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To DNF Or Not To DNF a Book? 19

 in Books / Opinion by

To DNF a book for me is always so painful. (Do Not Finish for those of you who don’t know the acronym (I didn’t used to)).

There was once a book I was going to put in my DNF pile but I decided to push through and I was surprisingly happy with how it turned out.
If I had given up then I would never have read it and experienced the book.

However, I have tried to push through books that I would have DNFed and felt like I wasted so much time!

So my question that I pose to you is do you like to DNF books or do you struggle through to give it a chance?

For me, personally, I don’t often DNF books, so when I do, I don’t bother to continue. There are so many other books out there that I want to read, on top of school work, that I really don’t like to waste my time on, well…, crappy writing. And trust me, some stuff is really bad.

To DNF Or Not To DNF a Book?

Especially when you blog, you get emails from up-and-coming authors who want you to read their book for free.

When I was younger I’d take everything but didn’t know about honest reviewing and would try my best to spin a bad book in a good light. But now I have to be clear that I will give an honest review because some of the stuff I’ve read is just so painful. Thankfully some send me previews so I can immediately say no before I get into it.

I mean, have you ever gotten an ebook from an up-and-coming author, agreed to read and review it and wanted to just die as the writing was so bad? I’m talking 50 Shades of Grey bad and then even worse.

As my time is precious, I now vet everything I read. Books from the library, if I don’t like it I won’t finish it as my TBR pile is as tall as Mount Fuji. With e-books I generally say no anyway because I hate reading on my phone, but sometimes something catches my eye (like the one I’m reading now!).

What are your thoughts on DNF? Share in the comments down below. I’m really curious!

Classic Versus New: The Art of Taking Your Time 14

 in Books / Interesting / Loving Language / Opinion by

Have you ever received a book recommendation from an adult of a classic that you were told you needed to read, but when you picked it up you were disappointed to find you struggled?

Then you get a recommendation from a friend for a YA or new adult book and you flew through it?

Why is that? Why can you more easily read one than the other?

When I was in High School, I had to read a lot of classic works as my English teacher really loved old novels. For the entire class, we generally loved the story, but just struggled with the reading. Class discussions helped us fall in love with the story but homework sucked.

If you ever take time to look at how books are written now versus how they used to be written, you’ll see the difference.

When you look at classic novels, like Anne of Green Gables,for example, you’ll see that the first page is all one sentence, just with lots of punctuation.

You look at the first page of most YA and adult books, you’ll see maybe 8 short sentences in the first paragraph alone. And that doesn’t even take up the full page.

Classic Versus New: The Art of Taking Your Time

Short, bite sized sentences.

Most books now is just like that. It has short sentences, short chapters and lots of action. There’s always something going on – there’s no quiet time to just reflect on the book and writing itself.

The Essex Serpent  is a fantastic example of a new book that’s written in an old style.

  • The book moves much slower.
  • They will spend pages just describing a town
  • You really just experience the atmosphere as it’s built slowly and carefully – there isn’t lots of action going on.

You don’t need someone to die or for there to be sex scenes on every page for it to be good writing.

Just because a book doesn’t have you racing to the end of a chapter to find out what happens next doesn’t mean it’s a bad book!

It’s a writing style, that’s all.

People now are always so busy, running around, used to short info (ex: tweets) that they need short sentences. Sitting down and reading complex sentences, big words and ideas takes too much effort. It’s a mental discipline that many now are lacking. I’m guilty of it too, but the challenge of classic novels is good. It helps you to write better and just become more rounded as an individual.

Is it difficult? Of course!

Is it worth the challenge? Definitely!

Overall, my advice to you would be to not to be discouraged.

Pick up a classic book and struggle through it. Take 15 minutes to read one page. Not all reading should be relaxing.

Sometimes you have to put in a little effort to take something away.

 

Refugee Week @ Waterstones

 in Book Events / Books by

With everything going on in the United States currently, I feel like this is an appropriate time that this event is happening (although it’s in the U.K.).

What is it?

