Books #43

[Harlot O'Scara]

Just to check - is there anybody still working on their Top 10?

I was going to give it a full week but if that's it, I can try and post the results a bit earlier?

 

[CommentBelow]

Just to check - is there anybody still working on their Top 10?

I was going to give it a full week but if that's it, I can try and post the results a bit earlier?

Here’s mine -

Handmaid’s Tale
Life After Life
One Day
Wild Swans
Girl, Woman, Other
Pachinko
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Cloud Atlas
Beartown
I Love You, I Love You, I Love You

I feel bad for the 9 I had to cut 🫣

 

[Carapop]

Here’s mine -

Handmaid’s Tale
Life After Life
One Day
Wild Swans
Girl, Woman, Other
Pachinko
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Cloud Atlas
Beartown
I Love You, I Love You, I Love You

I feel bad for the 9 I had to cut 🫣

Is it this one? Currently on kindle deals!

Amazon.co.uk

 

[Carapop]

I agree with you on older authors, I am not going to judge someone who lived a hundred years ago by today's standards.

The JK Rowling one is interesting. I never read the Harry Potter books but got her Strike collection before her views on transwomen became known. I can't lie, it has impacted how I view her and her work now and I can't bring myself to read them and I haven't bought any books released since.

The ACOTAR one is interesting too - I've only read the first one and felt from the start there was a lot of references that seemed Irish in origin. As an Irish person with an interest in mythology I wish she would acknowledge her inspiration but it didn't strike me as negative in any way, maybe its more apparent in later work though.

I’m relatively lucky in that I was never a Harry Potter fan and the Strike series isn’t my genre so I am spared any internal conflict. I really sympathise with those who cherish her work but disagree with, or are personally impacted by, her politics. I’m doing my very best to remain neutral here because I don’t want my favourite thread to become a warzone!

 

[CommentBelow]

Is it this one? Currently on kindle deals!

Amazon.co.uk

Yes!
Will it win any literary prizes? Probably not. Did it speak to my emo teenage soul? Absolutely.

 

[Carapop]

Yes!
Will it win any literary prizes? Probably not. Did it speak to my emo teenage soul? Absolutely.

Ahhahaha. I’m sold! The author also has a new book on Netgalley

Two Sisters | Laura Dockrill | 9780008587062 | NetGalley

NetGalley helps publishers and authors promote digital review copies to book advocates and industry professionals. Publishers make digital review copies and audiobooks available for the NetGalley community to discover, request, read, and review.

www.netgalley.co.uk

 

[CommentBelow]

I’m relatively lucky in that I was never a Harry Potter fan and the Strike series isn’t my genre so I am spared any internal conflict. I really sympathise with those who cherish her work but disagree with, or are personally impacted by, her politics. I’m doing my very best to remain neutral here because I don’t want my favourite thread to become a warzone!

I’m not suggesting this is the right approach at all.. but I prefer not knowing that much about an author / sometimes miss them being a name on a cover. I can’t remember who it was but I unfollowed an author on instagram because they came across quite insufferable and I didn’t really like seeing behind the scenes, sort of put me off their books picturing them writing it.. weird I know.

However, I enjoy following Libby Page and Gillian McAllister.

I’m not suggesting everyone should be able to exist anonymously/do bad things and still have a successful career but social media has brought about an era of many feeling as though they need to share a stance on major issues which we don’t always need.

 

[CommentBelow]

Ahhahaha. I’m sold! The author also has a new book on Netgalley

Two Sisters | Laura Dockrill | 9780008587062 | NetGalley

NetGalley helps publishers and authors promote digital review copies to book advocates and industry professionals. Publishers make digital review copies and audiobooks available for the NetGalley community to discover, request, read, and review.

www.netgalley.co.uk

I’ve pre-ordered but am managing my expectations, i.e. I don’t think I’ll enjoy it as much due to lack of sister lol

 

[Carapop]

I’m not suggesting this is the right approach at all.. but I prefer not knowing that much about an author / sometimes miss them being a name on a cover. I can’t remember who it was but I unfollowed an author on instagram because they came across quite insufferable and I didn’t really like seeing behind the scenes, sort of put me off their books picturing them writing it.. weird I know.

However, I enjoy following Libby Page and Gillian McAllister.

I’m not suggesting everyone should be able to exist anonymously/do bad things and still have a successful career but social media has brought about an era of many feeling as though they need to share a stance on major issues which we don’t always need.

Christ alive. I thought you were referring to Gillian McKeith 🫣

Olga Tokarczuk has lost many a reader after her recent opinion on AI. I’ve yet to read Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead, and at least that was written before the prevalence of AI. But her new work is another story.

 

[Chocolategoggler]

Nope. No thanks.

BBC is rebooting one of the 'best British detective shows of all time'

The show ran for 24 years and forged a TV legend.

metro.co.uk

FFS! Why don't they do something different instead of the same old things!
I don't care if it's bloody reimagined!!

 

[daisynoon]

I’m not suggesting this is the right approach at all.. but I prefer not knowing that much about an author / sometimes miss them being a name on a cover. I can’t remember who it was but I unfollowed an author on instagram because they came across quite insufferable and I didn’t really like seeing behind the scenes, sort of put me off their books picturing them writing it.. weird I know.

