Enjoyment x Quality matrix almost made me squeal with glee!!! I love a good graph, maybe I'll map out my 2024 reads this way.
Love to take in your critical analysis & have to jump in to say I have similar qualms with RF Kuang's writing (I haven't read Babel though, just Yellowface). It's good, it's smart, it's entertaining, it's just obvious to me that she doesn't trust the reader's interpretive ability. Which I mean, maybe it's a valid fear, but it's at the expense of enjoyability for sure.
glad my excel skills could come in handy here for once!! haha. I'm really heartened to hear other people whose taste I trust agree because for a while I thought I was the one taking crazy pills.
Some amazing responses here! I know this one may be controversial, but 'A Little Life.' I finished it, but it did not work for me at all. 'A Man in Full' by Tom Wolfe is a book I detested so much I didn't read fiction for almost five years. Now it's a TV show, lol.
I can understand that - A Little Life is one of the wildest trauma dumps I've ever read. and wow havent heard Tom Wolfe's name in a hot minute, i stuck to his more well known titles so I dont have an opinion on that one but you made me genuinely laugh out loud reading this comment lol
Yes. I always feel terrible about not liking A LIttle Life more than I did -- but I haven't forgotten it, that's for sure. It remains one of the poster-books for what happens when an editor refuses to intervene.
My example of a really popular book that I did not enjoy and, in fact, DNF-ed was Yellowface by RFK. And honestly, everything you said about Babel applies to it, too. I thought - what an amazing IDEA for a book. The book itself, so didactic... I couldn't. I spent so much time guilt-tripping myself over not liking it but eventually had to let it go.
I read all of Yellowface, but in a read it fast because I wanted it to be over way? And I even spent the time to write a post about it, but in the end that was mostly about other books.
Just commented on the main thread saying exactly the same thing about Yellowface LOL. I wanted to like it soooo bad because parts of it were highly entertaining, but far too heavy-handed...
I'm so glad I am not the only one! I DNFd the audio of Yellowface about 20% in and thought maybe it was the format but sounds like its similar in its heavy handedness. SO MUCH GUILT TRIPPING. Like I had to dig deep to figure out if I was a terrible person to feel this way
Fabulous post and love discourse over popular books. Recently at my irl book club someone stated that they only want to read books that are rated higher than 4 stars on Goodreads. This gave me immediate pause because I think some of the best book discussions are those in which were both loved and hated. Life is pretty boring when we all agree.
thank you!! i was throwing that graph together last night at like 11 pm like is this worth it?? 😂. And I agree we need to challenge ourselves sometimes - and I do not trust Goodreads ratings with my life. Life is so boring when we all agree (or feel peer pressure to agree!)
"Babel is intelligent, and it knows it, kind of like your annoying older sister (is this review just self-flagellation?)."
☝️ I'm that older sister and I love that sentence 🤣 Your review of Babel is exactly why I've steered away from it. I'm allergic to any "preachiness" in writing.
My popular novel I didn't get along with is Normal People by Sally Rooney. All the hype definitely did a disservice to my reading experience but even that aside, I just still don't understand why people love it. If the main characters had one adult conversation, there would have been no story? No thanks.
The hype on Rooney seriously does her a disservice. I liked Normal People but I read it a long time ago when I was younger and more like the MCs, but not enough to try any of her other books just yet.
1). You are my favorite book-adjacent writer on Substack. Thank you for sharing what's inside your brain.
B). I know 'The Goldfinch' by Donna Tartt is beloved (and won the Pulitzer), but that book is the one I always think of when this kind of question comes up. I loved the beginning so much — and then the stretch in Las Vegas felt interminable... and the way it all went down with Hobie. I had to say it's high-quality and low enjoyment for me. BLARG.
iii). Currently reading books for an upcoming podcast episode about Brazil. I just finished 'The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao' by Martha Batalha. The writing is fantastic, not much plot, but I didn't care because the characters are fun and messy and feel real. Next up, I'm giving a trial run to two different Brazil-based mysteries — but what I really want to be doing is making my Spooky Season TBR. Have you read Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne?
thank you Melissa that has truly made my day!! I love chatting books with you too.
confessions - I am ambivalent on the Goldfinch. You nailed it - every time I think of it I just remember the bomb, and then the long ass stretch in Vegas where all they did was drugs and roll around on the carpet?? trying to finish The Little Friend now and its feeling similar. She's an interesting writer but could use a strong editor.
