reading it again a couple years and see if it hits different for me. I'm curious to see if this same sort of thing has happened to anyone else!

I’m just now starting Part 3 and finding it to be a super boring read. Anyone else read it and can vouch for it being worth it to continue?

I've been meaning to read A Little Life for about a year now, and I finally picked up a copy. Before starting, I watched a few YouTube Shorts about it. Most were just people crying or saying it completely destroyed them, and a few were reviews. Then I came across one where the guy gave these tips:

1. Look up all the trigger warnings before you start.

2. Don't try to finish it as quickly as possible—take your time.

3. Don't read it at night, or during winter or the monsoon because it makes the experience even heavier.

4. Save the last 50–60 pages to read in one sitting.

So now I'm wondering: is this book really that emotionally devastating?

Would it be better to read a few less intense books first—like The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The book thief, or The Song of Achilles—before diving into A Little Life? Or is it okay to go straight into it?

Also, I'm currently trying to get out of a reading slump. Is A Little Life a bad choice for that, or could it actually help if the story hooks me?

And finally, are the reactions online exaggerated, or does this book genuinely have moments where you want to throw it across the room, take a break, or just completely shut down emotionally?

I'd love to hear your experiences—without spoilers, please.

Spoilers

I have no idea how this has so many good reviews. It was barely a mystery book IMO. First 25% was interesting and felt like a mystery book. Then the next 75% felt like a lifetime flick, where people are trying to become friends and building relationships. There was ZERO Sleuthing here or really any mystery.

What was the point of Vera writing down notes about who the killer was? Only for the author to stop bringing it up? Vera was just a supporting character like everyone else. She didn't even really solve the mystery.

It felt like they just solved the case organically by going about their day. Like here is a random manuscript laying on a bed. Oh my bird nest is missing, now I solved the crime! And the Dad endings up doing the deed because he got angry at his son. Like there was no other option? You can't just talk it through like normal people?

You don't even need to read half the book. Because it's just filler. There were multiple chapters of Julia trying to become a photographer again. What was the point in that???? Had nothing to do with the story.

Stupid book no idea how its highly acclaimed.

I often find myself finishing a book and have no one around me who truly understands to talk to about it. I’m curious how everyone is doing it.
Do you mainly talk to friends in real life?
Online communities?
Book clubs?
Discord?
Reddit?
Goodreads?
Or do you mostly keep your thoughts to yourself?
If you’ve found something that works particularly well (or particularly badly), I’d love to hear about it.

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Am I the only one who has problem reading 3rd person pov written books , im not comfortable reading books where you read as a observer " she did this , he touched her" feels weird, the real problem is some of thd good 10/10 books are written in 3rd person pov , i want to enjoy them too

Have you ever read a story that just completely went over your head? Or a book that really put your reader empathy to the test?

I just finished All Fours by Miranda July. I could absolutely feel the thought and emotion she poured into crafting the narrative- but I just didn't get it. I could not understand the main characters emotions or reactions. But all the while I knew there would be people out there who must feel so seen by this novel. Definitely an interesting reading experience.

Do you have any books that have made you feel like this while reading them?

Have no one to talk about this with, read the book about 2-3 years ago.

After finishing Throne of Glass, I realized I had so many thoughts, emotions, and ideas I wanted to discuss, but nobody around me had read the series. I actually spent nearly an hour talking to myself because I had nowhere to put everything I was thinking.
That experience made me wonder how common it is among readers.
I’m currently exploring how readers experience stories and the communities that form around them, and I’d genuinely love to hear about your experiences.
Feel free to answer as many or as few questions as you’d like.
Have you ever finished a book and desperately wanted to discuss it with someone?
Were you able to find someone who had read it? If not, what happened?
How did that experience make you feel?
What kinds of conversations do you wish happened more often in book communities?
If you could design the ideal place for readers to connect, what would it be like?
I’m looking forward to reading every response. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

I’ve been thinking about this lately. Goodreads and StoryGraph are great for story reviews, but neither really helps you figure out which FORMAT is best for a specific book before you start it.

Like, does this book have maps or illustrations that make print essential? Is the narrator good enough to make audio worth it? Does the writing style work better spoken aloud or on a page?

