Hey there, paper baby, I saw you twice at the bookstore… books, books, books, we love them! Books, books, books, we love them!
Now that I have that out of my system… I have been waiting a long time (*cough… months… cough*) to write about my bookish opinions and after finally writing my Unpopular Opinions post, I decided to push this up my blogging schedule queue because why not get my opinions out of my system all at once?
- I love books and I love reading but it’s not the be-all and end-all for me. If I went on a holiday, my eyes would not be glued to a book. In my free time, I would rather not be lazing about in bed to just read. As horrible as it sounds, I will read if I have nothing else to do. That doesn’t mean you are wrong and that doesn’t mean I love books any less. I would ultimately prefer to write, talk to my loved ones, live in the moment and have fun (not that books aren’t fun). I want to live, most importantly, which is why I don’t spend most of my free time on reading. I want to live my own life more than the lives inhabited in books. If it was a sunny day and I was cooped up reading a book by myself with no other possibilities of entertainment, then I would feel suffocated. I’ve had anxiety attacks because of this. My preference is the external world, always.
- I have no interest in reading more than one book at a time. I just do not have the attention span for it despite being a decent multi-tasker in other things. If I’m going to read a book, I’d rather give that one single book my attention instead of drifting off reading several books at once.
- I will always love reading across different genres and reading one genre twice in a row would tire me. Recently, I’ve started to realise there are a couple of genres that don’t seem to capture my interest such as romance and I’m still not sure how I feel about fantasy.
- Fantasy worlds don’t seem to interest me. I would hate to live in Westeros, but I am still intrigued by this world because it is something completely fresh and so intricately built. Dare I say it? The world-building in Six of Crows was a bit of a yawn. The characters were interesting but the world? Gosh, no.
- What is up with YA and their stupid 2-page POV’s? How am I supposed to empathise and sympathise with characters whom I barely know because of their very brief POV’s? Take The Sun is Also a Star, I didn’t care for Natasha and the guy who’s name I don’t even remember because I barely got to know them. The pair seemed like a potential Robin and Ted from How I Met Your Mother, but they were so under-developed and it’s down to whoever created this ridiculous idea of short POV’s which is insulting to the intelligence of teen and adult readers. We need more depth.
- MR DARCY IS A BORE, MR KNIGHTLEY IS THE ONE TO SCORE. Mr Knightley is a gentleman, he is considerate and kind. Do you remember when he told Emma off for being rude to Miss Bates (I definitely need that in my life, I’ll say anything)? When he offered his hand to Harriet for the dance because she looked so desolate sat by herself when no one had asked her to dance with them? And please don’t say anyone would have done that and fancy yourself to be righteous, a lot of people would leave the person who is sat alone by themselves. He is courageous, intelligent without the arrogance (unlike Mr Darcy), and completely likeable. Swipe right!
- Continuing in the same vein, Pride and Prejudice is over-rated. The writing was difficult to read compared to other works of Jane Austen, and both Elizabeth and Darcy are arrogant know-it-all’s who do not really know much at all. Out of all Jane Austen heroines, Elizabeth and Fanny (Mansfield Park) are my least favourites. I can barely understand the latter’s decision to marry a man to whom she is clearly a leftover piece.
- Amy March from Little Women is highly underrated because of how well-loved Jo, Beth and Meg are. Amy is the Sansa Stark of Little Women and I often find her ostracised both online and in real life where, in reality, she is intelligent, practical, efficient, warm and resilient. It takes a lot of strength and class to be kind to those who insulted her at the fair (I would have been horribly rowdy) and it clearly stumped them, and she learnt to quickly move on when only one person came to her party and even during it she remained in high spirits. She is a social success and makes the most of the opportunities that come her way and yes, so what if she marries Laurie who is rich? She does not marry for riches alone, in her case it is an added bonus because Amy and Laurie work so well together. Amy ends up in a position that is right for her and that and her warmth is all that matters. Being materialistic does not mean that you aren’t good, only unkindness is unkindness.
- YA Fantasy’s have the worst covers. Of course, a cover is not a book but the majority look like they arrived from the same factory that specialises in only one specific design. Get creative and do something different! Do the covers always need to look as if there’s been major special effects added or have a girl with flowing hair in it? *sigh* It’s tacky.
- MATTHIAS OVER KAZ (Six of Crows)! Isn’t Matthias the fantasy version of Mr Knightley and Kaz basically Mr Darcy? Okay, maybe that’s a little far-fetched. Sure, Kaz is a criminal mastermind but is this really what we want in a boyfriend? You do realise that unless you’re an Inej that Kaz would not be treating you like royalty? Plus, Kaz is overly complicated and yes, I know, he has a horrific past, blah, blah, blah, I could not care less because I don’t see it’s relation to his romantic capabilities. Matthias is a decent, practical, straightforward and principled man. He is a man of reason and free of a maze full of complications. I’m just not into dark and edgy criminal ‘lords.’ *sigh again*
Credit: And Understands – Tumblr - Female redheads are winning in literature because they always seem to have the best personalities. Examples include Ygritte and Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones and Ginny Weasley who is the bom-diggidy. I am Muslim, so I’d rather not be getting ‘randomly searched’ by completing that word.
