The Book Lover's Den No. 26: The Bookstore Blues?!

Welcome to my renewed literary musing feature! I have decided 

to post it on Mondays now!

In each weekly post, I explore 

my thoughts on several 

book-related topics.

This Week's Topic

 When you walk into a bookstore and you're just not (?!) in the mood

to buy a book.....apparently. 

I am fortunate enough to have a big, beautiful, two-floor Barnes & Noble store not too far from where my husband and I live. In fact, I affectionately call it "Paradise". Lol. And I have given it this nickname because the joy and lifting of spirits I feel when we pull up and I get down, approach the double doors, and pull on that handle, are just indescribable. If I have been in a funk, walking into this store is sure to get me feeling great again!

Inexplicably, however, there have been times in the past when I've arrived at this hallowed place of wonderful printed objects that one can pick up and peruse for hours at a time, if one wishes, and felt......nothing. No elation. No lifting of a negative mood, if I had been in one. No feeling of having "arrived home". Just.....nothing. Yes, I know....unbelievable, right?

At such times, I have wandered all over the store, from section to section, hoping to have a book call out to me. I don't always go to the Bargain Section first. I might wander over to the Christian section, then the New Age section (they're right next to each other), then go upstairs to the Young Adult section, then the Fantasy & SF section, which is right next to the YA section. And then I mosey on over to the Romance section. And nothing catches my eye. 

Alternatively, I might pick up a book, but then not be sure about it. Then I will move into another section of the store, pick up another book, and go put the first one back where I found it, only to dawdle, looking from one book to the other. I might then leave both on the shelf, or, in the end, take both of them with me, and find a chair to sit on somewhere, either in the Cafe, or next to the second-floor railing. 

Even after sitting down, though, I might feel a sudden restlessness. I might skim through one book, and then the other, and abruptly decide that I really don't want either one. Then I get up, put both books back, and wander all over the store again....

Before you know it, a store employee is making that fateful announcement that it's 10:45 PM, and the bookstore will be closing in 15 minutes, so all customers need to take their selections to the neartest cash register for purchasing..... And then I seem to wake up from some weird daze, and rush over to the Young Adult section, and just......stand there. I don't know what to pick. I want to buy SOME book, but just don't know which one to pick, even if I see books that I've already discovered on book blogs..... But then, I'm not really sure that I DO want to buy a book.

Finally, I get jolted again by the last announcement, and, in total despair, dejectedly walk toward those wonderful doors to "Paradise", without a B&N bag holding a new purchase and receipt inside.....or with no book and receipt stashed inside my purse.....

So what happened? I really don't know..... Could it be that I was simply not in the mood to buy a book? I usually have difficulty NOT buying books! This is especially so when I'm SURROUNDED by them. So how could it be that I sometimes actually walk out of that beautiful book paradise without having purchased one of those highly-addictive objects? What could possibly have gone wrong? Were my neurons not receptive to books on that particular occasion?

I frequently feel the need to buy a book when something negative has happened to me, as, for instance, if a student has given me a very hard time during a lesson (and I teach ADULTS, not teens!), or the principal has reprimanded me, or one of my colleagues has been rather nasty to me. BUT, I will also feel the need to buy a book when something positive has happened to me, as well, such as when someone at work tells me I'm an excellent teacher, or my husband compliments me, or I find out that they're now showing old Star Trek TOS re-runs on one of our cable channels. If some teaching technique I've tried out goes exceptionally well, I will also feel the need to buy myself a book. Heck, if I get a lot of comments on one of my posts, I will ALSO feel the need to buy a book! Lol. So, to me, books are like a sort of "comfort food", except for the mind. If something negative has happened, I comfort myself by buying a book. If something positive has happened instead, then buying a book is my reward! 

In other words, for me, just about ANY excuse to buy a book will do. Hee, hee!

Therefore, I don't quite understand those weird times when I wander all over this most treasured of places in all of Miami, and feel.....lost. Unsettled. Not at all sure of what I want. I know I want.....something. Maybe it's not really a BOOK I want. But what the HECK is it I want, then? I have gone to that bookstore (the one I visit most because of its location) for the precise purpose of buying a book! So this aimless wandering around really mystifies me....

