Hahaha this was entertaining. I always think about doing 1 star reviews of my favs but I tend to get a little cranky when I do so so.....I don't know that I have ever gone from full on hate to full on love but I've definitely gone slightly negative/lukewarm to enjoy.
The Magician's Nephew isn't magical, whaaaat?!? The scene with the pools of water in the forest remains one of, if not the most beautifully magical scenes I've ever read in my life!! I'm really disappointed in that reviewer, haha...
Omg, I just LOVED that video! I've read all those books except Recursion (I've only read Black Matter and couldn't look past those plot holes and *SPOILER* how easy it would've been for the main character's "doppelganger" to go back with the woman he loves if that main character got to have sex with her so easily 🤡). *END OF SPOILER* What you're saying about Twilight IS fascinating because I definitely was that teenager, but I still wish my parents had had healthy conversations with me about relationships, but they weren't those kind of parents (and I did date someone at that time and we were both struggling in our personal life and relying way to much on one another for emotional support - it could have been worst, he wasn't abusive, but you get the picture). I agree about The Name of The Wind but still loved reading it, and read it so quickly too because I was drawn by how immersive and beautifully written it was. I however didn't care for Kvothe so never continued on 😅 Tried The Way of Kings and because I care a lot about prose I DNFed it pretty early on. 🤷♀️ Loved Magician's Nephew, but I think I could appreciate it much more because I had read The Lion & The Witch first (I was 13-14) since it reads much younger than the other books in the series in my opinion. But I love them all and I do believe it also has to do with me being a Christian as I love them for those allegories. I think they're absolutely brilliant. And now, The Sword of Kaigen must be the one I disagree the most with as I loved everything about it, but that might have to do with me knowing there would be some info dumping at the beginning. As a historical fiction reader (it's my second favourite genre), I really didn't mind, it wasn't that long at all (but I'm also a classics reader so I guess I have more patience, especially when I enjoy the prose and the character work). It was one of the most moving Fantasy novels I've ever read, its thematical depth blew my mind, especially as a married woman with strong maternal instincts (though I've yet to have children). I think it's the kind of book you can definitely appreciate more after having had some more complex experiences in relationships and in life in general, but I feel you have to care more about those themes and character study because the world-building could definitely have had more depth. Now, I don't think I've ever really pushed myself through books I didn't enjoy at all. The only one I can think of is the LOTR as there were quite a few dragging parts in Fellowship and Two Towers I didn't care for (aka Tom Bombadil and Treebeard), BUT I clearly didn't hate it, many parts really drew me in, I thought the characters unique and interesting (for the most part), that world felt so real, AND Tolkien's prose really was stunning and incredibly immersive. Return of The King is my favourite installment, the one that made me love the entire story, but it wouldn't have moved me so much if I hadn't truly gone on that entire journey (but I still waited quite some time between each installments). On another not, I DNFed The Assassin's Apprentice after 70% because I was literally forcing myself (I really wanted to be part of the conversation and fandom) despite not caring about anything except Hobb's obvious mastery of the art of writing. Yes, the pacing was painfully slow, but when it's the case I need to at least care about the characters or the plot, but the lack of plot or interactions really got to me and, on top of that, I really didn't care about Fitz. 😔 I just knew it wouldn't be for me (especially after trying reading Soldier Son too a few years prior and feeling exactly the same). Execution has a lot to do with me caring or not, and, like you said, there's a need for at least one or two elements to draw you in, otherwise it just feels like a chore.
Excellent insight here. I think you make really good points. The only thing I am morally obligated to state here is that Fitz is my sad, stupid, loved friend and he just needs a lot more hugs and friends IRL. That being said I understand why people don't like him haha. The depth and maturity of the handling of The Sword of Kaigen by a young author is just insanely underrated. What a fantastic book that just broke me completely at multiple points.
Regarding DNFing books like Way of Kings - while I do agree that no one should be compelled to read something they don’t like, I had a similar perspective to the one star review guy where I was so close to stopping at multiple points, and I think it’s for a couple reasons. For one, I think the book has a reputation that precedes it, so many readers probably expected more than the book had any potential of ever delivering. By the end I think you can settle into more of a reasonable expecting. The other big reason someone like myself kept reading was I was 100% engaged with the Kaladin storyline but felt so exhausted everytime we switched over to Adolin or Shallan or Dalinar, who’s stories I didn’t care about (at least for the first 2/3rds of the book), not to mention all the fishermen, merchants, etc. who you read about in the l indulgent interludes. Having said that though, I love the books and maybe it’s Stockholm syndrome, but I think also knowing where everything is going makes it so much easier to digest on a reread.
TWoK is just this thing that is both dense and *extremely* indulgent and I think that's why I love it, but I totally get that it isn't for everyone. I'm glad you pulled through it though!
There is only one example I can think of that I read an entire thing and hated it for most of it but actually respected it by the end and that's Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I can't really get into it for spoiler reasons but I can say that it was a 2 star read for most of it until the end and I respected the project enough to bump it up to 4 stars. Every other thing that I straight up hated during the read, I still hated by the end. I'll also add that I don't particularly like Dresden but I'm probably going to continue it because even though I hate parts, I'm also very interested in parts. And I suspect that people who say that they didn't love it until season 3 or book 5 or whatever are in the same boat where they're not fully sold on it, but there was enough to keep at least some interest.
I've been interested in Tchaikovsky for a while now. It's good to know that one turned around for you. I definitely think flipping on a book is theoretically possible, but it seems to definitely be the exception rather than the rule.
