I was reminded of this famous meme when u spoke about that Rainbow Rowell book '50 Shades of Grey is only "romantic" because he's a billionaire. If he lived in a trailer park it would be an episode of Criminal Minds'
Honestly a lot of YA books could easily be great thriller novels if, instead of the girls being into the hot guys stalking them, they were creeped out.
John Peter Martinez Tolio Yeah, maybe I could even enjoy the rest of the saga, but if the first experience with it was frustrating, nothing will change it.
Like at the very least the first book should have you curious, should set up interesting plotlines and the characters should be likeable enough to be attached, you had a WHOLE book, this is the basic requirement
I kinda get it though. Sometimes a writer learns from the publication of the first book. Maybe they get stronger at plot development and characterization, but still you're right. Having to slog through a book just to get to the good stuff shouldn't really be a thing. Tbh I think mostly it's just so people can justify the things they DO like, which imo is better than insisting a bad book is a good book.
You talking about Attachments reminded me about issues many people had with a movie Passengers - story about interstaller travel where one guy accidentally wakes up 90 years too early from cryo sleep because of bug in the system. Being desperate and lonely, he then wakes up a female passanger, basically signing her death sentence. The story had a great potential to be a sci-fi horror, instead it was sci-fi romance.
That movie honestly only works if you don't think about it at all haha. I mean at least Chris Pratt's character felt a bit bad about what he has done but it wasn't enough.
@@elenaj6134 I actually liked the movie on the 1st watch (I love space movies in general, and the visuals in this one were amazing). But upon rewatching it, as well as watching a couple reviews, it was hard not to see how messed up his actions were (even if neccessary for his sanity). Her forgiving him and getting back together in a way invalidated her trauma and horror of his actions, making it a sweet love story.
I once saw a video of how to fix it to be interesting! You just have to rearrange the three acts, so we realize that he’s the one that woke her up, and then change the ending, where he’s the villain and doesn’t get redemption. I think it would have make an incredible sci fi horror... sadly it wasn’t
@@joselocalau123 Yes, it was in Chris Stuckman joined review on a movie where this concept was mentioned, and then Nerdwriter1 did a dedicated video actually showing how these changes will change the tone of the movie. As a sidenote, it was also interesting for me how this movie was famous for paying Jeniffer Lawrence $20 million for her shorter role (in terms of screentime), and Chris Pratt $12 million with longer screen time presence, portraying it as a "feminist" in terms of "equal" work-pay, while what was done to JLaw characters was anti-feminist in a way, neglecting the trauma her character has experienced.
I read Dune just because of your scathing review because I thought 'it can't be that bad, can it?' and I ended up really enjoying it! So your reviews of it helped me find something I liked and for that I'm grateful
Yes 👏 yes 👏 yes👏 I am SO glad that you said this. 🙌 I can't finish a book of his either! I felt like screaming "get to the point!" And stop being weirdly and sexually graphic about bowl movements (Under the Dome)
Wow, I read Dune in like, 5 days, completely addicted, and ended up loving it . It's funny how a book can work completely different for different people :D
I think Dune is a hit or miss (I haven't read yet but it's on my list). Usually I have the same opinion as Emily but for example I really don't find the Ancestor trilogy that outstanding.
From The Secret Commonwealth: "[...] once or twice when he was teaching her, bending to look over her shoulder at a piece of written work, he'd caught a faint scent from that hair, not of shampoo but of young warm girl, and drawn away at once. At that time, when they were teacher and pupil, anything like that was so wrong, his mind shut it out before it had even fully formed. But four years later, was it still wrong to think about it? [...] He, Malcolm Polstead, aged thirty-one, was in love with her." (pg136) How the FuCk do you ever come back from that? That one passage destroyed the series for me. The fact that he's treated as a serious romantic interest when he's 11 years older than her, *took care of her as a baby* and *was her teacher* .....I truly truly truly hate to see it. Maybe if he were killed off and Lyra either never knew about his feelings or was disgusted by them....but of course that's not what's going to happen and honestly how dare he (philip pullman) do Lyra so dirty
oof, the overly/unnecessarily sexual descriptions of female characters are what stops me from enjoying so many books with detective protagonists (here's looking at you, Dresden Files)....learned a little while back that there's actually a term for when a book-detective can't describe a woman without somehow making it sexual: "noir eyes"
OMG I was snort-laughing when you read the clip from The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. I would LOVE a compilation of you reading ridiculous romance scenes and acting them out. You could be the next Sarah Cooper. Hahahahaha!
Fun fact - the Passanger was supposed to be a thriller, seeb from a prospective of Jennifer Lawrence's character who at the end realizes why she woke up. But no! Someone pulled some strings and it is suddenly a romance.
we should create a drinking game, every time you say "I have a complicated relationship with book/author" we take a shot, deal? anyway, love your videos :)
I have seen the Cursed Child as a play and honestly, it's not worth the money. The effects are amazing, the actors (in the UK) were great, but the story just brought it down SO MUCH.
the cheapest seats I would say i worth it. The view isn’t too bad, and I really enjoyed it (having paid £80 for two tickets to both parts). but £40 + PER TICKET (when you have to buy two per person (which we should all talk about being such a CON)). absolutely not.
I really liked how cut throat you were when talking about those books, including the very popular ones. I love reading but I do tend to be quite harsh in my assessment too, and I rarely find books I truly enjoy because of that 😅
My friend wanted to give away/sell her copy of it but she instead gave it to me. I still plan on actually reading it. Just so I can get what it is about and why it sucks so much.
Elena J I would give it away, but I don’t want anybody to be as disappointed as I was... and I won’t throw it away because it isn’t the trees fault that the book is so bad 🤷🏼♀️
@@emdove Do you have a garden? Mulch the pages of the book and turn them through the dirt. Or, use them to kill unwanted weeds by covering the weed patches with pages and then some stuff to keep them from blowing away. Keep damp, they disintegrate, and have blocked out necessary sun for the plants under them. :)
I totally agree with you about Rainbow Rowell's Attachments! I really enjoyed her other works and was disappointed with how cringe it was! Glad to hear I'm not the only one!
