Top 5 Wednesday REWIND: Books I Disliked, But Love To Discuss

For today's Top 5 Wednesday Rewind topic, I chose 'Books I disliked, but love to discuss'. Some of these were books that disappointed me, some I was very unsure about going into them, and some I just plain hate.

The Books:

• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews - This was the first book I ever DNF'd and to this day, is only one of three. I knew in the second chapter that I was probably not going to like this. I pushed myself through it until page 73 where I realized I would not be able to continue with it. I was trying very hard to make it at least 100 pages in, which would have been about 1/3 of the way through, but I just couldn't. The writing style wasn't just one that didn't click with me, it was plain terrible. It sounded like the author was trying way too hard to sound like a teen and failed miserably at it. The story is largely focused on a girl character who has cancer, but within that 73 pages I read, she's barely mentioned. I know this book is fairly popular and it seems like you either love it or you hate it, but for me, it was hate. 

• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher - Ooooh boy. I have a review coming very soon for this and I think that will give more of an explanation as to how I felt towards this. Long story short, my feelings for this were incredibly conflicting. I didn't understand the point of the main character's existence, there was some very apparent blame put on the people this girl believed to be the reasons she committed suicide, there was one scene towards the end that I found particularly abhorrent. Maybe this book was helpful to someone, but I know it to have done quite a bit of harm as well. However, this is a book I love reading/seeing other reviews for, and getting to hear others' perspectives on.  

• Nameless by Lili St. Crow - This book is the perfect example of a great idea with poor execution. Nameless is marketed as something between the Godfather and Snow White. I loved the fantasy world the author was telling us about, but nothing in her writing showed us that the world was what she was describing. This book was riddled with problems ranging from confusing characters to inconsistencies in world building to over-explanation in certain areas while lacking in explanation when it came to the history of this fantasy world. Again, the idea for this was brilliant, unfortunately, the author didn't seem equipped to deliver.  

• The Old Man & the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - I have very mixed feelings toward this one. I think several things factor into my dislike of this novella. Firstly, I am not a fan of Hemingway as a person, so I'm sure that contributed in some way to any negative feelings I had toward this. Second, this is a book that was assigned reading for me in high school. While most of the books I'd been assigned in school I enjoyed, this was not one of them. I'm sure there is a deeper meaning I'm missing but at a surface reading level, this is a story about an incredibly unfruitful fishing trip. I can recognize that this is a work of literary fiction, but I just don't get it. This is a very good character study, but for me, that is just not enough. 

• Insurgent/Allegiant by Veronica Roth - These are actually two separate books, but they were equally as disappointing for me so I'll be talking about both as if they were the same book. I cannot describe how much I loved Divergent. I thought it was going to be the next big thing, I saw the potential for it and was beyond ready to see where the story was going. Unfortunately, where it was going was Insurgent, and subsequently, Allegiant. Not only did the world and characters not go in the direction I thought they would, but the storyline in both books felt lackluster at best. I love hearing from people who actually enjoyed books 2 and 3 of the Divergent trilogy because I just don't get it, and it's interesting to hear what they have to say. 

✿ What are some books you like talking about but did not like? Comment below, or subscribe to BookSass. Thanks for reading!

Top 5 Wednesday: Auto-buy SFF Authors

Today's Top 5 Wednesday topic is auto-buy authors that write SFF. I personally don't read very much Sci-Fi, so most of these are auto-buy fantasy authors, but there's one on this list who did write a SF book that I liked well enough to want to continue with the series.

#1 - Cassandra Clare 

Of course, Cassandra Clare is on this list. She's not just one of my top 5 SFF auto-buy authors, she's one of my top 5 auto-buy authors in general. If you've browsed some of my other blog posts, then it's no secret I'm a huge fan of the Shadowhunter Chronicles. It was the series that reignited my love for reading, it led me to discover booktube, and it's the first series I ever felt the need to own all of the books to. Even if these weren't reasons for her to be on this list, I've found that her writing and the complexity of her stories get better with every book she writes. And it's for that reason that she remains an auto-buy author for me.

#2 - Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo is the only author I have ever preordered a book from, besides Cassandra Clare. I have not read her Grisha trilogy, but I have read and own the Six of Crows duology (Crooked Kingdom being the book I preordered). Her writing is so atmospheric and she has such a talent for creating interesting characters that are easy to be invested in. I can't wait to see what she does in the future, but I'll be reading her books regardless.