I agree with your point about normalizing DNFing and the fact that sticking it out rarely results in changing your mind. But, I have sort of had it happen with one book: The Lies of Locke Lamora. I was ready to give the book a 3 star rating up until about the 80-90% mark of the story and it ended up being a 5 star read for me. Now, to your point, there were some aspects of the book that I liked before the last few chapters, but my feelings towards the book dramatically changed within that last little bit. It was such a strange experience. Usually though, it just turns into stubborn hate-reading. I really do need to get better at DNFing.
I'm glad Locke Lamora flipped for you eventually! I loved that one personally! But yeah... When I stubbornly hate read something usually that's what leads to me hitting a slump haha
Finally someone understands Twilight! Like, ppl read books with even worse role models in them and don't complain so much. Toxic relationships are written all over teen books, but Twilight gets all the hate 😂 teens don't see them like that! I lived and breathed Twilight back then, now I can't stand it, but mostly because the writing is not great. But it's not bad book!
Glad that resonated with you! I think the double standard when it comes to that series is just huge and glaring in a strangely unnoticed way sometimes.
I full agree with DNF a bad book, or even just a book not for you. That said... I think Way of Kings is a special case. Depending on exactly why the person doesn't like it. I know that it was very, very dense for me. It was a very alien world that I struggled to get through. What I found worked for me was, just sorta let it flow past you. Don't spend a lot of time in the earlier parts of the book trying to figure out all the hidden meanings, let descriptions of chulls and rockbuds just slide past. Focus on the parts of it that are much more accessible, for now. This will end up having MASSIVE re-read value when you go back another time and now that you get the idea of everything being crabs, of the way things adapt to the highstorms, it's like you're reading all those parts for the first time, in addition to all the good stuff. Obviously this won't work for everyone, if you just hate the characters or will never want to read epic fantasy, DNF. But Stormlight Archives is pretty much the only series where I will actually say, not, "read a book you don't like", but maybe try to just skim the denser world-building parts and focus on the meat of the actual story, for your first read.
Based on the perception in TWoK. I think with fantasy especially it can help to have the ability to realize you will have to let a lot of things flow past you and hope that you'll understand them later haha. Its the "downside" of getting completely immersed in a brand new world.
Another thing I can't stand is when people are discussing a book, and you point out, nah, it wasn't good, I couldn't even finish it. "Oh then you aren't allowed to have an opinion; if you'd finished it you would have loved it, but since you didn't finish it you don't get to talk about it."
To answer your question, I really enjoyed Riverdale season 1. Liked it less and less as it went on… by seasons 5 and 6 I genuinely hated it. Several episodes I only half paid attention to just to get through them. Some were totally self serious but I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt from the sheer absurdity of the choices the show was making. But at this point it’s a train wreck I can’t look away from. So yeah I really hate the show but I NEED to see how it wraps up
I don't remember seeing that one, but you are right. I listened to a lot on audiobook, but I also a read a lot of the ebook and there was a lot of use of italics... I think it was something to do with translation if I remember right? Like in world translated stuff? I can't remember for sure.
"If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity in the same way in which Giant Despair represents Despair, he would be an allegorical figure. In reality however he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, ‘What might Christ become like, if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?’ This is not allegory at all." -C. S. Lewis The stories of Narnia and Aslan especially are not allegories.
I both agree AND disagree... I get the authors intention, but I also feel like, aside from his stated goals, it still comes across as an allegorical story -- or at least one with allegorical elements contained within it.
*pushes glasses up nose* Um, akshually... Apparently Lewis didn't consider the Narnia books to be allegory. As he put it (roughly), they were a supposition of other worlds existing, and how things like redemption and divine guidance might play out in them.
Yeah I definitely fight internally with whether or not I accept his "imagining" theory or however he worded it. I think he definitely may have had one goal when he wrote it, but on interpretation I feel like its hard to *not* call it allegorical also.
Yeah, i think Brandon has a bad rep when it comes to exposition, but in my opinion, when you analyze it i think he really just does it more with his magic systems, and since those are always a prevalent feature of his work, i guess people subconsciously associate it with his books. When it comes to magic systems it's straight up like "Now sit down boy, it's time for you're investiture 101 class of the chapter", but when it comes to presenting his worlds to the readers, and unfolding their history and worldbuilding, he almost always entangles it with the plot (like a big reveal), character interactions or action sequences, to make it more dynamic or natural. I mean, both the prelude and prologue are strong examples of that. You don't start the book with Lirin telling kaladin about the king's assassination that started this war, or hesina telling him about the last desolation and the "victory" of the heralds, you live those events through the eyes of their main participants, and get some basic contextual cues about them and other aspects of the world, that will slowly be deepened as you progress through the story. On the other hand, magic mechanics it's like, lashings a, b, c do x, y, z , and consume the cool healing breathable light that gives you powers, at this rate. Also shardblades cut souls hence the burning eyes.
Yeah.. but a lot of people specifically like books to weave their Magic-system 101 lessons into the plot and such too. Ssooo ..I can still understand how that might not be for everyone. I've personally never had a problem with exposition-y intros that basically either build the world you're about to enter into even before beginning the plot of summarizing some past event that is relevant to what set something up years before the beginning of the plot or whatever, myself. But I can understand that a lot of people do have a problem with that exactly. Or how some people love being thrown into the middle of an action scene and essentially having to reverse-engineer what is going on and why as things are unfolding, while other people absolutely despise just getting thrown right into the middle of the action like that without at least a little bit of set up building the stage for and leading up to it properly or whatever first. I think it's probably a similar concept. Lol
@Swole Chihuahua, first of all, sick name. Second of all I think you totally have a point with separating the perception and reality of what Sando's exposition is mostly spent on.
