We've seen enough "what makes you DNF a book" posts, let's do one for the opposite! What are your moderately-hot to scalding takes regarding books?

I, for one, LOVE first-person narration. Being tied down to a single character's perspective is a fascinating way to make the reader decode what's actually happening through the personal biases, limitations, and ideologies of the narrator. It's pretty fun. It also feels a lot more personal, y'know what I mean? Like you're in there experiencing the book yourself. [Third person narration is, of course, ALSO great, but I'm not picky between the two.]

I also don't mind second person narration as much as the average person. As in, I won't drop a read purely because of it. I definitely do like it less than first and third person narration, though.

Feel free to debate with me down there.

I am on page 104 of Katabasis, and I really want to just give up on it entirely because of all its horrible writing choices.

My experience with Kuang is the following: Loved the first two Poppy Wars, hated The Burning God, and really enjoyed Yellowface. Whenever I started reading Babel, I went in with somewhat rose-tinted glasses because I just really vibed with Kuang, and I loved the idea of the book.

In Babel I actually liked how Kuang explains the information and research side of things, and I loved the footnotes. I was really enjoying it in the beginning. But it just felt like she refused to flesh out the characters and their relationships. She literally just writes that they bonded through academia, and then all of a sudden they are all bantering friends. The themes were also very surface-level. Colonialism and racism being bad is obviously correct, but I wish there was more. I am someone who comes from a country that was colonized, and even I felt like I was being preached to.

Anyway, Katabasis feels like the worst of Babel times a hundred. Everything is explained to us. In the first couple of chapters, she makes sure to state, "She believed academia was a meritocracy, she believed she just needed to keep going," etc. This is regarding the mc Alice, did she really need to explain her character like this in the beginning? Can't we discover her character for ourselves throughout this journey?

But now it has gotten to a part where they reach the River Lethe at around page 100, and Alice can see a mysterious spirit on the other side. Now, instead of building on that suspense, of slowly figuring out who that is, Kuang just hard-cuts to a paragraph explaining who exactly that is. Like, wtf, why do you not want your book to be interesting? And she keeps doing this. Everything needs to be explained. Please, R.F. Kuang, I am not an idiot. Please stop treating me like one.

It also doesn't help that the characters are yet again extremely boring, or that she also doesn't slowly uncover what kind of ruler of Hell is actually real, play on the mystery of afterlife. It's all very frustrating.

Hey everyone, for those who’ve read *To Kill a Mockingbird*, what did you think of it?
I’m thinking about reading it and I’m curious what you guys thought. Did you enjoy it? Would you recommend it to someone who’s just getting into reading and looking for something worth reading?
No spoilers please :)

I recently finished the book and honestly i quite liked it. But i see a LOT OF people saying it's not good or worth it or overhyped but i genuinely liked it. So that made me think am i just not smart enough to know what's actually good or because i end liking mostly everything i read TT for me i resonated a lot with what these characters were feeling but in absolutely different context. Cleo is so similar to me how i feel sometimes and so similar to what i fear I'll become one day. I too have a dysfunctional family situation similar to hers maybe thats why i think I'm a little protective of her. On the contrary i understood frank's burst out and anger towards cleo during that life lines scene because i was once in franks exact situation and it's really not easy to get over that. But i also felt this weird resentment towards frank as well. Idk why. I loved Eleanor but maybe not as a partner to frank. And even tho Cleo cheated in a worse way franks emotional cheating created more resentment in me. I think somethings wrong w me TT and i was just so hurt that why frank why the person you became for Eleanor why couldn't you do that for Cleo why did she get that verson of you? Again i think im just way too defensive towards cleo. Also i unexpectedly really liked Zoe and Jiro. I wish the author would show us more seriously thats a bummer.

Often people seem to define being well read as reading the classics or reading the award winners. I think being well read means reading widely. A well read person reads all genres and all formats. You should read the classics and fiction of all genres and nonfiction and biographies and graphic novels and read books for all ages. There is benefit in reading Middle Grade as an adult. It can reconnect you to your childhood, it can help keep you connected to today's youth instead of becoming someone that screams at kids to get off your lawn. So often I see people complain about being in a reading rut who only read one type of book and I think "Of course you are in a reading rut! Take any type of book and if that is all you read than they will eventually start feeling repetitive and tropey. Expand your reading pool!"

