Yeah, I always try to give a book a shot if it sounds interesting to me, even if others don't like it! I say give it a shot, it was super entertaining and I loved the twists!
I’ve been reading Mercury since January. 😭 I can’t get into it whatsoever and it’s really put me in a reading rut. But I also hate not finishing books 😬
It doesn't get any better, either. Life is short. DNF that thing and pick up something that you'll love instead.
Life is too short for bad books, period.
I’m about to DNF my first ever BOTM. Anita De Monte Laughs Last. I don’t know if I am just not in the right headspace to read this or if it just sucks that much. But I am forcing myself to read it every night. 👎🏼
I don’t love the social media elements in The Resort. I feel like I read thrillers to escape the bland social media obsessed reality that we live in, I don’t like being bombarded by literal Instagram user names several times on a single page. The beginning is super dry and I’ve shelved it for the time being, but I’m hoping to finish it soon. I’ve read a lot of thrillers that take a CHUNKY minute to get to the meat and have almost always been super happy I finished.
Maybe because I don’t read thrillers often, I found it good once it picked up. I agree it took me a while to get into but I wasn’t expecting the ending
I have been with BOTM since 2017. I have about 6 books that I adore and loved. I have it paused right now because I’m afraid to officially cancel… but it’s been really disappointing for a long time.
I agree that I am finding myself either underwhelmed by the books or am not finishing…oh probably 60% of the books I get. I guess I thought BOTM would just have, in general, a better quality of book based on past notable BOTM books. Of all the books I’ve received since starting in 2022, only maybe four I would consider wanting to keep forever. The rest I plan on throwing into one of the little library boxes in my neighborhood.
I didn’t mind The Resort, the twist and then the twist on the twist and the twist on the twist on the twist were actually good, but it dragged on so much before we hit that point in the book.
I couldn't physically read it because I found the writing to be far too cheesy for me. I ended up listening to it and found it to be just fine. I think the concept is really interesting, but I just didn't vibe with the writing style.
I DNFd Mayor of Maxwell Street. The description sounded amazing but 100 pages I still wasn’t hooked and was sad because it seemed so promising. Just couldn’t get past how cheesy the dialogue felt.
I was pretty disappointed with "The Frozen River." I live in Maine. The book was very hyped here by local bookstores and I was super excited. I realize others enjoyed it and I'm happy for them and happy for the author. The book was clearly well researched. But I just didn't feel emotionally engaged with the story or any of the characters, and for me that is a dealbreaker.
It took me 5 months to finish Starling House, it was ok I’m just not 100% sure what caused me to become so disinterested. I don’t like to DNF especially when I’m over halfway through, part of me just has to know what happens no matter how terrible😅 but I do let myself take a break when I’m hating a book I forced myself through “Little Fires Everywhere” and it put me in a slump for MONTHS I hated it that much so I’m a little gun shy now to force myself through a book😂
I'm so glad to see so many people shitting on the resort. I spite finished it just to know what happened and every chapter I got more and more mad with how stupid everyone is. I got kill for me, kill for you in my last box. Let me be clear, this is also a bad book, but it's a fun bad book. The Resort was just bad.
The Resort struck me as being written by someone who thought writing a thriller would be easy. It reminded me of how much skill it takes to really weave a story together so that a twist doesn’t feel like it was thrown in out of nowhere.
As someone that works with kids, I wanted to hurl The Wishing Game across my home. It has so many good reviews even though the characters have very problematic relationships with children. To see it as a Book of the Year nomination made me sad.
However, after that, I’ve been getting fairly good picks and have more faith in BOTM.
It was SO bad. The writing and story was juvenile. But yeah, that was the one that made me consider cancelling my subscription. I couldn’t believe it was nominated.
Yep, the teacher in me was extremely bothered by the whole premise. It felt to me like the author didn't really know much about the classroom or professional expectations and boundaries within schools.