#3 - A.G Howard

A.G Howard's Splintered trilogy was my first time reading her work. I read the first book in one sitting and binged the other two books within a few days because I loved them so much. She's published a few other books that fall into the fantasy genre since, and although I haven't read them yet, I definitely plan to. She reimagined the world of Wonderland in such a dark and unique way that I trust whatever she publishes, I'll love.

#4 - Jay Kristoff

Though he writes fantasy as well as SF, the only book by Jay Kristoff I've ever read is Illuminae, which is a SF book he co-wrote with the author Amie Kaufman. I wasn't expecting to like the book very much as I'm not really into SF, but I freaking loved it. I found the mixed media writing style to be so interesting and different from anything I had seen before. I also genuinely enjoyed the plot, which again, was unexpected. The book primarily takes place on a spaceship, which did not appeal to me at all, but I really loved the setting and the way it was presented. If Jay Kristoff can make me a fan of a SF book, then I trust whatever he chooses to write and I'll buy it and support him for that reason.

#5 - Sabaa Tahir

I loved Sabaa Tahir's book, An Ember in the Ashes so much when I first read it. It's been a couple years since, and I still need to pick up the sequel. But this isn't because I didn't enjoy the first book, because I remember thinking it was amazing in fact. It's just that I had read it in one sitting and quickly forgot too many of the details to continue reading the series without rereading An Ember in the Ashes. I'm not sure when I'll get to that, but I definitely plan to. So I don't care what she publishes, I will continue buying her books because I know I'll love them no matter what they're about.

Books I've Binged

✿ There are only a handful of books I've ever read cover to cover and when I was thinking about them I thought it was interesting which books those were. Some I read in such a short amount of time because they were quick reads and some I read quickly because I could not put them down. Either way, here those books are.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

I read this in 2015 when I was deeeeeep in a dystopian/fantasy phase. At the time, I thought it was the best thing I'd ever come across, though I'll be honest I may have let the hype for this one get to me. What I find so interesting about this one specifically is that I could not put this down once I picked it up, but in the almost three years since I read this, I still haven't continued with the series. I think I rated this 5 stars when I read it, but since then my opinion has changed so much so that now it's probably only a 3 star read for me. I have continuously told myself I will read the sequel eventually, but as time has gone on, my desire to continue reading the series has decreased. And I know I'd have to reread this in order to know what's happening if I continue with the sequel, which I don't really want to do.  

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Jokesters

I've been watching Sam's channel for years and have seen dozens of her 'Top 5 Wednesday' videos and it occurred to me that I could be doing the T5W topics here on my blog. So, hopefully, I'll be doing these every week.

✿ This week's topic is Favorite Jokesters, in honor of April Fools' Day. This was pretty tough for me, I don't know why, but I had such a hard time thinking of characters that fall into this category.

1. My first pick comes from the HP world, and no, it's not either of the Weasley twins, though I do love them. One of my favorite pranksters (and characters, in general) is Peeves. He is so mischevious and I loved reading every scene he was a part of. I think it's such a shame that his character didn't make it into the movies because they would have been even better with him.

2. Pick #2 comes from another one of my favorite series' and that is Simon Lewis from The Mortal Instruments. The topic post mentioned jokesters, pranksters, and funny characters, and while Simon isn't necessarily a prankster type of character, he is definitely a funny character. Simon is so witty and he always makes really cheesy jokes that are almost so cheesy they're actually funny and I absolutely love him.

3. This one is from the show Bob's Burgers and that would be Louise Belcher. She's my favorite character on the show for the reason that she's so funny. Any prank or scheme that the kids try to pull off is usually thought up by Louise. She's snarky and sarcastic and I love every bit of it.

4. Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare is one of my favorite literary characters period. But, he especially works for this topic because a majority of the play's plot is created by Puck's impish tricks. I love him even more for not seeming bothered at all by the fact that he causes so much chaos.

5. My final pick is a villain that comes from the DC comics universe. Don't worry, it's not the joker, it's actually Edward Nygma a.k.a The Riddler. I love everything about this character. The riddles, the drama, the complexity with which he goes about his schemes, I love it all. I have read comic books that feature the Riddler and I've been pleased with them, but my favorite portrayal of his character is on the television show, Gotham. I loved seeing the transformation from Edward to Riddler and I think Cory Michael Smith does a great job with the role.

