Showing posts with label Wednesday Chatter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wednesday Chatter. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Wednesday Chatter #18: Of The Books I Read In School

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!





Today's topic is inspired by a list of discussion post prompts made up by the fabulous Brianna over at Pages Unbound Reviews. One of the prompts involves books you had to read at school that you ended up liking, so I thought it would be fun to talk about that, especially now with ARC August just starting. 

Here's the thing. I was never a huge reader in my teenage years, mostly because I didn't have access to the genres I loved. I had no idea what paranormal romance was, no idea that YA was a thing, and forget about high fantasy. This is before all the hyped-up book-to-movie adaptations was a thing, when the biggest hypes involved only two series: Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. We're talking the early 2000s here people! Don't get me started on the 90s, because that's an even more painful part of my reading history. Basically what I'm saying here is that the only books I knew of were mostly those I had to read at school. Which I 99% hated. But that 1% is made up of real gems, that I have to talk about. So without further ado, here's a list of books I had to read in school and loved:


Robin Hood by Alexandre Dumas

Back in middle school I enrolled in a class about mythology, which to my great sadness and surprise turned out to actually be a world-literature class. But out of all the classics that I had to read for it, this one was my favorite. And because of this book I went on a little Robin Hood binge, because let's be honest, who doesn't love the famous outlaw?

What exactly I loved about it? I couldn't say, probably the fact that for the first time ever the words on the page turned into images in my head and I forgot I was reading and just enjoyed the ride. It was also the biggest book I had to read in the shortest amount of time up until that point.







This book is about a family from the 1930s in Romania and their simple life, the struggles they go through with the debt and the sons trying to get to the big city. The reason why I love this book so much is that the father, Ilie, has always reminded me of one of my grandfathers. From the way he talks to his look, to how he treats his sons and daughters, everything reminded me of him, and I would laugh at times while reading this book and tell myself "Yep, grandad would totally say or do that".





One of the very few plays that I read in school and loved. I loved Shakespeare even before reading this play, but for some reason Romeo and Juliet was one of the easiest Shakespearean plays for me to read. Maybe because I knew the story so well, I don't know. I just loved it. Not as much as Antony and Cleopatra, but I loved it.








What happens to a man's soul when he wants to get rich? What happens to his family, his wife, his kids? That's what this book is about and it is honestly, to this day, one of my favorite stories ever. It's short, it's tragic, and it shows how dehumanizing the need to get rich can be, how you can lose yourself in pursuing something without caring for what's right or wrong. 

I remember also that our literature teacher in high school decided we should watch the movie one day, and all the time I wanted to cry because one of the actors reminded me of my late uncle, he looked so similar. 








If you know anything about Romanian literature, you've probably heard of one of our most famous poets, Mihai Eminescu. While he is famous and his poems are beautiful, he's not my favorite. I was a rebel in school, and since Eminescu is one of the most studied poets in school, I immediately fell in love with the one who's art is completely different than his. In this case, George Bacovia. I'll let my favorite poem by him speak for the whys of my love for him, Lead:



The coffins of lead were lying sound asleep,
And the lead flowers and the funeral clothes -
I stood alone in the vault ... and there was wind ...
And the wreaths of lead creaked.

Upturned my lead beloved lay asleep
On the lead flower ... and I began to call -
I stood alone by the corpse ... and it was cold ...
And the wings of lead drooped.
*Translation available at About Romania. No copyright infringement intended




Last but not least, I have to mention this amazingly funny, brilliant, talented writer. Caragiale has written so many great pieces of literature that, amazingly, when you read them, you realize that they are so modern and that no matter what era you live in, be it now or 100 years in the future, it will still seem modern and fresh and completely in tune with how society looks like at the time when you read it. I can't pick a favorite, because it's just not fair, but if I absolutely have to, A Stormy Night (very loosely translated) is my favorite.






Let's discuss. What are some of your favorite books that you *had* to read in school?

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Wednesday Chatter #17: Blogging and guilt

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!






Hello lovely book lovers! I hope you're having a great Wednesday.

Today's post was inspired by a recent discussion topic Tonyalee from Lilybloombooks wrote about reviewing every book you read. Reading that post and writing a comment gave me an idea to write about when I feel guilt in my blogging life, but also how I plan on changing that, because after 6 years of blogging, I feel like I've grown up as a blogger, and I want to keep doing this, so there's a few changes that I feel are needed. Sort of. Maybe. Moving on! Can't believe I'm doing this!


 photo tumblr_lsm7fmfSyz1qej6k3o1_500_zps4dda310f.gif


I feel guilty when:

  • I'm not reviewing books on my blog, just on Goodreads
If you've followed me for a longer time, you probably know I don't review books I don't like or books that I DNF. I tried that once and I felt terrible. I try not to, but, especially with books that everyone around me loves, I feel so bad, because there's definitely a hidden message somewhere that I'm missing. So I tried writing small reviews on Goodreads, or if the books I DNF are from Netgalley, I simply send a note to the publisher to let them know that I couldn't finish the book. I feel so much guilt over not writing that review on my blog, that you guys wouldn't even believe. It's like I'm betraying my blog. I sound like a maniac right now, but that's how I feel.

How I plan on changing that? I might start posting tiny reviews for the books I DNF, mostly because I realize (and I always have realized that) it's not something to be ashamed of, and also because by doing it, maybe someone will find the aspects I didn't like compelling enough to read that particular book. OR we could have a nice, honest, respectful conversation about those aspects, in which we discuss what I got wrong or right. 
  • I don't review books I picked up to read on my own
Look, I tried staying away from Netgalley. I really did. I actually did it for about a year or so. Then I went back to it, BECAUSE NETGALLEY IS AWESOME!! Also, some other sites that are just like Netgalley, work with other authors, and those are awesome too, and OMG HOW TO I STOP THE MADNESS? (You can't, Ruby, you can't!) And don't get me started on blog tours. Those are my weakness, guys! Especially when I see authors that I desperately want to read more books of.

 photo tumblr_m2vurmsYBS1qe7736o2_250_zps9280df52.gif
This would be me, if you see Roger as the image of Netgalley, blog tours and the likes

Basically there's not a lot of time for me to post reviews of books I've read because one day I was browsing my shelves and picked one at random.