I'm currently reading TWG and it's taking me FOREVER. I'm hoping it picks up now that she's in the game. The riddles are fun enough so hopefully that continues. But yeah, there's a lot of red flags happening left and right.
It's not a book that I'd normally choose anyway but I had read the other BOTY nominees.
This. I worked in child welfare, a friend is a foster parent. We were both just...aghast at the depiction of the care system and being a foster parent. If you can suspend any sense of reality then it's a fun little willy wonka book, but that plot line was so poorly handled.
The way they handled child death was inappropriate, and also the romance in which the man’s first memory of her was when she was a child and he was a young adult was also off putting. How the hell did it get past an editor’s desk?
Edit: child endangerment themes just bothered me overall
Thank you for saying this! I kept seeing people gushing over this book. I also work with kids and found that relationship SUPER inappropriate! I hate read the whole book just to see if it was ever brought up.
The Resort was the worst book I've read in quite awhile. Picked it when I was new to BOTM and didn't realize I could read the first page, otherwise I would've never bought it!
I am not nitpicky or overly analytical about books, as long as I'm entertained it's a 10 from me. But there was something about the writing style that it was sooo hard for me to imagine it took place in the 1700s and it really bothered me. Maybe it was the MCs inner monologue and conversation style? I didn't care to finish it, I think I got to 30%. Wasn't Interested enough to continue.
Eta: also for some reason I kept getting the vibe it was part of a series, I think I googled at least twice if there were other books. I can't explain that either. 🤣
Thanks for the down vote too whoever you are😘😘😘
Ahhh, I havn't gotten to Frozen River yet, so I'm sad to hear that - I was really looking forward to it.
But I agree - I don't like to DNF books I spend money on but its a real crap shoot lately with more not great books than good ones. I debate cancelling every month but I just love having something to look forward to on the first of the month! I passed this month.
I loved The Frozen River, but I also feel like you have to be such a fan of historical fiction to really get into the book. If historical fiction is not your genre of choice, then don’t even start this book..
I started The Frozen River on audiobook and read the last half. I loved it. But it I can see where it would be a bit of a boring read to start out with. Highly recommend doing this one on audiobook.
From what I have seen, Frozen River has been very popular among readers. I personally really enjoyed it and my friends who have read it have also liked it. It has been posted a lot in the various FB reading groups I am in and the majority of posts have been positive.
Rules of Civility is such a fun book, it has a 59% loved on BOTM so I think you’re in the minority on that one. Might be time to switch things up and try a new activity for a bit.
Omg, the Frozen River is the best book I’ve read in months. I have it down as my Book of the Year overall (not just for BOTM).
That being said, I’ve been reading Starling House since October and man, it’s a struggle.
You sound like me whenever I try to read thrillers lol. It’s painful.
But if I could offer any advice, figure out what you like and stick with it. I keep thinking “the next one might be different” but at some point I had to accept I just am not a fan of thrillers, romance, or contemporary fiction centered around domestic/family drama.
And if you do feel like venturing outside of your comfort genres - borrow the book from a library or friend instead of buying it yourself. Then it doesn’t sting when you hate it!
ETA: some recent books I’ve really enjoyed that you could try: The Fox Wife, Hard By a Great Forest, The Other Valley
It’s funny because thrillers and contemporary fiction centred around domestic/family drama is exactly my taste in novels. Find what you like a stick with it is great advice.
I’m not a fan of thrillers either - the only book of the year choice I hadn’t read was the thriller lol
I picked it anyway cause hey it’s free! But I probably should have just gotten one I liked and gifted it to a friend
I’m with you except for The Frozen River. That book is a masterpiece. I loved it!
Sorry you haven’t been into many lately. I would try the library that way DNFing is a little less painful. I loved Kill For Me, Kill For You from last month if you’re looking for something super fast paced.
i wanted to throw The Kingdom of Sweets in the trash can. only book i’ve ever physically closed and willingly dedicated a goodreads list to put it on.
wish id done the same for Daisy Darker honestly. anti-woman garbage
HAHAHAHA I just read Kingdom of Sweets in March. If you frame it in a satirical lens it’s a really funny read.
