Ruby Granger #35 Hello, it's Flu-bee!

[gossip_guy]

i’m remembering so much about that book now (including the stomachache/toilet scene) and there is no way on any level that she read that. twice! it’s just not a book i can see her vibing with or truly taking in, it speaks about sex in such a visceral way!

she probably just went “the themes are really important” or whatever soundbite she tends to use and moved on

I'm still convinced that the sum total of her knowledge of CMBYN is:

1. People on the internet liked it a lot.
2. It takes place in Italy.
3. Someone eats a peach at some point.

She's definitely never read it and not only is she too stupid/lazy to convincingly lie about it, her insistence on waving around books and things she thinks she knows about them will always digs a hole for her.

During her Italy vlog/s she waved the book at the camera like a prop at every opportunity because she wanted people to think she'd read it and it was a TROOLY MAJIKOL ACKSPERIENCE for her to be in Italy, JOHST LOIYKE IN THE BOCK.

And because she hadn't read it, she thought she'd continue this trend by showing that she was also in Italy eating peaches, JOHST LOIKE IN THE BOCK, HOW IMMARRSIVE!

Only she hadn't read it, so she didn't realise the context, then showed herself violently smashing a peach into her face:

Whoops.

Sure, Jan.

There's no way you'd just forget about that part of the book, especially if you'd read it twice, once immediately before making this video. She had no clue what happened in the book until she got questioned about it and then lied yet again.

She's also reviewed it twice and they're both hilariously dumb, suspiciously vague and completely incoherent. Maybe she'll pretend to read it again in 2024 to make a tradition of it.

 

[LaBlonde]

I'm still convinced that the sum total of her knowledge of CMBYN is:

1. People on the internet liked it a lot.
2. It takes place in Italy.
3. Someone eats a peach at some point.

She's definitely never read it and not only is she too stupid/lazy to convincingly lie about it, her insistence on waving around books and things she thinks she knows about them will always digs a hole for her.

During her Italy vlog/s she waved the book at the camera like a prop at every opportunity because she wanted people to think she'd read it and it was a TROOLY MAJIKOL ACKSPERIENCE for her to be in Italy, JOHST LOIYKE IN THE BOCK.

And because she hadn't read it, she thought she'd continue this trend by showing that she was also in Italy eating peaches, JOHST LOIKE IN THE BOCK, HOW IMMARRSIVE!

Only she hadn't read it, so she didn't realise the context, then showed herself violently smashing a peach into her face:

View attachment 1866208
View attachment 1866211

Whoops.

View attachment 1866237

Sure, Jan.

There's no way you'd just forget about that part of the book, especially if you'd read it twice, once immediately before making this video. She had no clue what happened in the book until she got questioned about it and then lied yet again.

View attachment 1866245

She's also reviewed it twice and they're both hilariously dumb, suspiciously vague and completely incoherent. Maybe she'll pretend to read it again in 2024 to make a tradition of it.

given that she gets the central character’s name wrong in her re-read review i think our suspicions are confirmed

like you say, there is no way you read that book and forget about the peach scene. i thought of it almost every time i saw a peach for a week afterwards (). it still comes to mind when i see a peach NOW.

her reviews are very floral but ultimately say nothing about what she’s actually read. “so much of this book is internal” - the whole thing is internal. just an incredibly vague way of writing, reminds me of doing english lit a-level and how i would write if i hadn’t actually finished the book yet. just say a lot of things and no one will notice!

 

[Redrose97]

I think that half of the time what she is reading a book that is 'diverse' and against the usual children's books that she reads is because it was popular online than an actual love of literature. I remember that she was reading 'Song of Achilles,' for a month or so and it was popular online, same with Call Me By Your Name, and Heartstopper is also one, especially with her being invited to the premier and she could barely give a review of the book even though it was in her book reviews.

It is the same with classics, she might actually like them, but I think that she reads them and makes a show of reading them online is among her busy work to appear intelligent for the camera. I think she is more comfortable reading children's books and I think it's fine that she is reading, but she isn't going to be an author or a good one if she doesn't read widely. Ruby can barely speak about a book without awkwardly rambling, sounding like she has just read Sparksnotes before speaking about it than actually reading the book, and using the world 'cool.' How is she actually going to describe her work to others if she can barely speak about another book.

Wondering when the traditional job starts. I do see it being a more online job than in person.

 

[Ilaariaa]

I'm having my own bout of Flu-Bee today!
It's not really the flu (just like hers), just a fever and a headache. I do feel closer to our productivity kween right now.

It couldn't have happened at a worse time. I have an exam in a week, I'm starting a new job the day after that, and yesterday I lost my wallet with all of my id cards, license etc. so in the next few days I also need to travel back to my hometown and get them all re-issued thankfully I just had about 30€ in it and my bank cards which I blocked immediately. My birth control prescription was in there too so I can't refill it

But I guess I'm lucky I don't have to complete an online test today right?

 

[DrinaM]

Starting to think she's not emulating the "Granger" lifestyle, she's just using the name in denial that she's a pretentious, out-of-touch Victorian child. Nothing about her has Hermione in it anymore.

She's really branded herself tho. Even her mother's socials have 'Mother Granger' as the handle. They're kinda stuck with it. I wonder if its holding her back from growing up.

 

[figgypud]

Off topic but it's a really good book and I really enjoyed it! I had to do a lot of reading on those men for a university module called queer Britannia and it was about gender and sexuality in the nineteenth century and I do wonder how ruby would cope with it especially as I had to read a Victorian gay porn novel for class and discuss it.

I think that it would be a bit shocking for her especially as some stuff might be explicit for her, not including the porn novel I had to read for class. I think her versions of the Victorians are just fancy dresses and afternoon tea than the reality. As for LGBTQ + issues and topics especially of the period , not sure how Ruby would stand about things other than saying things were wrong and that's it.

I know that she has read books such as Call Me By Your Name and Heartstopper apparently, but I'm not sure if Ruby even really reads books with characters who aren't white and assumedly middle class girls in them. I don't see her being that interested in other books, fiction or non fiction that deal with LGBT themes and characters other than what's popular online or she's invited to a premier for.

I do wonder whether she's ever come across Sarah Waters' books - she writes historical fiction, often in the Victorian era, and gets recommended on Booktube a lot. Her books usually have Sapphic themes (and sex) though so I wonder if that's why Ruby hasn't read them.

 

[DrinaM]

I'm still convinced that the sum total of her knowledge of CMBYN is:

1. People on the internet liked it a lot.
2. It takes place in Italy.
3. Someone eats a peach at some point.

She's definitely never read it and not only is she too stupid/lazy to convincingly lie about it, her insistence on waving around books and things she thinks she knows about them will always digs a hole for her.

During her Italy vlog/s she waved the book at the camera like a prop at every opportunity because she wanted people to think she'd read it and it was a TROOLY MAJIKOL ACKSPERIENCE for her to be in Italy, JOHST LOIYKE IN THE BOCK.

And because she hadn't read it, she thought she'd continue this trend by showing that she was also in Italy eating peaches, JOHST LOIKE IN THE BOCK, HOW IMMARRSIVE!

Only she hadn't read it, so she didn't realise the context, then showed herself violently smashing a peach into her face:

View attachment 1866208
View attachment 1866211

Whoops.

View attachment 1866237

Sure, Jan.

There's no way you'd just forget about that part of the book, especially if you'd read it twice, once immediately before making this video. She had no clue what happened in the book until she got questioned about it and then lied yet again.

View attachment 1866245

She's also reviewed it twice and they're both hilariously dumb, suspiciously vague and completely incoherent. Maybe she'll pretend to read it again in 2024 to make a tradition of it.

There is no bleeping way she didn't connect make the peach connection.

her reviews are very floral but ultimately say nothing about what she’s actually read. “so much of this book is internal” - the whole thing is internal. just an incredibly vague way of writing, reminds me of doing english lit a-level and how i would write if i hadn’t actually finished the book yet. just say a lot of things and no one will notice!

This. You could take her 2022 review of CMBYN and apply it to any text. The Great Gatsby, Jane Eyre, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Oliver Twist. What she wrote basically means nothing and anything at the same time.

 

[VallegGirl]

I don't think Ruby has an original thought in her head. I'm also suspicious as to what kind of writer she'd make having what appears to be very limited life experience and even more limited horizons. What is her book going to be about? Not "A room with a view" but " A view with a room" - essentially her story of life looking inwards not outwards.

 

[bunnys]

I'm currently playing the video game Marvel's Midnight Suns and coincidentally, there's a section where Captain America, Captain Marvel and Blade take part in a superhero book club and discuss Son Shooweeyay's The Art of War.

It's hilarious that a bunch of comic book superheroes in a video game have infinitely more to say about the book and how it can be applied to general modern conflicts and everyday life than self-proclaimed bookworm and alleged real-life human being Ruby.

I'm catching up on the threads but... Gossip Guy. I am a huge Captain America fan and I need to know if he liked the book. Did he also think it talked about war too much or did the whole being a soldier in WWII thing make that more palatable?

Anyways, I can only imagine Ruby's current situation right now being so, so lonely and depressing. It sounds nice to a lot of us to have a break like that but in practice it'd drive you crazy. Ruby appears routine oriented. I'm the same way - I need something to keep me busy. Granted I'm a lot more extroverted than her, but I can only imagine feeling incredibly isolated and lonely if I was cooped up in my childhood bedroom, away from the general bustle of any nearby town or city, no friends nearby, no job to go to, and so on. Living like this makes your anxiety so much worse in my experience - your world shrinks and your bubble gets smaller and smaller until leaving it seems like a frightening, scary task.

I truly think she'd benefit so much from just a part time job. It is one of my strongest beliefs that EVERYONE should work some form of a retail job during their life time. It teaches you so much.

 

[opal73]

I'm catching up on the threads but... Gossip Guy. I am a huge Captain America fan and I need to know if he liked the book. Did he also think it talked about war too much or did the whole being a soldier in WWII thing make that more palatable?

Anyways, I can only imagine Ruby's current situation right now being so, so lonely and depressing. It sounds nice to a lot of us to have a break like that but in practice it'd drive you crazy. Ruby appears routine oriented. I'm the same way - I need something to keep me busy. Granted I'm a lot more extroverted than her, but I can only imagine feeling incredibly isolated and lonely if I was cooped up in my childhood bedroom, away from the general bustle of any nearby town or city, no friends nearby, no job to go to, and so on. Living like this makes your anxiety so much worse in my experience - your world shrinks and your bubble gets smaller and smaller until leaving it seems like a frightening, scary task.

I truly think she'd benefit so much from just a part time job. It is one of my strongest beliefs that EVERYONE should work some form of a retail job during their life time. It teaches you so much.

Tbh though I think she does thrive on routine I think sometime during university Ruby realised how much she hated it but because she's built her brand off being academic and bookish she's boxed herself in and has to continue faking the identity (which becomes increasingly apparent with every video). Definitely don't think being at home has done much good for her, even though she's a lot happier there than she ever was at uni. I think to grow we have to force ourselves to step outside a bit and Ruby hasn't really done that at all during her gap year (doubt she would have even gone to Boston had basically the entire trip not have been gifted) when she could have been working part time, travelling more, or even have moved into the house she owns for a short time. Basically finding out who she is and working on adulting. She's been struggling for an identity (first Hermione, then english literature student, now writer) but continues to regress, to the point where a small, short gathering with friends over the holidays in London gave her a panic attack.
It's the product of a young woman who has never been told no or pushed outside her comfort zone, or pushed herself outside her comfort zone.

 

[DrinaM]

She's been struggling for an identity (first Hermione, then english literature student, now writer) but continues to regress, to the point where a small, short gathering with friends over the holidays in London gave her a panic attack.
It's the product of a young woman who has never been told no or pushed outside her comfort zone, or pushed herself outside her comfort zone.

What you say about her struggles around identity, its very true. She has said that she has a problematic relationship with the idea of growing up from childhood into adulthood. Her academic brand is based around Hermione, who Ruby has now passed in age. It seems challenging for her. She hasn't learnt to drive a car, she is afraid to be home alone, she had a panic attack when with a small group of friends. I think she struggles to leave her comfort zone, which for now is her home and childhood bedroom. Her recent content was filmed in her parent's RV for heavens sake. Sad.

 

[autumngoblin]

I am genuinely curious as to what she actually does with her time because we know it isn’t reading. Well, maybe she does read but it’s re-reading her comfort books over and over. Which is fine but lying about reading tons of other books is wild.

she always goes on about how little tv she watches, but maybe that’s a fib too. B/c what on earth is she doing when she doesn’t currently have a job or school?

 

[Ceelea]

I hope that Ruby won't be LARPing as Cathy (or God forbid Heathcliff) anytime soon if she's on a Wuthering Heights kick.

Or worse, break out in song ala Kate Bush !

 

[graceiona95]

I think that's what felt so weird about the RV video. If it was two best friends in their twenties and they drove the van somewhere and stayed in it for a night away it would feel a lot more...age appropriate?

Like that sounds really fun, but doing it in your parents van in your parents driveway is giving Year 8 vibes - where you would have your friends over and "camp" in the living room or the garden and feel really cool but ur mum is in the next room watching eastenders

 

[CatCafe234]

I do wonder whether she's ever come across Sarah Waters' books - she writes historical fiction, often in the Victorian era, and gets recommended on Booktube a lot. Her books usually have Sapphic themes (and sex) though so I wonder if that's why Ruby hasn't read them.

Off topic, but I love Sarah Waters. Fingersmith is just incredible, without giving anything away I genuinely had to put the book down in shock at one point. Affinity is another favourite. In a similar vein, The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber is also very, very good.

 

[figgypud]

Off topic, but I love Sarah Waters. Fingersmith is just incredible, without giving anything away I genuinely had to put the book down in shock at one point. Affinity is another favourite. In a similar vein, The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber is also very, very good.

Me too! I will never forget the experience of reading Fingersmith. I've read three of SW's books and am hesitant to read the others in case she never writes anything else and I run out

 

[gisellejoly]

Me too! I will never forget the experience of reading Fingersmith. I've read three of SW's books and am hesitant to read the others in case she never writes anything else and I run out

That’s so funny because I’ve read three and haven’t read any more for the exact same reason

 

[pineapplesandcheese]

I've noticed that Ruby never talks up the Brontës, even though the sisters and their writing would seem to be perfectly aligned with her online image and purported interests. How does a supposed lover of literature, Victoriana, and moody atmospherics routinely ignore the Brontës? Too violent? Too sexy? Whatever the reason, I get the feeling she's not a fan, so it'll be interesting if she has to do some kind of academic instruction on Wuthering Heights.

Didn't she mention Villette once and just said that it's a 'school story from a teacher's perspective'?

 

[exopolitics]

Can't remember who made the comment about Rubrid moving over to short-form videos, but TikTok/Shorts seems way more her style.

Shorter content so you don't have to make nearly as much effort with editing (which we all know she hates), way more easy to sneak undeclared ads into it, you can hash out the same tit and people notice less, and there's no need to go into detail about anything because you can hide behind the guise of "uwu short-form content not enough time to give a real review of this book I claim I JANYOOENLY loved sorry!!!"

 

[gossip_guy]

I'm catching up on the threads but... Gossip Guy. I am a huge Captain America fan and I need to know if he liked the book. Did he also think it talked about war too much or did the whole being a soldier in WWII thing make that more palatable?

Spoiler: OT

I tried to find gameplay footage of the book club section without voiceover commentary online and this was the best I could find:

(The book club discussion is from 36:50-41:25)



At the point I'm at now, Wolverine has joined the book club, showed up having not read the book, then recommended a simplistic pulpy adventure book apparently aimed at children for the next discussion, so at least Ruby has some kind of representation in the game.