I know not all sci-fi is sexist, but you talking about Dune and Altered Carbon really resonated with me - I recently got into space sci-fi, so I wanted to go through classics in the genre, but so many are sexist that I feel very uncomfortable to the point of DNFing books. There are authors out there which may write more outdated view of women (Stanislaw Lem, Ray Bradbury), but it's still done respectfully. However, with other authors you know the book is sexist from the first pages. That's why when I check out Goodreads reviews on sci-fi, I tend to look for female reviewers, because unfortunately male reviewers sometime not only overlook sexism but even justify it.
So true. And that's not even getting into how they acted towards women in real life. Of course there are always the female authors like Andre Norton or C.J. Cherryh (my personal favorite.)
@@insilencea4599 Thanks for the recommendations! Where do you think it's the best to start with these authors? FYI I usually prefer character-driven sci-fi;)
Videos like these makes me want to read them to relate, then when I do read (z) book and I regret reading it cause it was a waste of time😂. Anyone can relate?
Part of my brain: "Lots of people you trust on TH-cam said this is a terrible book. You shouldn't read it. It's a waste of time." Other part of my brain: "Well, now I want to know WHY they think it's so bad. So I can read it and then hate every moment of it..."
Emily when you said, “She’s staring into the screen and unfocusing her eyes and things just.....” Ha! Sounds like Binti. She stares into space, unfocuses her eyes and boom! Mathematical mysteries unfold before her very eyes and suddenly she’s the savior of the universe. No, I just didn’t buy it. Unpopular opinion, but I did not like this book.
You're very honest and you don't embellish books for the sake of it. I dont know if they ever sponsored you but I love that I can trust your opinions. Other booktubers give 5 stars so easily and I feel like most of them (most popular ones at least) aren't that selective.
Haven't read Attachments, as I'm not a big fan of romance myself, so I can't comment (although it sounds creepy af), but I agree with everything else, apart from Dune. I'm one of the people who love it, it was my first sci-fi.
I watched S1 of Altered Carbon a few months ago. The only things I knew about it was Emily's review of the book ... so I expected a lot more sex scenes and weird male gaze things but it was surprisingly okay? Sometimes the narrator's voice/POV just sucks and colours the story in a really bad way. In a TV series or film you can have a more objective POV and then the plot itself can really shine.
Elena J I watched last year and then I saw the review! Definitely the TV show is way better! OMG YOU HAVE TO WATCH SEASON TWO! IM STILL SCREAMING! I think S2 is way better than S1! I don’t know! It’s like... LWNDKSKS. Recommend!
1:36 I'm so surprised because I have never heard anyone say that they actually liked the cursed child. On booktube, irl, etc. everyone seems to hate it (as we all should).
In retrospect (unless I missed it) I'm surprised Dune wasn't in your last unhaul, then again it certainly came in handy as a fancy paperweight for your fort so maybe worth keeping around after all for when you build another one. Although I think it's is one of the most historically significant books in the genre, and while I loved it, I absolutely think the amount of hype the book gets is both unjustified and rather detrimental to readers' perceptions going in not to mention I think it's absolutely terrible for sci fi newbies; I shake my head and baulk every time it I see it get recommended to someone just starting out in the genre.
What's your just starting out recommendation? Dune has been on my list for a long time because of all the hype but now I'm afraid I won't like it (and will be that guy that slogs through til the last page just to see if I change my mind).
@@katietatey Emily has a beginner's guide to sci-fi video from about 2 months ago that's worth watching. th-cam.com/video/jqJeLKP7zMM/w-d-xo.html Personally, for modern sci fi, I always recommend Children of Time and The Martian for newbies, both are fun and easy into get into. Going back a few years Jurassic Park is a good one if you've already seen the film. Ender's Game is a must-read and easy to pick up with its "Harry Potter in space vibes." Further back to the golden age; Asimov's I, Robot and Clark's 2001 are significant books in the sci fi canon and narratively simply and easy to pick up. The Martian and Ender's Game also have film adaptions which could help you get into their original books. Dune is one of those that I think is best appreciated when you've read a lot more early sci fi from around the Golden Age (nevermind the political landscape of the time) and can see how rather short, dry (but conceptually interesting) and/or campy a lot of the plots of that period tended to be (not to mention how serialized a fair amount of sci fi was at this time) before Dune broke into the scene and in some ways revolutionised just how plot-heavy sci fi could be. Even then it can still come across as a bore which is fine but at least contextually speaking you'll probably appreciate its significance.
I bought The Cursed Child the day it came out and stayed up till 3am reading it. I was SO excited for it, and it was the most disappointing and stupid thing I’ve ever experienced. 🤦🏼♀️
The only one of these I've read is Warcross, and I didn't like it either! I didn't really hate it I just found it so meh and forgettable. There was just nothing in it that grabbed me and the romance was boring and cringe as you said. I've just unhauled it so hopefully whoever gets it from the second hand shop will enjoy it more
I didn't know Alteted Carbon is based on a book. I feel the same way about the show (watched just the first season) as you feel about the book. You are not missing anything by not watching it.
I love the Dune saga and everything Dune related (even the books written by Frank Herbert's son) but I do feel in minority with this. it's normal to like some books and hate others.:)
I thought "The Gunslinger" was fine and the series did get considerably better imo, I loved books 4, 5 and 6 and the first half of book 7. The second half of book 7 sucked so hard though, that I questioned my motives for reading the series
BURNING QUESTION????? I am new to your channel. I love your videos. WHAT is snow globe Emily?!!???? I've looked thru all your old videos and CANNOT figure it out. I MUST KNOW.