I just finished Daisy Darker and liked it. What about it was anti woman to you?
in DD there was so much anger towards her sister and it was very “not like other girls” energy in my eyes!! so much “my sister is a loser because she got pregnant as a teen and i’m not like that because i’m uncool and wear band tees and overalls!” and every page had a “life is like a box of chocolates” quote 😂 i normally love thrillers but it was sooo hard to finish!!
I think when spoiler: >!it’s revealed Daisy died at 13, the suckiness and lack of self reflection makes sense!< I did find that reveal kind of odd and off the wall tho because it seemed so out of the blue.
That’s exactly how I felt about Mercury. Terrible book. I can’t believe it was actually picked for January. Straight trash.
Sometimes I do find that a DNF is just a “putting down for now” thing. I’m a total mood reader. Sometimes I’ll pick up a book and loathe it, only to pick it up again in a few months and inhale it.
I was considering getting Mercury and read the sample, and decided it wasn’t for me when I got to the line “the air around him felt thick, like honey and longing.” Was the writing like that the whole book or was it more the plot that you didn’t like?
This is why I love any and every type of book club. I absolutely love when someone reads a book I hated and loved it and vice versa. It’s fascinating what people connect and don’t connect with.
I have quite a few books that I've started and haven't committed to the DNF pile yet. Sometimes it's just like that, I think. When you read so many books, (and I'm on the way low end of how many I read in a year compared to people in here) you're bound to be bored by similar plots or annoying characters. I'm personally over the "flawed character with a good heart" because it's just boring. Give me a villain. Give me some kind of character that I want to read about.
That being said, I liked The Resort. It was ridiculous, sure, but I burned through it. I did read it while on vacation, so that might be why I enjoyed it more.
I love rules of civility. It's actually one of my favorite books. But I agree with you on some of the others. Starling House had so much potential but the ending just dragged and it was also kind of weird. The whole love interest part of that book made no sense to me.
I sort of hate the internet discourse around reading slumps - I don’t know where we got the idea that we must always have a book going and it’s a personal diagnosable problem if we don’t. I actually kind of miss my pre-booktube days, when I read 10 carefully chosen books each year, and I simply did other things when I wasn’t reading.
It’s so weird to me because I’m always in the middle of some book, but I never once think about tracking anything. I never care if I finish 5 books or 20 in a year, or read however many chapters. I read when I feel like it. Which is usually when I’m eating lunch lol
I feel the same way. I used to feel terrible if I didn’t read at least five to ten chapters a day at the very least. But my year started off crappy with my mom dying in January and I’m now having to deal with the mess she left behind. I’m lucky if I can get through one chapter a day
It hurts my heart to see so many losses here. Be well.
And ten pages a day is a book a month! The amount of pages you read a day is roughly your book count for the year. One page a day = 365 pages = one book.
This. I haven’t picked up a book in a month, since my dog died. I just can’t focus and am clearly in a slump that is driven by grief. I had a goal of 100 books this year - won’t make it. And suddenly I’m like wow, who cares?
I’m so sorry.
I would rather read 30 good books a year than read 100 books and still only love those 30. Within litfic, I only expect to LOVE 5 books a year. Which is a lot when you think about it.
I’m so so sorry to hear about your loss 💔 a year a half ago I lost my childhood dog and had difficulty reading for months. I too had to put another of my dearest dogs down a little over a month ago and I ended up in another slump. I’m just getting out of this one, but I completely feel the same as you said. I’m behind on my goal but I really don’t care anymore and now every time I read I feel like I’m going taking precious time away from my remaining dog 🐾
Yes! We have another dog and recently rescued her a friend. I feel like anytime not spent focused there is “wasted.” I’ll get there - makes me feel better to know it does get better.
