So I haven’t been tagged in this, but I haven’t done a tag in ages as I always forget when I get tagged. I have seen this one around a fair bit, along with the Unpopular opinions Book Tag and want to do both. So let’s get straight into the questions.
1. Which trope (or tropes) in books, annoy you the most?
I have done a discussion on this topic actually but the one that annoys me the most is the missing/dead/unkown parents trope or just crappy parents. Why can’t our main characters have a nice family?!?! Like I know in real life this isn’t a trope, it is a reality for a lot of people. However, I feel like it is the case in 90 YA books out of 100 which is a little out of hand. I will do the same as I did in my discussion post on this subject. I will look at the last 10 books I read, in order, and say whether this was a present trope. I won’t say titles of the books though because I don’t want to spoil anything.
Father present, mother I think is dead (can’t remember as it’s been a while since reading the first book)
Dead parents
Dead mother & unknown father
Parent’s only paid attention to the child fully after the events of the book, beforehand, they didn’t really care as the MC wasn’t the smart or athletic one like his brothers.
Dead parents
Dead parents
Dead parents
Parents killed early in the book
Parents alive but don’t understand their daughter and are more worried about other things most of the time
Dead parents
Do you see what I mean?!!?!?!?!?!
2. Which writer/writers do you feel are overrated/overhyped?
Hands down, Cassandra Clare. I couldn’t seven finish the first series and I have no interest in continuing to the other books. I might consider it if she ever solo writes a book that isn’t in the TMI world. Because at this point everyone loves the other 2 series, but you have to read TMI to continue and I couldn’t be fucked reading 4 more boring books just to get to the better series. I’m not doing it.
I do however enjoy the Magisterium series by her & Holly Black, but it’s middle grade and because of the co-author situation it has a whole other feel to it compared to TMI.
Another one that is overhyped is Neil Gaiman. I just haven’t been able to get into any of his books. I have read 3 Neil Gaiman books now and have not enjoyed any in the slightest.
3. What are your least favourite books you’ve read, since joining BookTube?
(Yes this is a BookTube started tag, but I’m just doing it on my blog!)
Out of the books I fully read, not DNFd the books with the lowest ratings on my Goodreads are:
Zenith by Lindsay Cummings & Sasha Alsberg
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
This is Where the World Ends by Amy Zhang
End of the World: The Beginning by Nesly Clerge
These were all under 2 star reads for me.
4. A terrible ending, that ruined an otherwise quality book?
I can’t think of a book that really fits this. For most of the books that I think about with crappy endings, there was something else throughout the book that I didn’t like either, so it wasn’t necessarily just the shitty ending the ruined it.
So instead, I’m going with a series that had a crappy ending and I’m choosing the Everlife series by Gena Showalter. I really enjoyed the first two books in this series and then the last book ruined it for me. It was obsessively romantic whenever we were reading from Killian’s POV, which was completely unnecessary in a YA fantasy book. It was actually kinda bordering on creepy as fuck at some points, just the way that character talked about the love interest. It completely put me off this series. If you want to see some quotes of what I am talking about and other reasons why this book felt like an over the top cringe-worthy romance more than a YA fantasy, then check out my review HERE.
5. Which fictional character(s) do you wish were not killed off?
**** Highlight the blank spaces to see the spoilers! ****
Okay, so spoilers for Harry Potter first off.
There is a tonne in Harry Potter that I wish weren’t killed off. Dobby, Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Colin Creevey, Lavender Brown and probably more that I can’t think of right now.
Next, spoiler for The Bronze Key, the 3rd book in the Magisterium series.
This one is fresh in my mind as I only just finished listening to the audiobook of this today, but Aaron! Why did they have to kill him? Like I have a weird feeling that somehow he will come back in the next book as weirder shit has happened in this series, but why?
Next, just everyone amazing character that dies in the Rebel of the Sands series. There is so many and that last book fucking killed me. Why did you have to kill off the best characters?