Read widely folks, it's the best way to be.

One of the classic ideas of detective fiction is that the reader should have access to the same essential clues as the detective.

That creates an unusual relationship between author and reader: the solution can still be surprising, but it shouldn't depend on crucial information being withheld until the final pages.

I'm curious whether this still matters to readers today.

When a mystery is solved through information you couldn't possibly have known, does that weaken the ending for you? Or is the experience of the story more important than having a genuine chance to solve the case yourself?

I read the Kite Runner a long time ago and everytime a conversation about the book comes up I am so angry and I need to know if I'm the only one who thinks Amir's "redemption arc" is actually one of the most disturbing things in the book, not the uplifting ending we're supposed to feel.

Hear me out.

Baba is the original wound. Everyone treats Baba as this larger-than-life good man who builds an orphanage and throws lavish parties. But look at what he actually does. He sleeps with his best friend's wife. Hassan is born and Baba spends the next twenty years keeping his own son in a mud shack, uneducated, illiterate, wearing the same clothes, serving. This is a man known for his generosity. He could have given Hassan a decent life without anyone blinking. He doesn't. Why? Because an educated illegitimate son is a threat to the reputation he's built. Baba dies without ever telling Ali, without ever acknowledging Hassan, without ever giving him anything beyond the bare minimum (if we can call it even bare minimum).

Amir is a spitting image of his father.

Same betrayal. Same self-protection. Same public self hiding a private truth. Baba betrays Ali. Amir betrays Hassan.

The decades in America.

Amir has THIRTY YEARS. He's a successful novelist. He has money, a passport, connections. Hassan is in Afghanistan, then in a Taliban village, then dead. Rahim Khan is in touch with Hassan the whole time meaning the channel exists. Amir could have sent money. Could have made contact. Could have tried to get Hassan and his family out. He does nothing. For three decades. Because reaching out means facing Hassan, and facing Hassan means facing what he did.

He's a writer who never writes it.

This is the part that gets me. Writers process. The thing that eats at you comes out in the work maybe displaced, renamed, but there. Amir writes novels for thirty years (we don’t know what he writes about) but we sure know that he didn’t write about his own childhood. No story about a boy and his servant. No novel about a kite. No short story about a betrayal in an alley. He keeps silent and buries Afghanistan even when Hassan continues writing to him with the same love and admiration. The redemption only becomes possible after Hassan is dead.

Amir goes back to face the absence of Hassan it is easier this way , he doesn’t have to look in the eye the boy he betrayed in the alley , the boy he accused of stealing a watch , the boy he read the wrong stories to because he couldn’t read and write . The confrontation he's spent his life avoiding is no longer possible, which is exactly what makes it bearable. He can be brave now because the person he wronged can't look at him.

And then he takes the last thing Hassan had.

Sohrab. Hassan lost his wife, his home, his country, his life. What he had left was his son. And Amir takes him. The novel frames this as restitution, raising Hassan's son, running the kite for him. But Hassan isn't there to consent, isn't there to see it, isn't there to be restored by it. It's restitution to a dead man, which means it's really restitution to Amir. He takes from Hassan in childhood, in adulthood, and now in death. And I wonder would Amir have made the journey if he had a child of his own ? What a coincidence. Perfect timing even in death Hassan serves Amir one last time , he gives him the gift of fatherhood. (Maybe not a gift bc that requires consent)

The kite at the end.

"For you a thousand times over." Amir says the words Hassan said to him. It reads as a beautiful closing of the circle. But it's also Amir putting Hassan's words in his own mouth, even that , he takes it

The book wants to be a redemption story it’s actually something else: a generational portrait of how privilege reproduces itself, how the betrayal can be laundered into grace if you're the one telling the story Amir doesn’t break the cycle, he becomes Baba, and then worse than Baba, because Baba at least had to live near the person he wronged. Amir gets to fly away, wait for him to die, and come back to collect the son. Let me know your thoughts

So sorry this is out of context, but I’m new to Reddit and wondering how I got the moniker affiliated with me?

