Many people I know love A Little Life, but why read a slice of life story filled with misery and difficult experiences when you have so much else to immerse yourself in? Definitely will never regret not reading it.
There are many books like this that are dearly loved. For example both books by Khaled Hosseini (the kite runner, thousand splendid suns) are both disturbing.
I HATED A Little Life. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this well, but it felt like the type of book that was written with the sole intention of being a tearjerker. Trauma after trauma was being inflicted upon the character in a way that you could tell was being done with the intention of manipulating the reader into feeling sad. I think I once described it to a friend as "commercialised psychological torture-porn" and that's probably the best way I can put it. Seeing these trauma's that people experience in real life being used in this way just made me feel so uncomfortable that it put me off this author forever.
“Commercialised psychological torture-porn” is the best way I’ve ever heard it described. I think the author is a very good writer, but after reading a little life I don’t think I could ever read anything else she writes.
I wasn't very fond of it either. I didn't find it emotionally gripping, but rather misery personified. Commercialised psychological torture porn is a very apt description for sure.
I used the term torture porn when describing it too. Like I couldn't get a breath to think about the pain. It was just one thing after the other I just became tired and numb and annoyed.
Totally in agreement with this. I actually wish I never read it. It made me feel horrible and it seemed like the author had zero compassion for her characters.
To my understanding, the author also is very anti therapy and mental health counseling. This book was written to show that sometimes people just can’t “find help”. And the fact that she doesn’t believe in therapy makes me more confident that it was written purely to put this character through everything. I’ve also heard that people need to be cautious in recommending it to people since it could be a book that could trigger someone for the worst.
1.) I wish more booktubers would do anti TBR videos. Using the tag or don’t. 2.) I never thought I’d use the “problematic” but you have to be the least problematic booktuber that I’ve found. And by least, I mean you aren’t at all. Just the sweetest, and seem so down to earth. Even if you don’t care for something or just not interested, you keep it kind. And I appreciate you so much for that.
I took a sort of fantasy class my freshman year of college, and we actually talked about how Alice in Wonderland is kind of anti-fantasy, because Alice spends the entire book rejecting the fantastical things around her, never embracing them, getting frustrated with them, etc. I thought it was definitely an interesting take!
I absolutely love magical realism. Our world has so much wrong with it, I like reading about it also having magic in it, especially in those simple and quiet moments.
The Little Life phenomenon is so interesting to me. I've never actually seen someone read the book because it might be interesting, or someone actually enjoying it , it's always in a sense of chalange: how emotionaly destroyed will I be. It has 0 appeal to me
Could we get a breakdown of the issues with the Expanse? I thoroughly enjoyed the series but would love to hear dissenting opinions. Generally it'll open my eyes to things I should look out for in other books.
I've only read Babel out of RF Kuang's books, and while I liked it, I didn't love it as much as everyone else did, so I get what you're saying. I wanted to love it. I really liked the concepts and characters and themes, etc, but something in the execution left me wanting and I can't even pinpoint what it is that fell short for me.
I dnf'ed Babel. I got through about 65% and thought I would pick it up again. Then I went book shopping and have 16 new books I'm going to devour. I'm older and if it doesn't make me very excited or interested in it, I move on. Loved the black glasses 👓
I feel the same about RF Kaung! I want to love her work but I just haven’t yet. It’s also funny that you mentioned the Expanse series, because I have been debating whether or not I’m going to read the second book.
a little life is one of my favorite books but the problem with it is that it's not a book for everyone and the fact that it went viral and people started picking it up for fear of missing out and then giving it negative reviews or reducing it's meaning to a simple tear jerker is doing it a huge disservice i think
I think the Alice in Wonderland pick surprised me the most, given how much you love Seanan McGuire's doorway world books. I read the first two on your rec and they were really good. I can't wait to read more. But reading them makes me want to read more of the classic portal world books like Alice or Narnia. Anyway, great video, but this one surprised me!
Ulimately I believe people should read things that they want to read, of course … no one needs to justify their choices to me. For myself though; I'm not sure that having a moral concern with a dead author is a good reason not to read them. This is obviously different from the question of financially contributing to author who is actively harming others; in which case there is a very strong argument for avoiding. But I read largely to experience more of the world and of human thought than I could on my own. Reading lets us share ideas and experiences with people who are different to us. Expanding both our understaning and empathy. Modern Americans should have profound moral concerns regarding Thomas Jefferson/Abraham Lincoln/Woodrow Wilson, for example; but I think most would find it strange to suggest that we shouldn't want to read their works because of that. The same can be said of many (most?) historical figures. Reading Kruschev Remembers was a profoundly enlightening experience for me personally-the first time I ever engaged seriously with a point of view vastly different from my own. Anyway, I'm just saying that the reason I don't continue to spend my time reading Lovecraft is because his work is largely uninteresting (having little to recommend it on its own merits even though its place in history & influence on later works is undeniable). Not because I know he was a racist, an Atheist, a supporter of oligarchy, or whatever other issues I might have had with him as a person. We cut ourselves off from a great deal (and much of value) if we only read from authors that think exactly like us!