Welcome :) You might see in the background on the shelf, she's there with the clip on bangs (to match with me!) and the mask lol Basically I was sent a snow globe with my face in it as PR for my beauty channel. I talked about it in a live show on this channel and we all agreed it was equally hilarious and terrifying... and she's now the mascot lol
Loved this video and your opinions - you explain your feelings so eloquently (yes, even the curse words) 😊 I never considered Attachments to be a thriller but after listening to your review, I will always view it as a thriller! I actually really enjoyed it when I first read it (many years ago) but will now re-read it with creepy stalker Lincoln in mind - I have a feeling it will change my star rating! Also, loved your opinion on Altered Carbon, even though I haven’t read the book and won’t now that I’ve heard your thoughts on it, oversexualized content does mean that their story just isn’t good enough and they’re adding it in for some shock value or strange “entertainment” 🤨
I also hate dystopian/apocalyptic books that don't explain why or how the world is the way it is. One of the worst books I read in that category, it's called Nod by Adrian Barnes. Cool concept, especially nearly everyone stops being able to sleep, except for very few people, including the main character. But it's never explained & in general it wasn't written very well. It's also my issue with the Fifth Wave Trilogy, the first book was pretty good, but in the rest of the series nothing happened and we never got a reason why the aliens did all of those things.
Lol, I loved both of the books you mentioned. xD I actually love ambiguous open endings, makes the books stay with me more and I think about it much longer than books that have a neatly tied now of an ending.
Sadly, I have to totally agree that The Secret Commonwealth was one of the most disappointing books I've ever read. I had all the same problems with it as you, so now I'm wondering why I gave it 3 stars (although I think it was more like 2.5). Growing up, His Dark Materials was so formative and important and magical for me, and I loved the idea of adult Lyra, but god, it was so bad. I'll definitely buy and read the last book, as a completist and to find out what happens, but after that, I'll happily pretend that they don't exist/aren't canon.
I feel a little bit alone in loving The Secret Commonwealth (and the first book, which I REALLY loved) but I am with you on Attachments. I've read some Rainbow Rowell books that I really enjoyed, and some I couldn't stand, like Attachments, and Landline which I dnf'd because I hated all the characters, lol.
the part where you read the lines from maya dyer is so damn funny. i swear it was a life changing and mind blowing book for me six years ago. LOL. in my defense it's the first "paranormal/fantasy" series I read.
i really hate it when people say "just keep reading the series! it gets better!", but i swear, the dark tower series does get better. when i read the gunslinger, i was incredibly disappointed in it to the point that i was thinking about giving up the whole series. the first and second books are like night and day though. they aren't even written in the same style so i would strongly suggest trying at least the second one and see if it's good enough to change your mind. :)
Like you might still like them, Mara Dyer is from the era of trashy good guilty pleasure paranormal rom era like Hush Hush, Twilight etc while Warcross is pretty popular for most people
i think i was the most surprised by book one and two of philip pullman's books! i've yet to read his dark materials but it's sitting on my shelf waiting to be read soon mostly because of you lol
I didn't resonate with The Gunslinger series either Emily- I mean I pushed through with the first one then read 2 and three and gave up at book 4. The storyline was convoluted and mismatched and i found it incredibly dragged out and boring for lack of a better word.
Considering your tastes you should probably give the dark tower series another try. Even for just the next book. The first one works almost as a prologue...Understandably it's a sub standard book but it really picks up from the second one
I never understood people who are starting a fight because someone bashed a book they love. I am following you for a long time now and I never had the urge to leave a mean comment because you did not like Altered carbon or Douglas Adams or Neil Gaiman or magical realism :D I like that you are cofident enough to share your opinion and I have found and read a lot of great books you have recommended. I am especially grateful that you are highlighting a lot of sci-fi!
I agree with you on the Dark Tower and Dune books. Both series do get better with each additional book. It's just that first book that makes you question if you want to read the rest.
"Gunslinger" is not a good book by far. The second one is absolutely amazing and the third one is also very good. The fourth one, where I am, is a bit of a slog in the middle.
I remember starting reading Altered Carbon a few years ago, but I stopped and I didn't know why. But watching the videos, I remember that I was quite turned off for the same reason as you: the book started with a sex scene and I don't really SF for that (even if it doesn't bother me), I felt it was unnecessarly oversexualized and I didn't want to go on. The first book of The Gunslinger is not good, Stephen King wrote it at 18 if my memory is good, but I really enjoyed the rest of the series. I wonder if it's possible to skip the first one and going on?
I'm pretty sure there are 2 versions of The Gunslinger. I remember starting the original and thinking it was so confusing. I think he rewrote it and the second version is so much better!
the flashback to u reviewing/reading the mara dyer book surprised me coz i couldve sworn that was another booktuber i follow. did not realized it was you lol. it was the bangs i guess 😅
Hey there Emily. How are you doing? How is your squirrel friend doing? I have not read any of those books, so I can't say any opinions on them. Right now, I am hard at work reading the Collector's Edition of the manga Fruits Basket. It is a really good comedy with a few magical twists to it. I am also still working on listening to Grave Peril by Jim Butcher and the Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan.
I just found your channel and i’m obsessed I love your accent I just find it rly captivating I’m thinking you’re from Montreal but idrk anyways I personally like altered carbon some scenes in the first season but i still rly liked it (Ok so i just watched your july tbr and i’m pretty sure i got my answer i’m from montreal and it’s refreshing to see sm1 speak the same language anyways i love your videos)
The gunslinger is not only veeery different in quality to the rest of the series, it's almost a different genre. The writing style is very different to the rest of the series, so if you ever feel curious about the Dark Tower saga, DON'T base it on the first one and just consider it a completely separate thing. I haven't read the last books, but I do think it's something worth reading and very unique. Happy day everyone!
I'm pretty sure Dune was my first Scifi. I think I was in sixth grade when I read it. I have been thinking about rereading it. There's a miniseries that David Lynch did. I think it was on Sci-fi long before the stupid change to SyFy. The new movie is pretty much the reason I've been wanting to re-read it.
The David Lynch Dune was not a miniseries but in fact a film realised in 1984. It's not one of Lynch's best, but I love it nonetheless since I've loved the Dune series since I read it first, 25 years ago. The miniseries dates from the early 2000's and while it's more faithful to the books in some aspects, I still prefer the amazing atmosphere of Lynch's messy weird version. As a Dune series lover though, my favourite book hasn't been adapted - that I know: the God Emperor of Dune. It's so dark, tragic and epic. Anyway. I hope you'll like what you'll read and though I don't have much hope about the upcoming film, I hope you'll also be inspired to read the whole series thanks to it! ❤
Okay that's good to know. Obviously I never saw one and just knew it was adapted. I want to say Kyle McLaughlin was in it as Paul. I have so many series to read but I have been trying to get more into scifi. I used to read more of it and don't want to burn out burn on a genre like I did with fantasy.
