If you’re anything like me, you probably read a lot of books and forget a lot about them as well after reading them (also see: being ADHD)

Is there one specific book whose plot, characters, setting you just can’t get out of your mind and still think about today even when in the midst of another book?

For me, it’s 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. I think due to the sheer volume of this book (clocked in over 1000 pages) I was so invested in Tengo and Aomame’s stories that it’s quite impossible to forget them quickly. This is also why I prefer long novels, because they stick around in my memory for longer!

So what book is still stuck with you?

    • Morning-Song@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Came here to say this! I know this book gets a lot of criticism because of it’s slow place and it’s a bit anticlimactic. I found the book to be so captivating and ethereal. It sits with me so much - I cried at the end after reading the final few pages. Just hits something so deep!

      • DoubleDrummer@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        Many years ago, I threw a blanket down in my back yard, and sat down to watch the world.
        It was a day that was not too hot, nor too cold.
        I watched the bees do their work, I watched the clouds slowly drift, I sat for hours watching the tendrils of a pumpkin vine twist and crawl along a fence.
        It was a day where very little happened and yet every nuance of it is engrained in my mind like magic.

        Piranesi was like that day.

      • Draphaels@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        It’s one of my favorite books but I do get why a lot of people didn’t like it. There’s a lot of build up that lead to a kind of lackluster ending. Also, the world building had/has so much more potential. I would’ve enjoyed more side stories during the exploration of the endless halls. Overall though, the book puts my mind in such a uniquely mysterious, almost celestial atmosphere and that feeling alone was worth the read.

        • jummett@alien.topB
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          1 year ago

          Yes, I think people were fed up with all the corridors by the time they got to the end! I thought it was so atmospheric though, it really does stay with you.

    • momoschutney@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      This book keeps coming into my suggestions and has been on my tbr since a long time . I guess I’ll end the year with this one.

    • YellowDaisySpider@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      I borrowed this book from my daughter and 2 pages in I thought what is this??? 2 chapters in I was … sigh what is going on???

      I love love this book. It’s the most beautiful story I’ve ever read. I had to keep it beside me for a couple of days after finishing it just to randomly open a page and read a couple of paragraphs and revisit times throughout his story.

      Piranesi, the man, is a beautiful soul.

    • smrjck28@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      It’s SUCH a well done book. I read it in 2022 and it’s still one of my favorite standalone fantasy fics

      • kitsua@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        I enjoyed it so much I went back and read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, which I kind of avoided when it first came out. It was an amazing read. Very different from Piranesi but an incredible achievement. Highly recommended.

    • highway_robbery82@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      I’ve had this for a few months but not got round to reading it yet, sounds like I might need to bump it up the list!

    • VulcanCookies@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      That’s so funny. It’s on my bookshelf because book club read it some time this year… I’m seriously struggling to remember what it’s about or one single detail.

    • cates@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      I just read the synopsis for this book… is it anything like House of Leaves?