Maybe it's just that I'm not sure whether I want to buy a fiction or a nonfiction book. Sometimes I do feel torn between the two. So this might be part of the problem. 

I wonder if any other readers have ever experienced something like this. I wonder if this is due to any unusual sun spot activity....or perhaps the meteors are bowling up there, somewhere beyond the moon..... Whatever the reason I feel this way, it also makes me feel sad.... I hate walking out of a bookstore with empty hands. What TRUE book lover doesn't?

I know this is a rather depressing post this week, and I'm sorry about that. However, I decided to go ahead and publish it anyway, to see if anyone else out there has encountered this phenomenon, and how they have dealt with it. Should I just shrug it off? But I find that I can't do that. So I just try not to think about such times. Except that the memories kinda haunt me every now and then. 

Fortunately, I haven't been in one of these weird moods recently. Yesterday, hubby took me to "Paradise", and I walked out with a book! Lol. It did take me a while to pick one out, though. 

 

What are your thoughts on
 this topic?
Please leave me a comment
and let me know!

The Book Lover's Den No. 25: When the last third of a book spoils everything....

Welcome to my renewed literary musing feature! I have decided 

to post it on Mondays now!

In each weekly post, I explore 

my thoughts on several 

book-related topics.

This Week's Topic

When the last third of a book

spoils everything...... 

Warning!

This post contains several important spoilers. If you haven't yet read this book, and would like to, you might be better off not reading this post. You have been warned! Read at your own risk!

My review of this book can be found HERE.

Many obsessed YA fans out there have either read or are about to read this novel, or perhaps they are halfway through the series. This book had a LOT of hype attached to it before its release, back in May of 2015. So, of course, I grabbed it when I first saw it, sitting in the Book Dept. of a local Target store, sometime in September of that year. I was all set to have an enthralling reading experience!

At first, I was indeed totally enchanted with the story. It's basically a "Beauty and the Beast" retelling, and I was immediately drawn right into the story. Feyre is a skillful hunter, and her family depends on her for their sustenance, as their father has been incapacitated, and thus, unable to hunt. But Feyre is also a sensitive artist, and this is something I was able to relate to right away. She sees the world with an artist's eyes, which is very evident from the author's beautiful prose. 

The whole basis for this retelling is that Feyre has killed a wolf who was really a faerie, and friend of Tamlin, one of the rulers of the Fey Kingdom of Prythian. So Feyre (who is very appropriately named, I think) is taken away from her family, and is held prisoner at this ruler's palace. From there, the story develops with the theme of the original fairy tale, and Feyre comes to love and understand her captor, and the reason for his actions. There's also an ancient curse involved....

This novel was a page-turner for me at first, and I really enjoyed all of the gorgeous descriptions of the Fey Kingdom, as well as the various characters. I was floating blissfully along, although there were also some exciting action passages that made me sit up and allow myself to be immersed in the action. I was all set to give the book five stars, no question!

So what happened?

Well, in my honest opinion, the author ruined the story. Not everyone who has read this book will agree with me, I know. Some might even be aghast that I did not wholeheartedly love this book. Of course, there are reading tastes for everyone. What one reader detests, another will love. But I do have my reasons for not totally loving this book.

First of all, this novel should not be classified as Young Adult Fiction. It should, instead, be labeled as New Adult Fiction, or even better, as straight adult fiction. The funny thing is that it reads like a YA novel until the last third of the book. Then the author inexplicably switches gears. At one point during this last third, Feyre is, well, DISPLAYED AS A SEX OBJECT by another faerie who belongs to a rather sinister Fey court -- the Night Court. His name is Rhysand. What he does is to dress Feyre in EXTREMELY scanty clothing, and parades her around to be seen by the other members of the EVIL Queen Amarantha's court. I am unequivocally stating that Feyre did NOT want to be paraded around like that. Nor did she want to wear this "clothing". But guess what? She can't do a thing about these things, because Rhysand is CONTROLLING HER BODY. She walks where his mind FORCES her to walk, and she has to do what HE wants her to do. 

