Lists | Worst Books of 2018

So, with all the reading I have done over the year, right around 100 books. I can say that I have read some good books and some not so great ones. It is bound to happen for one reason or another. It could have been the fact I took a chance on a genre I don’t normally read, it was a book club pick, or it just didn’t live up to my expectations. It happens from time to time and there is nothing wrong with that.

Now books are very personal experience, that is the beauty of them.  I may get the saying wrong, but I think it goes that people can read the same book and get different stories. I think it is very true, that is why I love books some people hate and some people love the books I am not too fond of and that is okay. Everyones opinions are just that, opinions and everyone is allowed to have them. So, if your favorite book ends up on this list, I am  so happy that you liked it,  but it was just not for me. Also, some of these I read very early on in the year and I kinda forgot about what happened so I copied and pasted some of my reviews to highlight what I felt just as I finished reading the books. This was not the case with all of the books though. Without more rambling, here are the worst books I read in 2018.

A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials by Frances Hill

I absolute hated this book and I am so upset by it. The writing had so much of the authors opinion in it and it could be very misleading if this is the only book you have read on the Salem Witch Trials. I also did not like how the end note were set up. In the back of the book it lists the chapters then what sources were used. That is not how end notes work. Which sources was used for which topic? This makes it very hard to go back and read the authors sources to compare and do your  own research. There are so many better books on this topic that I recommend. I really wanted to like this book, I had such high hopes. I read a view by Jon, and I have to say I agree with him on a lot of his points and I wish I could have explained myself as clearly.

Tropic Of Cancer by Henry Miller

So, this was a really weird book. While I did read the entire thing I can’t really tell you what happened if that makes sense. As the story progresses it does get a little more coherent, but it never becomes tame in any shape way or form. I would never have read this book on my own that is for sure, the description is not something I would normally be drawn to. I honestly can’t really suggest this book to anyone though.

Salem’s Witch House: A Touchstone to Antiquity by John Goff

So I was super excited to read this book, I ended up being disappointed. The book was more of a history of who lived in the house and what stores it had been and less about the role it had during the Salem witch trials. While it was interesting I found the name it be a tad bit misleading so it left be just feeling like I missed out on something. If you know nothing about the history of the house and such, this would be a good read for you.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

This one I wanted to love, it was a historical fiction read, which I normally love and it sounded like such an interesting and magical story. It turned out not to be so magical to me. The authors writing is beautiful, but the story just didn’t really wow me. I am thinking about trying another one of her books, because like I said her writing is beautiful, I Just did not like the story all that much. While, I do think it highlight some things in the past that were just truly NOT OKAY, I  was left feeling blah about the whole thing because it was not really addressed.

The Tommyknockers by Stephen King

I will openly admit that if I did not have the audiobook I would never have finished this novel. While I love a lot of King’s writing, this one is a bit of a bust for me. I did a bit of researching to see if I was the only one or not, but it seems I am not. I have to admit that this article explains my feelings as well as says my thoughts on this novel very clearly.

It is all over the place, longer than it needs to be by a lot, and just seems to loose the king flair that I enjoy.

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

I don’t really know what happened to me when I was reading this book. The first two books in the series I did enjoy very much. This one I felt was annoying and I wanted to skip around a lot. I wanted to just find out the main stuff and move on. I felt like there was just too much drama for the sake of drama and it just added pages and not really much to the overall plot. I did not get the novella that is set after this, I may get it from the library at some point because I know there are just some duds in a series, but I want to make sure before I spend more of my money.

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell

So when I picked up this book I was sure it would be more along the lines of Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jennifer Campbell, which I loved! This on the other hand was dull and mundane. It was more of  what the owned did and the daily workings of a bookshop and not really to much about the interactions with the customers. I also found that there was a lot a repeating of the same things happening over and over again. While I can see why some people would like this book, I was left a disappointed.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

I can see why other people like this book so much, I am not saying this is a bad book by any stretch of the imagination. I really enjoyed the first part of this book, but the second part of the book totally lost me. I felt like the main character just got things or things just happened to the main character without there being any real time given to acquiring them or working for them. Just BAM, amazing thing happened/brilliant abilities! This book just is not for me, it is for you if you like… Individual fighting for a cause, Fantasy, YA transitioning to adult, rags to riches in a way, not exactly and an individual taking on the Empire.

There you have it, the worst books I read in 2018. All of these are the only books I rated below average and I have to say there aren’t a lot of them. To read about 100 books and only 8 fall under an average rating is wonderful. Plus, like I said in the beginning, these are just my personal feelings. These books are great reads for many and I am truly happy about that.

What book fell flat for you this year?

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