I actually have a plan to change this, and it's really simple. This year I did something really different with my reading habits. I picked a monthly theme, if you can call it that, and I stuck to reading only books with that theme. Kind of like ARC August, if you will. Of course, I'll probably keep September as an ARC-only month as well, just to get control over those ARCs, but I'm thinking of making November and December "shelf-only" reading months, so I'll probably try really hard to control myself starting with October and not request anymore books. That way I'll review those books that I picked up on my own and this guilt shall disappear. 
  • I'm writing reviews for books intended to different age groups
This one is a bit difficult for me. When I started my blog 6 years ago (HOLY BANANAS, IT'S BEEN OVER 6 YEARS GUYS!!!), I read adult books exclusively. Starting my blog, getting to know other bloggers, opened up the world of YA to me, and for a while I managed to keep it kind of balanced, to read both YA and adult books, as well as review them. Then, about three years ago or so, I started reading more YA books, and therefore review more YA books, and not a lot of adult ones. Now I crave the more adult themes, and the darker side of fictional worlds, and I have this... I don't know if you can call it guilt, really, but it's a strange feeling for me, to write reviews for YA books in the same week as adult books. I do have an "age group" entry at the beginning of each review, and I do realize there's nothing to be guilty of when posting those reviews, but I still am confused over how to balance the two. 

 photo tumblr_inline_mx703wyfAU1rlpk9c_zps596e74fe.gif
No, I can't choose an age group. Because I like both

I was thinking of making a schedule. So for the last few months, Tuesdays are exclusively for comic book reviews, so maybe I'll do the same with the rest of the books I read. I don't know. Does anyone else have this problem? Or I'm just that weird?
  • I can't come up with a discussion post topic every week
Look, coming up with stuff to talk about is a hard thing. I signed up for Book Blog Discussion Challenge and said I was going to post somewhere between 25 and 36 discussion posts, but it's not an easy thing to do. I've done only 5. Actually 6, if you're counting the present post. I have this idea that all of the topics I come up with have been done already, and there's nothing more to say on the matter, and that might be true, (or not, who knows?) but the point is that I don't always have something to say. And when another week passes and I've come up with nothing, I feel guilty. Because come on, lets be honest here for a second. Who reads reviews? I've had more views on cover reveals, memes, and book tags than on reviews. It's sad, because I and all of the other book reviewers out there, pour our hearts and souls into a review, but it's true. It's a thing that's happening. Or maybe my reviews don't get read all that much, which is sad too, but there seems to be a shift in blog readers' preferences. When I first started blogging, it was all about the reviews. For a few years now I've felt this change in focus, this need for more discussion posts than for reviews. I understand having a discussion post, because it's always interesting to have a conversation between blogger and readers, but I kind of find it sad that reviews are taking a backseat in terms of views. Sure, I don't stress over it, but I feel the pressure to come up with discussion posts that are new, fresh, interesting. And while I think I'm a smart cookie, my brain doesn't always come up with things to write about.


 photo tangled-hide_zpsb0b4326a.gif

Do I have a solution? No. Do I want one? Maybe. Depends on the solution, really. And depends on the topic.
  • I don't always feel like blogging
Balancing blogging and work and studying is hard. I know there are teenagers doing it, and kudos to them. But it's hard. Blogging actually feels like a second job sometimes. It starts as something you do for fun, but unless you're really dedicated, at some point in your life you'll realize it's not what you want it to be anymore. Collaborating with publishers, authors, and PR companies, means keeping an active presence in the blogging community, being social, writing new content every week, no matter the community you're in, be it bookstagram, book blogosphere, booktube, booklr, and so on. And I find that sometimes my daytime job sucks so much of my energy, I have none left for blogging. It's sad, and I hate it, and it makes me feel guilty, because I do this for fun, because I enjoy it, because I want to help people discover new books and new authors. So yeah, I feel a little guilty when time passes and I haven't written a blog post in a day or for a few days. 

I know the solution is to schedule posts, which is what I've started doing for a while now, but again, the inspiration/time/energy doesn't always come to me. 

 photo tumblr_lvcyj5EYVe1qko2ft_zps93613c45.gif

I hope this post doesn't sound whiny or anything. I'm not really complaining, just merely confessing to my moments of guilt in blogging.

Let's discuss. Do you feel any guilt when you're blogging? If no, HOW DO YOU DO IT? WHAT IS YOUR RECIPE?? SHARE WITH THIS CONFUSED MORTAL. If yes, welcome to the club, have a cookie, and know you're not alone!

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Wednesday Chatter #16: Parents & YA a.k.a The Trope I Want To See Go Away

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!



 photo Image3.png


Happy Wednesday folks! Today I want to talk to you about a trend (trope more like it) in most of the YA books I've read recently: idiotic parents.

I think I can count on one hand the books that I've read in the past 6 years of my blogging life, that didn't have idiot parents. And I'd still have fingers left. That's sad. And I want to know: why is it a thing?

I know authors have started, in the last few years, to try to make their stories more realistic and write about the various fact of life. Fact No. 1: Not all parents are great parents or even great people. Fact No.2: Not all parents are idiotic creatures, that deserve a beating for bringing a poor soul into the world, when their brain can't handle more than breathing and walking at the same time. Still, most of the books I've read recently are filled with this trope. 

I want to read about responsible parents, parents that don't abuse their children, that don't abandon them, that raise them in a healthy, positive environment. I remember reading about Molly Weasley, and being absolutely thrilled that she and Arthur were great parents, even to kids that weren't their children, like Harry and Hermione.

I also feel that, and no offence to anyone here, it's an easy way to explain why the main character, male or female, is having various issues. It's the easiest way, in my opinion, because the parents are idiots and so the teenager doesn't have healthy examples of good, responsible adults around him, and so he/she has issues. Or he/she becomes the hero of the story because the adults are imbeciles.

Take a book that I loved, The Duff. Bianca had the worst parents ever. Her mom was off who-knows-where, presenting her book, her dad was an alcoholic that also turned violent and mean when drunk, so of course she found solace in Wesley. It makes sense that she chose a seemingly destructive path, because she was primed for it by her parents. Same with A Midsummer's Nightmare, which again shows a teenage girl acting out and behaving in a self-destructive way, since her dad was mostly behaving like a teenager himself, and her mom was a bitter woman, that hated her ex more than she loved her own child.


Firstlife, another book that I liked, showed the heroine Ten how not only was she abandoned by her parents, she was locked up by them in an asylum. The other adults in that book are equally idiotic, what with the parents of one girl in the asylum selling her out to the highest bidder. Of course the teenagers then become misfits. And of course some of them become heroes in the end, despite what they went through and how they were let down by the people they should've trusted the most.




On the other side, there are those books that show parents supporting their children, offering them a loving, caring, healthy environment in which they have a chance at a normal life.