I wouldn't say you are missing out on TJR. I've read two of her books and disliked both, and heard the same from many others, so better spend your time reading something you're more likely to enjoy :)
Yes! I feel the same way about Magical Realism. I remember being a child in grade school in Reading Class and being so annoyed that a character in the book was able to fix her problem with magic. I was like 12 and was so frustrated it was just fixed and wanted an explanation to the magic system. And I've been biased against Magical Realism ever since.😂 I do own Babel though from Fairyloot and hope to read it this month, so I hope to enjoy it 🤞🏼
Magical Realism though isn’t fantasy. If they fix their problems with magic, it’s not actually magical realism - it’s fantasy. To truly appreciate magical realism as a genre, you need to read South American authors. I see magical realism as deeply embedded into some peoples culture, so there’s no distinguishing between everyday life and magical practices.
The thing about Alice In Wonderland (the original book) is, it's essentially a series of comedy sketches strung together, like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." And so of course whether you love it or hate it is going to depend on whether you find its kind of humor funny.
I can understand maybe not reading Alice for enjoyment. The books are not for everyone. However, literarily, I would recommend it for the exact reasons you just listed. It's a children's book more than it is anything else. Because of the tradition and the weight of history behind the story, I think people believe that it is bigger than it is. However, it would likely take you an afternoon to buzz through it for the sake of knowledge. The audio book containing both Adventure's in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass is 5hrs total 😄Also, it's cute.
I've only read 84 pages of Babel for now and I'm really curious to see what I'll think of it. In the first few chapters, I've noticed that she didn't do her research properly both times that she mentioned the French language (my mother tongue). Not only wasn't it proper French at all (I've looked up the word "triacle" and it's an old French word meaning "remedy against poison" which was also used figuratively - so doesn't mean "treacle"), I've actually read Arabian Night's French translation by Antoine Galland (still accessible to that day as it was written in the 1700s) and though what she said was true, the way she wrote it was not syntactically correct. All I'm saying is, if you're writing a book about translation of different languages, if you don't know one or more of these languages you're referencing, at least try to find a reliable native speaker - or even a scholar - before actually publishing that book. But apart from that, I can't say I dislike it for now. I personally love Alice in Wonderland for many reasons, but the two main ones are these: how unique and original that dream-world is (and how Carroll captured perfectly how it feels to dream) and the genius play on words and overall humor (I'm not really into absurdism usually, but it worked for me in that book - I loved how whimsical it was, but I think it has to do with the fact that that humor is very clever, and I found just how much after reading a book - Language Through The Looking Glass by Marina Yaguello - on how this novel is truly a commentary on the complex functions of human language! 🤯). So Carroll's work is absolutely brilliant, but I understand it can't be for everyone. Some people are annoyed by the ending, probably because it reminds them of magical realism, but I think focussing on that makes you miss the point entirely... After all, Alice in Wonderland is a fairy tale, with interesting commentary and symbolism that can be appreciated even more by adults as it has many reading layers. That to me always blows my mind (I found it was also the case with Peter Pan, Pinocchio, The Little Mermaid, etc.). I've read Rats In The Wall by Lovecraft after someone recommended this short story to me, knowing perfectly it was horror when I had asked for Gothic fiction... Well that was enough, never again, thank you very much. 💀 (I really loved that video idea btw, and I've also never been interested in Jenkins' novels or A Little Life though I do love historical fiction, just very specific ones I guess 👀 I've read Burial Rites earlier this year on your recommendation and really loved it!).
I think I have a similar problem with Babel and Poppy War as you. The way these are done makes the magical and fantastical aspects feel obsolete to me. I think it is that the history runs it's course too much like ours actually did, kinda, despite all that somewhat cool attached. If you make a story about WW2 and the twist is "What if guns functioned with magic?" and their only additional effects to the story are flashing colourful lights on the battlefield and that a part of the bootcamp for the protagonist is a course of magical engraving and rune maintenance instead of regular gun maintenance.
