Rants and Raves: Things In Books That Float My Boat

This is a feature that appears sporadically on the blog, whenever I have a bookish issue I need to rant or rave about. Feel free to comment with your thoughts!

 Earlier this week I blogged about things in books I'm just not that jazzed about. Now, it's time to talk about things in books that float my boat.

(Again, this is partly inspired by my recent paring-down of my Goodreads to-read list, and also by Small Review's similar posts Talk to the Hand and Give Me That Book!)

These are all things that hit the right notes for me, for whatever reason:

- Victorian/Regency era. I don't know that I really need to explain this, do I? The formalities. The balls. The perceived social slights. I drink it all up.

Gratuitous P&P picture.

- Anything with a psychological element, especially if it's used in an interesting way with the storyline. Caveat: mental health issues MUST be portrayed accurately. Otherwise this will backfire badly and probably cause me to get more aggravated than if there had never been any psychological element at all.

- Gothic anything, pretty much. Depends how much it falls on the side of horror (usually a NO for me) versus suspense/mystery/thriller (YES). Double points if it's a historical Gothic setting (not just a general sort of Gothic atmosphere in a modern-day setting).

- Historical fantasy/pseudo-historical fantasy. By the latter I mean, the story takes place in a world that FEELS like it's a medieval fantasy or whatever, but it's not actually set in the real world. Or maybe it is but you don't know because that isn't made clear. Whatever, as long as there are heroes and heroines off on quests, and princesses doing princess-y things, and maybe a meddling sorcerer or two, I'm happy.

- Witty banter and unresolved sexual tension. Hey, if it was good enough for Jane Austen, it's good enough for everybody.

"The Look," for everyone's appreciation.

- Star-crossed lovers/forbidden romance. Because if the couple isn't bickering (see above), then the conflict has to come from *somewhere*, so we must rely on external forces to part them! And nothing makes you want to root more for a couple to get together than if everyone else is trying to separate them.

- Non-human beings slowly getting in touch with their "human"/emotional side. I probably haven't read all that many books where this has happened, but I do like it when it does! Examples that spring to mind are Isabel in Mistwood by Leah Cypess, and Wanderer in The Host by Stephenie Meyer.

- Twins and clones. Twins because they can switch places and fool people, or have a special "twin connection" of some sort (which needs to be written well, mind you), and clones because they are a creepier version of twins. (Although clone stories are only interesting if the clone has a distinct personality; if it's just used as some sort of plot device in a sci-fi story and the clones are like robots, I'm out.)

- Fairy tale retellings. Love 'em. I prefer ones that are set in a historical/fantasy setting, however – I'm a little more iffy on modernized or sci-fi-ed fairy tales.

What elements/premises/tropes in books float your boat? Do you share any on my list?

Rants & Raves: Things In Books I'm Just Not That Jazzed About

This is a feature that appears sporadically on the blog, whenever I have a bookish issue I need to rant or rave about. Feel free to comment with your thoughts!

The other day I finished going through my Goodreads TBR list and paring it down. It had gotten to over 2200 books and I'd seen another blogger (I think Jamie from The Perpetual Page-turner, perhaps?) saying that they'd been weeding out books they're not likely to read from their list, so I figured I'd do the same. (I am now down to below 1850 books, so I am feeling good about it! Even though that is still a massive amount of books, lol.)

Anyway, during this process, I've noted certain elements or aspects of books that make me go, "Ehhhhh I'm probably NOT going to like that" so I've compiled some of them in this blog post. (Don't worry, there are others that make me go, "oh YES I'm keeping this on the list, how have I not read it already?!", and they'll be catalogued in another post!).

This was also inspired by Small Review's similar posts Give Me That Book! (which I happened to stumble across recently and got me thinking, 'I should do a post like that too...') and Talk to the Hand.

So without further ado, here are things in books that will make me raise an eyebrow and think twice about adding to my TBR list...

- Trolls. I just... they're gross? Usually? Sorry, troll fans. Maybe point me to a book where they aren't portrayed as ugly, hulking, clumsy beasts who like to gnaw on unsavoury things. (Same thing with zombies, really, unless they are portrayed in a very un-gross way. Also not a fan of demons or goblins. I get creeped out easily, okay? :P)

- Cheating. This one depends a lot on the situation and how it's written, but as a general rule, I am not a fan of characters cheating on their boyfriends/girlfriends/spouses/what-have-you (I don't condone cheating in real life, so I am not thrilled to read about it in my books. It will definitely lower most characters in my opinion.) Similarly, I'm also not big on characters who lead on two (or more) people at the same time.

- Circuses. Clowns kinda freak me out and seeing poor animals forced to do tricks is not my idea of a fun time. Circuses always seem like they have a great capacity to go really WRONG.

