print Book Discussion

[fountain]

10 hours ago, MonsterJohn said:

Exactly what's I'm feeling so far

 

I've read so many mids lately when I tried to pick out the most popular, good reviewed ones recently. Goodreads is not being a good indicator as I thought 

 

 

I like Goodreads as a service but it’s basically a popularity contest as opposed to the feedback on there having real critical value. The way I see it is if a book is highly rated, it just means that it has broad appeal, not necessarily that it is good itself. I tend to find that the more divisive books that are lower rated are more interesting, even if I don’t ultimately enjoy them every time, because they typically have more compelling and thought provoking things going on as opposed to the popular fiction that can be quite predictable/mid. That’s not to say that the popular books on there are all bad though, but a high rating definitely isn’t always what it turns out to be. The site also has a lot of racial bias honestly, look at the reviews or ratings of translated work vs that of white English speaking authors and you’ll see what I mean

[fridayteenage]

it's prone to stanbases the way imdb is for films, with nolan and tarantino, for example

 

 

  

1 hour ago, Miles. said:

If y'all want a top tier domestic thriller, check out:

Ashley Audrain: The Plot

Ashley Winstead: The Last Housewife

did you mean ashley's the push? it was interesting. there is also a thriller called The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

 

i thought winstead's 1st book was better.

Edited April 17, 2023 by fridayteenage

[MonsterJohn]

3 hours ago, Miles. said:

Super boring.  I wouldn't even classify this as thriller/suspense, it's just a domestic drama.  

 

Maybe the show will be good though.  The Flight Attendant was an awful book but the show was pretty good.

 

One of the worst books I've ever read.  I will never understand its Goodreads accolades.  I swear they bought those awards.

 

If y'all want a top tier domestic thriller, check out:

Ashley Audrain: The Plot

Amelia Kahaney: All The Best Liars

Ashley Winstead: The Last Housewife

Chandler Baker: Whisper Network

Jessica Knoll: Luckiest Girl Alive

 

2 hours ago, fountain said:

I like Goodreads as a service but it’s basically a popularity contest as opposed to the feedback on there having real critical value. The way I see it is if a book is highly rated, it just means that it has broad appeal, not necessarily that it is good itself. I tend to find that the more divisive books that are lower rated are more interesting, even if I don’t ultimately enjoy them every time, because they typically have more compelling and thought provoking things going on as opposed to the popular fiction that can be quite predictable/mid. That’s not to say that the popular books on there are all bad though, but a high rating definitely isn’t always what it turns out to be. The site also has a lot of racial bias honestly, look at the reviews or ratings of translated work vs that of white English speaking authors and you’ll see what I mean

thanks guys for your insights, I feel it's much harder to find interesting books nowadays sigh

Will check the ones mentioned above

[Miles.]

2 hours ago, fountain said:

I like Goodreads as a service but it’s basically a popularity contest as opposed to the feedback on there having real critical value. The way I see it is if a book is highly rated, it just means that it has broad appeal, not necessarily that it is good itself. I tend to find that the more divisive books that are lower rated are more interesting, even if I don’t ultimately enjoy them every time, because they typically have more compelling and thought provoking things going on as opposed to the popular fiction that can be quite predictable/mid. That’s not to say that the popular books on there are all bad though, but a high rating definitely isn’t always what it turns out to be. The site also has a lot of racial bias honestly, look at the reviews or ratings of translated work vs that of white English speaking authors and you’ll see what I mean

I totally agree.  There are so many 4+ books on there that are just okay.  Like I enjoy reading them, and then forget about them a month later.

 

Meanwhile there are some phenomenal books with much lower ratings (like both of Jessica Knoll's books, and Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang) because they're... controversial, I guess?  Like these are objectively better books than The Silent Patient just based on writing ability and story cohesion.

 

I think the best thing to do is find a few reviewers who have similar tastes to yours and follow them.  That's been way more helpful to me than the actual numerical rating.  

 

And sometimes Goodreads does get it right, like when they dragged the pretentious overwrought mess Leave The World Behind to the pits of hell.

 

 

2 hours ago, fridayteenage said:

did you mean ashley's the push? it was interesting. there is also a thriller called The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

 

i thought winstead's 1st book was better.

Whoops, yes, thanks! The Push by Ashley Audrain.  

 

I did really like The Plot as well though.