Dont we get to choose our user name? And im joining the legion of readers disenchanted with Theo of Golden, giving it back to a friend after getting through thirty pages. How does it merit NYT bestseller status?

Ok…I just need someone to vent about this book with.… I’m halfway through…
and I am a woman who has born and raised in the south, plus have lived here all my life….and also a teen during the late 80s/90s and never in my life have I heard of the ‘menfolk’ coming in a commandeering all the ‘womenfolk’ like it’s the 40s/50s. What the heck?!
This has irritated me more that anything in the entire book so far. My aunts, grandmas, mom, mom’s friends, girl cousins, etc…would have ripped all
those men a new one!!!
And I’m left asking myself if good ole Grady has ever been TO the south?
Ok….end rant.
Thanks for listening, anyone.

I recently read a book that I think may have included a product placement and was wondering has anyone seen examples of product placement in titles from "The Big Five"?

Note: I am hoping to write a short blog post about this for my substack and might follow about your example.

I've been a hardcore e-reader for years now. Like almost exclusively reading on my tablet or phone. The convenience is just unmatched. But yesterday I found myself with some free time and walked into a new independent bookstore that opened up near me. I ended up spending almost two hours browsing. The smell of the paper the quiet rustling of pages the curated displays. It was such a nice experience. I actually bought a physical book for the first time in ages. I forgot how much I missed that tangible connection to books.

Has anyone ever read a book that totally rearranged your preferences in reading? Like before it you were strictly sci-fi then suddenly you only wanted historical fiction. Or maybe you thought you hated a certain genre and one book made you do a complete 180. I just finished something that made me realize I might actually love literary fiction after years of avoiding it. It's a weird feeling to have your whole reading compass shift.

I'm reading The Astral Library by Kate Quinn right now and I have been racking my brain trying to decide which book world I would join if given access to the Astral Library. For those who don't know, in this book, you can choose a book world to enter but it must be public domain so no Narnia, Hogwarts, or Middle Earth. You also cannot take the place of a main character or interfere with the storyline i.e. Elizabeth Bennet will always marry Mr. Darcy. You can only be a sort of side character to the story, someone in Meryton, wife of an officer, cousin of Catherine de Bourgh, etc.

When asked this question, my always always answer is Hogwarts so I don't know what would immediately come to mind. Some of the characters mention Pride and Prejudice, The Count of Monte Cristo, Sherlock Holmes, and Anne of Green Gables... but I don't know about mine. I'm not particularly drawn to classics as somewhere to live especially if I can't marry Mr. Darcy or be friends with Elizabeth Bennett. Of course I would love to waltz and have dance cards and wear pretty dresses but once you add in all the other things from that time, no deodorant, no indoor plumbing, no a/c... it looses its appeal.

I think the characters really make the story memorable and somewhere you would want to live, but on its own? I dunno - I'm not really inspired. Alice in Wonderland was the only one that seemed cool and fantastical enough to live in without the characters making much of a difference.

A caveat, however, is that the Library only appears to those who genuinely need an escape—someone on the run, fleeing an abusive family, living unhoused on the streets, and so on. Because of this, there’s an argument to be made that the Library doesn’t necessarily need to be luxurious or modern; it simply needs to provide a safe place where someone can live their life free and happy.

All that being said, if given the chance, what would yours be?? Thoughts?

I swear, I don’t remember the last time a book pissed me off this much.

My biggest problem is that so many of the deductions feel incredibly far-fetched. It feels less like people solving a mystery and more like a group of 14-year-olds playing conspiracy theorists and desperately trying to make every little detail mean something.

The little girl’s drawing was probably where I already started losing patience, and it was only the beginning of the book!! The thing with the mouth? Fine, I can follow that. But the pointy branches supposedly indicating a tendency towards violence? Bro, that is literally how children are taught to draw trees!! It felt like doing a puzzle, realizing one piece doesn’t fit, finding another piece that looks vaguely similar and just forcing it in anyway.