I genuinely don't get why anybody LIKES clowns.

- Talking animals. These are hit-and-miss for me, but here's a detailed post explaining it.

- Nasty, mean-spirited, backstabbing characters who have no redeeming qualities and do not learn their lesson. Wuthering Heights, I'm looking at you. Also, the Luxe series. And Vicious.

- Really "zany" characters who are just TOO out there, and make a point of being quirky because they want to prove how different and special and unique they are. Believe me, if there was a convention for all the quirky/zany/"unique" YA characters, they'd realize really fast how many of them there actually are. (The blogosphere seems to be divided on these sorts of characters — half of it appears to love them, the quirkier the better, and the other half... doesn't. I usually fall into that latter half, particularly with contemporary books where there are just one or two zany characters, while everybody else is "appallingly" ordinary.)

- Superpowers/superheroes. I was never into Superman/Spiderman/Batman/whatever-else-there-is growing up (either the comics or the movies), so this sort of premise just doesn't tend to appeal to me. I don't read books for non-stop action-y fight scenes, and I feel like that is what most of these books would be.

- Computer hackers and virtual realities. Start talking code and you will see my eyes glaze over. Geeky discussions of technology hurt my brain. I can't visualize what's going on and I get really bored.

What are some elements in books that will make you go "uh, nope, not reading THAT"? Are any of them on my list?

Stay tuned for the next post, where I talk about some things in books that get my hearty stamp of approval! 

Rants & Raves: The Value of (Thoughtful) Negative Reviews

This is a feature that appears sporadically on the blog, whenever I have a bookish issue I need to rant or rave about. Feel free to comment with your thoughts!

This post was inspired by the amusing video put together by The Midnight Garden, which featured various YA authors reading excerpts of negative reviews of their books. To all those authors, I say kudos for having the guts to do that!

While making me smile, the video also got me thinking about why, as a reader and blogger, I often appreciate reading negative reviews. I feel like everyone gets so up in arms about negative reviews that it's something I shouldn't be admitting — but hey, it's true.

I find them useful, quite frankly, in the following two areas:

In Evaluating Book Blogs

When I'm perusing a book blog that's new to me and deciding whether or not I want to follow, one of the first things I do is look at their review archive, of course. I tend to click on reviews of books that I've read, to see how our perspectives compare without spoiling myself for a book I haven't read.

(Sidenote: book bloggers, if you do not have an easy-to-browse list of your reviews, please consider making one! It is so much more user-friendly than trying to slog through a backlog of blog posts.)

And when I'm skimming these reviews, I'm looking primarily for two things:

1.) Is the review written in an articulate manner, and has the reviewer given the book critical thought? (Spelling and grammar also make a difference.)

I don't want to see something like:

OMG <insert title here> was like THE best book ever!! I wanted to be BFFs with Molly and I <3 Dave so hard!!!!!1111 *swoon* I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. This is DEFINATELY a book that everyone will LUV.

A review like that will make me die a little inside, and then I will leave the blog in search of something that does not hurt my brain.

2.) Has the blogger written some negative reviews?

These don't have to be books that I gave a low rating to. In fact, they can even be books that I was impressed with and enjoyed (although, depending on how fiercely I love the book and how well they defend their negative rating, that could potentially impact how likely I am to follow.) What I really just want to see is — are they capable of examining a book and finding flaws in it, and then following that, are they gutsy enough to post it on their blog?

Authors find reading negative reviews about their books tough, but it's important to remember — it's difficult, too, for reviewers to post them, especially if the review is of a book that everyone else seems to have loved.

In Ordering Books 

Besides helping me to evaluate book blogs, negative reviews can also be mightily useful in, of course, influencing my book-ordering decisions. I like to know whether or not I'll be wasting my time on a book. Generally, I tend to steer clear of books that get an overwhelming number of negative reviews on Goodreads, but a few negative reviews does not necessarily mean the book is bad, or even that it won't work for me.

This is where the "thoughtful" part of it comes in. The negative reviews have to be written in such a way that I can figure out whether or not the book's flaws would irritate me. Sometimes what one reviewer hates another loves, or at the very least can put up with. Other times, the flaws are deal breakers. So a negative review that just says...

OMG I HATE THIS BOOK SO MUCH. Why did <insert author name> ever write such a piece of ****? Why is she writing at all? I threw this book so hard against the wall there is now a dent in my wall!!!!!

...is as useless to me as the previous example. I need to know why the book did not work for the reviewer (if possible, without spoilers). Personal attacks on the author are, needless to say, entirely uncalled-for. One should always be able to review a book critically without resorting to nasty, slanderous remarks.