Take Girl Against The Universe for instance. Maguire has a supportive mom, one that is trying to help her daughter, and a patient step-father that is really trying. Maguire and her step-dad actually have a beautiful scene that had me sobbing, it was so perfect and heart-breaking at the same time. And, yes, I know Jordy has idiotic parents too, but at least he can count on his therapist to not be an idiot. 

I am realizing I may be using the word "idiot" too much in this post, but nothing else fits. Moving on.

I'm going to mention Mr. and Mrs. Weasley again, just because. I think we can all agree that they were perfect parents. Sure, they didn't have money to support their family as much as they wanted, but that doesn't mean they didn't love their kids, or that they somehow ignored one in favor of the other. I'll never forget movie-Molly Weasley telling Bellatrix "Not my daughter, you bitch!", not ever. That scene, is one of my top 5 scenes in the entire movie franchise.

Even Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series had great parents, in their own way. They weren't perfect by any means, but they did help their daughter. I think ultimately, in this instance, we see Janine and Abe from Rose's perspective, and we all know how hotheaded and proud Rose can be sometimes. So yes, we are shown that Janine is a cold mom at first, but seeing things from the "our only purpose is to serve the Moroi" code that all of the dhampirs are living by, I can't really blame Janine for being the perfect soldier. Dimitri also had a great mom, and a really funny grandmother. Kirova is also an adult that I always end up respecting, mostly because she let Rose get back to the Academy, for a second time, to finish her education.


I know most YA book are written for teenagers, but am I the only one hoping to see good adults in these books? What do you think? Are you as tired as I am by this trope, or on the contrary, do you think adults have no business in YA and they should be shown as mostly being useless/in the way of the MCs?

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Wednesday Chatter #15: The Art Of Commenting



Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!



 photo Image3.png


Happy Wednesday folks! I hope your week was good so far and that it continues to be just as good, if not better. 

Here's a topic that has been discussed again and again by tons of other bloggers: commenting.

For some reason commenting on blogs is hard. I don't know if it's because I'm a shy individual or if it's just my insecurities talking, but most of the time I fear that my comment will either not make sense or that will make people hate me. Or other times I feel like I don't have anything intelligent to say.

 photo tumblr_mo4utt12NW1s7udfuo1_400_zps9164fea2.gif
My biggest problem with commenting though is my tendency to write a short novel whenever I do comment. It's a strange thing. As much as I struggle to come up with a lengthier post or review or whatever, I tend to go on and on and on when I'm leaving a comment. It's actually made me delete the entire thing in the past, just because I'm sure the blogger would look like this when reading my comment:

Have I also mentioned I'm struggling with shyness? No? Well I am. It doesn't look like it (I do tend to curse a lot) but I am. Anyway, I love reading other bloggers' posts and I usually feel like a giant asshole if I just exit the page without commenting, especially if it's a post about something of interest to me, but at the same time what do I say??? Because I hate saying "Hey, nice post, I agree with you" and then that's that.

The logical side of my brain knows that commenting is basically like having a virtual discussion with someone, but I tend to talk a lot, so...yeah. It's easier with commenting on Twitter because hello limitation, but when I have no fixed number of characters to use, I feel like the floodgates are left open and I'm just a tiny little fish in an ocean....ALL THE POSSIBILITIES!

So I was wondering if you guys have any tips on how to be a pro-"commenter"? Or maybe on how to leave good comments without sounding like an idiot or without writing an answer that's longer than the post itself? Also, do you guys struggle with leaving comments as much as I do? And if so, how do you deal with it? What's your secret?

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Wednesday Chatter #14: When Fictional Worlds Keep Growing Bigger

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!



 photo Image3.png

Hey guys! Happy Wednesday! It's been a while since I've been so excited about a discussion post. Before I go on with today's topic though, I want to say something. I'll be discussing some books, some movies and some TV shows here, some in a positive way and others in a not-so-positive way. This doesn't mean I don't like them or that I'm changing my mind about them, it just means that I feel these stories are good examples of the things I'm going to talk about. So don't hate on me okay? Okay!

As you all probably know, there's a Harry Potter play that will be published this July and the Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them movie is actually going to be a trilogy. The Potterhead in me is doing major happy dances. Disclaimer: When I first saw the teaser trailer for the movie, I cried a little. Just like I cried when I saw the first Hobbit trailer. I'm not even ashamed about that.

I was reading this article on Tor and it got me thinking. Everyone was ecstatic when the news of not one, not two, but THREE more Avatar movies were going to be made. I was probably the only idiot on the entire planet confused by that decision, because what else was there to say in that story, but I didn't crap on anyone's joy.

And remember the joy everyone felt when news finally broke out that The Hobbit finally got the green light and was going to be filmed? I remember that day. I went like this:

 photo tumblr_m4b7geTGFE1rn1har_zpsa381e49f.gif


That doesn't even come close to describing how I felt when I saw the trailer (remember, I just told you I cried!). Because in my opinion there should be no limits to Middle Earth. I always want to learn more of Tolkien's fictional world and I'm always happy when I find out there's another book out.

 photo tumblr_mu91xr74A01s7udfuo1_400_zpsa22c150d.gifAt the same time though, there are book series that are getting too big and that have me wondering where could the story possibly go now? I'm looking at you, Sookie Stackhouse. For me, it all depends on storytelling and POVs. If a book series is told solely from one character's perspective, I get tired. Because how many bad things can happen to one person?

Sure, you could think that the character is like Dean Winchester in the Season 3 Mystery Spot episode when he dies again and again and again in different ways. After a while, though, the plot becomes repetitive. 

We already know, with each crime drama on TV that someone dies a somewhat horrific death and a team of great detectives find the killer usually in one episode, unless it's a special villain and it takes 2, maybe 3 episodes to catch him/her. Of course, there's the "Big Bad" of crime shows, but those are few. Most of the time it's a bad guy killing a good guy and the cops catch them. Do I keep watching those shows? Yes, because even if it's repetitive, it's become part of my weekly routine. How could I not watch it?

Are there too-long series out there? Yep. Do people still read/watch them? Yep. Will they keep watching? Some might, some might move on to other shows and other books. 

I have found myself wondering "Really, another one?" when there's a new book or a new movie or a new season announced for a long-running story. Sometimes it feels as if the story is like "butter scraped over too much bread", to quote Bilbo Baggins. It's not about me not wanting more news from my favorite characters, it's that sometimes it seems like those news just make those characters lose their essence. It's different for book series where each book tells the story of a different character. Because then it becomes like a huge puzzle, like there's this huge world that I don't know anything about and it's in black and white, but as more books come out, pieces of that world becomes colored and why would that be a bad thing?