There are reviewers on Goodreads who, incredibly enough, RAVE about Rhysand. I just have to scratch my head, as I just don't see what could possibly be attractive about a male character who does what I have described above to a female character. 

Second, there's also VERY graphic violence described -- you guessed it -- in the last third of this novel. It really became too much for me at several points in the narrative, and I almost didn't finish the book. I just HAD to see how it all ended, though......

Third, Feyre and Tamlin also have sex, and again, there were graphic details. This is totally outside the bounds of a YA novel. It's not that YA authors won't allow their protagonists -- whether male or female -- to engage in sex. It's that they usually won't provide any details of the act, let alone graphic ones. They will usually just mention that it took place, or else, imply that it did. 

Lastly, after Feyre has been at the evil queen's court for several days, being forced to carry out "challenges", some of which are also graphically gross, she is then given the ultimate test -- she must KILL a faerie, knowingly this time. She is told that, if she doesn't do this, she herself will be killed. SO SHE DOES KILL THAT INNOCENT FAERIE. Now, I understand that this queen is REALLY evil. But WHY did Maas HAVE to let us readers see this by having her FORCE Feyre to commit MURDER?! And WHY didn't Feyre do the only honorable thing, letting herself be killed instead of herself taking a life?! Sure, no one wants to die, but to live at the expense of another?! She could have said, "I will NOT commit murder. Go ahead and kill me." 

I do admit that, were I to be placed in that same situation, I might do exactly the same thing Feyre did. However, the NOBLE thing to do is just that -- allow oneself to be killed, rather than kill another. If Feyre had been such a good person, she would have chosen this route. 

Well, everything went downhill for me after that. Now the female MC had actually killed somebody. Add that to the other stuff I had already disliked, and it's a real wonder I was able to finish the book! I did give it four stars, but I'm still asking myself why I didn't give it three, instead. I guess it was the lush writing that stopped me. There was no arguing with THAT; the book is beautifully-written, and I'm repeating that because it's as true as the book's less savory aspects. 

Of course, after this experience, I had no further interest in the series, ESPECIALLY when I found out that, in the second book, the romance between Tamlin and Feyre DISAPPEARS, and she then enters a romantic relationship with.....RHYSAND. That's right. The guy who dressed her up like a Playboy centerfold and MANIPULATED HER BODY. The very same guy. 

Needless to say, I am TOTALLY DISGUSTED with this development. I REFUSE to continue reading this series. And, I will most likely NOT pick up another Sarah J. Maas book again, especially not if it contains a fickle, murdering female protagonist.

Now, here's the ULTIMATE irony.....this book is VERY popular on Goodreads. There are a LOT of very favorable reviews of it. Even though I stated, in the first paragraph above, that there are many different reading tastes, I have to state that I fail to see the appeal of a man who treats the woman he professes to love, like a SEX OBJECT, even going as far as MANIPULATING HER BODY. But well, look how popular the Fifty Shades of Grey series is. I guess not much has changed at all in this 21st century.....

I ended up donating this book to my local Goodwill store. Perhaps the best thing to do in the future is to buy the ebook first. If I don't like it, then I will forget about getting the print edition. Unfortunately, nowadays, ebooks can be just as expensive as printed books. In some cases, they are MORE expensive. And I adamantly refuse to pay more than $5.99 for a simple download! Lol.

 

What are your thoughts on
 this topic?
Please leave me a comment
and let me know!

The Book Lover's Den No. 24: Books That Give Me Mixed Feelings, Part 2

Welcome to my renewed literary musing feature! I have decided 

to post it on Mondays now!

In each weekly post, I explore 

my thoughts on several 

book-related topics.

This Week's Topic

Books that give me mixed feelings,

continued. 

Having explored my thoughts and feelings on this topic last week, I've decided that this week, I will feature some of those books that gave me mixed feelings, as well as explain the reason(s) for these feelings. Should anyone be interested in more details, I will also include links to my review of each book. All of them are YA novels. I might do a third post, dealing only with adult novels.

So here they are, in alphabetical order, by author. Click on each cover for the Goodreads page.