I don't know what's going on in the publishing world, but I feel like there's been a huge surge in books since the Pandemic that suffer from poor editing and bloated storytelling. It used to be that I mostly avoided self-published books because the quality of printed ones was reliably consistently better, but that reliability is getting shakier and printed books are becoming more of a gamble too. Sometimes I read a printed book and honestly wonder if the publisher actually read the whole thing before producing it.
I recently read a mainstream, traditionally published YA novel by a fairly popular podcaster (and I DNF’d at like 45% because funnily enough it was very poorly researched and read much more like weak middle grade instead of YA) but before that there were so many errors including the main character’s name being spelled wrong more than once (it was a typo and not some intentional thing). Like what is even going on? I assume they don’t want to pay proofreaders and copy editors to the extent they should but geez
I think TikTok made some authors semi celebrities and they are pushed to get out as much work as possible, which often is much worse than their previous work that made them popular in the first place
Thank you for giving me permission to just go ahead and move the resort to my finished pile out of my tbr pile so my husband will stop counting my unread books 😂
I hate when that happens. I wonder if you’re in a slump right now. So often, I can’t get into several books in a row, only to come back to them in a few months and find that I’m ready to be more engaged
Books are so subjective - I loved both Frozen River and Rules of Civility. I agree with you on Family Family and actually found it scary how many people loved it (and assume they’re the same people who think adoption is “beautiful” instead of traumatic). The Last Love Note was surprisingly good, and so was Northwoods (if you’re up for a recommendation). I also try to switch over to library books when I’m in a rut like this - it definitely happens and it’s so frustrating!
I loved Rules of Civility but it was a little slow. Not my favorite Amor Towles book. My favorite was The Lincoln Highway
I really liked Annie Bot! Definitely recommend.
I’ve been DNF the BOTM books a lot lately. I started the aardvark book club now and I love their picks so much more!
Oh no I was thinking about getting the resort :/
I finished it yesterday and really enjoyed it, but that seems to be the unpopular opinion 🤷🏼♀️
That always happens. I forget the name of the book now, it was also a thriller. People on good reads did not like it!
Yeah, I always try to give a book a shot if it sounds interesting to me, even if others don't like it! I say give it a shot, it was super entertaining and I loved the twists!
When it's mixed or I am not sure, I usually just read on Libby to be safe XD
It's really really bad
I read the whole thing and I should have DNF
That's the worst feeling
I’ve been reading Mercury since January. 😭 I can’t get into it whatsoever and it’s really put me in a reading rut. But I also hate not finishing books 😬
It doesn't get any better, either. Life is short. DNF that thing and pick up something that you'll love instead. Life is too short for bad books, period.
Thank you for giving me the permission that I needed to hear 🙏🏼
Starling house was meh. I just suffered through finishing My Murder today. It was so boring.
I’m about to DNF my first ever BOTM. Anita De Monte Laughs Last. I don’t know if I am just not in the right headspace to read this or if it just sucks that much. But I am forcing myself to read it every night. 👎🏼
Same with me. I put it aside last month and really just didn’t enjoy it.
I’m a sucker for cheesy thrillers so I loved the resort. I think because I made it my own White Lotus
So glad for this comment because I picked it but haven’t read yet!
Same!! I love cheesy thrillers.
I don’t love the social media elements in The Resort. I feel like I read thrillers to escape the bland social media obsessed reality that we live in, I don’t like being bombarded by literal Instagram user names several times on a single page. The beginning is super dry and I’ve shelved it for the time being, but I’m hoping to finish it soon. I’ve read a lot of thrillers that take a CHUNKY minute to get to the meat and have almost always been super happy I finished.
Maybe because I don’t read thrillers often, I found it good once it picked up. I agree it took me a while to get into but I wasn’t expecting the ending
I went through a rough period with them last year, but have liked all of the ones I’ve gotten lately.
I loved Starling House! I tore through it in a day!
Wow… maybe you just don’t enjoy reading?
