The Listicle Tag

I was kindly tagged by Rachel to take part in The Listicle Tag – thanks Rachel! Let’s just jump right in, shall we?

RULES:

• Create your own listicle tag, using the prompt from the person who tagged you.
• Tag the creator of the post (not-so-modern-girl!) so that she can read all your brilliant posts and see how the joy of listicles is being spread.
• Nominate as many people as you want!
• Set those people the subject/prompt of their listicle post!

Rachel’s prompt: Top 5 books you feel like you read at the wrong time.

Let’s chat about some books I read at the wrong time.

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

This is where I risk being berated by the bookish community. Mrs Dalloway was the first (and so far, only) book by Virginia Woolf that I’ve read, and the honest truth is that I found it pretty underwhelming and didn’t connect emotionally at all. This still doesn’t sit right with me though. I kept feeling like I should be enjoying it more, and I’m fascinated by Woolf as both a writer and a person, so I definitely want to give her another chance.

Human Acts by Han Kang

This is another one that the whole way through, I kept thinking, ‘this should be impacting me more’, and, ‘why can’t I connect with this?’. Having since picked up and thoroughly enjoyed another of Han Kang’s books (courtesy of some nudging by Rachel, no less) and found it rich, layered and incredibly thought-provoking, it reaffirmed to me that I most likely picked Human Acts up at the wrong time.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

This is an easy one to include, in that I know for sure that I read it at the wrong time. Having picked up the book when I was about 15, I thought it was fine and could understand its classic status, but its depth was completely lost on me. Returning to it a few months ago, after all these years, I fell in love with how nuanced and intelligent it is, picking up on so many more themes and ideas this time around, proving that a rare re-read can indeed be very worthwhile.

The Last Animal by Abby Geni

I read this a few years ago and actually really enjoyed it at the time – I believe I gave it four stars, in fact – but there’s just something about it that I feel would gel with me so much more now thematically. It’s a short story collection in which all the stories show the ways humans use their relationship with the natural world to cope with the struggles in their own lives, and that is right up my street. I remember the stories being beautiful, but having become a much more analytical reader over the past few years, I think I’d be able to delve much deeper during a second visit.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

This is a very recent read for me, and given how hyped I was for it, it sadly proved to be one of my biggest disappointments of the year. It wasn’t quite what I thought it was, nor was I swept away as I’d hoped, and I suspect this shortfall between expectation and reality was a major player in how lukewarm I found it. Whilst I don’t think I’ll ever love it, it does still contain enough of my buzz words (fairy tale inspiration, a whimsical tone, a dark vibe, a female lead, an isolated and snowy setting, etc.) that perhaps giving it another chance down the line may allow me to see its merits more.

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My prompt is:

5 authors you haven’t read yet but think you’re going to love.

Thanks again to Rachel for tagging me! If you aren’t following Rachel, FYI, just know that I’m judging you 😉 I’m going to tag: Jazz & whimsywriter3 & insidemylibrarymind & thepaperbackpiano – Though of course, I won’t be offended if you don’t want to or have already taken part. Anyone else who wants to join in is also more than welcome to do so.