This book does have a VERY beautiful, romantic cover. For the most part, the plot was very appealing. However, I did not love it as much as I could have. What bothered the most was that Bethany, the angel, was not depicted as being as powerful as an angel would be expected to be. Furthermore, throughout the novel, she acts more like a human teen. Here's a quote from my review: "Her angelic powers are rarely in evidence, except for the scene in which she reveals her true nature to Xavier, her body glowing as she flies off the edge of a cliff.  The rest of the time, however, the reader would think this was a typical, non-paranormal YA romance." Mostly, I did like this novel, as there were other elements I did enjoy. However, I was expecting Bethany to be a kick-butt angel, and she most definitely was not! Neither was Ivy, a more mature female angel who was also part of the plot. For the full review, click HERE.

  

As an obsessed Twilight fan, I looked around frantically for similar books after I had read The Twilight Saga twice (there was a third reading later on, lol). I thought I had found what I was looking for in this series, but nope! Yes, the plot was very imaginative, even exciting. But..... What REALLY bothered me about this book was the marked (pun not intended) anti-Christian bias, as well as that one instance of oral sex was mentioned, early in the book. Excuse me, but oral sex, in a YA NOVEL? UGH. Although there were no graphic details, the mere mention was totally inappropriate for YA, and really didn't contribute much to the story. 

To make matters even worse, there were quite a few "F bombs" sprinkled throughout the book, which is unusual for the YA genre.

Another problem was that some of the characters were stereotypes, such as The Mean Girl and her Gang. As for an example of the anti-Christian bias, here's a quote from my review: "What is most offensive, however, is the characterization of all Christian men as “pedophiles”.  Here’s the actual quote, from page 27 of the book, so anyone who doubts me can look it up for themselves: 

'…by another equally hysterical call that would activate the dreaded People of Faith prayer tree.  Within thirty minutes our house would begin to fill up with fat women and their beady-eyed pedophile husbands.'  (emphasis added)" 

By the way, the name "People of Faith" refers to Christians. I guess the authors figured that, by NOT using the word "Christians", no one would feel they (the authors) were unfairly stereotyping and judging ALL followers of Jesus. Well, that sure didn't work, because, if I picked this up, it stands to reason that other readers would, too. For the full review of this book, please click HERE.

 

One of my biggest complaints with this one is that the characters didn't seem as vivid as they were in the first installment. Also, the pacing was much slower. Cavallaro took a bit too long to set up the story, and the mystery was not as page-turning as the one in the first novel. 

Although I did enjoy finding out more about Charlotte Holmes's family, one thing that REALLY bothered me in this book was that Watson began to try doing detective work himself. Here's a quote from my review regarding this: "I also disliked that Watson kind of began to eclipse Holmes in this book, as he attempted to do some brilliant sleuthing of his own. That struck me as a bit of a sexist, male chauvinist type of attempt on his part to somehow be 'worthy' of someone as brilliant as Charlotte Holmes." Click HERE for the complete review.

 

This novel had been SO 'hyped up' by the time I got to it, I was SURE I was going to LOVE it! Not so! Although there were some similarities to The Twilight Saga, I did like the two MCs. The novel's pervasive darkness finally got to me, though. I just had this overall feeling of OPPRESSION as I read this book. I didn't like most of the other characters, although I did like the storyline itself, as well as the love between the two MCs. 

I also disliked that some of the characters were stereotypes. 

Basically, though, this story and its setting were just much TOO creepy for me. This book comes very close to belonging in the horror genre. Not for me at all! If you're interested, you can find the full review HERE.

This book was very interesting -- at first. It had to do with the Salem witch trials, although there was a modern storyline, as well. Ultimately, however, the book fell flat. There were the usual Mean Girls involved, and the romance was not all that exciting. 

I also had some issues with Abby, the female MC. Here's a relevant quote from my review: "Yet, once she discovers she's a witch, she decides to use magic to win her old crush's adoration, because she wants to exact revenge on the mean girl who has been making her life miserable, and happens to be Travis's girlfriend. This is not the type of thing a protagonist should do, if an author wants her readers to identify with this character." Check out the full review HERE.