@@QuestLegacy Thank you man, love me some validation 😅 The name is actually a spyxfamily quote, if you feel like reading a manga thats just straight up an adorable fun action-packed spy thriller dopamine injection, check it out 🙃 knowledge is the whole enchilada (or a swole chihuahua if you're a pink haired 6 year old psychic 😋)
Yes-I have! I have genuinely read and/or watched something before and really really not liked it at all until something about the very end turned everything around completely in a way that made everything somehow worth it or into something other than what it had initially seemed and I really really liked it. _BUT_ this happened so long ago, I don't remember exactly which thing it actually was anymore.😅😅🙃🤣🤣🤣 I also almost DNF'd the Trylle trilogy (by Amanda Hocking if I remember it right) after finishing the first book[ and I don't DNF basically anything except temporarily], but then I discovered Goodreads reviews and countless different ones all kept saying basically the same exact thing "Book one is awful....BUT KEEP READING ANYWAY-IT *IS* _WORTH_ IT" and so I did, and it absolutely was!. I have also seen several seasons of shows that I didn't like because someone else liked it and kept watching it. (I'm looking at Spongebob-because of my niece .. just to name one🙃) LOLL
Yeah... I'm sure it has happened to me before as well, but it definitely seems to be much rarer than having the experience feel more like a waste of time than anything.
@@QuestLegacy True enough!~ Buut, admittedly, since I had both those first two things happen within the same couple years or so it felt a little less rare at the time than it does now that it's been a while[ and maybe it's just not happening to me so much now only because I'm just not reading or watching as much in general anyway]-and those are only the times that I actively recall, so maybe I forgot some times too? 🤔🤔😅🙃🤷♀️😁 😂 (..but, still, the point you raise does stand nonetheless. Lol)
I thinks it's funny what you said about not continuing something you don't like because I very much disliked the first 3 Wheel of Time books, but I kept picking it up because I want to read the books Brandon Sanderson wrote. Yet when I read book 4 it ended up being better than the first 3 combined. This might be because it stopped trying to be Lord of the Rings and started to be its own thing.
I'm glad that one flipped for you. Its just so much to ask timewise for investment... Like a movie is 2 hours. A book takes what, 10-15 hours to read depending on the person. Its so much to get through that you aren't enjoying to *maybe* enjoy it later?
"Do we ever enjoy characters in fiction who are not healthy role-models?" Yes, but the issue that Twilight has is that it presents shitty behavior as a good thing. Edward is practically a stalker, and yet the books do not portray him in that way. I love Patrick Bateman, he is such an enjoyable character, but at no point in the book do I get the impression that BEE is hand waiving this behavior because Patrick is so successful, or charming or whatever. I think the fact that so many people miss this is proven double by the fact the EL James wrote that train-wreck of a fanfic and amplified the shitty behavior in both main characters.
My comeback to that argument would be one of perspective. If the entire story is told through the eyes of an unhealthy hormonal teenager, than the view of the book will likely be one that is fairly inaccurate compared to reality. Bella is shown to be an unreliable narrator throughout the entire experience. While I don't think it is our fiction's job to be a moral beacon, I understand that media marketed at youth holds a different level of weight and responsibility also.
Not sure how to request a review from you,...... Not sure how to reach you... Will you be doing a review of ‘The Lost Metal’ (The Mistborn Saga #7) by Brandon Sanderson I hope you will be! There seem to be soooo many Cosmere crossovers! (are there usually this many???) examples…. ghostbloods, … Stormlight Archive shadesmar … Stormlight Archive moonlight’s stamps … The Emperor’s Soul
I feel like I've already said pretty much everything I think about Twilight before...but I think the answer is *_both_* - like we need both art that imitates life AND art that has lessons to teach. Loll I think..for me....I didn't find Bella's experience relatable in the least. My experience as a teenager was everyone always telling me to 'just wait until all those hormones hit' only...I don't think they ever did, or else that just means very very different things to them than it did for me. Lol 😆 I know people who liked Twilight specifically because they could identify with Bella. And..for me...I probably disliked her specifically because I _couldn't_ really relate to her at all, and even as a teen I was already thinking Edward and their relationship together was lots of things about it creepy/problematic sometimes. ..but it wasn't really the fact that it was creepy or problematic itself that really bothered me, (because I absolutely am one of those people who can and does like things in fiction that I would never ever condone as ever being healthy or acceptable in real-life quite often) it was much more the fact that everybody in the book[ not even just the teens themselves] genuinely seem to believe that it actually is absolutely okay and totally cool/fine/whatever. Like, apparently, I guess that's where I draw the line[ for me]: You either need to be upfront & transparently eyes-wide-open that it's not great and yet still just be doing it anyway inspite of that, or you need to actually call b.s. somehow within it on that misbelief or whatever, or at the very least just remain completely neutral on it and leave it up to the readers own judgments either way or something.[ I DUNNO.!] If that makes sense?. 😅 (At least when it's targeted at a younger audience, who is typically still learning-&/or haven't yet learned-how to always accurately call b.s. on it for themselves[, and yet not actually written by a younger author].😁) But that's just me. Like, I just really really loathe characters or fictional relationships that are presented as being allegedly sssooooo perfectly good/great but really aren't, except when the fact that it's secretly not so good yet it masquerading pretending or misbelieved as if to be much better than it really is in fact is itself the whole entire point. Especially when the discussion I hear surrounding it in real life is just swooning over how perfectly great it is too, and not how amazingly terrible it is and yet still just somehow enjoyed anyway for whatever reasons like because it's fiction or whatever. Lol Like....SURELY it is *possible* for a character to actually be legitimately protective of their love-interest _without_ being totally overbearing or possessive or creepy about it!! And if you're going to like that, at least know what you're really liking, and please please please for the love of GOD don't actually look for that in reality unless it's only roleplay or some-such with proper safewords and whatnot!😅😅 But I actually do kinda unashamedly also really love characters and fictional relationships that are just unabashedly reprehensible and proud of it plenty often too. (I guess I just think "nice" people who are actually jerks underneath it are just too real and too dangerous and too underhanded to admire or something. I dunno!.🙃🤔🤷♀️🤷♀️) Plus I liked basically so much ELSE about Twilight, aside from their relationship.....and aside from Meyer copping out on ever actually resolving the love triangle properly by just cheaply imprinting Jacob on a Reneesme instead. (Like, I don't even mind that it was imprinting on a baby..because I am willing to believe that he's actually not interested in her in any way but platonically....and I am fully capable of head!canon-ing it in there that it is also totally possible that he never will, either, for any number of possible reasons; even if, yes, it is otherwise a bit unnecessarily weird. Lollll But the fact that the author went ahead and made a triangle, but then didn't want to deal with ever actually doing the work and resolving that plotline in one way or another properly, that just annoys me. 🤣🤣)
With Bella specifically I always use a lot of hand waving away by believing the story is told from her perspective and she's an *extremely* unreliable narrator, but you aren't wrong at all.