- Do we really need an abundance of sensory descriptions in books? Do we really need to know the exact shade of the walls, the curtains, or anything the author wishes to remark upon? Do I really need to know which way the wind is blowing? I will exclude descriptions of food for obvious reasons. It’s refreshing when the author keeps the sensory descriptions to a minimum as you see in Gone with The Wind, and just tells the story. Better yet, provide more details about the characters * cough YA authors. *
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower is problematic. The novel reads well, and Charlie is a highly talented writer, but there is one perspective of his which is both troubling and should definitely not be appearing in a book for teens. Charlie excuses his aunt for her actions. I do not care about giving away spoilers when it contains a disturbing narrative so for any young readers who read this and are thinking about reading the book, please inform your parents or guardian(s) before you read this book. Charlie’s Aunt Helen’s actions are inexcusable even if she had previously been on the receiving end of molestation at a young age. Charlie is wrong to excuse his Aunt for molesting him. That is a dangerous message to spread to abusers, that victims do not deserve justice and that molesters do not deserve to be brought to justice. To excuse an abuser is to continue this vicious cycle that creates more victims and more trauma. I cannot tell you how thoroughly disgusting, ridiculous and twisted this perspective is. Sure, he is traumatised, but I’m not blaming Charlie because he is a victim. I’m blaming Stephen Chbosky for putting this dangerous message out into the world. It’s okay to be a wallflower but don’t be such a wallflower that you no longer live in the external world and stop seeing the world for how it truly is.
Do you agree or disagree with my bookish opinions? What are your bookish opinions? Let me know in the comments!
Sophski out.
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Sofearless 
In Six of Crows, my favorites were Jesper and Wylan, who are absolutely adorable together.
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Those two are absolutely adorable, so underrated and actually a couple who can make you laugh! Inej and Kaz are so serious *yawn* Nina is my favourite though, my party girl. ❤️
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Kaz and Inej are definitely far too serious, but I think they’re good for each other. Nina is one of the best characters. I love her humor. I was kinda meh about Matthias, though. Jesper and Wylan are the best. They’re so funny and adorable and flirty and that scene where Jesper accidentally kisses Kuwei.
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They are… but I’m not sure how either of them aren’t bored lol, I mean Kaz does have a trickle of sense of humour. But yeah, every love is different, I guess.
Nina is the only relatable character for me and I know I always have the hots for the Matthias’s of the world. He’s the only swoon-worthy male in the series.
Jesper and Wylan are cute together… I would slap Jesper in real life though, both Jesper and Wylan would be my friends realistically.
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Jesper, Wylan, and I would be amazing friends. I’d probably be the third wheel though. While I love the rest of the characters, I feel like they’re too intense to be my real life friends.
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Nina is the least intense of the characters, she’s the most fun, warm and an excellent communicator… no awkwardness. No meanness towards awkwardness, I’m quite awkward but I’m confidently awkward if that makes sense. But yeah, maybe Jesper more so than Wylan (they would prefer each other more than any of us anyway lol).
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Yes, Nina, Jesper, and Wylan are not intense and we could be friends. Kaz, Inej, and Matthias, they are intense. Kaz especially.
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Wylan is pretty intense sometimes… I mean I don’t blame him since what happened with his atrocious father (still pissed) but Nina and Jesper are the only intense-free ones lol, I can tell they’re the ones who are the types to smile in real life.
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In perks of being a wallflower I must admit I have not read the book only watched the movie because I could not find the book in my local bookshop (and my parents would not buy me anymore books online 🙂 ) But what did Charlie’s aunt do exactly that led him to do the same???? I love the blog post by the way from one very big bookworm 🙂
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Charlie was molested by his aunt when he was a child but he had repressed those memories. When he was a teen he started to remember and had a mental breakdown. In the hospital, his parents told him that his aunt had been abused as a child.
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Ohhh thank you, I think Charlie should have told his parents about what was happening to him but I understand its not easy…
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It is definitely not easy… but I’m glad he was ready by then to talk about it because it is really important and traumatisingZ
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Traumatising*
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It might be good to ask your parents first before reading or to read with a parent.
Charlie’s Aunt Helen was molested when she was a child, in turn Aunt Helen molests Charlie. Of course, please do tell your parents or a proper authority or even me if you’ve been affected by this issue and do not read if you will be triggered by it.
