Books I Really Liked but Can’t Remember Anything/Much About
This is a fun one for me, I’m not 100% sure what will make this list writing it, but I do know of one that’s there without having to think. I ended up going WAY down memory lane for this and I was able to come up with 8 books that I like but I can’t remember much or anything about.
I tweeted about it as I was preparing this post:
Trying to come up with my list of books that I like but can’t remember much about. The major one on this list is Brave New World. I’m going to have to think hard about some other ones.
— ?Brian’s Book Blog? (@brians_books) January 21, 2018
I wrote more about them below, but here were my books:
1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
I feel like almost everyone has read the Hobbit (or tried). I read this years with my dad and I remember liking it. I honestly didn’t see the movie(s) because I couldn’t remember what I liked (and didn’t like) about it. It’s one of the books I’m proud of reading/finishing but I cannot remember much about it. Combine that with the number of movies that have come from this entire series — it’s overwhelming to remember what was from what book.
I might consider going back to this, but it feels overwhelming.
2. The Lost World by Michael Crichton
Easily one of my favorite book duo’s was Crichton’s Jurassic Park and The Lost World. I remember reading these on an old burnt red colored loveseat in my parents’ basement on a hot summer day (this was pre-air conditioning in that house). I would end up moving down there and moving the love seat to a different position, but I still remember where it was and how much I loved both of these books. This is another one where the movie takes away from both books. I would have added Jurassic Park on here but I listened to it on Audible last year so I remember a lot more about that one.
I remember there being a gas station scene in one of the two books that I was mad that they never used in any of the movies. And the biggest thing I remember is that they used scenes from each book in all 3 (maybe even 4 with Jurassic World) movies. The books were so well written and full of detail that they could be parsed 20 years later and still used in a movie.
3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
A game changer in my mind. I remember not liking most books we read in high school, but I remember loving this. I know that this is a classic and I’m curious how much it holds up today. Also, apparently HBO is making a series out of it (since the French movie was not very good), so I’m excited about that.
I still think of this book from time-to-time and I wonder how much I would enjoy it as an adult. It sounds like I’ll be re-reading this in my near future.
4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Another one of those “high school era” books, but this one wasn’t for class. I had a teacher in 10th grade that read us Animal Farm (which could probably also make this list) and I stayed after school one day to talk with him. I told him how much I liked Animal Farm and wanted to read more books like it. He recommended 1984 (probably still my all-time favorite book) and Brave New World (in that order). So, I was intrigued and read them both. I have since re-read 1984 numerous times but Brave New World has not had that benefit.
I wish that I could remember more of the story, but I know that I liked it.
5. The Select by F. Paul Wilson
I cannot tell you how long I searched for this book today. I honestly thought it was by Robin Cook, not F. Paul Wilson and I was mad when I couldn’t find “the one with bandages all over the front cover”. I must have donated this book a while back (I downsized a few years ago and I’m sad about it all the time – I lost some of my favorite hardcovers in that purge).
The Select was one of those medical thrillers that made me realize that I liked medical thrillers. It blew me away and I still think about some of the premises of it years later.
6. Masque by F. Paul Wilson & Matthew J. Costello
Sadly, I do not remember much about this book. I 100% remember sitting on the floor of the then brand new Blasco Library in Erie where I grew up (1996ish) and trying to find a Sci-Fi book that I would like. This one caught my eye because the cover reminded me a bit of Blade Runner. And the story itself sounded like something I would enjoy. I don’t remember much more about it, but I can tell you this — I bought it today from eBay. I needed to own a copy again because I remember liking it a lot as a teenager.
7. Gateway by Frederik Pohl
I believe that there was a video game that I played that was based on this that actually got me into the book. I played the heck out of that game and I wanted to read the story based on it. Now, years later, I barely remember either of them but I know that it was an enjoyable tale.
One of the first “real” science fiction stories that I ever read allows me to remember it fondly. I did pick this up this year from Audible since it was a Daily Deal and I wanted to re-read it.
8. 3001 by Arthur C. Clarke
This was literally the first Sci-Fi book I ever took out of the library. I didn’t know that it was part of a series and I didn’t know that it was going to spur a lifelong love of science fiction storytelling, but it did. I remember zero from this book, literally zero, but I remember loving it.
- The Mayor’s Mission (Home to Milford College #2) by Piper Huguley (Narrated by Shamaan Casey) - September 18, 2023
- New and Notable Audiobook Releases for the Week of September 17th on Brian’s Book Blog - September 18, 2023
- Trust in Truth by Emily Banting (Narrated by Lulu Russell) - September 15, 2023
I’m ashamed to admit I’ve only read one of these books, Jurassic World! I remember what happened in it because I listened to the audio last year 🙂
That should be the Lost World, not Jurassic World!!
I did that with Jurassic Park. I hadn’t read it in YEARS and I had to re-read it (this time on audio). I’m glad I did and I definitely want to re-read The Lost World on audio this year.
I do remember The Hobbit, because I read it a few times as a kid, but I have the same issue with Brave New World.
The Hobbit was one of those “dad really liked this, so I’ll read it” books. But it didn’t stick too much with me. Brave New World seemed to be like a rebound book after loving 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and Animal Farm.
First of all, I love how cleanly designed and readable your blog is!
You’re not missing much by not watching The Hobbit movies, tbh. They’re neither good adaptations of the book nor very comprehensible or entertaining as movies, unfortunately!! (I think Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage did really well in the roles of Bilbo and Thorin, though, which made the movies’ lacklusterness sting even more.)
Fahrenheit 451 is a book that really shocked me when I reread it, because I did not remember the ending *at all*.
Brave New World never really stuck with me, either. I remember enjoying it up until I felt the ending devolved into a sort of ~protagonist monologue against society~. I know it’s heralded as a dystopian classic but, like you, the story was never gripping enough for me to want to reread it. (Though I LOVE 1984 and Animal Farm!)
My TTT
I remember the end of 1984 because it took something from me. It really told me that all stories don’t end the way you expect them to. But Brave New World had that “rant” feeling to it in comparison.