I personally have no issue with authors or movie/tv people deciding to make a world bigger and bigger. For example, I choose to ignore the fact that Sookie doesn't end up with Eric and it works just fine for me. Just like I want to believe that Xena ended with Gabrielle bringing her bestie back from the dead in season 6, instead of letting her stay dead to not release the angry spirits. In the same way I want to hug the scholars who discover more of Tolkien's work regarding Middle Earth.

But why is it that some people get mad when an author decides to write another book in a series? Or to renew a TV show? Sure, you might argue that with TV shows, that means that a brand new TV show won't be made. And you're right! How many times have we not heard the "ratings weren't as high as we wanted them to be" excuse for cancelling a show, while at the same time a show with less than good ratings is kept on the air? A lot of times. But is that really a reason to get mad over?

It's not as if someone is forcing you to read or watch something. It's one of the things that have always confused me when seeing people displeased by "yet another....." whatever. You can change the channel or not buy a book, you can not watch a movie. You can choose to ignore all the new trivia that Rowling gave us in the last years about the wizarding world, just like you can can choose to accept them and to allow your imagination to run wild with all that new information. But I feel like at the end of the day, if a writer wants to add more details to their work, it's their choice. Because it's their work. And no one knows that world better than the creator of that world.

What is your take on this subject? Should authors and movie/TV creators stop making their fictional world bigger or should we just choose when a world stops growing for us, without crapping all over everyone else's parade?

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Wednesday Chatter #13: Does it matter if you don't connect with characters?

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!



 photo Image3.png


Hey guys! Happy Wednesday! Today I want to talk to you about characters. I said this in a comment for a blog post a few weeks ago (if I find the post, I'll share!), but for me a lot of times the characters are more important than the plot itself. It's good to read about a good story, but most of the time how I relate to characters, how I feel about them, influence my reading experience.

When I was in school, I used to not enjoy most of the books that we had to read for Literature class. And that's due in part to the fact that they were classic novels, which bore me, but also to the fact that I really didn't care about the characters. The books that I did enjoy were the books that made me give a damn if a character lives or dies.

So this got me thinking. Of all the books I end up DNFing, how many of those are influenced by my lack of connection with the characters? The answer is about 70%, which is a lot. But seriously, most of the books I love are books that made me feel something for those characters.

I usually struggle the most with books written from one character's POV. If I hate that character, or if I don't understand their reasoning, chances are I won't like the book. My problem however doesn't stem from not relating to the character. This probably is due to either my brain being wired differently, or to the fact that my day-to-day job is as a psychologist, but I don't believe I need to relate to a character or to know what they're going through in order to understand their story or to like it. My problem usually involves those characters that I can't stand. Or those characters I can't understand, the ones that make me roll my eyes so hard, I get dizzy and get a headache over they're actions.

What about you? Do you care if you don't have any feelings, positive or negative, towards a character? Is it a deal breaker for you and does it make you DNF a book faster than a book with a not-so-good plot?

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Wednesday Chatter #12: The Struggle To Write A Decent First Paragraph

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!



 photo Image3.png

Hey guys! Happy Wednesday!

Last week I was trying really hard to get some book reviews done and I noticed something. I always have a problem starting the review in a semi-intelligent way. You know, something other than "OMG THIS WAS SO GOOD" or something similar. The funny thing, though, is that not all reviews are so difficult to write, for me. Oh no, my issue is with books I've received for reviewing. This struggle led to this discussion post and I really hope I'm not the only one that has this issue.

See, here's the thing. I've always felt the pressure of a perfect beginning when reviewing books that I'm supposed to review. This probably has to do with the fact that, in school, I was told that all essays should have a strong, good beginning. That a good start will always make the readers enjoy the entire article more than they would if the first paragraph is mediocre or bad. Is it true? I have no idea. Maybe, maybe not. I don't judge an article by how it starts, unless the first paragraph is full of typing errors that are really "in-your-face". But for me there's this huge pressure to sound intelligent and somewhat professional. Like I know what I'm doing. Which, spoiler alert, isn't always the case.

 photo tumblr_inline_mqwyhxaNwc1qz4rgp_zps5fdd3fa7.gif

For some reason this pressure, this strange idea of mine regarding reviews and the first paragraph, only comes to me to kick me in the butt when I'm writing reviews for books I've received for review.

Do you guys have that issue? I know I need to loosen up a bit, I'm not denying that. But am I the only one really struggling with this? Also, do you have any tips? 

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Wednesday Chatter #11: Would You Still Like Your Favorites?

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!



 photo Image3.png 
I was thinking recently about my reading reading habit and how I love to reread. In the blog post I linked you to I said that one of the reasons I love rereading is because I know the book won't let me down and that I know I'll love the book, since I read it the first time. I stand by what I said, because I have been rereading a lot recently and I did enjoy reading those books. This however is about the books I don't think I'll ever reread, despite having loved them.

There are tons of books that I loved, both books that I've reviewed and that I haven't reviewed. Some I've reread tons of times, like Vampire Academy or Harry Potter or any Sophie Kinsella book. Some, however, I have not. Take Divergent, for example. I loved the first book. I was mildly disappointed with the second. Won't be reading the third one because I don't feel the need to finish the story. And to be honest with you, I don't know if I'll like the book as much as I did the first time.

Another good example is The Two Towers from Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings trilogy. The first time I read it, back in high school, I think I read it in three, four days. Now however, I've been stuck at Frodo and Sam's journey for weeks. It is possible this is because I am so used to reading fast paced books, that that second part of the book is too slow for me right now. 

So my question for you is this: would you like your favorite books if you were to reread them? Or have you found yourself rereading a loved book that you didn't enjoy as much on a second read?

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Wednesday Chatter #10: Things Movies and TV Shows Have That Books Need

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!




 photo Image3.png

Things Movies And TV Shows Have That Books Need
~or in which I prove I'm a huge nerd~

I've been thinking lately about why I love movies and TV shows. Sure, it's about the subject itself, but sometimes it's more than that. It's about all the extra stuff that movies and TV shows get to have. Though it's movies that get the cake (so unfair in certain cases). I know other bloggers have done this, but I thought I'd throw in my own opinion. So without further ado here are things that movies have that I want my books to have as well:

  • Video Games
You might not know this about me, but I'm a gamer. I love video games. Epic video games. Big games that occupy a huge chunk of your time. Games like Diablo, Heroes of Might and Magic, Zeus (and other history themed builder games). I remember when I got my hands on the Battle for Middle Earth II I didn't resurface in the real world for...oh, about the entire summer I had it. A friend from high school had given me his game and I was ecstatic. Especially since you could play both as the good guys and as the bad guys and with playing for the bad side I GOT TO HAVE MY OWN BALROG!!!