And thank you 🙂 hope you are doing well Crystal. ✨
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Don’t worry I’m good 🙂 I’m only curious to understand the story thats all and thank you also I hope you are doing well too.
Ps any tips on how to write a campaign for student council??????
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Ah, have no idea, haven’t don’t it before. If you study history, English or politics, it might be helpful to use those essay writing skills. And of course, make sure you distribute it everywhere. I’m sure you’ll do great and figure out what you need to do! 🙂
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Thank you after a long time (a whole week to be exact) I’ve mangaed to write a speech worthy of being presented. I will surely keep what you said in mind 🙂
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Best of luck, I have every faith in you!
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I carry a book or my kindle with me everywhere I go but I never actually take them out to read lol. I took my kindle to the beach and never once took it out. I do most of my reading at home.
Omg short chapters are the worst! Yeah I get through a book faster but you don’t get as much out of them. It also annoys me when it’s multiple perspectives and everyone in the chapters sounds the same.
Never read Six of Crows and don’t really want to lol. It doesn’t really interest me.
Charlie. Charlie, Charlie, Charlie, this adorable guy. I don’t believe his parents were excusing the aunt’s behavior. It was something he needed to know. And Charlie doesn’t automatically forgive her and get better. He’s hospitalized. There’s a process he goes through. His PTSD is being dealt with which finally allows him to come to terms with everything that happened to him.
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Yay! You know it’s time to live in the real world when you’re outside, especially when you’re at the beach.
They’re breezy reads with no substance, YA can behave cheap at times. I would recommend you to stay away from Into the Water by Paula Hawkins then, there are so many perspectives and they all overlap and barely say anything.
That’s fair enough, Six of Crows is pretty good though 😆. There are multiple perspectives with characters that are distinguishable… it would be interesting to see who you like. If you ended up liking Kaz, I would need to have a word with you dude. 🤦♀️
This is why I love discussing books, sometimes people point out the things that you may not have picked up on, forgotten or missed entirely. I guess it is his own way of dealing with it by learning to forgive her, but I do believe some actions go beyond the realm of deserving forgiveness. Poor Charlie. When it’s a family member it’s always the worst, because if you can’t trust your family who can you trust? I’m glad he’s come to peace with it… I just would never ever forgive someone who did that to me.
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I was thinking of going with the audiobook for Into the Water. Maybe it would work better that way??
I can’t believe his parents didn’t say anything before though. I kind of get why. I guess. But still. Idk.
And I’m reading way too many books rn lol. I am so close to finishing them and I know how they’re going to end so I just move on to the next one lol. I really prefer reading one book at a time though smh
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Yeah, I think that would help distinguish between the characters better… but the POV’s aren’t the longest, there’s sooooo many characters as well. It’s about how unreliable people’s memories are so it’ll definitely be testing your memory! If you do read it, tell me how you find it (I have a feeling you’ll be annoyed by the characters).
They should have tbh, what’s the point of hiding it? It can happen to anyone, and the sooner you are aware, the sooner you can prepare.
Doesn’t that kill the excitement if you know how they’re going to end? Yeah, reading one book at a time is more peaceful, and less hurried. Trust me I don’t know if it’s blogging, and the need to pop out reviews every week or so but to me it really takes away the enjoyment of it.. aren’t we reading books because we love them first and foremost?
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Yeah it kind of ruins it. But I don’t like DNFing so I always go back and finish it lol. Right now a lot of my library loans came in so now I have a whole lot of books to read haha. Main reason I don’t really worry about book reviews? I’m kind of ahead in my scheduling lol. It gives me some leeway…
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I love the library, it can be annoying when the books arrive earlier than expected. And yep, 100%, it’s so much easier in general to schedule posts… I’m wondering if once when everyone settles in on WP, if they stop writing posts spontaneously? I wonder what would happen if we all scheduled maybe less than 24hrs before. 🧐
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I am the exact same way. I can’t read more than one book at a time.
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Lol that’s the best way to go!
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Your love for book is contagious 😊I read more than one book at the same time and I like a physical copy than kindle 😊
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Oh my god, Jane Austen. I’d rather die.
Totally agree on fantasy book covers. They’re the visual translation of Weird Al Yankovic.
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Girl, I’m telling you, you will like my girl Emma… Emma is cool and fun! 😎 Elizabeth is just up her self.
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLL. Except even Weird Al Yankovic is a little better and can have an original thought (the London Underground song was alright 😉).
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Yes, I like the “Eat it” song hahahaha
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Interesting post. I agree with your opinion about Knightly and Darcy. Knightly is much more agreeable.
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Darcy is highly selective a disagreeable, realistically he would be difficult to get along with. And yes, Knightley is much more straightforward and agreeable.
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