@@weirdstrangegirl Kyle MacLachlan, yes! He indeed played Paul Atreides in Lynch's version, being one of his recurring actors, and his interpretation contributes a lot to the weird dreamlike atmosphere of the film. 😊 (yeah I'm also a Lynch fan) I completely understand and agree about the genre overdose. I have done that with thrillers a few years ago, I really struggle with reading this genre now, to the point that even skimming summaries of thrillers bores me to death! I'm trying to avoid doing that with YA fantasy, and it's difficult since half of the new books out there seem to be YA fantasy...
I have been disappointed with attachments too but I am also very curious to read the Philip Pullman book . Maybe I will throw the book while reading it lol
love the video! btw the magic ex libris series by jim c. hines is a great paranormal/urban fantasy if you're looking for something like that (also magic librarians!)
the attachment sounds like a horrible book. I just watched the documentary about the Preppy killer and he actually commit to murdering a girl in central park but she got the blame because he hang with the upper east side crowd and was "movie star" handsome. what the actual F. So I guess its true that everything is okay as long as the perpetrator looks good.
Gunslinger is a horrible entry to the series. Malazan and Black Company series also have a similar 1st book problem. I also did not like the Gunslinger first time I read it.
Could you make a Video about your favorite books, but not (mainly) because of the story, but because you have fond memorys of it or you like the cover so much. Hoppfully you understand what i mean.
I have never read Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, but it has the same issue I had with Twilight, romanticizing stalking/getting stalked. That kept me from reading past the first book.
lol I read the whole Mara Dyer trilogy several years ago and it's a tropey forgettable mess. It also falls into the trap of, like, world ending danger that gets completely overtaken by a soppy romance that I diiiid not care about
Oh, the Dark Tower series. So much I could say. So much anger that hasn't dissipated one iota in about 15 years for me. If you choose to continue, stop after Wizard and Glass. Just end it there, like I wish I had. You see, I read those books over and over (1-4) for YEARS, waiting for him to finish that series. Many people did! Old women on their deathbeds wrote to him begging for answers. It was a big deal. And I loved the story, even the weird bits, because King. Somehow I went without finding out that he had completed it, and around 2005 I binged books 5-7 in about a week. I literally used up excess PTO at work, just to read these books that I had waited years for. And Stephen King just.....takes a giant, steaming **** on the doorstep of his "Constant Reader", in them. He commits what to me is the worst sin an author can commit. You should have seen the messages I got on Goodreads just for a comment about it! (I, too, have a weak woman brain.) Anyway, I no longer loathe him as a person as I did immediately following the conclusion of the series, but I rarely read anything he puts out (I think possibly only 11/23/63) and I just don't care to read anything by him any more. Cursed Child doesn't exist.
Omg the Cursed Child is literally the worst. I couldn't even make it through a quarter of the story. It's like bad fanfiction. Edit: So the main dude of Attachments is an IT guy with multiple degrees and he's too dumb/lazy to make his own lunch? And people are attracted to this guy? Why?
I was reminded of this famous meme when u spoke about that Rainbow Rowell book
'50 Shades of Grey is only
"romantic" because he's a
billionaire. If he lived in a
trailer park it would be an
episode of Criminal Minds'
@Lana Joy bcs of sad married middle aged woman wanting some fantasy go spice up their life
Honestly a lot of YA books could easily be great thriller novels if, instead of the girls being into the hot guys stalking them, they were creeped out.
Lmao, I can't stop thinking of examples of this now. Excellent observation.
*cough* Hopeless by Colleen Hoover *cough*
Winki lol ANY book by Colleen Hoover
"i dont even wanna wipe my ass with it" what an iconic start
I hate it when people say read the rest of the books. like the book should be a thing of its own outside of the series.
John Peter Martinez Tolio Yeah, maybe I could even enjoy the rest of the saga, but if the first experience with it was frustrating, nothing will change it.
As my queen Kat (paperbackdreams) once said, "I'll like the good shit NOW sir!"
Like at the very least the first book should have you curious, should set up interesting plotlines and the characters should be likeable enough to be attached, you had a WHOLE book, this is the basic requirement
I kinda get it though. Sometimes a writer learns from the publication of the first book. Maybe they get stronger at plot development and characterization, but still you're right. Having to slog through a book just to get to the good stuff shouldn't really be a thing.
Tbh I think mostly it's just so people can justify the things they DO like, which imo is better than insisting a bad book is a good book.
Attachments is literally that song "you don't need a boyfriend you need a therapist".
I love how your French accent comes out when you say ‘no’ 😂♥️
Lol, she's not French. She's Canadian
@@Claire-td1ng She's French Canadian...
@@katherinesquire7234 Exactly, she's Canadian. The pronounciation and accent from French Canadian and French are completely different
@@Claire-td1ng But it's still French
You talking about Attachments reminded me about issues many people had with a movie Passengers - story about interstaller travel where one guy accidentally wakes up 90 years too early from cryo sleep because of bug in the system. Being desperate and lonely, he then wakes up a female passanger, basically signing her death sentence. The story had a great potential to be a sci-fi horror, instead it was sci-fi romance.
That movie honestly only works if you don't think about it at all haha. I mean at least Chris Pratt's character felt a bit bad about what he has done but it wasn't enough.
Yup that's the movie I mentioned!
@@elenaj6134 I actually liked the movie on the 1st watch (I love space movies in general, and the visuals in this one were amazing). But upon rewatching it, as well as watching a couple reviews, it was hard not to see how messed up his actions were (even if neccessary for his sanity). Her forgiving him and getting back together in a way invalidated her trauma and horror of his actions, making it a sweet love story.
I once saw a video of how to fix it to be interesting! You just have to rearrange the three acts, so we realize that he’s the one that woke her up, and then change the ending, where he’s the villain and doesn’t get redemption. I think it would have make an incredible sci fi horror... sadly it wasn’t
@@joselocalau123 Yes, it was in Chris Stuckman joined review on a movie where this concept was mentioned, and then Nerdwriter1 did a dedicated video actually showing how these changes will change the tone of the movie.