Although I did like the main characters in this novel, they were a bit too much like the MCs in The Twilight Saga. And Ever, the female protagonist, has issues with self-esteem, just like Bella does in the Twilight books. 

One thing I did like about this book was the male MC's interactions with historical art figures, such as Van Gogh and Picasso. That was really fascinating! 

The villain in the book was defeated much too easily, in my opinion. However, I did enjoy the writing and the plot.

Here's a relevant quote: "I thought it was very well-written, the plot did keep me in suspense (I managed to avoid the temptation to read ahead), and the characters were very engaging, although somewhat flat -- especially the villain.  The romance was pretty good, too, although I think it could have been even better." For the full review, click HERE.

So here they are -- six books that gave me VERY mixed feelings. Thus, I could not wholeheartedly love them. With some, the writing style was what first hooked me. There were other elements, though, that spoiled my reading experience. I am not at all tempted to go back and re-read these books, except for one -- The Last of August. I'd like to give this one "a second chance". Maybe I missed something the first time..... Lol.

By the way, have any of you read any of these books? I'd love to know what you thought of them!

What are your thoughts on
 this topic?
Please leave me a comment
and let me know!

The Book Lover's Den No. 23: Books That Give Me Mixed Feelings, Part I

Welcome to my renewed literary musing feature! I have decided 

to post it on Mondays now!

In each weekly post, I explore 

my thoughts on several 

book-related topics.

This Week's Topic

Books that give me mixed feelings.

This is something I am reluctant to admit to, especially when it concerns a book that lots of other readers have raved about. But this is a topic that simply stands as evidence that not every reader is going to like every book that manages to reach publication, whether through traditional publishing or self-publishing. It's inevitable. "It is what it is", as this now ubiquitous saying goes....

There are those books that I have even hugged to my heart, and then there are THOSE books, the ones I would truly want to LOVE, the ones I almost DO love, but just.....can't, for one reason or another. These are the books that have disappointed me, that I look at sadly, shaking my head, because I can just feel how much BETTER they could have been, how much MORE they could have enchanted me. 

With several of these books, things started out beautifully. The prose flowed like a river swollen by spring rains, the characters were living, breathing, human beings whose stories I was immediately interested in, and just as immediately found myself immersed in. 

And then....SOMETHING, or sometimes, NOTHING, happened. And the book fell flat on its face. And I felt like, like.....shaking the book, and asking it, in a very hurt voice, "But what's WRONG with you?! WHY have you turned out this way, this very bewilderingly not-what-I-wanted-or-expected way?! WHY have you disappointed me, after we started out as such GREAT friends?!"

And so, when such a thing unexpectedly happens, I just lay the book aside, and stare off into space, just numb with shock. 

Then there are the books that are a struggle from the very beginning. I keep hoping agaisnt hope that "things will pick up" somehow, and that I will start liking the book, that it will suddently turn into one of those that keep you up until the wee hours. Except that it just doesn't. And so finally, regretfully, I lay this type of book aside, too. And I sigh for what could have been....

I find these books very easy to get rid of, though. Furthermore, these are not the ones I'm really referring to in this post. It's the others, the ones that ALMOST make me love them, but don't, that I have trouble with. I wait for a long time before I actually do get rid of them, even though I KNOW that I will not want to pick them up again. But then, suddenly, one day, I do indeed get rid of them, taking them over to Goodwill. And yet, it is with a pang of regret that I turn such a book over to a Goodwill clerk. My hope, at that point, is that the book will find its way to a reader who can appreciate it. I certainly haven't been able to. 

I can't but feel that perhaps I missed something, or didn't get something.... But then there are the times when I am actually indignant that a book, especially one that had gotten "a lot of hype", has been a disappointing read, or rather, has disappointed me, for I am one of those people who firmly believe that books are living creatures. 

So I sadly turn away from these reading experiences, and try to take my mind off the feelings of disappointment and dismay. It's not very easy for me to do this, however. I find myself going over the book's plot, analyzing it. Was there anything the author could have done differently? What about the characters? What was it about them that let me down? And so on.... With most of these books, it's pretty easy to pinpoint exactly what went wrong for me. In my next post, I will refer to some of these books, and hint at what I think turned off to them. 