     
I also remember being very, very pissed off that in Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone I couldn't find all the trading cards. I'm still sore about that one! 
But anyway. Imagine having a Vampire Academy/Bloodlines video game. Where you get to be Rose and train with Dimitri, kick Strigoi ass, travel to Siberia and back, have epic missions, especially the final test from book 4. Or you could be Sydney and get to navigate the world of vampires as an Alchemist. Or even better, you could play as Adrian and aside from being awesome, you could learn how to control Spirit.

Or you could have the Throne of Glass video game and be Celaena and get to kick everyone's ass and you could have Chaol in front of you *dreamy sigh*. Don't even get me started on a Dark Hunter or a Demonica/Lords of Deliverance video game.
 photo tumblr_inline_mp9cefk8Wq1qz4rgp_zpsed07cd1a.gif  
     
  • Deleted Scenes
I know that sometimes, scenes get cut in movies and TV shows, and in some really cool cases, they include some of those on the DVDs. I need this from books too. There are some awesome authors that share some of these deleted scenes, but I need more. I'm greedy!
  • Bloopers
My favorite part about TV shows. Bloopers. I live to see bloopers. If they're as funny as the ones from Supernatural, even better. I don't know how this could happen with books, but I'm just throwing it out there, in case someone with much more intelligence than I have can figure this one out.
  • Character Interviews
I don't mean like the ones done for blog tours. I mean like the ones where actor pairs (couples in tv shows/movies) do the "Newlyweds" or "Know Your Co-star" type of interviews. I would so, so, so love to see some of my book OTPs do interviews like these.
  • Extra Videos 
Here's what I mean by extra videos. I got my hands on a Collector's Edition of The Two Towers (thank you, thrift shops!). And there's tons of videos about how they made some of the sets, how they decided which scenes to include in the movie, how they used the source material for the movie. Same with the Arrow DVD. And many, many other TV shows and movies do this. I know there are Reading guides and Insider's Guides for certain book series, but the ones that I've read so far are basically just a short version of the books themselves. They just go over everything that happened already, without giving any extra material. I want Insider's Guides to have new material. And I don't mean character physical descriptions, either. 
  • Epic collector's items
I would do whatever it takes to get my hands on the Lord of the Rings Mattel collector's dolls, just like I would do whatever it takes to get my hands on Amma's (The Caster Chronicles) special tarot cards deck. Or on some Women of the Otherworld dolls and/or wolf figurines. Thankfully, some of the special, book inspired items than one can dream of are on this magical website called Etsy. But I need more.
What about you? What are the things that movies and TV shows get that you want books to have too?

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Wednesday Chatter #9: How Blogging Changed Me

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!



 photo Image3.png 

Hey guys! Happy Wednesday! I thought I'd get a little personal with today's topic and I figure since I've seen so many other bloggers do this, why not do it as well? Especially since I just noticed my blog is 5 years , 5 months and 1 day old (I counted, I'm a geek).

Before starting this blog I never would've contemplated writing a semi-intelligent sounding formal email to any publisher. Ever. Even having to write something to my teachers sounded terrifying. I was just about to finish college and I was super, super shy. Now, I'm still very shy, but at least I've learned to sound confident and smart in an email. And I've emailed to publishers. And agents. Which brings me to how this affected my real-life self. I've learned how to write that formal email. I probably would've done it eventually, but blogging helped A LOT.

Pre-blogging days meant no written English exercise from this girl. I understood the language, I even could've convince someone that I can speak it. But to write a full text in English? HA. HAHA. No. I would've been able to write a few sentences, but definitely not a full text. Now, thanks to this blog (*virtual hug to blog*) I'm writing my thesis in English. And I'm doing a damn fine job at it. And that's not me saying it, that's my teacher. So yey *pats self on the back*

I also didn't have any friends with similar book interests before. I realized fast before having this blog that I may be alone in my love of vampire romance, chick lit and fantasy. I used to have no one to talk to about these books. Back then, even reading was a solitary activity. Sure, I had my mom who I convinced to share my love for Marc Levy and we used to read Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampires Mysteries books together, but still, there were tons of other books that she didn't enjoy that I did. Now I have tons of people to talk to about these books. Even better, I have people that can recommend me similar books. Or other books that they enjoyed and that I might as well. Not to mention the fact that I increased my reading rate a lot ever since I started book blogging.

All of these changes are good, however I still have tons of stuff left that need to change:

  • better organization;
  • ditch the "oh god, what if this post sounds like crap" fear. This one is still present, people. You wouldn't believe the number of posts I've written that I've later deleted because they sounded bad or controversial or just plain stupid. I have this issue with lack of confidence;
  • be more social. This one is difficult not only because I'm shy and a nervous wreck when it comes to approaching people I don't know (if we know each other, you know that I'll have absolutely no issue with bugging you to talk about whatever), but also because of the different time zones. I live in Europe and when I get on Twitter I'm either way too early for most people, or way too late. I also always miss the fun stuff and chats. 
There are probably a lot more stuff that I need to deal with, but it's a start, right?

Let's talk: How did blogging change you? Did it affect you on a personal or professional level?

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Wednesday Chatter #8: Trusting The Author

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks.


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!



 photo Image3.png 

Hey there, fellow book lovers! This week we had a brutal heatwave in my neck of the woods. Because of that I wasn't able to post, because my laptop is so old, it overheats in less than 20 minutes and shuts down. And since I'm still working on that blasted thesis, I don't have that much free time during the evening *pouts* So I decided to write this discussion post, which I've been sitting on for a few weeks now.

Let's talk about trusting the author, shall we?

For me, I need to trust the author. If it's an author that I'm familiar with and whose other books I've read (or at least a few of his/her books) then I know that the story that I'm going to read will give me something. It doesn't matter if it's heartbreak, or love, or a lesson that I can apply in real life, or a good laugh, or just a few hours of fun. I just know that the book will be if not great, then at least a pleasant read. Trust comes in when I'm deciding to pick up a book. I trust that no matter what happens in the book, it will be explained in the story and that it will make sense eventually. If you love reading series, then you know that sometimes cliffhangers appear, or sometimes you get more questions than answers from a book. But the big things that happen with the main characters will make sense in that book. If it's an author that I don't know, then I have to trust that the book will give me all those feelings that I was talking about, as well as the meaning, the reasoning behind something happening.