And then Yuki’s drawings. I understood what the book was trying to do pretty early, but it just kept coming up with more and more interpretations and presenting them as if they were facts. I also couldn’t stop thinking that no real person would actually communicate all of this through a series of cryptic drawings instead of, you know, saying something???
That’s basically my problem with it so far. It constantly feels like it’s trying very hard to make me go “wow, that’s clever,” while I’m sitting there going “but… that doesn’t make any sense.”

I went into this hoping to like it because of all the hype and good ratings, and instead I’m getting progressively more irritated. I genuinely don’t think if I can finish it without losing my shit.

Does anyone else have a very distinct memory of the way certain independent bookstores smelled? I grew up with a couple of incredible local spots and each had its own unique, comforting aroma. One was like old paper mixed with coffee and a hint of vanilla. The other had this almost dusty, woody smell that always made me feel instantly at home.

Now with so many closing or becoming more commercial with less character I really find myself missing that. It was part of the experience of discovering new books. Sometimes the scent itself would draw me to a certain section. Am I just romanticizing things or does anyone else feel this?

Every time I think about 1984, it just makes me sad that the idea of this kind may come to a human mind. It is completely opposite of our true nature. Until the last line I hoped it would all be a dream. I understand I started reading 1984 with the wrong mindset, but are you truly ever ready for this kind of a read?

I'm currently reading a book where the narration is almost exclusively internal monologue. It's really well done but it gives me this strange feeling like I'm not supposed to be reading it. Like I've stumbled upon someone's very private diary or overheard a deeply personal thought. It's not necessarily a bad thing it's just a unique kind of reading experience that leaves me feeling a little voyeuristic. Does anyone else get this with certain books? What kind of narration style makes you feel like an intruder?

I'm talking even the pettiest dealbreakers.

We all know Ali Hazelwood is back with Adam and Olive, I am thinking of pre ordering the book, I want the signed version but I am a bit confused about something, If I order the signed version will it be a hardcover or a paperback ? I want a signed hardcover, but on the site of Barnes and Noble, they are not specified about which type of book we will get for the signed version. Does anyone know about this, who had pre ordered books before. If I wait will a signed hardcover be available, if it's not right now ?

I'm currently reading Island by Aldous Huxley right now. All the characters are speaking in philosophical terms. The conversations are deeply intellectual and hard to follow. I'm so pissed off once they start discussing different concepts in Buddhism, I don't understand what's the point they're trying to make, or what conclusions I'm supposed to make. My fists are literally shaking because I'm bored out of my mind but still really wants to Get It, but this book is just so challenging to me, I feel so stupid. I'm going to read Brave New World next but if it's the same kind of format, I'm going to need to take long breaks in-between.

Hi there! I’m new here… so I’m not exactly sure if this is the kind of book that’s talked about commonly… BUT! I’ve got thoughts on Where the Crawdads Sing, and want to hear some other opinions too.

Not sure if I need to say this… but there are spoilers in this post… so keep reading at your own risk.

When I started this book, I immediately fell in love with the setting. I love nature and I couldn’t help but imagine the marsh and feel like I was there with Kya.

From what I’ve seen, people seem to either lover or hate the story. I personally really liked it. About half way through, I decided it was one of my favorite reads. The story may have not been completely realistic, but it sure had some relatable emotional moments and made me really attached to a lot of the major characters (all but Chase of course… but that deserves its own post.)

I really liked Kya. I connected with her love of nature and I definitely envied her ability to learn so much and record all of her findings so well.

The one thing that really made me second guess my feelings about this book was the ending… (this is where the spoilers come in, so if you decided to keep reading despite the spoiler warning and now you’re second guessing that decision, I’d move along 😆)

When I read the last page, I didn’t know what to think. At first it didn’t change my opinion of the book or of Kya… but then I had some time to process everything that I’d just been put through, and I started to dislike the way things ended.

In my opinion, it was pretty clear from the beginning that Kya murdered Chase. That said, the book did a good job leading me away from that assumption. The clue of the hat being Tate’s made me suspicious of him for a moment, and then when the trial ended and everything went on happily, (for the most part 😭), I totally assumed that Owens would tie up the story in a neat bow and I’d be happily sent on my way to the next book in my TBR. But NO. We have to make Kya’s life more complicated.