Okay, spoilers! Why did you have to kill SAM???????
6. What are some of your bookish pet peeves?
Soft touch covers. They look nice, they feel nice but they leave FINGERPRINTS FUCKING EVERYWHERE!!!! And the covers just don’t last as they don’t have that protective plastic coating over the top! All the silver detail just rubbed of my ACOTAR books because there was no top coating.
And just books in general that have that cheap plastic coating on top that just peels up. I have had Harry Potter books that are first edition paperbacks and read multiple times that the cover is still in perfect condition, yet I read some brand new books once and the plastic starts peeling off and taking half the cover image with it! Bitch, I probably paid near $20 for you!! Stay in one piece, at least for the first damn read!
7. What are some books you feel should have more recognition?
Hands down, The Medoran Chronicles by Lynette Noni! If someone asks for a YA fantasy recommendation I straight away recommend this series! It is so damn good! Has a bloody awesome world and magic system. Has the best friend group I have ever read in a YA fantasy. Basically no romance until the 4th book. It has dragons!! That can bond with humans and communicate telepathically! Come on?! What’s not to love about this series?!?!!?
Yes I know, people overseas can’t get the physical copy as it’s an Australian publisher, but you should be able to get the eBook. Or maybe even check QBD for international shipping. It is so worth it. Her new book is available in US & Canada, but it is with a different publisher! Hopefully, eventually, The Medoran Chronicles will be available too!
8. What are your thoughts on censorship, and banning books?
Okay, I don’t think a lot of the books that are banned in schools should be. Like Harry Potter, that decision was just stupidity, not that there was actual content in the book that could be harming. However, I do think that library books should have trigger warnings displayed. Actually, scrap that, I think all books should have trigger warnings easily identified on the cover.
If a teen wants to read a book with topics such as mental health then that should be allowed because most of the time, during high school, is when a lot of people struggle with mental health, I was one of them. There should be books available that they can read about similar topics to possibly help them deal with that. Like The Perks of Being a Wallflower being a prime example that I know has been challenged and banned in the past and maybe still is. I don’t know. I can’t find an actual list of challenged and banned books in Aus. I have found a list for the US, but I can’t find any Aussie based lists and I have been searching for half an hour..
Also, books that feature LGBT content was often banned. However it is actually legal now in a lot of places, why should that be banned now?!
I do however agree that books with certain sexual content don’t need to be in a school library. Not necessarily banned, but does the school librarian really think that books like 50 Shades of Grey need to be on their shelves were an 11 year old can go and grab it?
But that is just common sense.
Side note, I was just reading some of the reasons certain books were challenged in the US and some of this shit is hilarious.
Wanna know one reason 50 Shades of Grey was challenged?? “Poorly written”.
What about Harry Potter? “Setting bad examples”
‘Be right back, just going to hiss at a tap and see if the sink disappears into the floor so I can hide from class?’ Yes, Harry Potter is definitely setting realistic bad examples for muggle children.
How about The Lord of the Rings? “Supernatural themes”, no fucking shit sherlock! That is the point of fantasy!
What about a book called ‘Sex Education’?? “Sexual content”. Fucking really?! What year do kids do sex ed in the US that a book about Sex Ed is banned? Look out! Scary pictures!!!!
Where’s Waldo! Where’s Waldo was challenged?! Are you shitting me right now? We have Where’s Wally here in Aus and I’m fairly certain my primary school had those books and we used to get in trouble for hiding in the corner doing Where’s Wally instead of reading a book! Wanna know the reason why it was banned though? “Nudity”! Okay, maybe Where’s Waldo is a lot more different to Where’s Wally than I thought, but I don’t remember hunting for a set of binoculars and finding a set of tits instead. Just saying.
9. Who do you tag?
I haven’t done a tag in so long, I don’t know who to choose!
Kathy @ Books & Munches
Wonderful Words 101
One Bookish Girl
That is the only ones I can think of atm! If you want to do it, then do it!