But I also need to trust the author when he/she says I'm going to read about x, y and z. It's not as if I want to pick up a romance book and end up with a horror story. Or I want to read an autobiography and instead I end up actually reading about the latest advancements in technology. I want the book to be about whatever it is that the blurb says it will be about. And I must trust the author to deliver.

Breaking that trust isn't something that happens often, or at least not with me. It takes a lot for me to say that I've lost trust in an author. And when it does happen, my heart breaks. Because it usually happens with authors that I've been reading for years. I'm not having high standards, by any means. I can understand an average book from an author I love. I can even accept a less than average book. It's not about quantity in this case. It's about content. I don't care if I'm reading a non-fiction essay of 5 pages or a mammoth of a fiction book of 700+ pages. I care, in this case, about what is in those pages. Losing trust in an author sucks, because it feels like breaking up with someone. Kill the main character if you must, but make sure it's for the right reasons. Because that's how the story goes. But not because you feel bored.

I always hate it when in TV shows (*coughs* Grey's Anatomy *coughs*) every single time an actor wants to quit they kill his/her character. Why can't they just write that character off? (Like they did for Cristina Yang!!) It makes me lose the trust in that TV show. I can't trust it anymore, not because I'm stupid and think that death doesn't happen, but because sometimes it serves no purpose aside from advancing a story in a bad way. It kinda shows that "hey, we have no more ideas, how 'bout we kill someone, make some tension around here?!". And even then, I kinda get it. Most TV shows get around 40 minutes of TV time, one show per week, maybe even two weeks, with tons of breaks from holidays and stuff and, in general, roughly 23 episodes per season. If they're lucky to have a full season. They don't have space. But they do have space in books. That right there, is probably why I fell in love with reading, because books have as much space as an author wants, whereas TV shows don't. So I get that TV shows make up stories as they go, because really, they need viewers. I expect more than that in books. I even want more than that in books. That's why I need to trust the author.

What about you? How much do you have to trust the author when deciding to read a book? Not only that, but with authors that you already know and have read their books before, how much does trust count when you pick up their next book? More importantly, what does it take for you to lose that trust?

 

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Wednesday Chatter #7: Why you shouldn't be ashamed by what you read

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!



 photo Image3.png 


The idea for this post came to me while I was filling in the Fairytale Survey that Mel did on her blog. There was this question on if you've ever lied about what you were reading or if you've ever felt ashamed by the books you were reading.

I know there are a lot of people who might feel ashamed by what they read and I know there are many, many people that are acting like assholes and make you want to fell ashamed of what you read. My answer to those snobs is a big "Fuck you!" And I have a few explanations on why that answer is valid.

First of all, literature is a form of art. Now, I know you probably already know that (DUH!). But what you might have forgotten is that art is subjective. What I like and love isn't necessarily liked or loved by someone else and vice versa. So I'm pretty sure I can give the title "art" to anything I want to give it to. And that's true for music, it's true for sculpture, painting, cinema, theater and so on. I don't remember it being illegal to like something someone else doesn't.

Second of all, I'd like to invite those who try to tell me I'm reading crappy books to put it all on the table. You want to analyse what I enjoy? Fine, let's do that, I won't mind it. But let's do the same with your tastes in literature. I'll bet you most of those people will tell you that Lolita is a wonderful piece of literature and that it's 100% better than the erotic romance I'm reading. So basically a book about an older man and an underage girl is better than two consenting adults. That has me confuddled.

 photo tumblr_inline_mqs0gzYNSc1qz4rgp_zps195725dd.gif


Now, you might argue that I just simplified the meaning of Nabokov's book and I did. I know that. But don't you do the same with me when you say I should be ashamed of the books I enjoy reading? Don't you simplify and belittle something that you haven't even read (just like I haven't read Lolita) just because you think "modern" literature is crap? Isn't that the same thing? 

Another thing that you should think about while some people try to make you feel bad for what you read. Over the last few years there have been a lot of studies that prove the benefits of reading. I won't get into them, because then this post would never end, but basically reading is good for you. I've read some of those studies (not all, just a few) and I have yet to encounter one that says the positive long-term effects apply to certain genres or authors. Reading in general is good for you, no matter what it is that you read. So there's another reason why books and shame don't really belong together in the same sentence.

I could probably spend hours talking about this subject, but the point is this: if it makes you happy, read WHAT YOU WANT and tell everyone that judges you to fuck off. Yes, people might give you strange looks if the book you're holding has a bare-chested hunky guy on the cover, but so what? You're doing something fun that is harmful to no one. Wait, I take that back, it might be harmful to yourself, in case the book is too sexy and you start getting all tingly inside.

 photo tumblr_lz5662e6Km1ql5x0n_zps2a05be0c.gif


How is reading something you enjoy any different than listening to your favorite band in your car and singing along at the top of your lungs? It's not. My BFF, whom I've known since we were kids, doesn't always like the same bands or songs or books or even movies that I do. Doesn't mean I think she's a bad human. I accept and completely understand that she has her own tastes, just like I have mine. Hell, I'd be freaked out if everyone liked the same things I did. Just remember, don't judge them for not having the same tastes as you do. And when they judge you, just form a fist and extend the middle finger and shove it in their faces. It only matters what you feel and as long as you're happy, that should be enough.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Wednesday Chatter #6: Why I don’t write negative reviews

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!



 photo Image3.png 


There have been many discussions about posting negative reviews and the pros and the cons of that. I think it’s safe to say we’ve all heard of at least one blogger/ reviewer that received a lot of negative responses over a negative review. I also know that a lot of bloggers like to read on other book blogs both negative and positive reviews. I know I'm probably in the very small boat of people who don't write negative reviews, but here's my take on writing them.

I've had a few close friends who know about me being a blogger ask me why I don't write negative reviews. Do I like every book I read? Not necessarily. Are all the books that I love deserving of a 5 stars/cups/whatever-your-rating-system-is ? No. Am I trying to appear as a reader that likes everything she reads? Hell no. So why don't I post negative reviews? Easy.