I havent read Diavola yet, but its on my list!! I have not read anything from a Brazilian writer yet but I would love to
I love The Goldfinch and at the same time, I completely respect your points. The Las Vegas section needed to be edited WAY down. Sometimes I wonder how much of things like that are an editor being like, "Well, it's Donna Tartt..." As a Tartt stan, even I felt the length in the middle 😅
I really love the way you've mapped out your processes for reflecting on your enjoyment of a book (or lack thereof!). I've held off from reading Babel for many of the reasons you mention, which are complaints I've seen across quite a few mixed reviews, and like you, I also really couldn't get on board with Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, despite the intriguing concept and fact I enjoyed a couple of Schwab's books when I read them in the mid-2010s! We'll have to disagree on Tomorrow x3, which I absolutely flew through in the course of a couple days, admiring the descriptions of the games Sam & Sadie were building together and crying in all the moments Zevin wanted me to cry. But I thought this critique of yours was really astute, and it instantly made me think of the way I felt while reading A Little Life, which might top my list of popular books I didn't enjoy: "I genuinely felt unmoved by their plights. I could almost imagine Zevin moving the characters around a 3D chessboard, inventing internal motivations to match their exterior choices. It also feels sad in a way that is unearned." Thanks for sharing!
I'm just nodding along reading your comment like yes! I think i am drawn to big stories and Tx3 was more quiet in its feelings. I cried SO hard reading A little Life but I 100% see why lots of people dislike it and critics agree with you on the strategic plotting
I hate Conversations with Frjends by Sally Rooney. (It’s almost a catchphrase for me on bookstagram 🤓). Normal People was better but still not great. I see Rooney’s appeal but she just isn’t for me
I havent read any Rooney except Normal People because but she feels like a very millennial-esque writer and thats not for everyone (even us millennials!)
I actually loved Tomorrow 3x haha. I love reading about creative collaboration and I loved the popular culture references. I am also planning to read Addie Larue although not some time soon.
A popular book that I hated was Conversation with Friends. I couldn’t stand the cheating part. I thought the characters were pretentious. I just couldn’t get on with the writing.
I truly wonder if I would have liked Tx3 more if I knew nothing about it first?? Who knows. And I havent read Conversation yet but I have heard they are very pretentious gen z/millennial types with a lot to say but very little awareness
Tomorrow x3 was one of my favorite books of that year. I love reading about friendships and long term relationships. I also, for the first time in my life, understood a smidge more about gaming which I've always edged away from.
yes yes! I also love the back stories of characters in general and this book was one whole backstory. At the start we all know Sam and Sadie are going to be successful video game developers and collaborators. What I loved about this book is how they came to be.
I didn’t finish My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. Did not like it at all.
Tried reading Tomorrowx3 and just couldn’t get into it. It felt dry and lifeless.
Because my life is so full, I really have to make an effort to carve out space for reading. I need that time to feel worth stealing away. If a book hasn’t hooked me in the first 70 pages or so, I move on.
MYORAR was an insane book, it put it in the same category as Bunny - so weird that it at times becomes unenjoyable, although Bunny was more fun than the Moshfegh. I know we have feelings so it cant be us with Tx3 right! haha. And I agree, time is the only thing we cant earn more of us it better be worth it!
I finished reading MYRR but only because I kept thinking... surely, something will click and it will all of a sudden make me love it. Nope. Did not click.
I finished Tomorrow, too, and thought it was OK but the gaming parts felt really gimmicky to me.
Replying to this whole thread - I think its a generational & social media thing in the same vein as "the girls who get it get it". I appreciated it but it wasnt exactly enjoyable, Moshfegh seems to have no interest in that generally
I was intrigued by it. It was one of those books that did exactly what it set out to do. I've thought about the premise many times since and I've thought about the softly beating heart that I could detect throughout, particularly in the final pages.
I’ve tried to read “Outline” by Cusk and “normal people” by Rooney at least 3 times each and I find both of them so boring I can’t bother to turn the pages 😂 I’m keeping my copies so I can try again in 5 years or something.