As a sidenote, it was also interesting for me how this movie was famous for paying Jeniffer Lawrence $20 million for her shorter role (in terms of screentime), and Chris Pratt $12 million with longer screen time presence, portraying it as a "feminist" in terms of "equal" work-pay, while what was done to JLaw characters was anti-feminist in a way, neglecting the trauma her character has experienced.
I read Dune just because of your scathing review because I thought 'it can't be that bad, can it?' and I ended up really enjoying it! So your reviews of it helped me find something I liked and for that I'm grateful
Such a sweet comment!
I love this comment. I am so happy you discovered something you enjoy!
She did that for me with altered carbon but then again i loved the show first so.. I just didnt know there was a book.
Dune is amazinggggg! I was so sad she didn’t like it!!
YESS!! DUNE IS GOOD
Can't wait for the new movie this year and to hear Hans Zimmer's score
*sees Emily putting Harry Potter and the cursed child back in the bookshelf
me: ah yes, I felt that
Would've felt better if she threw that shit
I genuinely can’t get through any Stephen King books. I’ve tried so many and I just can’t stand it. He takes 50 pages to get to one single point. 😴
Omg so true
Yes 👏 yes 👏 yes👏
I am SO glad that you said this. 🙌
I can't finish a book of his either!
I felt like screaming "get to the point!" And stop being weirdly and sexually graphic about bowl movements (Under the Dome)
Honestly, same.
TRY THE LONG WALK!!! it’s so underrated (and super short!!!! so an easy read) it had me on my toes the whole time because of how disturbed it made me.
Cell was the only Stephen king book I’ve ever got though and I LOVED it!!! But oh god the rest I agree 100%
Wow, I read Dune in like, 5 days, completely addicted, and ended up loving it . It's funny how a book can work completely different for different people :D
I think Dune is a hit or miss (I haven't read yet but it's on my list). Usually I have the same opinion as Emily but for example I really don't find the Ancestor trilogy that outstanding.
From The Secret Commonwealth:
"[...] once or twice when he was teaching her, bending to look over her shoulder at a piece of written work, he'd caught a faint scent from that hair, not of shampoo but of young warm girl, and drawn away at once. At that time, when they were teacher and pupil, anything like that was so wrong, his mind shut it out before it had even fully formed.
But four years later, was it still wrong to think about it? [...] He, Malcolm Polstead, aged thirty-one, was in love with her." (pg136)
How the FuCk do you ever come back from that? That one passage destroyed the series for me. The fact that he's treated as a serious romantic interest when he's 11 years older than her, *took care of her as a baby* and *was her teacher* .....I truly truly truly hate to see it. Maybe if he were killed off and Lyra either never knew about his feelings or was disgusted by them....but of course that's not what's going to happen and honestly how dare he (philip pullman) do Lyra so dirty
"Elusive globes" is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I prefer to call them inaccessible spheres.
oof, the overly/unnecessarily sexual descriptions of female characters are what stops me from enjoying so many books with detective protagonists (here's looking at you, Dresden Files)....learned a little while back that there's actually a term for when a book-detective can't describe a woman without somehow making it sexual: "noir eyes"
You at 3:00 smirking and going "non" is literally me every day of my life talking to people lmao
I was eating lunch when you said "elusive globes" and almost choked with laughter. 🤣
You did the 20:20 again!😂😂🤭
I wanted to like this comment but 20 people have liked it and I don't want to ruin it lol
5:38 This reminds of the girl that watches "365 Days" every day and wishes she was kidnapped too.
OMG I was snort-laughing when you read the clip from The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. I would LOVE a compilation of you reading ridiculous romance scenes and acting them out. You could be the next Sarah Cooper. Hahahahaha!
Fun fact - the Passanger was supposed to be a thriller, seeb from a prospective of Jennifer Lawrence's character who at the end realizes why she woke up. But no! Someone pulled some strings and it is suddenly a romance.
Woah, that would've been so much cooler. Now I'm sad.
we should create a drinking game, every time you say "I have a complicated relationship with book/author" we take a shot, deal? anyway, love your videos :)
I mostly say that about Blake Crouch tbh lol
@@BookswithEmilyFox I feel like you say it at least once in every video x'D
I have seen the Cursed Child as a play and honestly, it's not worth the money. The effects are amazing, the actors (in the UK) were great, but the story just brought it down SO MUCH.
Its worse than any fanfic I ever read
the cheapest seats I would say i worth it. The view isn’t too bad, and I really enjoyed it (having paid £80 for two tickets to both parts). but £40 + PER TICKET (when you have to buy two per person (which we should all talk about being such a CON)). absolutely not.
I really liked how cut throat you were when talking about those books, including the very popular ones. I love reading but I do tend to be quite harsh in my assessment too, and I rarely find books I truly enjoy because of that 😅
Wasn't even considering reading the cursed child but now I borrowed it from a friend just to understand all the hate 😂
My friend wanted to give away/sell her copy of it but she instead gave it to me. I still plan on actually reading it. Just so I can get what it is about and why it sucks so much.
Elena J I would give it away, but I don’t want anybody to be as disappointed as I was... and I won’t throw it away because it isn’t the trees fault that the book is so bad 🤷🏼♀️
@@emdove Do you have a garden? Mulch the pages of the book and turn them through the dirt. Or, use them to kill unwanted weeds by covering the weed patches with pages and then some stuff to keep them from blowing away. Keep damp, they disintegrate, and have blocked out necessary sun for the plants under them. :)
I totally agree with you about Rainbow Rowell's Attachments! I really enjoyed her other works and was disappointed with how cringe it was! Glad to hear I'm not the only one!
I know not all sci-fi is sexist, but you talking about Dune and Altered Carbon really resonated with me - I recently got into space sci-fi, so I wanted to go through classics in the genre, but so many are sexist that I feel very uncomfortable to the point of DNFing books.
There are authors out there which may write more outdated view of women (Stanislaw Lem, Ray Bradbury), but it's still done respectfully. However, with other authors you know the book is sexist from the first pages. That's why when I check out Goodreads reviews on sci-fi, I tend to look for female reviewers, because unfortunately male reviewers sometime not only overlook sexism but even justify it.