Would you use a dedicated community where readers reviewed the format experience specifically? Not the story itself, just what it was actually like to read it in print, ebook, or listen on audio?

Or do you think existing platforms already cover this well enough?

Genuinely curious what people think.

I just finished Yesteryear and overall enjoyed it. It wasn't my usual read but it was definitely interesting and an intense experience for an audiobook.

However there were a few things I was a little confused on. *Spoilers ahead*

Later in the book when she's talking to her father-in-law she says her inside thoughts out loud. When they are showing the footage of her on the news is it implied that she had been saying her mean thoughts out loud the entire time and not realized it?

When it came to the assault of the producer. The way It was written made it sound like she tried to kill her but didn't I didn't read it as anything sexual. They do mention the girl's pants being down but she was half-dressed when Natalie came to the room in the first place. Did the producer exaggerate about the sexual assault or did I just miss something?

At the very end of the book Natalie is incarcerated. But why where her and Caleb not arrested beforehand when the kids first ran away from home? Why did they have to re-enter society to get arrested for their crimes?

And lastly, it seems really weird to me that Natalie is clearly still not mentally stable at the very end when they are getting ready to do the interview and yet Rena is going ahead with it anyway. Are we meant to believe that a news reporter would actually air an interview with someone that unwell?

Overall I did enjoy the book I would probably give it a solid 3 out of 5 ( the psychological stuff felt well done the plot was just a little floppy). I do think at times the pacing was a little off and I would have liked to see more examples interwoven of Natalie's spiral from her actions some how. Additionally, this was pretty intense to listen to as a new mom to a 5-month-old and while I am not struggling with it I probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who is dealing with intense postpartum.

Anywho tell me what y'all think.

I finished reading never let me go by Ishiguro which got me into the mood of emotional / deep thinking books. The Road was subsequently recommended to me.

I was in a keen mood to get into the book based on the premise. But it unfortunately felt flat to me. I didn’t love the writing style. Nor his way of describing the scenery. The story and simplicity of it was nice but felt a bit let down. I was ready for an emotional rollercoaster which never happened.

So I tried to read The Deluge, but so far it hasn't yet appeled to me. I didn't finish the book. Same thing with The Handmaids Tale (some people say that's a classic but it didn't really appeal to me).

I just finished reading it, and my brain spent the first 100 pages completely short-circuiting.

The Lincoln-era Republicans are the ones pushing for massive federal government control and progressive social upheaval, while the Southern Democrats are the ones screaming about small government and traditional values.

It literally feels like reading a sci-fi novel about a parallel dimension, except it’s just actual history. Has anyone else experienced this weird brain-lag when diving into old literature?

Okay, hear me out.

For the past few years, I’ve been so focused on university, work, and trying to figure life out that I realized I’ve been missing something really important…….meeting new people. I’m 24, from Poland, and I’d genuinely love to build a little online community with people who enjoy reading, talking, learning from each other, and just… being curious about the world.

So I’m thinking about starting an online book club, but not the kind where everyone treats it like an assignment. I don’t want this to be stiff or overly academic. I don’t want anyone to feel pressured to have the smartest analysis or finish every single page. I want it to be fun. I want us to read amazing books, talk about them, laugh, overshare a little, exchange ideas, recommend books to each other, and somehow end up talking about life, travel, philosophy, art, relationships, culture, dreams, random shower thoughts… literally anything.

The plan is to make it online (probably on Discord or another platform we all agree on), so it’s easy for everyone to join. We could meet every week or every other week, chat about the book we’re reading. Basically, I want a space where people can read, learn from each other, exchange perspectives, and also just… exist. A place where it’s completely normal to spend 30 minutes discussing the book and then another two hours yapping about everything else. I really miss that feeling of finding “your people.” The kind of conversations where you look at the clock and suddenly it’s been three hours.

As for the books……I love classics, modern classics, and literature from around the world. I’d love for us to read books that make us think, introduce us to new cultures and ideas, and stay with us long after we’ve finished them. But I definitely don’t want this to be my reading list. I want everyone to recommend books, vote on what we read, and shape the club together. More than a book club, I’m hoping this becomes a little community. Somewhere people can make friends, feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, learn something new, and have conversations that leave you feeling inspired instead of drained.