As a reader and blogger, then, negative reviews are really a good deal more helpful to me than positive reviews. Sure, it's nice to read about how much someone loved a book, and yes, glowing reviews can get me excited about it...but I like to go into the reading experience with at least one eye open. Is this book going to be so stereotypical and cliched I will be groaning 10 pages in? Is it riddled with typos? Does it have a protagonist that is "too stupid to live"?

Basically, I want to know if a book will tick my "red flag" checkboxes. If so, it will probably drop down my need-to-have list. And if not, well, then I'll be able to discover its awesome attributes all on my own.

Rants & Raves: Yes, I *Am* Stingy With My 5-Star Ratings

This is a feature that appears sporadically on the blog, whenever I have a bookish issue I need to rant or rave about. Feel free to comment with your thoughts!

*Note: this post was inspired/influenced by any number of discussions other bloggers have had about ratings, and in particular Steph Su Reads's posts here and here.

You may have noticed I don't give 5-star ratings very often. In fact, it is quite a rare occurrence for me. But I know some authors find 3 or 3.5 star reviews disappointing, so I thought I'd explain my thought processes regarding ratings.

To start with: I may not hand out 5 stars like they're going out of style, but I am even less generous with 1-star ratings. In fact, I've never given a book just 1 star on this blog. I think I'd have to be actively appalled/offended/disgusted/horrified by its content in order for that to happen. Usually I can find some redeeming quality in a book, even if overall I didn't enjoy it, and that will bump up the rating.

I guess I see the distribution of book quality kind of like a normal distribution.

You're bound to get a few pretty crummy, poorly written books, on the low end — say, 2 and 2.5 stars in my rating system.

Ones that make me look like this.

You're bound to get a few absolutely fantastic, blew-me-away books on the high end — 4.5 and 5 stars.

Ones that make me look like this.

And then you've got the majority of the books in-between: not bad, but not the best book you've ever read. Those are the 3 and 3.5 and 4-star books.

Bloggers differ in how they approach rating a book. Some people are fine with giving a 5-star rating even if they found several aspects to criticize. Some might only give 5 stars to books that have the "re-readability factor." Personally, for me to give 5 stars to a book, it has to wow me. Maybe it's tackled an issue in a completely original way. Perhaps it's a stand-out example of a story within a certain sub-genre. Maybe there is absolutely nothing I can think of that would improve the novel.

Because let's face it: if I went around giving 5 stars to loads of books, the 5-star rating would quickly lose its impact. It wouldn't be that extra star beyond the (still very good) 4-star rating. And I think I would soon start having trouble distinguishing between what qualifies as a 4-star read vs. a 5-star one.

5 Stars: Outstanding! Buy it!

Not every book stands out enough to be "outstanding".

Interestingly, for me a 5-star rating does not always correspond to a belongs-on-my-favourites-shelf book. Sometimes, but not inevitably. I think there are likely plenty of books I consider my favourites that would get 4 or 4.5 stars, and perhaps even a few books I would "objectively" give 5 stars that aren't among my favourites. So just because I give a book 4 stars doesn't mean I didn't truly enjoy it! It just means there wasn't that "it factor" (for lack of a better term) to elevate it to 5 stars.

I'd also like to point out that books I gave (or would have given) 5 stars when I first started this blog are not necessarily ones I would now give the same rating. I was a lot less particular and critical a reader back in 2010! This doesn't mean I don't still love those books. I just suspect that were I to read them again, examining them critically, I'd probably catch sight of more flaws or areas that could be improved.

The Goose Girl and Crown Duel are a couple that might fall into this category...although it's impossible to tell, since I suspect my view of them will be forever tinted with nostalgic affection!

In conclusion: 5 stars is not my default rating. Authors, your book has to earn it. And because I do read so critically, I keep that 5-star rating in reserve for the ones that strike me as the most exceptional. Kind of like giving out the "class valedictorian" award. So if your book's gotten a 3 or 3.5 or 4-star rating from me, there's no need to worry — you may not be that one kid in the class getting the elusive 100%, but you're still bringing home good grades.

A Tribute to Vanished Bloggers

I spent some time today going through my Feedly and unfollowing blogs that had either been discontinued or had been inactive for a long time. There were a few blogs that no longer existed, and one URL that now leads to a page about anti–hair loss products for men (the greatest irony being the blog had been called "Forever Young: A YA Lit Blog"...well, I guess that's one way to try to stay forever young, eh?) And then there were some bloggers whose last post was a declaration that they would not be blogging anymore, or would be taking a hiatus, etc.

