Reading Some of the Best Books of All Time… Are They Worth the Hype?

Hinzugefügt: 2026-06-04

[00:00:00]This has to be one of the worst books I have read ever. I'm sure you've seen some of those book recommendation lists claiming to have books that will be life-changing, things that you need to read once in your life, the best of all time. I'm always curious, is it true? Is it going to affect me as much as the expert? So, I decided to put it to the test. The Garden came out with the list of the 100 best novels. So, I decided to put it to the test. And we're going to go through the books on my shelves that I haven't read that are on the list, and we're going to see how many I can read this week. And hopefully I will agree that they are the best ones ever.

[00:00:49]So out of the list, I had already read 22 books and apparently I own 18 books.

[00:00:54]So, we have to choose what I'm going to have time to read. Not that I've messed up all my shelves. So, let's start by eliminating some of the big ones that I'm too scared for. Don't get me wrong, I will eventually read them, but I'm just too scared. You have to wait until you're in the right mindset. So, the brothers, uh, the Kamazov brothers, Russian classics in me, I don't think we get along, so I'm going to wait. I just just bought this one, Bleak House, and so many of you told me to not read it first. So, I will listen. It's scary.

[00:01:25]War in Peace will happen one day, but today is not today. Um, I'm not ready.

[00:01:30]Same thing for Dunish. I was told to read the French edition, which comes in two books, which is again very scary.

[00:01:36]One day, just not today. Now, what's left? I feel like I have to read Beloved because it is in the second spot. I have already read Middle March, which was number one spot. So, I feel like I have to. I've only read The Bluest Eye by Tony Morrison. I did enjoy it and I believe this is her most famous one. So, I feel like I have to. It's not super big, too. So, yes, we'll have it for sure this week. Um, I'm a little scared of the writing for The Road. I do want to read more by Ursula Kilawen, but probably not right now. The vegetarian is a decent option. I really want to try her books. I recently read Claire and the Sun, and I didn't love it, so it's making me hesitant to read more by him.

[00:02:16]I've been told that the rest is much better. So, I will eventually get around to reading them, but it's too soon. On the list, there are three books by Virginia Wolf that I own. So, I feel like I kind of have to read one. And to the Lighthouse is the one that is the highest on the list. So, I think I might try this one. There are two that I just recently bought. So, I feel like it's probably a sign that I need to read them. The first one is The Trial, which I like the Metamorphosis by him. So, that's another one. And then Howard's End. And then, realistically, I just won't have time to read more than that.

[00:02:45]So, I probably will keep The Great Gatsby for like a challenge trying to read like high school books or something cuz that's a popular one for that. So, yeah, just no time to read everything.

[00:02:55]We have to make choices. Realistically, I might not have time to read all five, but I think this is going to be the TBR I start with. So, Howard's End, The Trial, To the Lighthouse, The Vegetarian, and Beloved, which I feel like I need to read this one for sure because it is the number two. I'm not sure I'm ready emotionally because I have heard it is very intense. But the only thing more intense is those freaking stickers which I need to get rid of. So that's the plan for the week.

[00:03:22]I'll let you know how it goes. Well, I have to say I'm not too surprised that this one turned out to be really good. I do have to admit defeat against the stickers. I have some goo on somewhere I will have to try again. But the content of the book will probably stick with me as much as this freaking glue. I thought this book was going to be a book that makes you cry, but no, I just feel completely dead inside, which I need to stop reading books like that because summer is supposed to be happy and I don't feel any happiness right now. I understand that this is about like the trauma of slavery and I just really wasn't expecting the story to go in that direction. So, we're following the main female character who managed to escape slavery. She ran away years ago and she's now living in this home with her youngest daughter and they are being haunted by the ghost of beloved one of her other girl and her two boys run away when they hit a certain age. So there's a lot happening but as the book starts there is this man who also escaped from the same place uh that finally makes it there and you know years later they meet again and things start that way. I was kind of surprised at the beginning. I wasn't expecting like a ghost story but it's definitely the hunting and the trauma of slavery and there were a few situation few twists I guess that I was not expecting. Again the book left me quite shocked but in a good like powerful way but I would have to include a couple trigger warnings if you want to read it. I highly recommend it. Like this is at least a four star for me but yes it was a lot darker than I expected.