The interesting thing here, I have discovered, is that sometimes it's not the plot or the characters that make me have mixed feelings about a book. It's the author's belief or value system, which of course underlies the story, that bothers me. If an author callously disposes of a character, or badly humiliates another, it really bothers me. It disturbs me. It could be the author's too-meticulous attention to blood and gore. Or it could be that a character who had acted in a noble manner throughout most of the book suddenly acts in a totally evil manner. 

Sometimes what really galls me is that an evil character should NOT have gotten something good, or vice versa -- a good character should not have suffered the horrible thing they have suffered. I realize that this is probably too idealistic, even for books, but there it is. I can't help feeling the way I do. 

And here I come to the crux of the matter. Books make me feel a certain number of ways. Of course, this is nothing new; it happens to every reader, especially those who read fiction. However, with these books I'm discussing here, there's a terrible clash of feelings, and they're frequently opposed to each other. I might simultaneously feel elated and depressed, bored and enchanted. These feelings are not necessarily always present together at the same time, however. I might start a book feeling elation, only to feel more and more depressed as I continue to read. Or the feeling of enchantment makes me blissfully ride along, getting into the story, only to come across something that makes me feel angry. Again, it could be that a character simply should NOT have acted the way they did, given the values they supposedly hold, according to how they've been presented in the story. Or it could be something else. 

The thing about these books is that I can't quite bring myself to hate them, and yet, I don't like them -- AT ALL. 

In the past, I have sometimes reviewed these books. Sometimes, I have simply decided not to bother doing so. When I do review them, I usually give them no more than three stars. Sometimes, however, I give them two. If the prose style is superb, I reluctantly give them four stars, feeling that I can't in good conscience give them five. 

When reading five-star reviews of books that I have mixed feelings about, I am always puzzled. Did these people read the same book I did? Well, the cover might be different, as they could be reviewing a different edition. The plot, however, is the very same, the characters the same. Yes, we read the very same book. Incredibly, we read and saw and felt very different things. They rave, in their review. And I just feel the crushing disappointment..... And, at the risk of being redundant, I will again ask: did I miss something? At other times I am VERY sure that I didn't miss a thing, that the book was indeed lacking in some way. Then I ask myself how it is that these reviewers didn't feel or see what I did. How is it that they totally LOVED a book I can't be enthusiastic about?

I have also discovered that a series that started out well has become a HUGE disappointment as later volumes have been published. However, I am not alone in this, I know. Other readers have referred to this sad phenomenon in their GR and Amazon reviews. It's just that we might be referring to two different series!

Bottom line: each book is an adventure, especially in the case of fiction (and even with some nonfiction, unless the subject matter is something boring like "theory of statistics"). Unless a reader has peeked ahead (and what reader hasn't at times committed this literary "sin"?), or found out the details of the plot through Wikipedia or a review with way too many spoilers, a book essentially remains an unfolding mystery, surprising and delighting (or not delighting) the reader as the pages are turned. (Hmmmm.... "As the Page Turns"....sounds like the PERFECT title for a bookish soap opera....) At times, the adventure leads to great enjoyment and exhilarationl; at other times, it just peters out somewhere along the way. So reading entails some risk, albeit not of the type that will result in real, bodily injury. That there IS some risk, though, is undeniable. There's the risk of being disappointed. There's the risk of feeling SO mad at the author that one wants to do violence to the book (as I stated in a previous TBLD post, I would NEVER go that far). There's the risk of wasting one's money and time on a book that will never be a beloved member of one's personal library. 

Are these risks worth taking? Absolutely. Because we addicted bookworms keep picking up books, in the eternal hope of finding one that will click with us, that will make us sing for joy, even if only in a low voice, or in our heads. And so we continue to "take the plunge", to open those covers and dare to see what lies beyond.... We risk it all, we risk the chance of sighing, "Meh....", in hopes of coming across a book that will make us say instead, "Now WHY hadn't I read THIS one before?!"

What are your thoughts on
 this topic?
Please leave me a comment
and let me know!