@@QuestLegacy Reading my own comment up there back to myself, just now.... it really got a bit stream-of-consciousness almost, there 👀🤦♀️😅 (especially at the end)-I am grateful you seem to have made sense-enough of it, anyhow, though.🤣 But, yeah, I'm all for believing first-person narrators[ like Bella especially] are unreliable and subjectively-biased too. Whether they were actually intended to be or not! LOLL (I actually do that a lot with most things I read, honestly; not necessarily even just first-person specifically, but definitely definitely with first-person writing-it's probably half the fun of reading, for me = always feeling free to read my own things into stuff, sometimes even if it maybe seemingly contradicts what the pages themselves claim in black-and-white. ..And that's not even touching into the fanfiction/AU!type territories, either. 😹) Maybe that's why I never disliked the fact that Twilight existed as a book, personally, so much as I just didn't think Bella/ her relationship with Edward/ were really appealing for my tastes specifically, and always more just took personal issues with the way that some people who weren't me sometimes talked about it &/or clearly idolized it. I dunno~ Lol _((just for one example, I remember there was some thing that Edward claimed that Jacob was thinking once, which the book clearly treats as if was definitely true..but I just remember that I always personally questioned whether or not we could actually take Edward's word for it or not, and kind of in my own personal headcanon it was actually B.S. and not true. Lolll I just forget what it was, specifically, by now though. 😂))_
Oh I can give a one-star review of Name of the Wind. The book was purely about Kvothe and nothing was about any other character or setting or place or anything. And Kvothe is just horribly unlikeable. By halfway through, there was not yet an actual antagonist established but I was already rooting for them to show up and win. He is the ultimate Mary Sue and with one notable exception, every problem is faces is purely caused by his own overwhelming arrogance, yet the book acts like we're supposed to sympathize with this entitled brat. Also he set fire to a teacher for the horrible crime of "not immediately assuming Kvothe was perfect".
Haha, I definitely *did* enjoy my time with Name of the Wind, but that specific criticism is for sure a huge and popular one. It didn't hit me as being obnoxious as for some folks, but I see it for sure.
The part about The Way of Kings made me realise that I do like science fiction if it's fantasy LOL It's fascinating to see how the opinions of the same book can be so desperate
Hey now people need to stop hating on my girl Shallan she’s the best! One of my favorite characters ever her and Pattern together just make me so emotional lol But I can see how she’s a bit much I do agree we need to stop telling people “it gets better” example I LOVE WoT but I would never tell anyone if they hate the first book to just keep reading till book 4 it gets great. Cause guess what it doesn’t change the writing is the same, descriptions are the same everything you hate about it stays the same. Just stop reading it cause I get tired of hearing people complain about it lol 😂
![2022 Book Bracket Battle [Part 1] - The Quarter-Finalists](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZvcDWr3Wx28/mqdefault.jpg)
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See, in theory, I agree. Lets all learn to DNF more books. But also... I love it when the ending of a book makes the whole thing worth it.
SAAMMEEE!🤭🤭👍🏻😁
But if I don't DNF and the ending does NOT pay off, I feel even more frustrated than not knowing the ending at all 😂
@@mariakalliokoski2758 see. I agree with you, in THEORY. But then when its my turn to act like that, I never do lol
@@DryBooks the reader problems, they are real 😂🙈
“If you are not there for it, it’s there for you anyway” I’m dying this is so true 😂
I love this type of video. I hope you consider doing more like this.
Thank you very much!
Love to read 1 Star Reviews, always the funniest.
Hahaha this was entertaining. I always think about doing 1 star reviews of my favs but I tend to get a little cranky when I do so so.....I don't know that I have ever gone from full on hate to full on love but I've definitely gone slightly negative/lukewarm to enjoy.
A 30 minute long Michael Knipp video-Christmas sure came early this year! 😍
haha, merry late Christmas!
The Magician's Nephew isn't magical, whaaaat?!? The scene with the pools of water in the forest remains one of, if not the most beautifully magical scenes I've ever read in my life!! I'm really disappointed in that reviewer, haha...