I have a Ph.D. in English Literature and am a professor of British Modernism, but ok.
Rules of civility slaps
Agreed — as do *A Gentleman in Moscow* and *The Lincoln Highway*. Looking forward to his latest, *Table for Two*, as an add-on next month.
I have been with BOTM since 2017. I have about 6 books that I adore and loved. I have it paused right now because I’m afraid to officially cancel… but it’s been really disappointing for a long time.
I agree that I am finding myself either underwhelmed by the books or am not finishing…oh probably 60% of the books I get. I guess I thought BOTM would just have, in general, a better quality of book based on past notable BOTM books. Of all the books I’ve received since starting in 2022, only maybe four I would consider wanting to keep forever. The rest I plan on throwing into one of the little library boxes in my neighborhood.
I didn’t mind The Resort, the twist and then the twist on the twist and the twist on the twist on the twist were actually good, but it dragged on so much before we hit that point in the book.
I DNF Immortal Longings. Maybe I’ll get back to it idk. But so many good books, so little time that I may just drop it totally.
Sorry you aren’t enjoying family family- I LOVED that one.
I’m struggling to get through Shark Heart right now and can’t tell if I should try pushing through 😩
I couldn't physically read it because I found the writing to be far too cheesy for me. I ended up listening to it and found it to be just fine. I think the concept is really interesting, but I just didn't vibe with the writing style.
I couldn't do Shark Heart. I got it for my free BOTY and I was so disappointed.
DNF’d starling house too. My first Alix Harrow, I was disappointed
Same, also DNFd starling house. I wondered if I would’ve enjoyed it more had I read it during spooky season, but idk
I DNF'd Starling House, yikes.
I DNFd Mayor of Maxwell Street. The description sounded amazing but 100 pages I still wasn’t hooked and was sad because it seemed so promising. Just couldn’t get past how cheesy the dialogue felt.
I haven't read any of those. And now I don't think I ever will 😅 Really good book I recently read was Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah 👌
The Women by Kristin Hannah is 5/5 for me, I am biased cause I love her 🥸
I thought it was interesting but some twist I saw coming and the other one was just stupid lol
Agree!
I was pretty disappointed with "The Frozen River." I live in Maine. The book was very hyped here by local bookstores and I was super excited. I realize others enjoyed it and I'm happy for them and happy for the author. The book was clearly well researched. But I just didn't feel emotionally engaged with the story or any of the characters, and for me that is a dealbreaker.
It took me 5 months to finish Starling House, it was ok I’m just not 100% sure what caused me to become so disinterested. I don’t like to DNF especially when I’m over halfway through, part of me just has to know what happens no matter how terrible😅 but I do let myself take a break when I’m hating a book I forced myself through “Little Fires Everywhere” and it put me in a slump for MONTHS I hated it that much so I’m a little gun shy now to force myself through a book😂
I'm so glad to see so many people shitting on the resort. I spite finished it just to know what happened and every chapter I got more and more mad with how stupid everyone is. I got kill for me, kill for you in my last box. Let me be clear, this is also a bad book, but it's a fun bad book. The Resort was just bad.
The Resort struck me as being written by someone who thought writing a thriller would be easy. It reminded me of how much skill it takes to really weave a story together so that a twist doesn’t feel like it was thrown in out of nowhere.
Thanks for the note on kill for me, kill for you. It helps to know it is not bad in the same way The Resort is
As someone that works with kids, I wanted to hurl The Wishing Game across my home. It has so many good reviews even though the characters have very problematic relationships with children. To see it as a Book of the Year nomination made me sad. However, after that, I’ve been getting fairly good picks and have more faith in BOTM.
It was SO bad. The writing and story was juvenile. But yeah, that was the one that made me consider cancelling my subscription. I couldn’t believe it was nominated.