Also: I am NOT excited for pumpkin spice lattes cuz I think they’re disgusting. But I’m very excited for pumpkin muffins, which are delightful. I have to go watch “Moonrise Kingdom” for the thousandth time now ✌🏻
I’m laughing at this comment Haley bc I read Outline this month and was obsessed. But Outline & Normal People are very similarly written and I totally see why people don’t like them. Nothing happens and I appreciate how the read is so boring for some. They’re books I’d describe as just like watching water go down a drain bc the prose just goes round and round and round and then it’s over lmao.
I do not do PSLs, but the new Apple Chai thing intrigued me enough to get it. I hate to admit it, but it slapped, as the #youths say.
I also wasn't wowed by Tomorrow x3. I thought that the most innovating thing was the structure, but I agree that as the characters grew, their relationship was not that interesting. It also felt very contrived, as in - if two people who were actually this close sat down and talked, they'd resolve all of their issues. I was also not thrilled with how Sadie's abortion and later pregnancy were handled; it felt like reading talking points from a conservative mommy blog, honestly.
Addie La Rue was fun in that I wasn't expecting much. I read somewhere that this story had been bothering V.E. Schwab (in her words) for years, and I could see that. There were logical breaks in the story if you thought about it too hard, so I enjoyed it from the sense of ah, France, a place I liked.
Haven't read Babel (I own it, story of my life) but am deeply suspicious of R.F. Kuang's writing output. How does she have time to write all of these novels AND get a Ph.D? Suspicious.
the structure was intriguing ill give Tx3 that, but agreed - I'd forgotten completely about her abortion honestly none of it stuck with me clearly!
if you arent expecting much Schwab is one of those happy to stumble upon her works type writer, agreed. I am ALWAYS suspicious of writers who also work high profile jobs or get Ph.Ds (like Daniel Mason).
I also thought it was completely disingenuous to say that you didn't need to know about video games to read the book. You *definitely* did. Even my limited experience of Nintentdo 64 and Mario Kart was sufficient, but I would have been completely lost without it.
I haven't read anything else by Daniel Mason other than North Woods, which I generally enjoyed but did have some qualms with. On the one hand, I'm glad to see writers with day jobs, because it makes me feel a little less alone. On the other hand...where do get all of this time to write?! Who is paying for all of this?! Still suspicious.
I have heard the Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab is good, and I'm sure it's somewhere on my interminable TBR, so maybe I'll get to it one day. May have to try that pumpkin cold foam now...will report back.
I’m absolutely giddy with delight that you honored my (and Jenovia’s) request - squeee!
“It also feels sad in a way that is unearned.” I love this line of yours so much. It’s like “show me, don’t tell me.”
I haven’t tried reading any of these (though I almost yanked Tomorrow from my niece’s shelf solely based on the cover art) and now I probably never will. So thank you in that regard.
I’m sorry to be “that bitch” in the words of the great Lizzo, but I could not get into The Goldfinch and I have zero memory about why. Don’t cancel me!
A non-fiction book I hated that lots of people loved: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. A smoldering hot pile of repetitive word salad. Just did not get that one AT ALL.
Love your matrix! Thanks for adding other books - that helped me gauge it better. Kitty game is strong too ❤️🔥
I will never cancel you. I can totally understand about The Goldfinch it seems to be a very writerly-loved book but not so much for the regular readers like us (re: too long!). I liked it but my opinion is totally swayed by it being loved in literary circles
"hot pile of repetitive word salad" should be engraved as a warning on all those self-helpish books love that
also, Leave the World Behind was a rare instance of me liking to book okay, but thinking the movie was way better. It was a great story that translated better in a visual/performance medium, methinks.
the movie was fabulous Im glad you said that because he took liberties with the story that I felt heightened it - one of the few times I think the movie was as good or better (the other notable one being The Handmaids Tale)
Unfortunately the popular book I just do not get is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.......................
I think the thing that's so relevant too is like, I can kind of see why it's popular and why people enjoy it and even how it is well written, but I just Did Not Get It. I don't connect with most TJR books, but at least Malibu Rising and Daisy Jones were compelling to me, I just did not care for Evelyn or her story, and that ending......Every time people talk about it I roll my eyes and I feel bad for not liking it but also I'm allowed to have my own taste! It's fine!