So true. And that's not even getting into how they acted towards women in real life. Of course there are always the female authors like Andre Norton or C.J. Cherryh (my personal favorite.)
@@insilencea4599 Thanks for the recommendations! Where do you think it's the best to start with these authors?
FYI I usually prefer character-driven sci-fi;)
Videos like these makes me want to read them to relate, then when I do read (z) book and I regret reading it cause it was a waste of time😂. Anyone can relate?
What tempts me to read a book if it's sort of "controversial": People either love it or hate it. It makes me want to see which camp I belong to 😅
Part of my brain: "Lots of people you trust on TH-cam said this is a terrible book. You shouldn't read it. It's a waste of time."
Other part of my brain: "Well, now I want to know WHY they think it's so bad. So I can read it and then hate every moment of it..."
Emily when you said, “She’s staring into the screen and unfocusing her eyes and things just.....” Ha! Sounds like Binti. She stares into space, unfocuses her eyes and boom! Mathematical mysteries unfold before her very eyes and suddenly she’s the savior of the universe. No, I just didn’t buy it. Unpopular opinion, but I did not like this book.
I laughed out loud when you said you were waiting for the kids to die in "Run". Great video.
I laughed so hard when you were reading The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer you looked and sound so disgusted. 😂
You're very honest and you don't embellish books for the sake of it. I dont know if they ever sponsored you but I love that I can trust your opinions. Other booktubers give 5 stars so easily and I feel like most of them (most popular ones at least) aren't that selective.
Hated the gunslinger but really enjoyed the rest of the series
im right now at the four book in the dark tower series and its keep getting better. its amazing
Haven't read Attachments, as I'm not a big fan of romance myself, so I can't comment (although it sounds creepy af), but I agree with everything else, apart from Dune. I'm one of the people who love it, it was my first sci-fi.
The TV show for Altered Carbon there’s just like one sex scene I guess. It’s really good. It seems it’s way better than the book. 😂😂
I watched S1 of Altered Carbon a few months ago. The only things I knew about it was Emily's review of the book ... so I expected a lot more sex scenes and weird male gaze things but it was surprisingly okay? Sometimes the narrator's voice/POV just sucks and colours the story in a really bad way. In a TV series or film you can have a more objective POV and then the plot itself can really shine.
Elena J I watched last year and then I saw the review! Definitely the TV show is way better! OMG YOU HAVE TO WATCH SEASON TWO! IM STILL SCREAMING! I think S2 is way better than S1! I don’t know! It’s like... LWNDKSKS. Recommend!
Another accidentally 20:20 video lol.
I wanted to like this comment, but it has 20 likes and I don't want to ruin it haha
Yes, i do love when you’re harsh and bitter
It’s hilarious 😂
1:36 I'm so surprised because I have never heard anyone say that they actually liked the cursed child. On booktube, irl, etc. everyone seems to hate it (as we all should).
I will never go anywhere near the Cursed Child. I REFUSE to have my fond childhood memories of HP ruined.
Same. I ain't touching that. HP ends at Deathly Hallows. And that's that.
In retrospect (unless I missed it) I'm surprised Dune wasn't in your last unhaul, then again it certainly came in handy as a fancy paperweight for your fort so maybe worth keeping around after all for when you build another one.
Although I think it's is one of the most historically significant books in the genre, and while I loved it, I absolutely think the amount of hype the book gets is both unjustified and rather detrimental to readers' perceptions going in not to mention I think it's absolutely terrible for sci fi newbies; I shake my head and baulk every time it I see it get recommended to someone just starting out in the genre.
What's your just starting out recommendation? Dune has been on my list for a long time because of all the hype but now I'm afraid I won't like it (and will be that guy that slogs through til the last page just to see if I change my mind).
@@katietatey Emily has a beginner's guide to sci-fi video from about 2 months ago that's worth watching. th-cam.com/video/jqJeLKP7zMM/w-d-xo.html
Personally, for modern sci fi, I always recommend Children of Time and The Martian for newbies, both are fun and easy into get into. Going back a few years Jurassic Park is a good one if you've already seen the film. Ender's Game is a must-read and easy to pick up with its "Harry Potter in space vibes." Further back to the golden age; Asimov's I, Robot and Clark's 2001 are significant books in the sci fi canon and narratively simply and easy to pick up. The Martian and Ender's Game also have film adaptions which could help you get into their original books.
Dune is one of those that I think is best appreciated when you've read a lot more early sci fi from around the Golden Age (nevermind the political landscape of the time) and can see how rather short, dry (but conceptually interesting) and/or campy a lot of the plots of that period tended to be (not to mention how serialized a fair amount of sci fi was at this time) before Dune broke into the scene and in some ways revolutionised just how plot-heavy sci fi could be. Even then it can still come across as a bore which is fine but at least contextually speaking you'll probably appreciate its significance.
yesss!!!! finally someone who also hates dune😭😭 dude that book annoys me to no end like i have no idea why so many people love it so much💀
I can’t believe I hadn’t come across you earlier ur so funny and I love your vids new sub 💗
I bought The Cursed Child the day it came out and stayed up till 3am reading it. I was SO excited for it, and it was the most disappointing and stupid thing I’ve ever experienced. 🤦🏼♀️
The only one of these I've read is Warcross, and I didn't like it either! I didn't really hate it I just found it so meh and forgettable. There was just nothing in it that grabbed me and the romance was boring and cringe as you said. I've just unhauled it so hopefully whoever gets it from the second hand shop will enjoy it more
I love salty Emily! ❤️
I didn't know Alteted Carbon is based on a book. I feel the same way about the show (watched just the first season) as you feel about the book. You are not missing anything by not watching it.
I love the Dune saga and everything Dune related (even the books written by Frank Herbert's son) but I do feel in minority with this. it's normal to like some books and hate others.:)
I thought "The Gunslinger" was fine and the series did get considerably better imo, I loved books 4, 5 and 6 and the first half of book 7. The second half of book 7 sucked so hard though, that I questioned my motives for reading the series
The Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play is soooooo good I watched it December last year👌
BURNING QUESTION????? I am new to your channel. I love your videos. WHAT is snow globe Emily?!!???? I've looked thru all your old videos and CANNOT figure it out. I MUST KNOW.