Preach. 100% agree
Omg, I just LOVED that video! I've read all those books except Recursion (I've only read Black Matter and couldn't look past those plot holes and *SPOILER* how easy it would've been for the main character's "doppelganger" to go back with the woman he loves if that main character got to have sex with her so easily 🤡). *END OF SPOILER*
What you're saying about Twilight IS fascinating because I definitely was that teenager, but I still wish my parents had had healthy conversations with me about relationships, but they weren't those kind of parents (and I did date someone at that time and we were both struggling in our personal life and relying way to much on one another for emotional support - it could have been worst, he wasn't abusive, but you get the picture).
I agree about The Name of The Wind but still loved reading it, and read it so quickly too because I was drawn by how immersive and beautifully written it was. I however didn't care for Kvothe so never continued on 😅 Tried The Way of Kings and because I care a lot about prose I DNFed it pretty early on. 🤷♀️ Loved Magician's Nephew, but I think I could appreciate it much more because I had read The Lion & The Witch first (I was 13-14) since it reads much younger than the other books in the series in my opinion. But I love them all and I do believe it also has to do with me being a Christian as I love them for those allegories. I think they're absolutely brilliant. And now, The Sword of Kaigen must be the one I disagree the most with as I loved everything about it, but that might have to do with me knowing there would be some info dumping at the beginning. As a historical fiction reader (it's my second favourite genre), I really didn't mind, it wasn't that long at all (but I'm also a classics reader so I guess I have more patience, especially when I enjoy the prose and the character work). It was one of the most moving Fantasy novels I've ever read, its thematical depth blew my mind, especially as a married woman with strong maternal instincts (though I've yet to have children). I think it's the kind of book you can definitely appreciate more after having had some more complex experiences in relationships and in life in general, but I feel you have to care more about those themes and character study because the world-building could definitely have had more depth.
Now, I don't think I've ever really pushed myself through books I didn't enjoy at all. The only one I can think of is the LOTR as there were quite a few dragging parts in Fellowship and Two Towers I didn't care for (aka Tom Bombadil and Treebeard), BUT I clearly didn't hate it, many parts really drew me in, I thought the characters unique and interesting (for the most part), that world felt so real, AND Tolkien's prose really was stunning and incredibly immersive. Return of The King is my favourite installment, the one that made me love the entire story, but it wouldn't have moved me so much if I hadn't truly gone on that entire journey (but I still waited quite some time between each installments). On another not, I DNFed The Assassin's Apprentice after 70% because I was literally forcing myself (I really wanted to be part of the conversation and fandom) despite not caring about anything except Hobb's obvious mastery of the art of writing. Yes, the pacing was painfully slow, but when it's the case I need to at least care about the characters or the plot, but the lack of plot or interactions really got to me and, on top of that, I really didn't care about Fitz. 😔 I just knew it wouldn't be for me (especially after trying reading Soldier Son too a few years prior and feeling exactly the same). Execution has a lot to do with me caring or not, and, like you said, there's a need for at least one or two elements to draw you in, otherwise it just feels like a chore.
Excellent insight here. I think you make really good points. The only thing I am morally obligated to state here is that Fitz is my sad, stupid, loved friend and he just needs a lot more hugs and friends IRL. That being said I understand why people don't like him haha.
The depth and maturity of the handling of The Sword of Kaigen by a young author is just insanely underrated. What a fantastic book that just broke me completely at multiple points.
Regarding DNFing books like Way of Kings - while I do agree that no one should be compelled to read something they don’t like, I had a similar perspective to the one star review guy where I was so close to stopping at multiple points, and I think it’s for a couple reasons. For one, I think the book has a reputation that precedes it, so many readers probably expected more than the book had any potential of ever delivering. By the end I think you can settle into more of a reasonable expecting. The other big reason someone like myself kept reading was I was 100% engaged with the Kaladin storyline but felt so exhausted everytime we switched over to Adolin or Shallan or Dalinar, who’s stories I didn’t care about (at least for the first 2/3rds of the book), not to mention all the fishermen, merchants, etc. who you read about in the l indulgent interludes. Having said that though, I love the books and maybe it’s Stockholm syndrome, but I think also knowing where everything is going makes it so much easier to digest on a reread.
TWoK is just this thing that is both dense and *extremely* indulgent and I think that's why I love it, but I totally get that it isn't for everyone. I'm glad you pulled through it though!
You got a new camera/lens? Looks great!
Thank you! I don't think anything changed except settings and however I chose to light that day of filming but I'm glad it worked!
There is only one example I can think of that I read an entire thing and hated it for most of it but actually respected it by the end and that's Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I can't really get into it for spoiler reasons but I can say that it was a 2 star read for most of it until the end and I respected the project enough to bump it up to 4 stars. Every other thing that I straight up hated during the read, I still hated by the end. I'll also add that I don't particularly like Dresden but I'm probably going to continue it because even though I hate parts, I'm also very interested in parts. And I suspect that people who say that they didn't love it until season 3 or book 5 or whatever are in the same boat where they're not fully sold on it, but there was enough to keep at least some interest.
I've been interested in Tchaikovsky for a while now. It's good to know that one turned around for you. I definitely think flipping on a book is theoretically possible, but it seems to definitely be the exception rather than the rule.
I agree with your point about normalizing DNFing and the fact that sticking it out rarely results in changing your mind. But, I have sort of had it happen with one book: The Lies of Locke Lamora.
I was ready to give the book a 3 star rating up until about the 80-90% mark of the story and it ended up being a 5 star read for me. Now, to your point, there were some aspects of the book that I liked before the last few chapters, but my feelings towards the book dramatically changed within that last little bit. It was such a strange experience.