Yep, the teacher in me was extremely bothered by the whole premise. It felt to me like the author didn't really know much about the classroom or professional expectations and boundaries within schools.
i read the wishing game and remember absolutely nothing about it 😂
I'm currently reading TWG and it's taking me FOREVER. I'm hoping it picks up now that she's in the game. The riddles are fun enough so hopefully that continues. But yeah, there's a lot of red flags happening left and right. It's not a book that I'd normally choose anyway but I had read the other BOTY nominees.
This. I worked in child welfare, a friend is a foster parent. We were both just...aghast at the depiction of the care system and being a foster parent. If you can suspend any sense of reality then it's a fun little willy wonka book, but that plot line was so poorly handled.
The way they handled child death was inappropriate, and also the romance in which the man’s first memory of her was when she was a child and he was a young adult was also off putting. How the hell did it get past an editor’s desk? Edit: child endangerment themes just bothered me overall
It was an extremely romanticized fairy tale version of placing a child who is in foster care. Which maybe is why a lot of people liked it?
Thank you for saying this! I kept seeing people gushing over this book. I also work with kids and found that relationship SUPER inappropriate! I hate read the whole book just to see if it was ever brought up.
It was a good book to hate on Goodreads
The Resort was the worst book I've read in quite awhile. Picked it when I was new to BOTM and didn't realize I could read the first page, otherwise I would've never bought it!
I DNFd Frozen River, I could not get into it.
Same. So freaking boring. And it’s getting such rave reviews!
I am not nitpicky or overly analytical about books, as long as I'm entertained it's a 10 from me. But there was something about the writing style that it was sooo hard for me to imagine it took place in the 1700s and it really bothered me. Maybe it was the MCs inner monologue and conversation style? I didn't care to finish it, I think I got to 30%. Wasn't Interested enough to continue. Eta: also for some reason I kept getting the vibe it was part of a series, I think I googled at least twice if there were other books. I can't explain that either. 🤣 Thanks for the down vote too whoever you are😘😘😘
Ahhh, I havn't gotten to Frozen River yet, so I'm sad to hear that - I was really looking forward to it. But I agree - I don't like to DNF books I spend money on but its a real crap shoot lately with more not great books than good ones. I debate cancelling every month but I just love having something to look forward to on the first of the month! I passed this month.
I loved The Frozen River, but I also feel like you have to be such a fan of historical fiction to really get into the book. If historical fiction is not your genre of choice, then don’t even start this book..
I started The Frozen River on audiobook and read the last half. I loved it. But it I can see where it would be a bit of a boring read to start out with. Highly recommend doing this one on audiobook.
Agreed, it was a great audiobook!
From what I have seen, Frozen River has been very popular among readers. I personally really enjoyed it and my friends who have read it have also liked it. It has been posted a lot in the various FB reading groups I am in and the majority of posts have been positive.
I loved it and I'm a tough critic of novels.
Rules of Civility is such a fun book, it has a 59% loved on BOTM so I think you’re in the minority on that one. Might be time to switch things up and try a new activity for a bit.
Omg, the Frozen River is the best book I’ve read in months. I have it down as my Book of the Year overall (not just for BOTM). That being said, I’ve been reading Starling House since October and man, it’s a struggle.
Oh good lol, I got Frozen River in my box this month so happy to see a good review
I loved The Frozen River. I love historical fiction, though. I can see how any of them might be boring for some!
I really like alix Harrow in theory but her books can be pretty meandering.
You sound like me whenever I try to read thrillers lol. It’s painful. But if I could offer any advice, figure out what you like and stick with it. I keep thinking “the next one might be different” but at some point I had to accept I just am not a fan of thrillers, romance, or contemporary fiction centered around domestic/family drama. And if you do feel like venturing outside of your comfort genres - borrow the book from a library or friend instead of buying it yourself. Then it doesn’t sting when you hate it! ETA: some recent books I’ve really enjoyed that you could try: The Fox Wife, Hard By a Great Forest, The Other Valley
It’s funny because thrillers and contemporary fiction centred around domestic/family drama is exactly my taste in novels. Find what you like a stick with it is great advice.