Welcome :) You might see in the background on the shelf, she's there with the clip on bangs (to match with me!) and the mask lol
Basically I was sent a snow globe with my face in it as PR for my beauty channel. I talked about it in a live show on this channel and we all agreed it was equally hilarious and terrifying... and she's now the mascot lol
Loved this video and your opinions - you explain your feelings so eloquently (yes, even the curse words) 😊 I never considered Attachments to be a thriller but after listening to your review, I will always view it as a thriller! I actually really enjoyed it when I first read it (many years ago) but will now re-read it with creepy stalker Lincoln in mind - I have a feeling it will change my star rating! Also, loved your opinion on Altered Carbon, even though I haven’t read the book and won’t now that I’ve heard your thoughts on it, oversexualized content does mean that their story just isn’t good enough and they’re adding it in for some shock value or strange “entertainment” 🤨
I also hate dystopian/apocalyptic books that don't explain why or how the world is the way it is. One of the worst books I read in that category, it's called Nod by Adrian Barnes. Cool concept, especially nearly everyone stops being able to sleep, except for very few people, including the main character. But it's never explained & in general it wasn't written very well. It's also my issue with the Fifth Wave Trilogy, the first book was pretty good, but in the rest of the series nothing happened and we never got a reason why the aliens did all of those things.
Lol, I loved both of the books you mentioned. xD I actually love ambiguous open endings, makes the books stay with me more and I think about it much longer than books that have a neatly tied now of an ending.
Your comment on Dune left me laughing on the floor in my kitchen!!
Sadly, I have to totally agree that The Secret Commonwealth was one of the most disappointing books I've ever read. I had all the same problems with it as you, so now I'm wondering why I gave it 3 stars (although I think it was more like 2.5). Growing up, His Dark Materials was so formative and important and magical for me, and I loved the idea of adult Lyra, but god, it was so bad. I'll definitely buy and read the last book, as a completist and to find out what happens, but after that, I'll happily pretend that they don't exist/aren't canon.
I feel a little bit alone in loving The Secret Commonwealth (and the first book, which I REALLY loved) but I am with you on Attachments. I've read some Rainbow Rowell books that I really enjoyed, and some I couldn't stand, like Attachments, and Landline which I dnf'd because I hated all the characters, lol.
I absolutely adored TSC!
the part where you read the lines from maya dyer is so damn funny. i swear it was a life changing and mind blowing book for me six years ago. LOL. in my defense it's the first "paranormal/fantasy" series I read.
Haha 😄
i really hate it when people say "just keep reading the series! it gets better!", but i swear, the dark tower series does get better. when i read the gunslinger, i was incredibly disappointed in it to the point that i was thinking about giving up the whole series. the first and second books are like night and day though. they aren't even written in the same style so i would strongly suggest trying at least the second one and see if it's good enough to change your mind. :)
Should you finish a book that you just don’t like or can’t get into?
New to your channel,but love your no bullshit reviews and your sense of humour,a new fan and subscriber.
p.s. Dune & The gunslinger are 2 of my favourite books..but meh tastes are different.
Yikes, I just ordered the Mara Dyer Trilogy and the Warcross Duology 😬
Like you might still like them, Mara Dyer is from the era of trashy good guilty pleasure paranormal rom era like Hush Hush, Twilight etc while Warcross is pretty popular for most people
i think i was the most surprised by book one and two of philip pullman's books! i've yet to read his dark materials but it's sitting on my shelf waiting to be read soon mostly because of you lol
I did really love Dune but I absolutely understand what you mean about the bait and switch and felt the same way.
I didn't resonate with The Gunslinger series either Emily- I mean I pushed through with the first one then read 2 and three and gave up at book 4. The storyline was convoluted and mismatched and i found it incredibly dragged out and boring for lack of a better word.
Considering your tastes you should probably give the dark tower series another try. Even for just the next book. The first one works almost as a prologue...Understandably it's a sub standard book but it really picks up from the second one
I never understood people who are starting a fight because someone bashed a book they love. I am following you for a long time now and I never had the urge to leave a mean comment because you did not like Altered carbon or Douglas Adams or Neil Gaiman or magical realism :D I like that you are cofident enough to share your opinion and I have found and read a lot of great books you have recommended. I am especially grateful that you are highlighting a lot of sci-fi!
I agree with you on the Dark Tower and Dune books. Both series do get better with each additional book. It's just that first book that makes you question if you want to read the rest.
"Gunslinger" is not a good book by far. The second one is absolutely amazing and the third one is also very good. The fourth one, where I am, is a bit of a slog in the middle.
Wow, really? I thought Wizard and Glass was one of the best in the series once you acclimate to the extended flashback. Agree on Gunslinger though.
This was my experience with the series too. The second and third ones were the best, the others just dragged for me.
I remember starting reading Altered Carbon a few years ago, but I stopped and I didn't know why. But watching the videos, I remember that I was quite turned off for the same reason as you: the book started with a sex scene and I don't really SF for that (even if it doesn't bother me), I felt it was unnecessarly oversexualized and I didn't want to go on.
The first book of The Gunslinger is not good, Stephen King wrote it at 18 if my memory is good, but I really enjoyed the rest of the series. I wonder if it's possible to skip the first one and going on?
I'm pretty sure there are 2 versions of The Gunslinger. I remember starting the original and thinking it was so confusing. I think he rewrote it and the second version is so much better!
I just got an ad for a Hitch Bottle... Design-wise it was great, but the amount of cups wasted on a commercial to make me not waste cups... 😂
for Run- that's how i felt with wilder girls
the flashback to u reviewing/reading the mara dyer book surprised me coz i couldve sworn that was another booktuber i follow. did not realized it was you lol. it was the bangs i guess 😅
Hey there Emily. How are you doing? How is your squirrel friend doing? I have not read any of those books, so I can't say any opinions on them. Right now, I am hard at work reading the Collector's Edition of the manga Fruits Basket. It is a really good comedy with a few magical twists to it. I am also still working on listening to Grave Peril by Jim Butcher and the Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan.