[00:04:54]Frankly, I should have expected it after reading The Bluest Eye. And I have a couple more books by her on my shelf, and I will be reading them. But yes, this was super intense. I really liked it, but frankly, I can't say anything else. It was just so I feel completely gutted. I completely agree that this book belongs on the list of like a life-changing kind of book. It deserves the hype for sure. Now, for my next one, uh I kind of have to decide. A few of you left me recommendations and obviously want to, but I feel like Ursula Gwyn, I have enjoyed some of her books, but her writing is really heavy for me, so I don't know if I'm going to want to read that right now. And like I mentioned, I do understand why a lot of people want me to read this one. I've seen the movie. I've forgotten enough that I could read it. But Clar and the Sun is still too early. So, we're kind of left with these four. I think I'm going to try Virginia Wolf just because I have heard so much about her. I've tried one non-fiction by her, which was okay, but I've heard so much about her writing and I owned three of her books, so I might as well try one. So, we're going to try this one. And my edition is definitely old and used. I just noticed that I don't know if it was like a library book or what. There's a bunch of names and a few annotations, but they're mostly just check marks. So, we'll see how that one goes. I'm hoping that I love her. Otherwise, I have two more books on my shelf for no reason. I did finish my second book to the lighthouse by Virginia Wolf and I wish I hadn't.

[00:06:19]Um, if my life was in the balance and you include a page of this book and one that is somewhat similar and you ask me which one is which, I could not tell you. I would struggle to even tell you what the book is about. Like, it's just characters that are like their voices just mixed together and understand that like it's her writing style of like stream of consciousness. It means blah blah blah maybe. But I hated every second of it. In theory, I should be able to analyze the book. I, you know, I have a degree in French literature, so like I've done that before, but my head has never been this empty in my entire life. Like, I remember absolutely nothing. And I'm trying so hard to keep it together for this review, but like I hate it every second. I don't understand the hype. But sometimes that's how it is, right? You're like, "Oh, you know, the book wasn't for me, but I can see, you know, the beauty, the technique, what you wanted to do with this." No, nothing. I hated everything. there's nothing I enjoyed and there's a few things that didn't age well which like to be expected from that time but yeah like I don't know why a few of the female authors from that era that I've read they always compare negatively someone's eyes to a Chinese woman which like but like again from that era I guess but yes I I just could not distinguish the characters the voices everything is mixed together and again that might be the point but it was not enjoyable I solely finished it because I wanted to see if there was something else that was going to change my mind about it. It wasn't super long. I mean, it's 230 pages. But yes, I regret doing that because again, my brain before and after this, same like just absolutely nothing. You know what that reminds me of? There's this video of a raccoon and you know how they wash their foods before they eat it and it's cotton candy and it's trying to wash it and it just dissolves into the water and you see the raccoon just staring at it, gone. That's how it is. But worse because cotton candy is fun. So like I feel like I've compared other books like Erin Morgan Stern. She has a book that's what I compared that to that whole clip because her writing is beautiful and like again it leaves you with nothing but at least it's beautiful. It's not even cotton candy. It's straight up just a mush of gray cloud. Like I just nothing. Just nothing before or after the water. Just But you know what? I appreciate that I have a strong opinion about it because I feel some books are like your two stars.

[00:08:38]It's like, man, it's kind of boring to review. This one I straight up hated it.

[00:08:41]And I will be looking up reviews that are negative because again, I didn't look up any because I wanted my own opinion. But I'm looking forward to reading people hating on it and explaining how they feel, how I feel better than I could myself. Um, I'm looking forward to this.

[00:08:58]If you hate her writing in general, please feel free to give me your thoughts in the comment section because again, I'm looking forward to finding my people because I feel like if only heard good things. So, verdict, does this book deserve to be on that list? No, it would not be on my list, but it might be on yours. That's fine. I I I understand that. I'm I'm joking, but like I you know how it is. I feel like I swear sometimes you see books on a list and you're like, is it truly a life-changing book for you? Is that truly a book that you really love or is it just you feel the pressure and like that's fine like if you actually do like it? But sometimes I'll try a book and I'm really surprised that everyone seems to have read it and loved it and I'm like is it?