I read all of TJR's books at the very beginning of what I can my bookstagram reading journey when I had much less discerning taste - I remember liking it but it felt fluffy, not a literary achievement. you are absolutely allowed to have your own taste!!
i think sometimes we're just destined to not connect with certain writers! like i can totally respect her and i really enjoyed malibu rising but there's some kind of figurative wall up between the two of us and i just cannot bridge the gap...and honestly it's a little annoying because i wanna know why everyone else is so obsessed! but instead i am just lukewarm and underwhelmed haha
Okay, I'm getting lost in all these wonderful comments. What a great matrix -- it's got me thinking about the books I've loved and the books I've struggled with. In my experience, timing -- when the book arrives into your life -- can make a huge difference in the enjoyment part. For example, just finished The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley and LOVED it. I read it as I was coming off a very emotional trip that involved grieving and one line about how grief pushes one out of time felt as though it was written for me. It's a pretty popular book, I think and deservedly so.
Timing is HUGE you are so right. I read Anxious People the weekend I said goodbye forever to my grandmother and it made me sob. This is such a great point and one I’m going to have to write about thank you for the inspiration
Enjoyment x Quality matrix almost made me squeal with glee!!! I love a good graph, maybe I'll map out my 2024 reads this way.
Love to take in your critical analysis & have to jump in to say I have similar qualms with RF Kuang's writing (I haven't read Babel though, just Yellowface). It's good, it's smart, it's entertaining, it's just obvious to me that she doesn't trust the reader's interpretive ability. Which I mean, maybe it's a valid fear, but it's at the expense of enjoyability for sure.
glad my excel skills could come in handy here for once!! haha. I'm really heartened to hear other people whose taste I trust agree because for a while I thought I was the one taking crazy pills.
Some amazing responses here! I know this one may be controversial, but 'A Little Life.' I finished it, but it did not work for me at all. 'A Man in Full' by Tom Wolfe is a book I detested so much I didn't read fiction for almost five years. Now it's a TV show, lol.
I can understand that - A Little Life is one of the wildest trauma dumps I've ever read. and wow havent heard Tom Wolfe's name in a hot minute, i stuck to his more well known titles so I dont have an opinion on that one but you made me genuinely laugh out loud reading this comment lol
I'm glad you got a chuckle out of Tom Wolfe. The good news is, you never have to think about that book again. Please don't. It's so bad!
Yes. I always feel terrible about not liking A LIttle Life more than I did -- but I haven't forgotten it, that's for sure. It remains one of the poster-books for what happens when an editor refuses to intervene.
A Little Life unfortunately is not beating the trauma porn allegations
My example of a really popular book that I did not enjoy and, in fact, DNF-ed was Yellowface by RFK. And honestly, everything you said about Babel applies to it, too. I thought - what an amazing IDEA for a book. The book itself, so didactic... I couldn't. I spent so much time guilt-tripping myself over not liking it but eventually had to let it go.
Yes!! I completely agree. Amazing idea, not great execution.
I read all of Yellowface, but in a read it fast because I wanted it to be over way? And I even spent the time to write a post about it, but in the end that was mostly about other books.
Just commented on the main thread saying exactly the same thing about Yellowface LOL. I wanted to like it soooo bad because parts of it were highly entertaining, but far too heavy-handed...
exactly!
I'm so glad I am not the only one! I DNFd the audio of Yellowface about 20% in and thought maybe it was the format but sounds like its similar in its heavy handedness. SO MUCH GUILT TRIPPING. Like I had to dig deep to figure out if I was a terrible person to feel this way
Fabulous post and love discourse over popular books. Recently at my irl book club someone stated that they only want to read books that are rated higher than 4 stars on Goodreads. This gave me immediate pause because I think some of the best book discussions are those in which were both loved and hated. Life is pretty boring when we all agree.
Love the charting you included as well.
thank you!! i was throwing that graph together last night at like 11 pm like is this worth it?? 😂. And I agree we need to challenge ourselves sometimes - and I do not trust Goodreads ratings with my life. Life is so boring when we all agree (or feel peer pressure to agree!)