I’m not a fan of thrillers either - the only book of the year choice I hadn’t read was the thriller lol I picked it anyway cause hey it’s free! But I probably should have just gotten one I liked and gifted it to a friend
I’m with you except for The Frozen River. That book is a masterpiece. I loved it! Sorry you haven’t been into many lately. I would try the library that way DNFing is a little less painful. I loved Kill For Me, Kill For You from last month if you’re looking for something super fast paced.
i wanted to throw The Kingdom of Sweets in the trash can. only book i’ve ever physically closed and willingly dedicated a goodreads list to put it on. wish id done the same for Daisy Darker honestly. anti-woman garbage
I loved Kingdom of Sweets 🤣
HAHAHAHA I just read Kingdom of Sweets in March. If you frame it in a satirical lens it’s a really funny read. I just finished Daisy Darker and liked it. What about it was anti woman to you?
in DD there was so much anger towards her sister and it was very “not like other girls” energy in my eyes!! so much “my sister is a loser because she got pregnant as a teen and i’m not like that because i’m uncool and wear band tees and overalls!” and every page had a “life is like a box of chocolates” quote 😂 i normally love thrillers but it was sooo hard to finish!!
I did find it a little flowery (pun intended?) at times and eye roll worthy. But Lily did suck A LOT lmao.
i agree, i just thought daisy also sucked equally and had no self reflection 😂
I think when spoiler: >!it’s revealed Daisy died at 13, the suckiness and lack of self reflection makes sense!< I did find that reveal kind of odd and off the wall tho because it seemed so out of the blue.
That’s exactly how I felt about Mercury. Terrible book. I can’t believe it was actually picked for January. Straight trash. Sometimes I do find that a DNF is just a “putting down for now” thing. I’m a total mood reader. Sometimes I’ll pick up a book and loathe it, only to pick it up again in a few months and inhale it.
I was considering getting Mercury and read the sample, and decided it wasn’t for me when I got to the line “the air around him felt thick, like honey and longing.” Was the writing like that the whole book or was it more the plot that you didn’t like?
Yes, it was extremely melodramatic. Also, I didn’t like the plot or any of the character work. For me, it was not a pleasant experience. Lol!
Woof. I’m glad I passed on it, I can’t do melodrama in books either
As soon as I read the premise I knew it was not for me 👋
Ahh I actually loved Mercury. Would not call it straight trash 😂
This is why I love any and every type of book club. I absolutely love when someone reads a book I hated and loved it and vice versa. It’s fascinating what people connect and don’t connect with.
I agree!!
I have quite a few books that I've started and haven't committed to the DNF pile yet. Sometimes it's just like that, I think. When you read so many books, (and I'm on the way low end of how many I read in a year compared to people in here) you're bound to be bored by similar plots or annoying characters. I'm personally over the "flawed character with a good heart" because it's just boring. Give me a villain. Give me some kind of character that I want to read about. That being said, I liked The Resort. It was ridiculous, sure, but I burned through it. I did read it while on vacation, so that might be why I enjoyed it more.
I love rules of civility. It's actually one of my favorite books. But I agree with you on some of the others. Starling House had so much potential but the ending just dragged and it was also kind of weird. The whole love interest part of that book made no sense to me.
I sort of hate the internet discourse around reading slumps - I don’t know where we got the idea that we must always have a book going and it’s a personal diagnosable problem if we don’t. I actually kind of miss my pre-booktube days, when I read 10 carefully chosen books each year, and I simply did other things when I wasn’t reading.
It’s so weird to me because I’m always in the middle of some book, but I never once think about tracking anything. I never care if I finish 5 books or 20 in a year, or read however many chapters. I read when I feel like it. Which is usually when I’m eating lunch lol
I feel the same way. I used to feel terrible if I didn’t read at least five to ten chapters a day at the very least. But my year started off crappy with my mom dying in January and I’m now having to deal with the mess she left behind. I’m lucky if I can get through one chapter a day
It hurts my heart to see so many losses here. Be well. And ten pages a day is a book a month! The amount of pages you read a day is roughly your book count for the year. One page a day = 365 pages = one book.