 

And wow, I read In My Dreams I Hold A Knife first and really did not connect with it.  I thought the writing was amateurish and the main character was insufferable and the twist at the end was basic.  I almost didn't read The Last Housewife because of it, but I'm so glad I did.  TLH felt like it was written by a completely different author.  She had so much to say about trauma, the patriarchy, female agency, revenge, the power of a collective... ahh.  I'm still thinking about it six months later.

 

“Life’s going to stomp you no matter what. Wouldn’t you rather get stomped here, in a mansion, surrounded by champagne and hors d’oeuvres? If they’re going to own you one way or the other, why not enjoy it? Lean in, Shay. Look at me, in this Gucci dress. These bruises? They’re Gucci bruises. It’s the VIP option, trust me. All the other options are this, but worse.”

 

 

[Scandalous]

the Winstead stanning in here ahhhh   such a lovely person too. im on the list for an advanced copy of her next book and cannot wait

[fountain]

6 hours ago, MonsterJohn said:

 

thanks guys for your insights, I feel it's much harder to find interesting books nowadays sigh

Will check the ones mentioned above

I find the book side of YouTube pretty good for getting recommendations. Looking into finding some creators on there who like reading similar books could definitely help. Instagram is okay too. I wouldn’t recommend book TikTok though… useless and trash

[worldwide angel]

7 minutes ago, fountain said:

I find the book side of YouTube pretty good for getting recommendations. Looking into finding some creators on there who like reading similar books could definitely help. Instagram is okay too. I wouldn’t recommend book TikTok though… useless and trash

booktok lashings  

Edited April 18, 2023 by worldwide angel

[iconoclasm]

I'm going through a bit of a reading slump but I picked up Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler. It's entertaining but sometimes the writing is kind of pretentious. 

[ChatshireCat]

Honestly, for goodreads, you just have to follow some reviewers whose tastes align with yours and who aren't afraid to give bad reviews/ratings to books, don't trust the actual rating for the book itself.

 

Like, Holly Black's latest book was literally horrendous and its still sitting above a 4.0 on GR for some reason 

Edited April 23, 2023 by ChatshireCat

[fridayteenage]

On 4/22/2023 at 6:16 PM, ChatshireCat said:

Honestly, for goodreads, you just have to follow some reviewers whose tastes align with yours and who aren't afraid to give bad reviews/ratings to books, don't trust the actual rating for the book itself.

 

Like, Holly Black's latest book was literally horrendous and its still sitting above a 4.0 on GR for some reason 

the avg ratings are much like cinemascore for movies, most ppl are v generous.

 

anywho, hyped for may's Yellowface, from the author of the poppy war & babel. 1st non fantasy venture. 

[Antisocialites]

 

finally getting back into reading after months. Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger was good, I liked it. the climax was super messy in execution though, it was wordy and full of action that was just hard to follow. the main character was so lovely though, finally some good characterization for a young adult character. also! it was interesting and enlightening to learn more about Lipan Apache culture.

[Better Mistakes]

Looking for recommendations. I’ve upgraded from my 10 year kindle paper white to the latest signature one in Agave Green  I’ve always read off and on casually but during lockdown I was getting through a book a week or so. After lockdown, I didn’t read anything for two years as I was working and completing my masters degree too. Now that I’m free from uni again, I want to get into reading like I did during lockdown.
 

I’ve thought about working my way through Stephen King’s whole bibliography but would like recommendations on his top 5 of where to start. 

[Miles.]

7 hours ago, Better Mistakes said:

I’ve thought about working my way through Stephen King’s whole bibliography but would like recommendations on his top 5 of where to start. 

Love SK.  Two of my favorite books of all time are IT and Under The Dome.

 

The Shining, Salem's Lot, Misery, Dolores Claiborne, Revival and The Running Man are some of my other faves.  Also love his short story collections, especially Full Dark No Stars.

 

The Stand is an overrated bore.  

 

[fountain]

Just read The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments. Having already seen part of the show the first book was basically like revisiting the show with only a couple of differences, but still engaging and obvious as to why it is a classic. I am pretty sure if I had read it without the show having ever existed I would’ve enjoyed it just as much, if not more. 
 