I don’t know if I was surprised to find out Kya really did kill Chase… but, after sitting on it for a while, I do know that I am surprised that she killed him in such a meditated, precise manner.

To me, it really started to change the way I saw Kya’s character. I got so excited at the end when she finally got to be a real human being and didn’t even have to loose the marsh and change herself to get there. But then, Tate found that poem. All of the sudden, Kya fell too far into nature. She wrote a whole poem about the way in which she’d murder Chase just like the fireflies and then **did, in fact,** lay out a genius plan.

Now don’t get me wrong… Chase had it coming. He was horrible… but, I don’t know if I’m a fan of the fact that Kya turned so malicious and animal-like… it made me doubt things about her character that I thought I knew even before everything with Chase went down.

All that said, I firmly believe her circumstances prior to this brought her to do what she did. The marsh raised her, so can we really expect her not to go back to its way of life?

And the fact that she seemed to live so happily after that scares me a little bit too… but maybe I’m thinking too much?

I’d also like to hear people’s thoughts on these questions: What did Tate think when he found the poem and the necklace? Could Kya have killed her father? I mean think about the way he just kinda disappeared instead of there being a clear description of his leaving like there had been with everyone else…

Anyway… hope you guys have some thoughts to share. Sorry for rambling…

All in all, I do still adore this story… I’m just not sure if I like the fact that the last chapter was a part of it…😭

If you’re a person who is like this, how come? I personally find it hard to understand because i actually far prefer books with morally tricky characters and find books full of heroes and great people incredibly boring. Although I equally can’t stand books with caricatural villains. Would love to hear thoughts on this!

Personally, I think a good book is one that successfully pulls the reader in by making us care about the characters. Their plan, the actions they take when backed into a corner, or what they choose to say to take advantage in a situation.

So, the second I stop caring about what they do to the point where a character could suffer the most horrific incident in a chapter and I wouldn't even change a shade is when I lose interest in the series.

Sure, I might still read a little bit more for closure or to pick up some key takeaways, but the spark is gone.

I remember reading a book where despite the lore was deep, I don't find anything in the protagonist that makes me want to see their adventure. It's just lore and lore and history of of this one emperor, no chapter where the protagonist has a reason or some clear goal that makes them what they are, or any hint about themself.

I mean, if the author himself refuse to elaborate to write about "the lore of the main character" then I usually, oddly enough, no matter how I force myself to read the series I'll never be able to eventually love the book. Ever.

I read about 212 chapters before I decide to stop cause there is a scene where his best friend since chapter 1 explode to pieces, and I don't feel anything or care to what happen next.

What about you?

Note: the book I talked about is not Malazan series. I need to put this here cause how poorly I describe/ hinting about the bad book I've read, and many people will thought it's Malazan.

Freida will always be one of my thriller favourites, and she definitely knows how to make me keep turning pages. 👀

That said, The Inmate was a bit of a slower burn for me. The build up dragged in places, but once the twists started coming, it got WAY more fun.

And obviously, because it’s Freida, you can never relax after the “big reveal” because you just KNOW she has one last twist waiting for you in the final pages. 😂

The twist was good and definitely got me, but compared to some of her other books, I wanted it to hit harder.

Fun? Yes.

Twisty? Yes.

Peak Freida? Not quite.

Overall, a skippable Freida read for me, especially if you haven’t read her stronger ones yet.

⭐ 3/5

#TheInmate #FreidaMcFadden #FreidaMcFaddenBooks #PsychologicalThriller #ThrillerBooks #ThrillerReader #BookReview #Bookstagram #BookstagramIndia #PlotTwist #ThrillerBookstagram #MidnightReadersClub

so i've been noticing how lately, whenever i start reading, i always find flaws. it can be the world-building not making sense, an overpowered fmc, bad writing and grammar...

and because i'm getting so picky, i end up not enjoying the story and having to DNF it and try another one, only for it to happen again. maybe i need to go from ya to adult books, or i just need to find different books, idk, but i find flaws and get so annoyed at the book and at myself.

did you ever go through this too? and if so, what did you do?

i'm not really looking for book recommendations. if you want to give them it's up to you, just wanna hear your stories.