Usually though, it just turns into stubborn hate-reading. I really do need to get better at DNFing.
I'm glad Locke Lamora flipped for you eventually! I loved that one personally! But yeah... When I stubbornly hate read something usually that's what leads to me hitting a slump haha
Do you think there's an antidisestablishmentarianismspren?
Yes
Absolutely
Finally someone understands Twilight! Like, ppl read books with even worse role models in them and don't complain so much. Toxic relationships are written all over teen books, but Twilight gets all the hate 😂 teens don't see them like that! I lived and breathed Twilight back then, now I can't stand it, but mostly because the writing is not great. But it's not bad book!
Glad that resonated with you! I think the double standard when it comes to that series is just huge and glaring in a strangely unnoticed way sometimes.
I full agree with DNF a bad book, or even just a book not for you.
That said... I think Way of Kings is a special case. Depending on exactly why the person doesn't like it.
I know that it was very, very dense for me. It was a very alien world that I struggled to get through. What I found worked for me was, just sorta let it flow past you. Don't spend a lot of time in the earlier parts of the book trying to figure out all the hidden meanings, let descriptions of chulls and rockbuds just slide past. Focus on the parts of it that are much more accessible, for now. This will end up having MASSIVE re-read value when you go back another time and now that you get the idea of everything being crabs, of the way things adapt to the highstorms, it's like you're reading all those parts for the first time, in addition to all the good stuff.
Obviously this won't work for everyone, if you just hate the characters or will never want to read epic fantasy, DNF. But Stormlight Archives is pretty much the only series where I will actually say, not, "read a book you don't like", but maybe try to just skim the denser world-building parts and focus on the meat of the actual story, for your first read.
Based on the perception in TWoK. I think with fantasy especially it can help to have the ability to realize you will have to let a lot of things flow past you and hope that you'll understand them later haha. Its the "downside" of getting completely immersed in a brand new world.
Another thing I can't stand is when people are discussing a book, and you point out, nah, it wasn't good, I couldn't even finish it. "Oh then you aren't allowed to have an opinion; if you'd finished it you would have loved it, but since you didn't finish it you don't get to talk about it."
Lol so true
To answer your question, I really enjoyed Riverdale season 1. Liked it less and less as it went on… by seasons 5 and 6 I genuinely hated it. Several episodes I only half paid attention to just to get through them. Some were totally self serious but I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt from the sheer absurdity of the choices the show was making. But at this point it’s a train wreck I can’t look away from. So yeah I really hate the show but I NEED to see how it wraps up
I was so hoping to see my 1-star review of Sword of Kaigen. I DNF’d it because of overuse of italics.
I don't remember seeing that one, but you are right. I listened to a lot on audiobook, but I also a read a lot of the ebook and there was a lot of use of italics... I think it was something to do with translation if I remember right? Like in world translated stuff? I can't remember for sure.
"If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity in the same way in which Giant Despair represents Despair, he would be an allegorical figure. In reality however he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, ‘What might Christ become like, if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?’ This is not allegory at all." -C. S. Lewis
The stories of Narnia and Aslan especially are not allegories.
I both agree AND disagree... I get the authors intention, but I also feel like, aside from his stated goals, it still comes across as an allegorical story -- or at least one with allegorical elements contained within it.
*pushes glasses up nose*
Um, akshually...
Apparently Lewis didn't consider the Narnia books to be allegory. As he put it (roughly), they were a supposition of other worlds existing, and how things like redemption and divine guidance might play out in them.
Yeah I definitely fight internally with whether or not I accept his "imagining" theory or however he worded it. I think he definitely may have had one goal when he wrote it, but on interpretation I feel like its hard to *not* call it allegorical also.
@@QuestLegacy Makes sense. And hey, reader response is valid. I don't feel it's quite so valid as others appear to, but valid nonetheless.
Yeah, i think Brandon has a bad rep when it comes to exposition, but in my opinion, when you analyze it i think he really just does it more with his magic systems, and since those are always a prevalent feature of his work, i guess people subconsciously associate it with his books. When it comes to magic systems it's straight up like "Now sit down boy, it's time for you're investiture 101 class of the chapter", but when it comes to presenting his worlds to the readers, and unfolding their history and worldbuilding, he almost always entangles it with the plot (like a big reveal), character interactions or action sequences, to make it more dynamic or natural. I mean, both the prelude and prologue are strong examples of that. You don't start the book with Lirin telling kaladin about the king's assassination that started this war, or hesina telling him about the last desolation and the "victory" of the heralds, you live those events through the eyes of their main participants, and get some basic contextual cues about them and other aspects of the world, that will slowly be deepened as you progress through the story. On the other hand, magic mechanics it's like, lashings a, b, c do x, y, z , and consume the cool healing breathable light that gives you powers, at this rate. Also shardblades cut souls hence the burning eyes.
Yeah.. but a lot of people specifically like books to weave their Magic-system 101 lessons into the plot and such too. Ssooo ..I can still understand how that might not be for everyone.
I've personally never had a problem with exposition-y intros that basically either build the world you're about to enter into even before beginning the plot of summarizing some past event that is relevant to what set something up years before the beginning of the plot or whatever, myself. But I can understand that a lot of people do have a problem with that exactly. Or how some people love being thrown into the middle of an action scene and essentially having to reverse-engineer what is going on and why as things are unfolding, while other people absolutely despise just getting thrown right into the middle of the action like that without at least a little bit of set up building the stage for and leading up to it properly or whatever first.