"Babel is intelligent, and it knows it, kind of like your annoying older sister (is this review just self-flagellation?)."
☝️ I'm that older sister and I love that sentence 🤣 Your review of Babel is exactly why I've steered away from it. I'm allergic to any "preachiness" in writing.
My popular novel I didn't get along with is Normal People by Sally Rooney. All the hype definitely did a disservice to my reading experience but even that aside, I just still don't understand why people love it. If the main characters had one adult conversation, there would have been no story? No thanks.
yep!! older smarty sisters unite lol
The hype on Rooney seriously does her a disservice. I liked Normal People but I read it a long time ago when I was younger and more like the MCs, but not enough to try any of her other books just yet.
1). You are my favorite book-adjacent writer on Substack. Thank you for sharing what's inside your brain.
B). I know 'The Goldfinch' by Donna Tartt is beloved (and won the Pulitzer), but that book is the one I always think of when this kind of question comes up. I loved the beginning so much — and then the stretch in Las Vegas felt interminable... and the way it all went down with Hobie. I had to say it's high-quality and low enjoyment for me. BLARG.
iii). Currently reading books for an upcoming podcast episode about Brazil. I just finished 'The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao' by Martha Batalha. The writing is fantastic, not much plot, but I didn't care because the characters are fun and messy and feel real. Next up, I'm giving a trial run to two different Brazil-based mysteries — but what I really want to be doing is making my Spooky Season TBR. Have you read Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne?
Also, illustrated 'Carmilla'? swoon
thank you Melissa that has truly made my day!! I love chatting books with you too.
confessions - I am ambivalent on the Goldfinch. You nailed it - every time I think of it I just remember the bomb, and then the long ass stretch in Vegas where all they did was drugs and roll around on the carpet?? trying to finish The Little Friend now and its feeling similar. She's an interesting writer but could use a strong editor.
I havent read Diavola yet, but its on my list!! I have not read anything from a Brazilian writer yet but I would love to
I loved the Goldfinch AND I completely agree about the stretch in Vegas. WE DIDNT NEED ALL THAT.
I love The Goldfinch and at the same time, I completely respect your points. The Las Vegas section needed to be edited WAY down. Sometimes I wonder how much of things like that are an editor being like, "Well, it's Donna Tartt..." As a Tartt stan, even I felt the length in the middle 😅
I really love the way you've mapped out your processes for reflecting on your enjoyment of a book (or lack thereof!). I've held off from reading Babel for many of the reasons you mention, which are complaints I've seen across quite a few mixed reviews, and like you, I also really couldn't get on board with Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, despite the intriguing concept and fact I enjoyed a couple of Schwab's books when I read them in the mid-2010s! We'll have to disagree on Tomorrow x3, which I absolutely flew through in the course of a couple days, admiring the descriptions of the games Sam & Sadie were building together and crying in all the moments Zevin wanted me to cry. But I thought this critique of yours was really astute, and it instantly made me think of the way I felt while reading A Little Life, which might top my list of popular books I didn't enjoy: "I genuinely felt unmoved by their plights. I could almost imagine Zevin moving the characters around a 3D chessboard, inventing internal motivations to match their exterior choices. It also feels sad in a way that is unearned." Thanks for sharing!
I'm just nodding along reading your comment like yes! I think i am drawn to big stories and Tx3 was more quiet in its feelings. I cried SO hard reading A little Life but I 100% see why lots of people dislike it and critics agree with you on the strategic plotting
I hate Conversations with Frjends by Sally Rooney. (It’s almost a catchphrase for me on bookstagram 🤓). Normal People was better but still not great. I see Rooney’s appeal but she just isn’t for me
I havent read any Rooney except Normal People because but she feels like a very millennial-esque writer and thats not for everyone (even us millennials!)
I actually loved Tomorrow 3x haha. I love reading about creative collaboration and I loved the popular culture references. I am also planning to read Addie Larue although not some time soon.
A popular book that I hated was Conversation with Friends. I couldn’t stand the cheating part. I thought the characters were pretentious. I just couldn’t get on with the writing.
