As speculative fiction, Fahrenheit 451 is interesting but inconsistent. The controlling nature of the society doesn't seem fully realized--if books are so contraband that their owners must be killed, how do families like Clarisse's manage to operate in their own way without governmental interference? If everyone is being watched all the time, how are people still largely free to live as they want? Who is at the top of the society, controlling it for all others?

While the concept of book-burning and censorship has potential, Bradbury leaves too many unanswered questions about the context to make this story believable in any way.

DNF @ p. 80

Inaccessibly British if that makes sense? I tried several times to get into it but just couldn't.

first read aug 20, 2014
rating: 2 stars

second read feb 2, 2017
rating: 2 stars

Unfortunately, my experience of this novel didn't improve the second time! I once again found Victor Frankenstein and his exaggerated self-martyrdom completely insufferable, to the point where I just used sparknotes to review the second half of the novel for class instead of actually rereading it. I appreciate how this novel fits into the speculative fiction classics canon, but it's just not for me. I have no patience for a "horror" novel where I'm actually rooting for everyone to die.

Recommended by Aatia

DNF @ p. 132

I so desperately wanted to love this, wanted to sink into a magical story and feel absorbed by a Gothic world. Unfortunately, it's not working for me. Daniel, the main character, does not strike me as particularly sympathetic or interesting- I can't really get a read on his personality at all. As a matter of fact, I don't feel like any of the characters have distinctive personalities beyond certain caricature-like traits.

The writing style is overwrought but somehow also underwhelming??

I loved the idea of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books- but that's abandoned as quickly as it is introduced. Zafon opts to drag out the details of Daniel's humdrum daily life than to focus on the magic, the wonder, the BOOKS! As the author described Julián Carax's novels, I couldn't help but feel that I would rather be reading those stories instead.

And as for atmosphere and setting, I can think of several other books that elevate their city to character status and do it much better (All the Light We Cannot See, Hunchback of Notre Dame).

Another DNF for me and when in the hell will I get out of this reading slump

DNF @ ~300

No rating for this one because I didn't enjoy it at all but it is good objectively and as a comment on society. I couldn't get with the episodic style that's neither plot driven or continual-character driven. Kept losing interest. Just not for me :(

DNF @ p. 51

I really expected to love this book, what with it being about a witch and all, but I'm just not clicking with the writing style. The sentences are short and spare, which works for a short fairy tale but can get tiring in a longer form.

Fun!

This is not a thriller, nor does it communicate any Hitchcockian horror. It's about life in the small town of Bakersfield, California, about small-town people and sex and darkness. None of the characters become the sum of their parts; they're cardboard people, meant to fill cardboard roles. There's a murder, but it's not scary or thrilling in any way, and it doesn't become a mystery. There's the shooting of Psycho from Janet Leigh's perspective, but it doesn't bring anything new to the table. I'm disappointed.

I read most of this collection of essays about reading books only from one's own shelves. While charming, Susan Hill's taste is really nothing like my own, and the content of this book primarily focused on examining which books populate her shelves rather than her reading methods or practices.

The writing was good but there’s no sense of dynamism and I think I will forget about it within the week