I think it's probably a similar concept. Lol
@Swole Chihuahua, first of all, sick name. Second of all I think you totally have a point with separating the perception and reality of what Sando's exposition is mostly spent on.
@@QuestLegacy Thank you man, love me some validation 😅 The name is actually a spyxfamily quote, if you feel like reading a manga thats just straight up an adorable fun action-packed spy thriller dopamine injection, check it out 🙃 knowledge is the whole enchilada (or a swole chihuahua if you're a pink haired 6 year old psychic 😋)
Yes-I have! I have genuinely read and/or watched something before and really really not liked it at all until something about the very end turned everything around completely in a way that made everything somehow worth it or into something other than what it had initially seemed and I really really liked it. _BUT_ this happened so long ago, I don't remember exactly which thing it actually was anymore.😅😅🙃🤣🤣🤣
I also almost DNF'd the Trylle trilogy (by Amanda Hocking if I remember it right) after finishing the first book[ and I don't DNF basically anything except temporarily], but then I discovered Goodreads reviews and countless different ones all kept saying basically the same exact thing "Book one is awful....BUT KEEP READING ANYWAY-IT *IS* _WORTH_ IT" and so I did, and it absolutely was!.
I have also seen several seasons of shows that I didn't like because someone else liked it and kept watching it. (I'm looking at Spongebob-because of my niece .. just to name one🙃) LOLL
((But you're absolutely right that most people don't, and should definitely NOT be forced to try^---^))
Yeah... I'm sure it has happened to me before as well, but it definitely seems to be much rarer than having the experience feel more like a waste of time than anything.
@@QuestLegacy True enough!~
Buut, admittedly, since I had both those first two things happen within the same couple years or so it felt a little less rare at the time than it does now that it's been a while[ and maybe it's just not happening to me so much now only because I'm just not reading or watching as much in general anyway]-and those are only the times that I actively recall, so maybe I forgot some times too? 🤔🤔😅🙃🤷♀️😁 😂
(..but, still, the point you raise does stand nonetheless. Lol)
I thinks it's funny what you said about not continuing something you don't like because I very much disliked the first 3 Wheel of Time books, but I kept picking it up because I want to read the books Brandon Sanderson wrote. Yet when I read book 4 it ended up being better than the first 3 combined. This might be because it stopped trying to be Lord of the Rings and started to be its own thing.
I'm glad that one flipped for you. Its just so much to ask timewise for investment... Like a movie is 2 hours. A book takes what, 10-15 hours to read depending on the person. Its so much to get through that you aren't enjoying to *maybe* enjoy it later?
"Do we ever enjoy characters in fiction who are not healthy role-models?" Yes, but the issue that Twilight has is that it presents shitty behavior as a good thing. Edward is practically a stalker, and yet the books do not portray him in that way. I love Patrick Bateman, he is such an enjoyable character, but at no point in the book do I get the impression that BEE is hand waiving this behavior because Patrick is so successful, or charming or whatever.
I think the fact that so many people miss this is proven double by the fact the EL James wrote that train-wreck of a fanfic and amplified the shitty behavior in both main characters.
My comeback to that argument would be one of perspective. If the entire story is told through the eyes of an unhealthy hormonal teenager, than the view of the book will likely be one that is fairly inaccurate compared to reality. Bella is shown to be an unreliable narrator throughout the entire experience. While I don't think it is our fiction's job to be a moral beacon, I understand that media marketed at youth holds a different level of weight and responsibility also.
Not sure how to request a review from you,...... Not sure how to reach you...
Will you be doing a review of ‘The Lost Metal’ (The Mistborn Saga #7) by Brandon Sanderson
I hope you will be! There seem to be soooo many Cosmere crossovers! (are there usually this many???)
examples….
ghostbloods, … Stormlight Archive
shadesmar … Stormlight Archive
moonlight’s stamps … The Emperor’s Soul
Oh NM you DO have a review already,....
th-cam.com/video/DTtcs7WTSRc/w-d-xo.html
Good video very entertaining.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!
darn, now I want to re-read sword of kaigen and way of kings...again
"What are you waiting for! Just *do* it!"
I feel like I've already said pretty much everything I think about Twilight before...but I think the answer is *_both_* - like we need both art that imitates life AND art that has lessons to teach. Loll
I think..for me....I didn't find Bella's experience relatable in the least. My experience as a teenager was everyone always telling me to 'just wait until all those hormones hit' only...I don't think they ever did, or else that just means very very different things to them than it did for me. Lol 😆
I know people who liked Twilight specifically because they could identify with Bella. And..for me...I probably disliked her specifically because I _couldn't_ really relate to her at all, and even as a teen I was already thinking Edward and their relationship together was lots of things about it creepy/problematic sometimes. ..but it wasn't really the fact that it was creepy or problematic itself that really bothered me, (because I absolutely am one of those people who can and does like things in fiction that I would never ever condone as ever being healthy or acceptable in real-life quite often) it was much more the fact that everybody in the book[ not even just the teens themselves] genuinely seem to believe that it actually is absolutely okay and totally cool/fine/whatever. Like, apparently, I guess that's where I draw the line[ for me]: You either need to be upfront & transparently eyes-wide-open that it's not great and yet still just be doing it anyway inspite of that, or you need to actually call b.s. somehow within it on that misbelief or whatever, or at the very least just remain completely neutral on it and leave it up to the readers own judgments either way or something.[ I DUNNO.!] If that makes sense?. 😅 (At least when it's targeted at a younger audience, who is typically still learning-&/or haven't yet learned-how to always accurately call b.s. on it for themselves[, and yet not actually written by a younger author].😁) But that's just me.