Yes - I feel like the question "what is the function of magic in this world? What lifting is the magic doing here?" is one that is key. Why write it as a fantasy if you have fully reproduced the world that we live in? I felt the same way about Bardugo's Ninth House - if you're just overlaying magic on our current economic and social systems then it doesn't have a narrative function. We obviously got here without it, so it's not necessary.
I agree very much with your takes on magical realism and historical fiction! It's always exciting to find someone who thinks similarly. Thanks for sharing :)
I feel very similarly about Babel. It was my first R.F. Kuang book and I am still hoping to read The Poppy War at some point but at the moment, I am going to set it aside. The disconnect between the worldbuilding and the plot and character development in Babel was too great and I couldn´t appreciate the reading experience. It was a bummer because I had been looking forward to reading it for ages but for me personally, the execution of the story fell incredibly short, even though the premise was very original and intriguing.
Even tho I'm not a fan of dark academia, I wanted to give Babel a try bc of the concept. There were parts I liked, but I couldn't see myself sitting through a book that long for small parts. I gave up pretty early.
@@AndrewWatsonChangingWay That´s exactly what I meant. There´s no real character development and also, the plot is just too simplistic (and some of the plot holes just made me so angry), whereas the more academic part is intricate and sophisticated. It´s a total disconnect and by the time I reached the end of the book, there was no emotional impact. To me, Babel proves that being a great scholar does not necessarily mean one is a good novelist. The storytelling aspect of Babel is flimsy at best.
Hi I am currently one-third through Babel, and it's not deep into the magic yet. Will it get better?Are there more info dumping in the form of lectures?
@@jialin2481 If you want my personal opinion, it doesn´t go as deep into the magic system as it could (or should, for that matter). There are a lot of technicalities regarding language and translation which is fascinating, but not enough to prop up the entire book. There are a lot of infodumps throughout the entire book. I was sort of okay with it because I read it on audio and the narrator did a brilliant job. However, with a novel this long, you need much more substance to the story, more meat if you will. The main issue for me is that the author mostly tells us, and very rarely shows us, what´s going on. There´s a ton of narrative and not nearly enough dialogue. The whole book is very poorly balanced, that´s what tanked it for me in the end. I´m the kind of reader who gets easily swept away if the story is strong enough and I can forgive a lot of shortcomings on the "technical" side. However, if the heart of the story is weak (whether it´s a book or a movie), no amount of cinematography or special effects can ever make up for what´s lacking. Premise-wise, Babel is absolutely brilliant. But it completely fails in its execution, there are too many inconsistencies in it and with the plot and characters this weak, I had nothing to connect to enough to overlook it.
I’m glad I’m not alone here. I don’t love magical realism either. I’ve enjoyed a few but it’s not my favorite genre to read. For the same reasons, I prefer all fantasy or all “real world”.
The only book I've read that you mentioned is Babel. I was super underwhelmed by The Poppy War and ended up dnf'ing book 2. I was iffy about Babel going in but ended up absolutely loving it and it's my favorite book I've read this year by far. It's definitely heavy on the academia and *very* light on the fantasy aspects though.
I tried a few Taylor Jenkins Reid´s books and I don´t get the hype. I mean, the writing flows well enough (even though I am not a great fan of her writing style) but at the end of each book I read, I found myself thinking "what was the point of telling this story"? I don´t mean it in a waste-of-time way, more like if I didn´t read her books, I wouldn´t have missed out on anything.
What my problem with Babel is, is that when it comes to a bit more serious historical aspects, Kuang gets blindly one-sided and almost tries to force the opinions on readers. Girls storylines were particularly frustrating, since I have this feeling that the author ignored the characters that she wrote so well, as if she managed to write them well, and not understand them at all. And then there's also the oversimplification of right and wrong that, ironically, sounded oh so stereotipically American (now I'll get all the hate, but there, I said it). I loved the magic system and the translating details, but by the end, it just got frustrating. Also, a major plot hole about the Prof, no spoilers but damn our main character is dumb, there were at least 5 simple solutions there 😅 I still gave it 4 stars on Goodreads, but I neeeeeded it to be a 5 star read. I highly doubt that I'll pick any of Kuang's other books. One was enough, sorry.
Im with you with RF Kuang. I have zero interest in her books. I read fantasy to get away and sometimes the heavy somewhat historical fiction elements are not my cup of tea.
I really wanted to like the Fireborne trilogy. I think what turned me off was the whole "teens overthrowing the government and outsmarting everyone while being conflicted over a teen boy and all that"
I love the magical realism in Poppy War. I think it's absolutely genius how she pulls the elements as the source of magic....which is actually the essence of a lot of the eastern traditions, religion and mythology. While bringing historical aspects into the story metaphorically reminds one of how these certain fears and discrimination have caused a genocide of certain indigenous people all across the world. I love magical realism when done well and in my opinion, Poppy War Trilogy (I'm starting 2nd book) has done it's job for me so far.