“Launched in 1988, Refugee Week is a nationwide programme of events and activities that recognise the contribution of refugees to British society and the continuing importance of offering sanctuary to those in need. To mark Refugee Week, we’ve gathered together a range of reading that raises awareness of the experience of refugees, including thought-provoking true stories, original fiction and inspirational books for children.”

-From Waterstones

Definitely check out some of these books because they’ll give you a little peek into their lives and their experiences. An average person will never know what their lives are like and understanding what they go through can help you make informed decisions in your life and just give you a broader perspective.

Click here to see it all!

Refugee Week @ Waterstones

Bookworm vs. Book Critic – Who To Trust? [My Opinion]

 in Books / Creative / Fun / Interesting / Loving Language by
*This post is purely based on opinions and spurred on by a post from BookRiot

Sometimes you’re looking for a good book to read, but the question remains where to get your suggestions from.

Should you go and ask some serious bookworms what they found to be good and would recommend? Or should you go and find some detailed suggestions from Book Critics? 

Naturally, one might think that they should turn to the Critic because, after all, it is their job to recommend and review books. But a critic (based on my knowledge) doesn’t exactly do a book review. Sure, they will ‘review’ the book, but it’s nothing like those reviews you find on bookworms blogs where they just fangirl and say how much they liked it and why. Critics are critical (hence the name).

They will look at a book and rip it apart, finding what was wrong with it, saying why it didn’t sell well, showing how it is similar (or not similar) to others books and all that good stuff.

 

New Years Reading Challenges

Now, don’t get me wrong. Sometimes I do truly appreciate that. But I want the honest reviews from the reader.

I like reading reviews that have the emotions of the writer. Bookworms, who are passionate about books can sway me to read a book that got a bad review from a critic, just because they’re so passionate. And hey, generally I end up loving it. 

If I left it up to critic I might never have read that book and lost out, which would have been so sad!

Bookworms are passionate and can make good arguments. Critics look at it from the literature stand point. And not all good books (story wise) have fantastic writing styles. Look at a lot of romance books! You may love a really badly written romance book, just because of the story. A critic would most likely rip it apart. Another bookworm would fangirl/boy with you about it until kingdom comes.

Now, this is not saying that critics are useless. They write some really helpful reviews and it can be necessary for an author to grow and do better. It can also have its negative sides too, such as completely destroying a pretty decent book.

So when it comes to who you should trust, that is completely up to the individual!

For me, I trust the bookworms. They are passionate about series and read so much, not critically but just for enjoyment, that I feel that their opinions are good. 

This is not me telling you to trust what I say on my blog in my review, and on others too. You have to take their opinions with a grain of salt too. A disgruntled bookworm can be nastier than a book critic (as they’re paid and can’t say certain things generally). You really have to read the review and see if it fits what you’re looking for. I’ve had recommendations of books in genres that I would never read, and even though it got a great recommendation/review, I still didn’t read it. It’s up to your opinion.

If you want something more….detached and factual, I’d look for a decent critic review. If you’re looking for something with some serious passion (or hate, depending on the review), then maybe a bookworm is your choice.

What are your thoughts? Do you like reviews from bookworms or critics more?

*All points made in this post reflect my own personal opinions and are noway backed up by data or studies. This is just me, a bookworm, doing her little rant.*

 

Perfect Book Lovers Vacation – The Open Book, Scotland

 in Book Events / Books / Creative / Fun / Interesting / Library by

Are you a book lover? Do you need a vacation? Are you willing to wait…3 years?!

Well look no further because I got you covered.

This wonderful little bookshop has a room available and for $50 a night, you can run the bookshop!

No better way than to be able to run a bookshop for a week with a little less commitment. Sounds perfect, right?!

CBS did a wonderful little segment on it, which you should check out below!

While it does hurt me a little bit that the bookshop isn’t run by a massive book lover (she watches the movies more than reads the books) it’s still a fantastic idea. There’s also a potential up-and-coming movie about this place. Not sure how to feel about that, but I guess well see.

But if you’re looking for a little quiet get away, and are willing to wait about 3 years for a spot (as she’s completely booked up until then) then this is your destination!