Like, I just really really loathe characters or fictional relationships that are presented as being allegedly sssooooo perfectly good/great but really aren't, except when the fact that it's secretly not so good yet it masquerading pretending or misbelieved as if to be much better than it really is in fact is itself the whole entire point. Especially when the discussion I hear surrounding it in real life is just swooning over how perfectly great it is too, and not how amazingly terrible it is and yet still just somehow enjoyed anyway for whatever reasons like because it's fiction or whatever. Lol Like....SURELY it is *possible* for a character to actually be legitimately protective of their love-interest _without_ being totally overbearing or possessive or creepy about it!! And if you're going to like that, at least know what you're really liking, and please please please for the love of GOD don't actually look for that in reality unless it's only roleplay or some-such with proper safewords and whatnot!😅😅
But I actually do kinda unashamedly also really love characters and fictional relationships that are just unabashedly reprehensible and proud of it plenty often too. (I guess I just think "nice" people who are actually jerks underneath it are just too real and too dangerous and too underhanded to admire or something. I dunno!.🙃🤔🤷♀️🤷♀️)
Plus I liked basically so much ELSE about Twilight, aside from their relationship.....and aside from Meyer copping out on ever actually resolving the love triangle properly by just cheaply imprinting Jacob on a Reneesme instead. (Like, I don't even mind that it was imprinting on a baby..because I am willing to believe that he's actually not interested in her in any way but platonically....and I am fully capable of head!canon-ing it in there that it is also totally possible that he never will, either, for any number of possible reasons; even if, yes, it is otherwise a bit unnecessarily weird. Lollll But the fact that the author went ahead and made a triangle, but then didn't want to deal with ever actually doing the work and resolving that plotline in one way or another properly, that just annoys me. 🤣🤣)
With Bella specifically I always use a lot of hand waving away by believing the story is told from her perspective and she's an *extremely* unreliable narrator, but you aren't wrong at all.
@@QuestLegacy Reading my own comment up there back to myself, just now.... it really got a bit stream-of-consciousness almost, there 👀🤦♀️😅 (especially at the end)-I am grateful you seem to have made sense-enough of it, anyhow, though.🤣
But, yeah, I'm all for believing first-person narrators[ like Bella especially] are unreliable and subjectively-biased too. Whether they were actually intended to be or not! LOLL (I actually do that a lot with most things I read, honestly; not necessarily even just first-person specifically, but definitely definitely with first-person writing-it's probably half the fun of reading, for me = always feeling free to read my own things into stuff, sometimes even if it maybe seemingly contradicts what the pages themselves claim in black-and-white. ..And that's not even touching into the fanfiction/AU!type territories, either. 😹) Maybe that's why I never disliked the fact that Twilight existed as a book, personally, so much as I just didn't think Bella/ her relationship with Edward/ were really appealing for my tastes specifically, and always more just took personal issues with the way that some people who weren't me sometimes talked about it &/or clearly idolized it. I dunno~ Lol
_((just for one example, I remember there was some thing that Edward claimed that Jacob was thinking once, which the book clearly treats as if was definitely true..but I just remember that I always personally questioned whether or not we could actually take Edward's word for it or not, and kind of in my own personal headcanon it was actually B.S. and not true. Lolll I just forget what it was, specifically, by now though. 😂))_
Ugh it looks like i might dnf the way of kings too 😤
If it isn't working for you, DO IT!
Oh I can give a one-star review of Name of the Wind. The book was purely about Kvothe and nothing was about any other character or setting or place or anything. And Kvothe is just horribly unlikeable. By halfway through, there was not yet an actual antagonist established but I was already rooting for them to show up and win. He is the ultimate Mary Sue and with one notable exception, every problem is faces is purely caused by his own overwhelming arrogance, yet the book acts like we're supposed to sympathize with this entitled brat.
Also he set fire to a teacher for the horrible crime of "not immediately assuming Kvothe was perfect".
Haha, I definitely *did* enjoy my time with Name of the Wind, but that specific criticism is for sure a huge and popular one. It didn't hit me as being obnoxious as for some folks, but I see it for sure.
The part about The Way of Kings made me realise that I do like science fiction if it's fantasy LOL
It's fascinating to see how the opinions of the same book can be so desperate
I'm expecting a Dresden review in here since you hate Dresden sooooooooooooo much
legally, this is a joke
💗
Reviews*
Thank you lol. Corrected!
0/10 no Dresden 1 star reviews. how dare you not reinforce the perception of your utter loathing and hatred of Dresden.
I didn't have the mental fortitude to walk those waters.
@@QuestLegacy then don’t walk, sir, swim. Unless you’re Jesus.
I disagree with the criticisms of Sword of Kaigen. It is near perfect and anyone who says otherwise is dead inside.
That last chapter is pointless Garbage.
It *is* a wonderful book
Hey now people need to stop hating on my girl Shallan she’s the best! One of my favorite characters ever her and Pattern together just make me so emotional lol
But I can see how she’s a bit much
I do agree we need to stop telling people “it gets better” example I LOVE WoT but I would never tell anyone if they hate the first book to just keep reading till book 4 it gets great. Cause guess what it doesn’t change the writing is the same, descriptions are the same everything you hate about it stays the same. Just stop reading it cause I get tired of hearing people complain about it lol 😂
There's definitely a selfish aspect to it lol. Sometimes we just don't want to hear endless haters hating all the dang time haha
Time travel is good though
But like.... is it? I mean... Sometimes I like it... sometimes my bean just gets freaked