Jerry鈥檚 Year in Books

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2023

24,510

pages read

books read

Jerry Jenkins

Shortest Book

pages

Longest Book

1,294

pages

Average book length in 2023

437

pages

Most Shelved

10,297,696

people also shelved

Dark and Lonely Water by Graeme Reynolds

Least Shelved

424

people also shelved

Jerry鈥檚 average rating for 2023

4.0

Highest Rated on 欧宝娱乐

4.70 average

Jerry鈥檚 first review of the year

liked it

TL;DR A surprisingly well-written novel that mocks the American Dream and the Roaring 20鈥檚. Sacrifices plot and character depth for ideas. Not too bad, but not my taste.

This review will be kinda jumpy and all over the place. I am deliriously sick right now, and I have a lot of thoughts about this book floating around the diseased, jelly-like substance contained within my skull. I also do not want to write an academic essay on this book for my rev TL;DR A surprisingly well-written novel that mocks the American Dream and the Roaring 20鈥檚. Sacrifices plot and character depth for ideas. Not too bad, but not my taste.

This review will be kinda jumpy and all over the place. I am deliriously sick right now, and I have a lot of thoughts about this book floating around the diseased, jelly-like substance contained within my skull. I also do not want to write an academic essay on this book for my review. Thus, I have compiled a seemingly readable amalgamation of my thoughts and opinions, and I hope I have shaped them into a form that makes some sense.

I went into this novel preparing to hate it. I rarely enjoy 鈥渄omestic fiction,鈥� as I call it, since I am an escapist reader with a taste for the weird. However, I have been attempting to power through my physical TBR list since it is enormous. This was one of the books on the list, and one that I was dreading. I haven鈥檛 heard very many good reviews about this one, and it did not seem like I was in for a good time.

Let鈥檚 start with what I liked about this book. First, the writing was surprisingly well-done. With most classics, I find myself slogging through verbose and meaningless prose without getting anywhere in the story. Imagine running on a treadmill, but you are waist high in sludge; that鈥檚 generally what it feels like to me. To my surprise, 鈥淭he Great Gatsby鈥� possesses tight writing and flowing, sometimes poetic prose. This was my favorite part of the book. I also found the symbolism and themes to be interesting and pleasantly 鈥渁gainst the grain.鈥� While I won鈥檛 get into a deeper analysis of the book here (since this is a review of my enjoyment, not an essay), the 1920鈥檚 is often seen as a prosperous party-time in the eyes of the American public. Fitzgerald tears this fa莽ade away to reveal a decade ripe with discontent and strife, and the picture he paints of the wealthy 1920鈥檚 American is not a pleasant one. There are so many themes and symbols throughout the novel, so if you enjoy analyzing literature, you may like this one.

Now onto the dislikes. The book is, unfortunately for me, 鈥渄omestic鈥� 鈥� I found myself bored with the ramblings of the different lunches in New York and the list of party guests in attendance. A book does not need constant action to sustain me, but a book with a focus such as this one should have intriguing characters at least. Instead, this book gives us half-baked characters who possess two or three personality traits at most. I found this lack of depth to be disconcerting, since a lot of these characters have so much potential. And before you, my dear reader, think to yourself 鈥渉E jUsT dOeSn鈥橳 gEt iT鈥� I will let you know: I do get it. I get the point of the book, and I think it displayed its message vividly. I also understand that the characters are meant to represent something, rather than be truly fleshed out. That does not mean it was a tremendously enjoyable read for me, which is how I rate books. A book can possess brilliant characters, plot, and themes without having to sacrifice anything. This book seems to sacrifice a lot of character and plot depth to make room for symbolism and theme, which I do not think was necessary.

That鈥檚 not to say the book isn鈥檛 worth the read 鈥� I think if you enjoy American classics or period pieces, this is an awesome read for you. Its portrayal of the 1920鈥檚 is poignant and shocking, and its criticisms of American culture and the American Dream are still relevant today. That being said, this is more of an academic piece than a pleasure piece. Moreover, it鈥檚 just not the book for me 鈥� and that鈥檚 okay. I am glad I read it, and I hope more people read it, but this is not a novel I鈥檓 gonna recommend if a friend says they want to get back into reading. 5/5 for themes and symbolism, 2/5 for enjoyment.
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闯贰搁搁驰鈥橲 2023 BOOKS

it was amazing

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer

it was amazing

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

it was amazing

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy

it was amazing

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

The Flowers of Buffoonery by Osamu Dazai

The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

it was amazing

The Trouble with Being Born by Emil M. Cioran

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

The Horror in the Museum by H.P. Lovecraft

it was amazing

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

it was amazing

Jerry鈥檚 last review of the year

liked it

TL;DR John Gardner just isn't for me. 3/5 stars.

I've gotta say, Gardner has been 0 out of 2 for me. I don't have much to say about this one - I think it is a case of high expectations and personal taste. Being an aspiring writer (albeit not a very good one), this book was marketed to me as the best thing since sliced bread for any ambitious writer. And while I think it was a masterclass on the technical and philosophical details of writing, I di ...more

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