I truly wonder if I would have liked Tx3 more if I knew nothing about it first?? Who knows. And I havent read Conversation yet but I have heard they are very pretentious gen z/millennial types with a lot to say but very little awareness
they are 😂 and because of that I never touched another Sally Rooney book again. A few years maybe but not some time soon.
Tomorrow x3 was one of my favorite books of that year. I love reading about friendships and long term relationships. I also, for the first time in my life, understood a smidge more about gaming which I've always edged away from.
yes yes! I also love the back stories of characters in general and this book was one whole backstory. At the start we all know Sam and Sadie are going to be successful video game developers and collaborators. What I loved about this book is how they came to be.
I didn’t finish My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. Did not like it at all.
Tried reading Tomorrowx3 and just couldn’t get into it. It felt dry and lifeless.
Because my life is so full, I really have to make an effort to carve out space for reading. I need that time to feel worth stealing away. If a book hasn’t hooked me in the first 70 pages or so, I move on.
The kitties look spectacular 😍
MYORAR was an insane book, it put it in the same category as Bunny - so weird that it at times becomes unenjoyable, although Bunny was more fun than the Moshfegh. I know we have feelings so it cant be us with Tx3 right! haha. And I agree, time is the only thing we cant earn more of us it better be worth it!
I finished reading MYRR but only because I kept thinking... surely, something will click and it will all of a sudden make me love it. Nope. Did not click.
I finished Tomorrow, too, and thought it was OK but the gaming parts felt really gimmicky to me.
Here to say I also thought MYRR was not that good and couldn’t (still can’t) understand why so many love it!
Lol, I legit loved it!
I wanted to like it!! 😭
I totally get it! It’s not a book for everyone and that’s completely ok!
I feel the same way!! Sooo many people love that book and I feel the opposite. Happy to have found my people! 😂❤️🔥
We are such rebels. 😂
😂🙏
Replying to this whole thread - I think its a generational & social media thing in the same vein as "the girls who get it get it". I appreciated it but it wasnt exactly enjoyable, Moshfegh seems to have no interest in that generally
I was intrigued by it. It was one of those books that did exactly what it set out to do. I've thought about the premise many times since and I've thought about the softly beating heart that I could detect throughout, particularly in the final pages.
I’ve tried to read “Outline” by Cusk and “normal people” by Rooney at least 3 times each and I find both of them so boring I can’t bother to turn the pages 😂 I’m keeping my copies so I can try again in 5 years or something.
Also: I am NOT excited for pumpkin spice lattes cuz I think they’re disgusting. But I’m very excited for pumpkin muffins, which are delightful. I have to go watch “Moonrise Kingdom” for the thousandth time now ✌🏻
very interesting about Cusk and Rooney!! people rave about them both but I havent read a Cusk yet. I will have to find out for myself!
and pumpkin cold foam is where its AT. way better than the latte version. enjoy MK :)
I’m laughing at this comment Haley bc I read Outline this month and was obsessed. But Outline & Normal People are very similarly written and I totally see why people don’t like them. Nothing happens and I appreciate how the read is so boring for some. They’re books I’d describe as just like watching water go down a drain bc the prose just goes round and round and round and then it’s over lmao.
All I noticed in the first 15 pages of Outline was the punctuation. I found it unbelievably distracting for some reason 😂
I do not do PSLs, but the new Apple Chai thing intrigued me enough to get it. I hate to admit it, but it slapped, as the #youths say.
I also wasn't wowed by Tomorrow x3. I thought that the most innovating thing was the structure, but I agree that as the characters grew, their relationship was not that interesting. It also felt very contrived, as in - if two people who were actually this close sat down and talked, they'd resolve all of their issues. I was also not thrilled with how Sadie's abortion and later pregnancy were handled; it felt like reading talking points from a conservative mommy blog, honestly.
Addie La Rue was fun in that I wasn't expecting much. I read somewhere that this story had been bothering V.E. Schwab (in her words) for years, and I could see that. There were logical breaks in the story if you thought about it too hard, so I enjoyed it from the sense of ah, France, a place I liked.