I thought you loved The Kingdom of Bach? Isn’t it Magical Realism? The first book I ever read that’s Magical Realism was around 25 years ago and it’s called The Raw Scent of Vanilla. It’s a fantastic book. I highly recommend it.
TY TY TY for validating my feelings about R.F. Kuang’s work. I thought something was wrong with me because everyone raves about her books. I just finished the Poppy War and I was so underwhelmed. I wouldn’t even say my qualms had anything to do with the overall plot, it really just came down to her storytelling and characters. It felt like there was this very important underlying meaning to the entire story but somehow felt very surface level in the way she told it. Still trying to wrap my brain around why I just couldn’t connect and I think it may be just as you described about mixing too much of reality with fantasy. But I’m happy to know that it’s not just me 😅
Agree so much, with the video and your comment. Babel read VERY young to me, so the suggestion of marketing it as a New Adult I think would have helped set expectations a lot.
I agree that I will never read Taylor Jenkins Reid as well. I do have 'Babel' on hold from my library and want to read it just because of the Hype. I will never read 'A Little Life' either. I am also not sure if I want to read any Jane Austen books, she is hard to follow sometimes. I am not interested in Colleen Hoover as well. Thank you for your videos. I have been intrigued by a lot of your recommendation and have quite a few of them on my TBR list.
Yes to fantasy but no to magical realism! For me it's because with fantasy there are multiple characters reaffirming like, yes, these magical things are real. For the magical realism I've read it's often just the main character experiencing the magical elements, leaving the reader to question if the character is basically hallucinating or not. That's not a fun question for me unless we're going to solidly address that kind of mental health issue. I don't want to keep being reminded, yeah this could be fun, or it could be a really sad mental health crisis.
there is no reason for "a little life" to exist. it just made no sense for me when I read it to a point that I got angry with the writer... "Alice in wonderland" also is an strange book that make no sense!!! so great job Elliot 😄
I’m in the same camp as you about R. F. Kuang. I liked the first book in the poppy war trilogy but did not get along with the rest of the books AT ALL! So I’ve decided to pass on Babel and quite frankly everything else she writes because unfortunately, I’m not the right reader for her works. I really like the black glasses! Super cute! 💜
I liked the first Patrick Ness book I read called The Rest of Us Just Live Here. I DNFed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by the same author, which made me sad 😔
The way you talked about magical realism is what makes me not like the Ocean book by Gaiman. It was too in the middle for me. Either be magical or don’t! I don’t like the in between! 😆
I had similar issues with the Poppy War trilogy, and was concerned for Babel for similar reasons but ended up really enjoying it. I’d say Babel is worth a try, but definitely understand the hesitation
Oh my goodness. Yes I read the Poppy War and I was just like - it's fine and everything but I didn't love it or want to rush to the next one. I feel bad and I will try her again. Also a really guilty one for me is I've got 150 pages into two different NK Jemisin books and just not carried on. :(
Talking about series where the last book just makes you angry with the ones before: The Age of Madness by Joe Abercrombie.... I really wish that 3rd book didn't exist because it's sucking all the joy of the previous ones for me. I just wish I hadn't read it, at least until the next thing in that universe was available. To see if it was worthwhile. It really needs one more book or one less.
Mistborn and Witcher series in Polish editions are quite nice, although fantasy series in any language are very hard to follow. I'm wondering why have bought polish editions - was it only because of that books are nice in this editions and you wanted to have it on your shelf? I'm Polish and I'm curious and I haven't thought anybody foreigner buy polish editions :)
Out of the ones you don't plan to read, the ones I think you really probably would like are the Taylor Jenkins Reid books. I really didn't think I'd like them (I guess in part because I just didn't feel interested in the time periods she wrote about), but she's become one of my favorite authors. However, I get it if you don't ever pick them up. There are plenty of books that I will likely not pick up because I know they're not my thing. :)
I’ve read A Little Life and I love it with a passion. One of the very few contemporary books that I adore. I think it’s the only overhyped book that I loved.
Hey, but you do like at least one magical realism book. In fact you talked about it so much, I ended up buying it because you made it sound so beautiful: The Kingdom of Back!
I haven't read much actual Lovecraft, but I do prefer Lovecraftian horror. Modern fantasy has turned all the monsters into misunderstood heart-throbs lusting after lissome grad students, and Chthulhu doesn't play that.