I probably said this so many times, you guys are tired of hearing it, but it is the truth: it's very easy for me to DNF a book. It doesn't make me feel like I'm disappointing anyone, it doesn't make me feel like I didn't try hard enough. I don't have a system, a mark, a certain number of pages that I need to read before I decide I will not read one more page of a book. It's just a feeling I get or, if you like, it's like I lose a connection that maybe wasn't even there to begin with, but I thought it was. I read and then at some point it stops being a fun experience. When that happens, I shut the book, pick up another and I never give it another thought. Do I feel okay about DNFing a book? No, especially if it's a book that I was dying to read and everyone around me seems to love it except me. I don't feel fine at all. But it is what it is and instead of losing time reading something I know I won't enjoy, I just don't read it.  I really respect the readers who can keep reading even if they don't like the book, I really do. I wish I could read a book I didn't particularly enjoy, but I can't.

 photo tumblr_inline_mqcyv9dL7J1qz4rgp_zps4cc5cc64.gif

Ever since I discovered that reading was cool and that I loved books, there has been only one book that made me want to keep reading even though I didn't particularly like it, and that's the only book I've ever given a rating below 3 cups. Of course, in my twisted mind, I kept hoping that there was some paranormal element in it, some twist that will make the book magically awesome at some point. There wasn't but that's not the point. That review exists, it's on my blog and if you want, you can read it here. There's also a DNF review on my blog and even though I don't feel particularly good about writing and publishing it, I won't pull it from my blog. It just wouldn't seem fair.

Why don't I review DNFs? Well, it has nothing to do with the fact that you shouldn't review books you didn't finish. I think that as long as you can still be honest and respectful and have something to say about it, you should write it. But I find it so hard at times to explain why I decided to stop reading it. Yes, it's easy to say "I'm not reading this anymore", but explaining what led me to that decision is hard. Sometimes it can just be a word or expression I don't like, sometimes it can be a scene, sometimes it's a character or maybe I just don't click with the story. I don't write DNF reviews not because I don't want to, but because I honestly can't explain it at times.

I said earlier that I don't always like every book I read, which is true. This is why you'll find 3 cups reviews on my blog. But I've been reading for quite some time now and I have some good systems that allow me to know for sure if I'm going to like a book before I decide to buy it. Of course, there's always that book that slips through the cracks, the one book that doesn't raise any flags and then not liking it takes me by surprise.

 photo tumblr_mqcpa7OoWz1say23po1_250_zps1833715b.gif

For example. I don't like reading about time travel. I just don't get it. I understand the confusion of someone going into the future. Hell, if I went in the future and saw flying cars and weird robot-like creatures flying everywhere I'd be confused. But being confused about what was in the past? Come on, dummy, you studied about some of those things in history class, did nothing stick with you? I don't like reading about characters going in the past and being confused about what happens there. Oh, okay, I'd probably be confused as well if I went in the past, I don't know. But since I've tried reading a book about time travel and didn't enjoy it, I know when I see time travel on the blurb that I won't enjoy it and stay away from it. Am I losing some good books, worlds, characters or stories? Yes, I most certainly am. But why risk it? Why should I try reading a book about a subject I already know I don't like? So I just don't.

What I'm trying to say here is that I have no hidden reason for not writing negative reviews. I'm not trying to show readers and/or authors how positive I am or to appear as a reader that loves everything. Lord knows I don't and I couldn't stand it if I liked everything I read either. But I know how to choose my books and I know when to give up.  So that's my reason for not writing negative reviews.

What about you? Do you write negative reviews? What do you think about the whole should we/shouldn't we write them subject?

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Wednesday Chatter #5: What Makes A Great Villain

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!



 photo Image3.png 
I need a great villain. I realized that, for some reason, it's been a while since I read a book with a really awesome villain. I don't mean awesome as in sexy, I mean terrifying, bad to the bone, soulless, has-no-heart villain. Think Voldemort.

It seems that lately, I either read about a government organization full of bad people, or some easy to beat bad guys. I am wondering if maybe I'm alone in this and it's all just in my head, or maybe I haven't yet read the right books? So I thought long and hard about this (this is probably why my head hurts right now) and I came up with a list of traits that I think a perfect villain should have. Here we go.



  • BE SECRETIVE
Really, is it so hard to keep your plans a secret? Why do some villains have to put it all out there? Every time I read about a bad guy revealing their master plan I just want to scream. I want to be afraid of you, damn it!! I don't want to think about what I should do to escape you, because that's what I'll do if I know what your plan is. I want the bad guys to be a step ahead until a certain point. I want the good guys to suffer just a little bit and yes, I want the villain to win a battle or two. We all know that in the end the good guys always win in fiction, but I want them to work for that final victory. Telling them what the plan is really makes the experience less entertaining and it really makes them look bad. Think about it! If the good guys know early on what the villain is planning to do, shouldn't they be able to defeat him/her really fast?

     photo tumblr_inline_mopfnqv1K51qz4rgp_zps6e6e52aa.gif

  • BE RUTHLESS
Remember in The Vampire Diaries season...I think it was the second one (??), when everyone was running from Elijah? And when Elijah finally catches up with Rose, Trevor and Elena, he kills Trevor even though he said he forgave him for helping Katherine run from the originals? Yeah, he was mean and all, but I got all tingly in my stomach because that's how a villain should act! He needs to be bad and ruthless, not some dainty flower easily impressed by innocence. I need a bad guy who's bad to the core!


 photo elijah-kills-trevor-o_zpsf2fece24.gif



  • HAVE A REAL PURPOSE
I know this one is slightly weird, but I need a villain that has a reason for being evil, an endgame if you'd like. Sauron wanted The Ring, Voldemort wanted to rule the magic world and eliminate all half-bloods, Klaus wanted to unlock his werewolf side and The Evil Queen wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the world and to kill Snow White. Each of these villains wanted something, something that somehow makes sense. And if you think about it, all villains that we've read about over and over or watched in movies or TV shows had a reason for doing what they were doing. I've read a string of books where the evil guys were evil just for the sake of evilness. Ugh!

  • CAN LOOK CREEPY EVEN WHEN SMILING
Okay, I admit it, this is just an excuse to have another Tom Hiddleston gif *grins*


 photo tumblr_m9e3zn1Bnc1qkvj6fo1_400_zps07898117.gif

Though seriously, a bad guy who can have a really "good" evil grin makes me even more scared.


  • HAVE A SECRET IDENTITY
You know, it kills me every time a bad guy tells everyone he/she is the one doing all the bad things in a book waaay before I've even started thinking about him/her. Seriously, is it just so difficult to keep their mouths shut about it? I was reading a book about a serial killer years ago and after only a few pages the killer popped up into a scene and very proudly announced the reader (in this case, me) that he was indeed the killer. Talk about a buzz kill. I want to be scared of you and I want to make up theories about who you are and what you look like. Ruining that experience for me really pisses me off. 