Bookish Songs

Soooo I love music. A lot. Almost as much as books. And I've wanted to do a post like this for a while, I had actually gotten the idea before I even started my blog, but I wasn't sure if anyone would care to read about music on a book blog. But then I thought about how this is my blog and I can literally do whatever the hell I want with it, so here it is.

A little background. I listen to pretty much all types of music, but mostly rock and all of its subgenres. The only music I don't listen to a lot of is country (I only like 10 or so songs). And it's through listening to different types of music that I've come across what I call 'bookish songs'. Bookish songs are songs that were inspired by books, reference books, or have inspired books. I'll also be including in this list songs that I found/heard of in books because I think it's great when a book can be what helped you find your new favorite song.

*Obviously this is not a list of every song in existence that fits this topic. These are just ones that I personally have listened to and ones that have been inspired by/reference books that I've read.

**I made a Spotify playlist here, which has most of the songs. Any songs I couldn't find on Spotify I have youtube links to down where the songs are individually talked about.

So on to the music.

Modern Adaptations I'd Like to See

So recently I read Tash Hearts Tolstoy (great book btw, review here) which is a young adult novel about a teen named Tash who writes and produces a low-budget web series called Unhappy Families with her friends. Unhappy Families is a modern adaptation of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina with a teen cast and I loved the idea of modernizing classic lit stories so much that I've put together a list of just a few classic works I wouldn't mind seeing modern-set screen adaptations of. 

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Arguably Wilde's most well-known work, Dorian Gray has been adapted several times over but the adaptations are always set in the same time period as the story. Quite a few of the taboo topics mentioned in the story are seen as *slightly* less serious today so I think it would be cool to see Dorian in the modern world indulging in everything that we consider now to be too wild. Also imagining what his parties would be like today have me really hoping this is adapted sometime in my lifetime.

2. A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

I'll admit I've only ever read three Shakespearean plays so far. But. This has become one of my favorite classics, it was just that damn good. Unlike some of the other classics on this list, A Midsummer Night's Dream does actually have a very loosely based modern adaptation called Get Over It, a 2001 teen comedy (pretty good movie) but it barely follows the play's storyline and the characters in the movie aren't wholly inspired by the characters from the play.  I really loved the idea of this story in a high school setting.

Accessible Classics

You may have noticed, based on my monthly wrap-ups, that I like to read classic literature. I already have a hard time finding other people in my personal life who read, but I've never met anyone in person who read classic lit as well (though it's not exactly easy to find online either). People I've heard mention wanting to get into classic lit have always expressed that they're a little intimidated by the genre and are afraid that whatever they decide to read will be beyond their level of understanding. So, if you're one of those people, I've put together a list of classic books that are easy to read and some tips for better understanding them, so maybe you'll feel more confident and encouraged to try some. I've also tried to include a variety of genre's so there should be something to fit everyone's reading tastes.

✿ TIPS ✿

1. Length. Starting with shorter works will, of course, be easier than starting with longer works. And by this, I mean something around 100-200 pages will look less intimidating and be quicker for you to get through than something like the very beefy War and Peace. Sometimes classics can drone on a bit so something shorter will keep your attention better.

2. Sparknotes. This is a fantastic website to use when you first get into classics. It has tons of information about classic literary works that can give you some background or insight into the significance of the work. It also has chapter or section summaries that can help you decipher what you've read as you're reading through a book if you need help understanding the content. Sparknotes also offers quizzes, so if you feel the need to quiz yourself to see how much of the story you've retained, it's a great tool to utilize.

3. Buddy-reads. If you know anyone who is also interested in reading classics, buddy-reads are a great idea. Not only will you have fun reading the work with a friend, but you'll also have someone to discuss it with and who can help you if you get stuck, and vice versa.

4. Adaptations. Either after you read the work, or before (if you don't mind the plot being spoiled) it's a good idea to watch an adaptation of the work. It will add to your general understanding of what you've read and it can be fun to see something you've read play out on a screen, especially when the adaptation is a unique reimagining of the work. (*Ahem* 1996 Romeo & Juliet)

5. Modern Classics. Probably my biggest tip would be to start with more recent classics (or modern classics) and work your way back from there. Some easier-to-read modern classics I'd recommend are...