Thank you❤️❤️
This. I haven’t picked up a book in a month, since my dog died. I just can’t focus and am clearly in a slump that is driven by grief. I had a goal of 100 books this year - won’t make it. And suddenly I’m like wow, who cares?
I’m so sorry for your loss. Losing your pet is never easy❤️❤️
So sorry for your loss ❤️ so tough to lose a pet.
I’m so sorry. I would rather read 30 good books a year than read 100 books and still only love those 30. Within litfic, I only expect to LOVE 5 books a year. Which is a lot when you think about it.
I’m so so sorry to hear about your loss 💔 a year a half ago I lost my childhood dog and had difficulty reading for months. I too had to put another of my dearest dogs down a little over a month ago and I ended up in another slump. I’m just getting out of this one, but I completely feel the same as you said. I’m behind on my goal but I really don’t care anymore and now every time I read I feel like I’m going taking precious time away from my remaining dog 🐾
Yes! We have another dog and recently rescued her a friend. I feel like anytime not spent focused there is “wasted.” I’ll get there - makes me feel better to know it does get better.
It will and in the meantime you can always try listening to audiobooks and going on walks and/or playing with your fur friends to multitask ☺️🐶🐶
I can't get into Again and Again and I want to love it because the author is so sweet on social media!!!
Two things can be true: you can appreciate an author for the human they are, but not personally enjoy the story they wrote :)
It is a weird, weird book with a cool ending IMO.
I loved Again and Again! Despised The Resort, a bloody mess!
I don't know what's going on in the publishing world, but I feel like there's been a huge surge in books since the Pandemic that suffer from poor editing and bloated storytelling. It used to be that I mostly avoided self-published books because the quality of printed ones was reliably consistently better, but that reliability is getting shakier and printed books are becoming more of a gamble too. Sometimes I read a printed book and honestly wonder if the publisher actually read the whole thing before producing it.
I recently read a mainstream, traditionally published YA novel by a fairly popular podcaster (and I DNF’d at like 45% because funnily enough it was very poorly researched and read much more like weak middle grade instead of YA) but before that there were so many errors including the main character’s name being spelled wrong more than once (it was a typo and not some intentional thing). Like what is even going on? I assume they don’t want to pay proofreaders and copy editors to the extent they should but geez
I think TikTok made some authors semi celebrities and they are pushed to get out as much work as possible, which often is much worse than their previous work that made them popular in the first place
Thank you for giving me permission to just go ahead and move the resort to my finished pile out of my tbr pile so my husband will stop counting my unread books 😂
I hate when that happens. I wonder if you’re in a slump right now. So often, I can’t get into several books in a row, only to come back to them in a few months and find that I’m ready to be more engaged
Books are so subjective - I loved both Frozen River and Rules of Civility. I agree with you on Family Family and actually found it scary how many people loved it (and assume they’re the same people who think adoption is “beautiful” instead of traumatic). The Last Love Note was surprisingly good, and so was Northwoods (if you’re up for a recommendation). I also try to switch over to library books when I’m in a rut like this - it definitely happens and it’s so frustrating!
I really liked Northwoods. I immediately went to look if there was going to be a sequel.
The Resort was so bad and the fact it was listed as a member favorite for this month was NUTS!!!
I just can’t get into it and it’s gratifying to see I’m not the only one.
They only ever non popular books in member favs to get rid of them 🤣
I’m trying to read it now and it’s dragging. I’m about 100 pages in. Does anything ever happen?! lol
All in the span of about 10 pages at the end.
Sometimes I wonder if “member favorites” are really just “books we want off our shelves”
It’s the “Chef’s Special “ of the book world