Haven't read Babel (I own it, story of my life) but am deeply suspicious of R.F. Kuang's writing output. How does she have time to write all of these novels AND get a Ph.D? Suspicious.
the pumpkin cold foam SLAPS too though lol
the structure was intriguing ill give Tx3 that, but agreed - I'd forgotten completely about her abortion honestly none of it stuck with me clearly!
if you arent expecting much Schwab is one of those happy to stumble upon her works type writer, agreed. I am ALWAYS suspicious of writers who also work high profile jobs or get Ph.Ds (like Daniel Mason).
I also thought it was completely disingenuous to say that you didn't need to know about video games to read the book. You *definitely* did. Even my limited experience of Nintentdo 64 and Mario Kart was sufficient, but I would have been completely lost without it.
I haven't read anything else by Daniel Mason other than North Woods, which I generally enjoyed but did have some qualms with. On the one hand, I'm glad to see writers with day jobs, because it makes me feel a little less alone. On the other hand...where do get all of this time to write?! Who is paying for all of this?! Still suspicious.
I have heard the Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab is good, and I'm sure it's somewhere on my interminable TBR, so maybe I'll get to it one day. May have to try that pumpkin cold foam now...will report back.
I’m absolutely giddy with delight that you honored my (and Jenovia’s) request - squeee!
“It also feels sad in a way that is unearned.” I love this line of yours so much. It’s like “show me, don’t tell me.”
I haven’t tried reading any of these (though I almost yanked Tomorrow from my niece’s shelf solely based on the cover art) and now I probably never will. So thank you in that regard.
I’m sorry to be “that bitch” in the words of the great Lizzo, but I could not get into The Goldfinch and I have zero memory about why. Don’t cancel me!
A non-fiction book I hated that lots of people loved: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. A smoldering hot pile of repetitive word salad. Just did not get that one AT ALL.
Love your matrix! Thanks for adding other books - that helped me gauge it better. Kitty game is strong too ❤️🔥
Pumpkin spice - it’s TOO EARLY! 😩. Also: blech.
ITS NEVER TOO EARLY hahahhaha
I will never cancel you. I can totally understand about The Goldfinch it seems to be a very writerly-loved book but not so much for the regular readers like us (re: too long!). I liked it but my opinion is totally swayed by it being loved in literary circles
"hot pile of repetitive word salad" should be engraved as a warning on all those self-helpish books love that
also, Leave the World Behind was a rare instance of me liking to book okay, but thinking the movie was way better. It was a great story that translated better in a visual/performance medium, methinks.
the movie was fabulous Im glad you said that because he took liberties with the story that I felt heightened it - one of the few times I think the movie was as good or better (the other notable one being The Handmaids Tale)
*the
Unfortunately the popular book I just do not get is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.......................
I think the thing that's so relevant too is like, I can kind of see why it's popular and why people enjoy it and even how it is well written, but I just Did Not Get It. I don't connect with most TJR books, but at least Malibu Rising and Daisy Jones were compelling to me, I just did not care for Evelyn or her story, and that ending......Every time people talk about it I roll my eyes and I feel bad for not liking it but also I'm allowed to have my own taste! It's fine!
I read all of TJR's books at the very beginning of what I can my bookstagram reading journey when I had much less discerning taste - I remember liking it but it felt fluffy, not a literary achievement. you are absolutely allowed to have your own taste!!
i think sometimes we're just destined to not connect with certain writers! like i can totally respect her and i really enjoyed malibu rising but there's some kind of figurative wall up between the two of us and i just cannot bridge the gap...and honestly it's a little annoying because i wanna know why everyone else is so obsessed! but instead i am just lukewarm and underwhelmed haha
Love the graph!!!!!!
graph lovers/visual learners unite!!!
Okay, I'm getting lost in all these wonderful comments. What a great matrix -- it's got me thinking about the books I've loved and the books I've struggled with. In my experience, timing -- when the book arrives into your life -- can make a huge difference in the enjoyment part. For example, just finished The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley and LOVED it. I read it as I was coming off a very emotional trip that involved grieving and one line about how grief pushes one out of time felt as though it was written for me. It's a pretty popular book, I think and deservedly so.
Timing is HUGE you are so right. I read Anxious People the weekend I said goodbye forever to my grandmother and it made me sob. This is such a great point and one I’m going to have to write about thank you for the inspiration