Please PLEASE do a video on why your husband doesn't like The Expanse, because I just started the audio book of Book 1 a couple of days ago (and am loving it), and I'm really curious as to what is bad about the series.
I agree with so much on this video! And Taylor Jenkins Reid... yeah her stories aren't a setting I enjoy. I tried reading the 7 husband's of evelin hugo and I could not stand the writing, and the POV character was so dumb. Also I predicted everything from the first chapter. I dnfed it. I also started reading lovecraft because of this huge influence but had to dnf. The racism in it is so so bad. I just couldn't stomach it. I also don't know if I'll ever read the expanse. I watched the show and the show is one of the best I've ever watched. I recommend you watch it because the world building is amazing, but the main characters are a bit underwhelming for me (most of them).
If you love nonsensical stories Alice in Wonderland is perfect. It reminded me of Tahereh Mafi’s Furthermore and Whichwood, both of which I didn’t like. After reading Alice in Wonderland it finally clicked that I do not like reading nonsensical stories that just do not make sense, not in the real world or in a fantasy world. So now whenever I hear a book described that way I avoid it like the plague.
Same for The Expanse. My husband wat hed the show and has read 3 of the books. He really enjoys it, but he's also an aerospace engineer and likes the science part of the sci fi. He thought it was really well done. I just couldn't get into it. 🤷♀️
I didn't like A Little Life and same goes for Lovecraft. I recently tried to read At the mountains of madness by Lovecraft and I was so bored I dnfd it 20% into it. I also ended up dnfing Babel which was sad but I was just bored by it and I didn't gel with it.
Love this video and your amazing channel please stay safe and enjoy your reading prayers and thoughts for you and your family love your family friend John ❤❤❤
I feel like thematically and content wise the Poppy War can’t be anything other than adult. I think there is the danger in saying that a writing style should be a way to measure the target age range because. At the end of the day Sanderson has a very young writing style and I would never say his books should be anything other than adult for the same reason. The Poppy War is also high fantasy inspired by historical China as opposed to historical fantasy. Great video as always though! ❤❤❤
O agree with you 100 percent. The content of the poppy war Espcially book 1 is in no way YA. Using writing style to say something is ya would be so subjective. Bc as you said Sanderson can read young sometimes but would never get lumped in a ya box.
I haven't read Babel yet, but I thought the Poppy War series had huge pacing and plotting problems. I agree that there's a lot about Kuang's writing that is great, but I don't think your problems with her are on you.
I sometimes have that too with books that are featured all over social media. Then the expectations become so high that I don't pick up the book. I've heard about A little live and how sad it is and I don't read books to be (more) sad so that's one I will not pick up. I'm also not an Alice fan, I don't like the movies ( the animation or real life ones) so I will also never read that book. And Colleen Hover probably also not, just because she has been featured all over and the expectation are then so high.
I read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland a couple years ago and it wasn’t for me. I can totally understand not feeling the need to read it. I can see how it spawned so many things in SFF but 🤷♀️
Interestngly, I've discovered that I tend not to like books/series that delve too much in political plots and maneuverings. That's not to say that I *don't* enjoy some of that, I even enjoy some where that's a major part of the story. I definitely enjoyed the Powder Mage and Gods of Blood and Powder trilogies. But it actually took me a while to get into the 1st Powder Mage book. Same with Dune, and I never read any other Dune book (I started the 2nd but never got very far into it). I also never got into the Foundation series, another one where I started it but lost interest. I guess I'm more into books/series that are more character and relationship focused rather than plot focused...
I would have thought the author's whose works you have read but will not read in the future would have been Robert Jordan. In the past, you said WoT is not the series for you. I guess I was wrong. I also thought this would have fit for the series you will not read. I enjoyed this video.
Abou your previous video: Great manga picks! -Silver Spoon is really good. Its clear that setting is very personal to Arakawa. -Golden Kamuy is one of my favorites, its definitely a wild right, im noy sure I could compare it to Vagabond tho. The humour is not for everyone, but everything related to Asirpa and her ainu culture is handled with such respect. Vol 1 can be a bit exposition heavy. Yona of the Dawn is an amazing shojo pick. A lot of shojo dont do it for me (too much focus on romance or tropey characters) but Yona could easily be recommended to any manga fans of fantasy adventure. If you dont mind gore, I would like to recommend Dorohedoro. Its a steampunk/hell/supernatural/action/comedy. It has one of the weirdest mix of horror and wholesomeness. It was created by a woman, Q Hayashida. Its my favorite series.