Finally someone cringing at the warcross romance as well!!!!! I couldn't bare it and did not finish that book because of it
It took me a few tries to get into the gunslinger but if you get through the first one the rest will make it worth it.
"I was hoping they'd die painfully." Mood. :D :D :D
I love those videos of yours😆💜
I needed a good laugh and this video was hilarious.
I just found your channel and i’m obsessed I love your accent I just find it rly captivating I’m thinking you’re from Montreal but idrk anyways I personally like altered carbon some scenes in the first season but i still rly liked it
(Ok so i just watched your july tbr and i’m pretty sure i got my answer i’m from montreal and it’s refreshing to see sm1 speak the same language anyways i love your videos)
Not from Montreal but Quebecoise :)
The gunslinger is not only veeery different in quality to the rest of the series, it's almost a different genre. The writing style is very different to the rest of the series, so if you ever feel curious about the Dark Tower saga, DON'T base it on the first one and just consider it a completely separate thing. I haven't read the last books, but I do think it's something worth reading and very unique. Happy day everyone!
I'm pretty sure Dune was my first Scifi. I think I was in sixth grade when I read it. I have been thinking about rereading it. There's a miniseries that David Lynch did. I think it was on Sci-fi long before the stupid change to SyFy. The new movie is pretty much the reason I've been wanting to re-read it.
The David Lynch Dune was not a miniseries but in fact a film realised in 1984. It's not one of Lynch's best, but I love it nonetheless since I've loved the Dune series since I read it first, 25 years ago.
The miniseries dates from the early 2000's and while it's more faithful to the books in some aspects, I still prefer the amazing atmosphere of Lynch's messy weird version.
As a Dune series lover though, my favourite book hasn't been adapted - that I know: the God Emperor of Dune. It's so dark, tragic and epic.
Anyway. I hope you'll like what you'll read and though I don't have much hope about the upcoming film, I hope you'll also be inspired to read the whole series thanks to it! ❤
Okay that's good to know. Obviously I never saw one and just knew it was adapted. I want to say Kyle McLaughlin was in it as Paul. I have so many series to read but I have been trying to get more into scifi. I used to read more of it and don't want to burn out burn on a genre like I did with fantasy.
@@weirdstrangegirl Kyle MacLachlan, yes! He indeed played Paul Atreides in Lynch's version, being one of his recurring actors, and his interpretation contributes a lot to the weird dreamlike atmosphere of the film. 😊 (yeah I'm also a Lynch fan)
I completely understand and agree about the genre overdose. I have done that with thrillers a few years ago, I really struggle with reading this genre now, to the point that even skimming summaries of thrillers bores me to death!
I'm trying to avoid doing that with YA fantasy, and it's difficult since half of the new books out there seem to be YA fantasy...
3:03 “No.” 😂😂
I have been disappointed with attachments too but I am also very curious to read the Philip Pullman book . Maybe I will throw the book while reading it lol
love the video! btw the magic ex libris series by jim c. hines is a great paranormal/urban fantasy if you're looking for something like that (also magic librarians!)
WHYS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT SHE READ 400 BOOKS
I totally agree with the Mara Dyer books. I read the first and second, but couldn’t bring myself to finish the trilogy.
the attachment sounds like a horrible book. I just watched the documentary about the Preppy killer and he actually commit to murdering a girl in central park but she got the blame because he hang with the upper east side crowd and was "movie star" handsome. what the actual F. So I guess its true that everything is okay as long as the perpetrator looks good.
girllll you spilleddd. periodt
😂😂😂😂 I basically died laughing in the first 5 seconds
I was expecting Throne of Glass to be in your list. I love the series but i really enjoy watching you just hate on it.
Hi! I really love your channel ! Are you French ??? Wow, you're accent is perfect 😍 wish mine was similar 😍😍
French Canadian :)
The gunslinger is MY FAVOURITE book series but i agree that the first one is a marmite book.
Gunslinger is a horrible entry to the series. Malazan and Black Company series also have a similar 1st book problem. I also did not like the Gunslinger first time I read it.
I like when you say No No No! with french accent 😄
Could you make a Video about your favorite books, but not (mainly) because of the story, but because you have fond memorys of it or you like the cover so much. Hoppfully you understand what i mean.
I have never read Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, but it has the same issue I had with Twilight, romanticizing stalking/getting stalked. That kept me from reading past the first book.
I'm soon finishing the Harry Potter series. Do you recommend me picking up Harry Potter and the Cursed Child or just stay away from it?
Stay away!!
lol I read the whole Mara Dyer trilogy several years ago and it's a tropey forgettable mess. It also falls into the trap of, like, world ending danger that gets completely overtaken by a soppy romance that I diiiid not care about
I read the cursed child after I finished the original saga, and I loved it. A few days ago I tried to read it again, and I couldn't because of boredom
Oh, the Dark Tower series. So much I could say. So much anger that hasn't dissipated one iota in about 15 years for me. If you choose to continue, stop after Wizard and Glass. Just end it there, like I wish I had. You see, I read those books over and over (1-4) for YEARS, waiting for him to finish that series. Many people did! Old women on their deathbeds wrote to him begging for answers. It was a big deal. And I loved the story, even the weird bits, because King.
Somehow I went without finding out that he had completed it, and around 2005 I binged books 5-7 in about a week. I literally used up excess PTO at work, just to read these books that I had waited years for. And Stephen King just.....takes a giant, steaming **** on the doorstep of his "Constant Reader", in them. He commits what to me is the worst sin an author can commit. You should have seen the messages I got on Goodreads just for a comment about it! (I, too, have a weak woman brain.) Anyway, I no longer loathe him as a person as I did immediately following the conclusion of the series, but I rarely read anything he puts out (I think possibly only 11/23/63) and I just don't care to read anything by him any more.
Cursed Child doesn't exist.
Omg the Cursed Child is literally the worst. I couldn't even make it through a quarter of the story. It's like bad fanfiction.
Edit: So the main dude of Attachments is an IT guy with multiple degrees and he's too dumb/lazy to make his own lunch? And people are attracted to this guy?
Why?