You don’t have to be someone who reads 100 books a year. You don’t need a literature degree. You don’t need to have read all the classics. More than anything  I want this to be about the people. I’d love to create a supportive, welcoming little corner of the internet where people actually look forward to showing up. A place where it’s okay to disagree, where everyone feels heard, where we can be ourselves, make genuine connections, and maybe even make a few really good friends along the way.

A little about me: I’m pretty outgoing, very open-minded, and I genuinely love getting to know people. I love hearing about what excites someone, what they’re passionate about, what books changed their life, or even just what they’ve been thinking about lately. I think everyone has an interesting story, and I’d love to meet people from different backgrounds and different parts of the world.

If this sounds like your kind of thing, send me a DM! Tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from? How old are you? What’s your favorite book, or a book that completely changed the way you think? If enough people are interested, I’ll make a group chat, we’ll figure out the platform together, vote on our first book, and hopefully create something really special.

So I finished 11/22/63 today. I went into it without really knowing anything except the general premise of the book. (Spoilers ahead.) Who doesn't like a plot about traveling back in time to change a major historical event? I also really like some of Stephen King's books, especially horror novels like Pet Sematary. I'd heard a lot of good things about 11/22/63, and people really praised it. So I went ahead, listened to it, and... I really don't get it.

Am I too European?

When the characters (oh, don't get me started on the MC—or, God forbid, the romance) first bring up stopping the assassination, they don't even discuss whether it's worth the effort. Immediately after it's brought up, the MC is completely on board with the idea and basically says, "Oh yeah, everybody would do that." It really took me out of the story that Kennedy is treated like this sacred figure who would have saved the world if he hadn't been assassinated.

This theme stretches through the whole book, even to the point that Oswald is portrayed as an absolutely evil and devilish personification of evil. I kept waiting for a twist or a closer examination of this deification of a politician, but it never happened. Don't get me wrong—his death was really tragic—but Kennedy really comes across as history's ultimate "potential man."

There was also this general romanticizing of the 1950s in America. Sure, the book is occasionally critical of segregation and pollution, but nothing really comes of it. Instead, there's just so much praise for that time period. Everybody is so nice and helpful (except in Dallas), everything tastes better, everything is better, and there are what feels like fifty descriptions of how cheap lunch is. I kept waiting for another twist, but again, nothing.

So I'm sitting here wondering: is there really this general hype and romanticization of the 1950s in America? Is there really this widespread feeling that everything went downhill after Kennedy's assassination? Am I just missing the cultural context?

I mean, in the end, the world becomes apocalyptic after the MC prevents the assassination. But I interpreted that as simply being how time travel works in the book, not as a statement about Kennedy himself. It doesn't matter what you change in the past or how much good you try to do—the act of tampering with time makes things worse. So the state of the alternate timeline isn't a failure of Kennedy; it's just how the book's time-travel system works.

I have really mixed feelings about this book. But if I read another book where the MC is just a flawless writer self-insert, I'm going to bite into my furniture.

English isn't my first language, so I used AI to help correct the spelling and grammar.

I used to race through books because I wanted to finish them. Lately, I’ve been doing the opposite with poetry.

I’ve recently started reading a lot more poetry, especially Anne Sexton, and I realized I can’t read a poem without a pen anymore.

I love circling words, writing down what I think they mean, noticing recurring images, and asking myself why a poet chose a particular metaphor or symbol.
I’m definitely not a literature expert, and I know my interpretations aren’t always “correct,” but that’s what makes it enjoyable for me. Every poem feels like a conversation.

Do any of you annotate like this? Have your interpretations of a poem ever changed after rereading it, or do you usually stick with your first impression?

The first that comes to mind for me is The Diary of Anne Frank.

I read physical books and I do not use bookmarks. The act of having to flip back to my spot is something fun and quirky for me to do.

to be fair i am only on the third chapter, like dead in the middle. but for the life of me i can’t seem to read with much enthusiasm. i just want to know if i am the only one who finds this book uninteresting. at least the first part of the book.

i genuinely would like to finish reading, but every time i start to read a page my head hurts. please tell me it gets better or worth a read.