However, I enjoy following Libby Page and Gillian McAllister.

I’m not suggesting everyone should be able to exist anonymously/do bad things and still have a successful career but social media has brought about an era of many feeling as though they need to share a stance on major issues which we don’t always need.

This story is tricky to tell without personal info, but I was part of a message board when I was a teenager, which was run by my favourite author, and my friends and I complained about a moderator, and wound up getting a lawyer's letter from the author in response

I binned all her books and vowed to keep my distance from authors online after that

 

[daisynoon]

Christ alive. I thought you were referring to Gillian McKeith 🫣

Olga Tokarczuk has lost many a reader after her recent opinion on AI. I’ve yet to read Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead, and at least that was written before the prevalence of AI. But her new work is another story.

Drive Your Plow is wonderful, but I just don't want to read AI-work. I was so surprised to read that she involves it in the creative process.

--

Here’s mine -

Handmaid’s Tale
Life After Life
One Day
Wild Swans
Girl, Woman, Other
Pachinko
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Cloud Atlas
Beartown
I Love You, I Love You, I Love You

I feel bad for the 9 I had to cut 🫣

I love seeing books I enjoy on other people's lists, like Pachinko!

Note to read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn!

 

[CommentBelow]

Christ alive. I thought you were referring to Gillian McKeith 🫣

Olga Tokarczuk has lost many a reader after her recent opinion on AI. I’ve yet to read Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead, and at least that was written before the prevalence of AI. But her new work is another story.

Oh yes - I meant to procrastinate on a deep dive on Olga’s comments / the internets reaction.

 

[SaintLeo]

Potentially unpopular opinion, but I finished The God Of Small Things last night and…meh. I get that there was some beautiful writing in there but it felt like the first 2/3 was filler and the main plot was rushed into the end of the book. I also wasn’t a fan of the time jumps and how ambiguous they were. There were a few times I had to go back and reread to make sure I was on the right time line.

Sorry to everyone who loved it but it’s going on the “overhyped” pile for me.

 

[CommentBelow]

Drive Your Plow is wonderful, but I just don't want to read AI-work. I was so surprised to read that she involves it in the creative process.

--


I love seeing books I enjoy on other people's lists, like Pachinko!

Note to read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn!

Me too! It’s like bookish bingo?!

I also like being reminded of books - someone has Reluctant Fundamentalist on their list which reminded me I liked that book enough that I intended to read the authors other books but never have.
Speaking of adding to my TBR, I’m surprised Waterstones don’t have double stamps on for Bank Hols but relieved in a way as I wanted to go to Daunt or Bookbar over the weekend but know the lure of double stamps would sway my purchases towards Waterstones/Foyles.

 

[daisynoon]

Me too! It’s like bookish bingo?!

I also like being reminded of books - someone has Reluctant Fundamentalist on their list which reminded me I liked that book enough that I intended to read the authors other books but never have.
Speaking of adding to my TBR, I’m surprised Waterstones don’t have double stamps on for Bank Hols but relieved in a way as I wanted to go to Daunt or Bookbar over the weekend but know the lure of double stamps would sway my purchases towards Waterstones/Foyles.

Waterstones have really pulled back on the perks lately! I'm veering more towards bookshop.org for my online purchases as a result.

 

[CommentBelow]

Waterstones have really pulled back on the perks lately! I'm veering more towards bookshop.org for my online purchases as a result.

Hopefully the lack of bonus stamps will inspire me to actually spend my rewards! I always intend to use them for pre-orders as free treats to my future self but then there’s double stamps or 25% pre-orders and I don’t.. altho tbf I could use them with the 25%..

 

[Carapop]

Potentially unpopular opinion, but I finished The God Of Small Things last night and…meh. I get that there was some beautiful writing in there but it felt like the first 2/3 was filler and the main plot was rushed into the end of the book. I also wasn’t a fan of the time jumps and how ambiguous they were. There were a few times I had to go back and reread to make sure I was on the right time line.

Sorry to everyone who loved it but it’s going on the “overhyped” pile for me.

I didn’t know it was hyped at all! I read it over twenty years ago and was utterly consumed, I found it incredibly moving. I’ve meant to read it again but I’m so frightened I won’t love it as much. I didn’t know anything about it back then, now returning to it as a much cherished favourite book, there’s so much pressure. Can it even still be a favourite book then?!

 

[pinkmug]

Much better list - I've read 12 of them!! and got a few others on my TBR pile!

Seeing the title '39 Books to bring joy' and immediately seeing A Little Life on the first slide gave me whiplash I think the duck not.

 

[SaintLeo]

I didn’t know it was hyped at all! I read it over twenty years ago and was utterly consumed, I found it incredibly moving. I’ve meant to read it again but I’m so frightened I won’t love it as much. I didn’t know anything about it back then, now returning to it as a much cherished favourite book, there’s so much pressure. Can it even still be a favourite book then?!

Maybe hyped is too strong a word but it’s certainly one of the books that crops up on the Best Books lists a lot. I’m pretty sure that’s how I came across it because it’s probably not something i would have picked up otherwise.

I totally get the pressure of returning to a long standing favourite book. Feeling the same thing about my plan to reread East of Eden before the Netflix versions comes out.