[00:09:40]And then sometimes in the comment section people say you know what I'm glad you said it because I also did not care for it and like you feel the pressure not to admit it because everyone loves it. I have no issue saying when I didn't like a book. So again Virginia Wolf's haters welcome home. Um, but let's just say it would not be on my list. Um, now I need hope that I can read another book that will be decent.

[00:10:03]So, I think I'm going to go with Howard's Ends because I I need hope that a classic can be good, like a modern classic, which I think it's somewhat recent, but when was this one published?

[00:10:13]1927. I think that's not too far off from the other one. So, I'm going to read that to try to gain back some brain cells. But, wow, do I not get the hype.

[00:10:22]But it takes, you know, every kind of people. There are books for everyone.

[00:10:25]And there are books that I love that I know a lot of people hate. But yeah, this is something. Um, and the worst part is that I have two more books here on my shelf now. So, I have to read them cuz I hate getting rid of books without trying them. So, I will try them. I'm really hoping it's not the same writing style, but I'm sure it is because again, that's what she's known for. I finished Howard's End and I did like it. I will say this was a lot messier than I expected for a classic.

[00:10:52]Uh, this one was published in 1910 and I do think I prefer the writing style from the 1800s overall, but this was enjoyable. Uh, like I was saying, messy.

[00:11:00]You're following these three families from three different social classes. And they're kind of coming in and out of each other's life throughout the years.

[00:11:07]And frankly, I feel like they were just bringing out the worst out of each other, like just ruining each other's lives. But either way, uh, the highest social class, you have these two sisters. I mean, they have a brother, but he's not really there. and they each are living off 600 pounds a year. So there's some social commentary there. Uh I had to calculate it because 600 a year in 1910 is supposed to be around 91,000 nowadays. So £170,000 Canadian. I'm not sure how exact that is cuz they seem to be more comfortable than that. But that would definitely be super comfortable.

[00:11:37]And they were discussing how £300 a year should be what a man should make to, you know, make a decent living, which again to go back to half, that's about $80,000 Canadian a year, which would definitely be comfortable most places. And then you have the business class. This is a bigger family and the the man has, you know, businesses. They own multiple houses. And then the lowerass family you're following, it's mostly the the he's in a bad marriage. He's very unhappy and he believes that he should be able to make more money and work less so he could read books and you know he believes he deserves better than that.

[00:12:11]And the middle class family, the business class family, the wife passes away and she leaves her country house to one of the sisters and the family's confused because they didn't seem that close. Like why would she do that? And they decide to not say anything. So that's kind of the messiest part of the book although there's a lot more. I'm not going to spoil anything, but yes, throughout the years, they keep the secret and things get messier and messier. It was enjoyable. I liked it.

[00:12:37]It's probably a 3.5 for me. Like, it's not as good as Beloved. I don't think anything in this video was going to beat that. But, I will say I'm a little surprised that it is on the list because the point of the list, when I did the review, I was explaining how they asked people, these critics and authors, to give a top 10 and that would become, you know, the top 100 that they made. And I'm kind of surprised someone would put this in their like top 10 life-changing book list. And I'm cur I would be curious to hear the reasoning basically because again I enjoyed it. And there were a few social commentary like I said the living off 300 lb a year to be comfortable. Especially the sisters were more progressive. They wanted women to have the right to vote or kind of more socialist values because again they don't work and they feel like everyone should be comfortable. And then the business class mainly the husband would be very conservative and every time he would say anything they would just automatically fawn. But yes um I can see the appeal of these discussions but again I don't categorize them as like life-changing. So I would just be curious to hear although technically this book was life-changing for me because I had to use it as a weapon. A wasp made it into my home again. This is like the fourth one in four years. I really need to change the screens in my windows because they have holes because cats and I think that's the how they come in because it's every time it's like a room in the back of the house and like the trees there might be some kind of nest somewhere. But yeah, I had to use this as a weapon. This is the second time I kill one with a book. Reading is definitely important. The two other wasps that were killed were by Claudia because she have you seen the size of her paws? She she's a killing machine.

[00:14:08]Um and then I have three boys and they've done nothing. Very cute but completely useless.