The Testaments was quite interesting… I’d somehow managed to avoid ever hearing what it was about plot wise, only knowing of the nature of it coming 35 years after its predecessor with a lot of unanswered questions and a lot to live up to. Atwood was bold af for daring to write this, let alone even publish it so hats off to her tbh cause it’s a definite risk trying to follow up The Handmaid’s Tale. I don’t know what the overall consensus of this book was, but it seems to have sold greatly and won awards, so good for her either way. I did end up enjoying it, but I think it was very situational. If I had read this at another time, I think I probably would’ve hated it. But right now I just needed something easy to get through with familiar characters, and this was exactly like that. Tonally it is so different from THT which is almost jarring to experience - honestly, at times The Testaments kinda felt like fan fiction to me - but it overall comes together as a fun enough time. I will say, some moments that seemed like they were supposed to have bigger impact (eg. identity reveals) were so obvious, and I couldn’t really understand the motivation of certain characters (why Aunt Lydia did any of the things in this book, I have no idea), but I guess to be contrarian I still enjoyed it despite this. But I’m pretty sure if I had read it at literally any other moment I would’ve detested it and wished for something more… sophisticated. 

[Rigalo]

Just ordered This is How You Lose the Time War after seeing a tweet about it lol 

[thatsmydemi]

I'm back into my reading era thanks to the latest Hunger Games book. I'm currently reading it and I'm obsessed. 

 

Bought Red, White and Royal Blue a couple of weeks ago and I have just ordered The House in the Cerulean Sea. Next I will probably buy Swimming in the Dark (I've been waiting to order this one for months and I need it). 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2023 by thatsmydemi

[Alaska.]

Don't pick books to read based on goodreads ratings. The best way for me was to find booktubers that could align with my taste and now I have over 100 books on my tbr, so I'm good.

 

Right now I'm trying to finish The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle but I've been busy this week and I'm less than 100 pages to finish it 

[fountain]

On 5/8/2023 at 9:04 PM, Rigalo said:

Just ordered This is How You Lose the Time War after seeing a tweet about it lol 

I loved This is How You Lose the Time War

 

27 minutes ago, Alaska. said:

Don't pick books to read based on goodreads ratings. The best way for me was to find booktubers that could align with my taste and now I have over 100 books on my tbr, so I'm good.

 

Right now I'm trying to finish The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle but I've been busy this week and I'm less than 100 pages to finish it 

I agree, booktube >>>

[Halcyon Days]

1 hour ago, Alaska. said:

Don't pick books to read based on goodreads ratings. The best way for me was to find booktubers that could align with my taste and now I have over 100 books on my tbr, so I'm good.

 

Right now I'm trying to finish The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle but I've been busy this week and I'm less than 100 pages to finish it 

I hated TWUBC so bad. Took me forever to finish it. And the English translation is not even translated fully from the Japanese

[fridayteenage]

But then booktubers get published and they suck 

 

I've read 14 murakami books. Probably still like 1q84 the best

[levi_valvi]

20 hours ago, Alaska. said:

Don't pick books to read based on goodreads ratings. The best way for me was to find booktubers that could align with my taste and now I have over 100 books on my tbr, so I'm good.

 

Right now I'm trying to finish The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle but I've been busy this week and I'm less than 100 pages to finish it 

What booktubers you use? 

[Alaska.]

1 hour ago, levi_valvi said:

What booktubers you use? 

Most of them are from my country to keep up with what is coming up, but I'm also subscribed to Daniel Greene and Merphy Napier for fantasy and sci-fi recommendations, Noelle Gallagher, gabbyreads, fictionalfates and Eric Karl Andreson to find some books social media doesn't really discuss.

 

Recently I've also been watching Books and Bao and I really enjoy their analysis on books.

 

 

[fountain]

Books and Bao is great for translated recommendations

 

 

[fridayteenage]

Finished kuangs yellow face. Its certainly interesting. 

It's kinda awkward that the author who dies at the beginning and has her work stolen by her yt friend is very clearly a self insert of kuang. The book feels almost instantly dated given how relevant the reading community on goodreads and Twitter and tiktok are, to the plot. 

Poppy war and babel are more ambitious certainly, even if I didn't love them.

[thatsmydemi]

I'm about to finish The House in the Cerulean Sea. It's been such a delightful reading. What a lovely book. I don't remember a book in which I've felt this happy. 

Next one is gonna be Red, White and Royal Blue. I don't have high expectations tbh. I bought it three weeks ago because they finally released the paperback edition in my country and it was really cheap.

 

I've just ordered the whole Percy Jackson saga. I never read it when I was a child/teenager so maybe I should give it a chance now. I love mythological references/content, and I'm craving some fantasy right now. Got the whole pack for less than 20€ lmao - the covers are awful but I won't complain.

 

Next books I'm buying in June-July are All That's Left in the World, Lie With Me, Swimming in the Dark and On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous.