Ruby Granger #5 Counting Her Ad Money With Closed, Grateful Eyes

[CatCafe234]

I’m calling it now - Ruby’s ‘working class’ morning routine will involve Ruby pretending to be in service in her own house. So, she’ll be pretending to wake up in the smaller spare bedroom, dabbing her face with water from a jug, wearing a mob cap, crouching over the fireplace in her massive house pretending to light a fire, possibly posing with a broom for some reason, and her mum will be playing lady of the manor whilst Ruby serves her breakfast.

 

[p1ge0n-b0y]

Not being funny but hearing Ruby bang on about the working class for 30-odd minutes is not my idea of a good time. I can't help but feel like the sole purpose of this video is so that Ruby can establish some kind of authority over the discussions of these texts, proving the extent of her knowledge before her young and impressionable viewers so that they can praise her and label her a genius. It's like being part of a book club where only one person is allowed to monologue for half an hour and everyone else has to listen and nod their heads.

 

[shoshannadreyfus]

I don't really want to hear about working class culture from someone who would probably cross the road if she saw someone wearing a tracksuit in public. I don't see how she can make this video and have it be tasteful.

 

[Randomer123]

I'm sure she's looking thinner and thinner on Instagram. I really hope she's ok.

 

[notreplying]

I’m calling it now - Ruby’s ‘working class’ morning routine will involve Ruby pretending to be in service in her own house. So, she’ll be pretending to wake up in the smaller spare bedroom, dabbing her face with water from a jug, wearing a mob cap, crouching over the fireplace in her massive house pretending to light a fire, possibly posing with a broom for some reason, and her mum will be playing lady of the manor whilst Ruby serves her breakfast.

I think that video she posted drinking tea with her hair in a bun while wearing what looked like a smock and an apron points towards this

 

[Ilaariaa]

I don't really want to hear about working class culture from someone who would probably cross the road if she saw someone wearing a tracksuit in public. I don't see how she can make this video and have it be tasteful.

I think this idea of recreating vintage routines can be entertaining if done properly and by professionals or even amateurs who do their research. For example I enjoy watching the CrowsEyeProduction "Getting dressed" videos because they are very informative and use accurate clothing for the era, which is the whole point.
With Ruby it just feels like she's read a Wikipedia article on the matter and she's playing pretend for a morning.

 

[Warona]

Well, 19... books? Let's see:

- Non Fiction (1) Hannah Arendt (how cautious with pronouncing a-r-e-n-d-t hehe); (2) The Holocaust in American Life (I highly doubt she finished it, but )
- Book Club: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
- Classics: (1) Mrs.Seacole; (2) Mary Barton; (3) Jane Eyre (reread); (4) Aurora Leigh; (5) The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (reread); (6) Sense and Sensibility
- Poems: (1) The Cry of the Children (2-3 pages )
- Short stories: (1) The Mask of the Red Death; (2) Hop-Frog
- Essays: (1) The Painter of Modern Life (12 pages...)
- Children's Book: (1) Blakeney's book; (2) Miss Peregrine's; (3) The invention of Hugo Cabret; (3) Summer's Dream; (4) The Secret Garden; (5) Polar The Titanic Bear (I suspect this is a reread, she showed it in last year's bookshelf tour when she talked about her fav children's books :

);

So, in reality: New books: 7 / Reread books: 2-3 / Poem: 1 / Short Stories: 2 / Essay: 1 / Children's Books: 5
Make your own conclusions...

 

[Ilaariaa]

Well, 19... books? Let's see:

- Non Fiction (1) Hannah Arendt (how cautious with pronouncing a-r-e-n-d-t hehe); (2) The Holocaust in American Life (I highly doubt she finished it, but )
- Book Club: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
- Classics: (1) Mrs.Seacole; (2) Mary Barton; (3) Jane Eyre (reread); (4) Aurora Leigh; (5) The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (reread); (6) Sense and Sensibility
- Poems: (1) The Cry of the Children (2-3 pages )
- Short stories: (1) The Mask of the Red Death; (2) Hop-Frog
- Essays: (1) The Painter of Modern Life (12 pages...)
- Children's Book: (1) Blakeney's book; (2) Miss Peregrine's; (3) The invention of Hugo Cabret; (3) Summer's Dream; (4) The Secret Garden; (5) Polar The Titanic Bear (I suspect this is a reread, she showed it in last year's bookshelf tour when she talked about her fav children's books : View attachment 422095);

So, in reality: New books: 7 / Reread books: 2-3 / Poem: 1 / Short Stories: 2 / Essay: 1 / Children's Books: 5
Make your own conclusions...

No tit she's reading 20 books a month if she counts stuff that's under 10 pages long as a book lmao
That Polar Bear book looks like it's 20 pages and mostly pictures.

Sometimes it's fun to skim through one of the books I enjoyed when I was little but I'm not adding The Silver Skates to my Goodreads because I skimmed it in 10 minutes one afternoon for nostalgia

 

[roundmidnight]

What does she mean by "(including classics)"? Are they not books? Why specifically state that?

I'm also absolutely annoyed by how people comments section are comparing how much they've read to how much she read in a month. It's not a competition, it's not about quantity, it's not a tell-all about how productive you are. You wouldn't be comparing how many movies, tv shows or games you've played, have you? I really think this is such a toxic attitude... Not blaming Ruby for it here, it clearly is something that comes from people who are more prone to, as I've said, compare themselves to Ruby, but still.

Another nitpick of mine: why so many children's books? Not that there's anything wrong with them per se, but damn, you wanted to get more involved with the Holocaust topic, maybe you could've gone a bit further and do some WW2 reading as well?

Nevertheless, it'd be a good idea if she kept doing these videos on a monthly basis. I think they work better than a single video at the end of the year.

 

[Ilaariaa]

What does she mean by "(including classics)"? Are they not books? Why specifically state that?

I'm also absolutely annoyed by how people comments section are comparing how much they've read to how much she read in a month. It's not a competition, it's not about quantity, it's not a tell-all about how productive you are. You wouldn't be comparing how many movies, tv shows or games you've played, have you? I really think this is such a toxic attitude... Not blaming Ruby for it here, it clearly is something that comes from people who are more prone to, as I've said, compare themselves to Ruby, but still.

Another nitpick of mine: why so many children's books? Not that there's anything wrong with them per se, but damn, you wanted to get more involved with the Holocaust topic, maybe you could've gone a bit further and do some WW2 reading as well?

Nevertheless, it'd be a good idea if she kept doing these videos on a monthly basis. I think they work better than a single video at the end of the year.

Ruby is encouraging this attitude by prioritizing quantity over quality. Half of the quota is made up of short books, poetry, children's books and rereads.
Also her audience is mostly made up of young kids. Like if you're 12, reading The Secret Garden might sound perfectly reasonable to you, because you are the target reader for that book, and it might not be obvious that for 20-year-old Ruby it's a very easy read that would probably take her like an afternoon to finish.

 

[bublifuk]

It's funny to me that she (almost) figured out how to say Arendt correctly but didn't bother looking up how to pronounce Eichmann when the book revolves around him (no shade tho, obviously I mispronounce English words, too).

I watch a fair amount of booktubers and I have never seen one of them count childrens' picture books and 10 page essays as whole books... Obviously she can talk about them in the wrap-up, but that video title is just another proof of how her productivity is mostly performative. My Goodreads would be so fire if I included academic articles and the Peppa Pig books I read to the three-year old I babysit lmao

 

[Ilaariaa]

It's funny to me that she (almost) figured out how to say Arendt correctly but didn't bother looking up how to pronounce Eichmann when the book revolves around him (no shade tho, obviously I mispronounce English words, too).

I watch a fair amount of booktubers and I have never seen one of them count childrens' picture books and 10 page essays as whole books... Obviously she can talk about them in the wrap-up, but that video title is just another proof of how her productivity is mostly performative. My Goodreads would be so fire if I included academic articles and the Peppa Pig books I read to the three-year old I babysit lmao

I'm writing my Bachelor's thesis, I've read about 40 articles and books in the past month for it lol but it doesn't make much sense to add them to my Goodreads imo

 

[LitNerd]

Of course her favourite essay she’s ever read is one she can use to justify artistry as being child-like (the author meant more in terms of wonder, but just picking out what Ruby’s focusing on)

 

[peanutbutter&jelly]

What does she mean by "(including classics)"? Are they not books? Why specifically state that?

I'm also absolutely annoyed by how people comments section are comparing how much they've read to how much she read in a month. It's not a competition, it's not about quantity, it's not a tell-all about how productive you are. You wouldn't be comparing how many movies, tv shows or games you've played, have you? I really think this is such a toxic attitude... Not blaming Ruby for it here, it clearly is something that comes from people who are more prone to, as I've said, compare themselves to Ruby, but still.

Another nitpick of mine: why so many children's books? Not that there's anything wrong with them per se, but damn, you wanted to get more involved with the Holocaust topic, maybe you could've gone a bit further and do some WW2 reading as well?

Nevertheless, it'd be a good idea if she kept doing these videos on a monthly basis. I think they work better than a single video at the end of the year.

Agreed! That's one of the reasons I stopped watching people like Ruby who encourage reading an insane amount of books. You never get to enjoy a book and you always feel the need to keep pushing yourself further.
Got me in a few reading slumps...

 

[3calico3]

Ruby is encouraging this attitude by prioritizing quantity over quality. Half of the quota is made up of short books, poetry, children's books and rereads.
Also her audience is mostly made up of young kids. Like if you're 12, reading The Secret Garden might sound perfectly reasonable to you, because you are the target reader for that book, and it might not be obvious that for 20-year-old Ruby it's a very easy read that would probably take her like an afternoon to finish.

I remember when I was 10, my best friend and I both borrowed The Fellowship of the Ring from the school library and were implicitly racing each other to see who could finish first (this was before the films came out btw). Some days I'd even skip 10s of pages just to get ahead of her, only to find out she'd done the same thing! Neither of us enjoyed the book, as we were too concerned with quantity over digesting the actual story.

For Ruby, big numbers = amazing, but that doesn't account for the actual learning/enjoyment.

 

[bublifuk]

I'm writing my Bachelor's thesis, I've read about 40 articles and books in the past month for it lol but it doesn't make much sense to add them to my Goodreads imo

I'm writing my MA thesis, so same here. I add academic books when I've read them fully, but I remember Ruby added some to her Goodreads when she had only read one or two chapters. At the end of the day she can do what she wants of course, those stats don't matter anyway. I just find it weird. Seems like she's more obsessed with counting books than the act of reading itself. Does she ever read thick books? I mean like ASOIAF or Priory of the Orange Tree thick?

 

[emmer_moans]

I remember when I was 10, my best friend and I both borrowed The Fellowship of the Ring from the school library and were implicitly racing each other to see who could finish first (this was before the films came out btw). Some days I'd even skip 10s of pages just to get ahead of her, only to find out she'd done the same thing! Neither of us enjoyed the book, as we were too concerned with quantity over digesting the actual story.

For Ruby, big numbers = amazing, but that doesn't account for the actual learning/enjoyment.

This was me with my classmates whenever a HP book came out, we all wanted to be first

 

[coffeehead]

Im glad she's done this book video today because I think it is better content. I'd be really interested to see what she thinks of Norwegian Wood because she said she's reading that this month.

One thing I dont understand is why she 'reads' picture books in the first place, never mind including them in her tally. I'd understand reading and reviewing them if you were a primary teacher or an illustrator or even if you were a parent sharing good books to read with little ones... but Ruby reviews them from her own point of view? A 3 year old isn't going to be thinking about the impacts of the class divide aboard the titanic... but she reviews it like she is the target audience... surely if you're reviewing a picture book it's from the point of view of is it a good book to read to/ be read by a child?!

 

[shoshannadreyfus]

I'm writing my MA thesis, so same here. I add academic books when I've read them fully, but I remember Ruby added some to her Goodreads when she had only read one or two chapters. At the end of the day she can do what she wants of course, those stats don't matter anyway. I just find it weird. Seems like she's more obsessed with counting books than the act of reading itself. Does she ever read thick books? I mean like ASOIAF or Priory of the Orange Tree thick?

Masters student too and I never really add academic books to goodreads. Yeah I guess maybe it's different if youre an English student but I don't really count textbooks or journal articles as something I've 'read' because who tf sits there and reads a textbook back to back like a novel, you read the relevant parts and take notes. I don't add short stories or poems either. It makes it way less impressive for her to read 200 books a year if this is what she counts as 'books'.

 

[Satisfying Click]

Spoiler: Erimentha Parker's to do list, Chapter 17

They're in Textiles and Erimentha observes, "as customary," she's ahead of her classmates. What a folly to be placed among such imbeciles!

There's an altercation between her and Kimberly + a bottle of orange dye. It reaches its climax with Erimentha telling Kimberly she's scared of her, which seems to satisfy Kimberly's sadistic streak, only there is no safe word between them. (Tofu, perhaps? Is that what BDSM vegans pick?)

She goes to the bathroom and Kimberly follows her. Kimberly grabs her wrist and this is beginning to feel a bit 50 Shades of Dark Academia. She stabs her skin with a needle and Kimberly tells her to go back to class as though nothing happens. You're supposed to provide aftercare for your sub!

Back to class and the three girls pass Erimentha rude notes. She goes to the library. Ella is crying and the librarian asks Erimentha to have a talk with her, because that's an appropriate task to give to another child.

Ella is being bullied. Erimentha encourages her to tell a teacher. Ella knows Erimentha is being bullied, but Erimentha sweeps any of that talk under the carpet.