[00:14:14]Either way, uh I don't know if you could have hear throughout the whole review in the background yelling. I wanted to try to do the reviewing piece and she's not having it. Closed doors is not a thing that is allowed. It's probably in second place out of the three because again to the lighthouse would never I have time for one more. So I think I'm going to read The Vegetarian. It's more modern, but I've heard good things. And I have another book by her on my shelf, Human Axe. So if I like The Vegetarian, I can pick up that other one. So hopefully that one works better.

[00:14:44]I'm sorry I closed the door.

[00:14:46]>> Oh my. Do I have another strong opinion?

[00:14:48]Um, this vlog did not go anywhere in the direction that I thought it would. I thought I was going to find some life changing books. That's the whole point, right? And of course, not everyone has the same opinion. I get that. But like I thought that it had so many classics on it because it feels safe, right? That's what they choose. and I wanted to see if they would also work for me. But this was also kind of a flop for me. I will give it that I can see the beauty of this one. Okay, I can understand why it's popular compared to every chance I get, I will be bashing this book, but the vegetarian. Okay, so this one I understand that it's a social commentary on like Korean specifically society, but also just in general, you know, like patriarchy and like everything. And you follow a story of these two sisters through the eyes of their two husbands, which frankly are poo poo heads. And they're both like fantasizing on the about the other sisters, but again, social commentary of situation of u women in that society or society in general. and I thought it was going to be more similar to Kim Jong Born 1982, which I did really like. If you read this book, the writing is a little dry, but everything makes sense towards the end. It's absolutely worth checking out. And again, a social commentary on the situation of women in uh Korean society, which is a lot more conservative than people realize. I feel like Kdramas and K-pop make people think that it's a bit more nicer than it is.

[00:16:23]So, I thought it was going to be a little bit more like that. And you follow the story at first of the one sister who decides that she doesn't want to eat meat anymore and the pressure that people put on her to conform is again just a reflection of society refusing women to have any agency. So I understand the messaging but that's kind of where it stops for me. First off by the way wouldn't it be vegan? Like I I understand the title being like the vegan might not be as nice sounding, but like she doesn't want to eat cheese or anything else either. Eggs.

[00:16:56]Anyway, I guess not super important. But yes, I understand the beauty of the writing, but in general, I have found that a lot of uh Asian languages when they're translated to English, they read really dry to me. I have heard that it's better in French. I have yet to try it though. But yeah, it does read dry, but again, I expected it. So yeah, it was difficult to read from the male point of views at first and then eventually you get uh the sister point of views too, but it gets weirder and weirder. So if you are into again weird girl lit effect like Bunny or uh Julie Chan is dead, that kind of stuff, this might be more up your alley than it was for me. So for me, this would be like a 2.5. It's not a bad book. It's just I'm not the right audience for it. So yeah, uh a bit less strong of opinion this one, but yeah, it it was a struggle for me to finish it.

[00:17:46]Again, I just finished it because I wanted to see what the hype was about, and it's like right under 200 pages, so it's not a long book to go through, but yes, it wasn't a pleasant experience. I don't think it is a book that is meant to be pleasant. Like, it's meant to be kind of to gross you out a little bit, but that's the point. I get it. But I feel like my overall opinion on this list is not great. Not just because of the books that I pick. I mean, two were good and two were bad to me, but looking back in general to the list and the discussion that we had on the video where I reviewed the ones that I had read, I think we all seem to agree that like the list is just not that universally appealing. Like it felt very safe in terms of some of the classics that were chosen and it wasn't very diverse, which isn't super surprising with these kind of list, but a lot of the popular ones were missing. Like East of Eden, for example, is one that a lot of you also mentioned that you were surprised that it wasn't on there. So, I'm not planning on using it as a challenge, like try to read all of the ones that I want to read from that list to try and find, you know, life-changing ones. I will be reading more because I already own some, but I won't be reading them because of that list. So, in general, I'm still fascinated by the topic of life-changing books, and I'm planning on trying to find other lists to test. So, if you have any recommendations, let me know in the comments. But I don't think that this one will be the one for me. If you haven't seen the reviews of the list, I will put that right there. And if you want to see some of the classics I've been buying lately, definitely check that out. You can let me know which ones I should prioritize, which ones might be more life-changing. I mean, I guess my life will never be the same.