I can think of a few more things I believe a real villain does, like doing the unexpected (like Klaus turning Tyler into a vampire - I didn't see that one coming) or maybe have a surprising sidekick or mole (like in Bones when the weird serial killer was using Bones' assistant, Zack). Or maybe have minions. But they need to be bad guys and act like it. Maybe I'm not reading the right books? *taps chin* I'm open to suggestions of books about real villains, in case you want to help me :D

What about you? What do you think a real villain should act like?

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Wednesday Chatter #4: On series and why I love them

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!



 photo Image3.png 

Hey guys! A few days ago I saw this post that Ellie wrote about the series she's reading and the ones she's read. She also linked to Gaby's post and I saw that it was a very fun thing to do and I decided to do it myself. I thought "Hey, my list isn't going to be that big, right? I might as well share it". Man, was I wrong. I actually started writing the post, but when I realized how huge my list was getting, I got scared my blog would crash and decided not to post it. Don't believe me? Here's the simplified list:

Series I'm reading and I'm up to date with: 23
Series I'm reading but I'm not up to date with: 37
Series I've read but I'm not sure about finishing at the moment: 11
Series I've read that I have no clue if they have finished or not: 5 (either the author hasn't posted anything about continuing the series in question or some have put their series on hold for the moment)
Series I've finished: 14

I am still working on the "TBR Series" list, but for now I decided not to continue writing it. But from what I've counted so far there are at least another 15 series on my TBR list.


 photo tumblr_inline_mnj3gm0Bgo1qz4rgp_zps772b37c0.gif

As you can probably tell by those insane numbers above, I really, really love series. I know a lot of readers are tired of long series, but I say keep them coming. Seriously, I doubt there will ever be a time when I'll get tired of them.

There are a lot of reasons why I love series. The first one is that when I love one or two characters from a book, I really can't get enough of them. I also believe that if they're done right, series can help discover the multitude of layers a character has. Those of you who've read Sherrilyn Kenyon's Styxx, how many of you can honestly say you were expecting THAT in his story? Don't lie!

Usually I feel like stand-alone books only give me a side or two of a character and, while sometimes that's fine with me, I find myself wondering what's going to happen next. Of course, this seriously depends on the original story of the character. If I'm reading a contemporary where one of the characters dies, I won't be expecting another book with that particular character. I'm not that crazy. I'm talking about those books that sometimes leave me wanting for so much more.

Another reason why I'd rather read series is that sometimes the world in a book is just too amazing to have just that one story. Can you imagine what it would've been like had Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone been the only book in the Harry Potter universe? I would've felt robbed in some way. Or think of any other series you've ever read and put all books aside, except for the first one. To me, that feels lonely and slightly sad. And this isn't just true for fantasy books, it's true for contemporaries also. I can't think of a YA contemporary series, so I'm giving you the adult version here. Any reader over 18 that's read and loved the Rough Riders series by Lorelei James could probably imagine how bad they'd feel if there had been just that first story, especially knowing there were so many McKay brothers and cousins and a sister out there to populate a small country. They needed stories too.

As for why I love big series (over 5-10 books), this is quite simple, actually. I think this is true for most readers, too. When you read a series that has you hurting for the characters, loving them, crying with them, wishing you could step inside the book and either punish the bad guy or smack some sense into some characters, the ending of that series feels awful. You know that there will be no more new adventures, no more daily life situations, little details, pranks, no more jokes, no more tears, nothing. While I don't read a series because I want to see my favorite characters get hurt, getting to the end of a series makes me want to spend a day in bed, under the blankets and wish that it's all just a bad dream and the series isn't over. It's like you have your life divided: Before Series and After Series. Last week I told you that I love to re-read. I do, but re-reading a series that's ended will always be bittersweet to me.


 photo tumblr_inline_mrwxxb16HN1qz4rgp_zps92f07e02.gif


So while I may be one of the few weirdos out there who have so many series they've read (90, in case you decided not to make the math), I am not regretting anything.

What about you? Why do you love to read series. And in case you don't like series, why not?

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Wednesday Chatter #3: On ARCs and why I'm giving them up

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!


 photo Image3.png



You know, when I first started blogging about books I thought ARCs were like mythical treasures and all the bloggers who got them were almost equals to the ancient Greek heroes. I actually think I looked like this when I got my first ARC:

 photo tumblr_mu2dejDxAm1r3wl1po1_400_zps4c71b42f.gif


I love getting ARCs. Who doesn't? Whenever I receive one I feel like it's my birthday all over again, especially if it's for a book I've been dying to read for what seems like an eternity. It's always a happy day when I get a "Yes" in my inbox to a request for an e-galley and it's also a humbling experience, since it means that someone, somewhere actually gives a damn over my opinion. Which always makes me feel really important and cool. 

 photo tumblr_inline_mob9nbemww1rlpk9c_zpsa1c800af.gif


But here's the thing. Besides the responsibility tied to an ARC (writing a review on time, posting regularly on your blog and more) I find that it takes me away from other books that I already own and that have been sitting on my shelves for months and I never opened them. EVER. I know, I should've figured it out when I first requested those galleys, right?

I actually looked on my Goodreads account the other day and I saw I have over 1000 books on my TBR pile. That's more than just insane. Of course, I haven't yet bought all those books, otherwise I'd need to buy a house just for them, but still, it's a huge list. And I'd like to read them sometimes during this lifetime. I'm not complaining over getting ARCs, don't get me wrong. I'm just complaining over all those books I haven't yet read and I want to do it.

I sort of had this heart to heart with myself (it's a good thing I can't contradict myself all that much, you know?) so I decided that after I finish reading the galleys I already have now, I'll stop requesting them. I figure I need to take some time off from ARCs and read random books I pick at the bookstore and the books I already own. There is only one book I'll request if it ever comes up on Netgalley next year (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this one, since all the other books in the series where on Netgalley). 

Also, as you might have noticed, I haven't been very active lately. That's because I'm studying and I'm starting to work on my dissertation, which turns out to be a huge pain in the ass.

Also, requesting ARCs (and receiving them) are starting to make blogging look like a job. I started book blogging for fun. I wasn't looking for a job, but for a way to express my feelings over the books I'm reading. And since I don't exactly want to join a book club (the idea of synchronized read-alongs of a specific book just doesn't do it for me) this blog is the only way I can actually do that.

So. Bottom line: I'm giving up ARCs. I'll probably do a little of this when it sinks in and I see all the cool books that will pop up on Netgalley and Edelweiss once I publish this post:

 photo tumblr_inline_mruyprhTmT1qz4rgp_zpse4fdac09.gif

But I'll be taking a deep breath, look at the pretty covers, add the books on my TBR pile and just wait until I can read them. No pressure, right?
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...