But I was actually kind of shocked at the large number of bloggers who simply seemed to have vanished into the mists of cyberspace, never to be seen again. Bloggers who hadn't posted in over a year, but whose last post gave no indication that they'd be up and leaving.

Maybe they read this?

Which made me wonder...what happened to them? Are they okay? Are they just super busy with work/school/life? Are they ever coming back?

The thing is, we don't tend to notice a lack of something. We notice when somebody posts, yes. If they haven't posted in a long time, we may go, "Oh! It's a new post from So-and-So! Man, it's been a while!" But the absence of activity does not raise the same flag, and so we continue on, reading new posts from other bloggers and forgetting all about good old what's-her-name who hasn't uttered a peep since February 2011.

And once you do notice, then how do you respond? Online friendships are a tricky thing. Unless you know the blogger really well, you can hardly just call them up and go, "WHERE ARE YOU?" You can shoot them an e-mail or tweet or comment, sure, but you don't want to go overboard and be perceived as some kind of weird stalker.

So, this post is a tribute to all the disappearing or disappeared bloggers. Think about it for a moment. Which bloggers do you know who have faded from the blogosphere? Who do YOU miss? And how do you react when a blogger friend just suddenly seems to fall off the face of the planet?

Cross My Palm: YA Covers

This is a series of posts I'm doing discussing current trends in YA genres and what might be in store for the future. This is just based on my own observations of books and what I've seen publishers/authors/other bloggers talking about.

Okay, so this time around it's not a genre, but covers I'll be talking about. This will probably be the last Cross My Palm post, at least for a while — although I may return to this feature in the future! Catch up on all the others here.

• The about-to-kiss (or sometimes even middle-of-kiss) covers. I know this trend has been discussed by other bloggers on more than one occasion (Stacked has a great post on "almost-kiss" covers here, and Lori from Pure Imagination highlights "kissing/hugging" covers in her On Top of the Covers feature here). I don't really have a problem with these covers the same way some bloggers do, but then, I rarely read in public. If I did, though, I'm not so sure I would pick one of the following to take along: Something Like Normal by Trish Doller, First Comes Love by Katie Kacvinsky, The Thing About The Truth by Lauren Barnholdt, or When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle. This trend seems to be found primarily in the contemporary YA genre, as is the next one.

• The "couple standing in profile having a magical moment" covers. These are a cousin to the about-to-kiss covers — ones like Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill, The Summer of No Regrets by Katherine Grace Bond, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith, Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry, My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick, Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti, and While He Was Away by Karen Schreck. These I am generally a fan of, actually. Less lip action, more adorable cuteness. 

 Seriously, though, even the colour schemes of the backdrops are similar with these covers!

• The HUGE FONT covers. These covers seem to think they're making a statement or something. Like, "My font is SO GINORMOUS that I must be super important and deep. Read me!" This is only emphasized all the more if the font happens to be bold, clean and sans serif, as is the case with many of the following examples: Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown, When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle, What's Left Of Me by Kat Zhang, The Best Night of Your Pathetic Life by Tara Altebrando, Never Let You Go by Emma Carlson Berne, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield, Ten by Gretchen McNeil, and Something Like Normal by Trish Doller.

• Masks. I can't really complain about these because you have to admit they're pretty, but...maybe the cover designers could vary it just a little more, and have something other than a close-up of a girl's face wearing a glittering half-mask? Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould, The Girl in the Mask by Marie-Louise Jensen, and Venom by Fiona Paul look remarkably similar; the exception here is Ironskin by Tina Connolly, which happily manages to give us some atmosphere as well as the character in her entirety. Covers with masks seem to be found mostly in the historical YA genre at present.

• Reflections. These are mostly in water, but occasionally in mirrors, and not to be confused with the separate but related "girl submerged in water" trend (link to another cover trend post from Stacked). Reflections can be found in the covers of Through to You by Emily Hainsworth, The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee, The Selection by Kiera Cass, All These Lives by Sarah Wylie, One Moment by Kristina McBride, The Princesses of Iowa by M. Molly Backes, Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson, and Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins.

• Butterflies. I'm not too sure why, but for whatever reason, butterflies seem to be gracing YA covers left and right at the moment. Recent and upcoming butterfly cover books include: Possession by Elana Johnson, Pure by Julianna Baggott, Incarnate by Jodi Meadows, The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison, Haven and Mirage by Kristi Cook, Middle Ground by Katie Kacvinsky, A World Away by Nancy Grossman, and The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker. Interestingly, several of these books are dystopian/post-apocalyptic. (Symbolism, anyone? :D)

And then there are...

• The cover styles that have become so ingrained in YA that they aren't even trends anymore. Namely, close-ups of faces (usually Caucasian girls), the off-with-their-head covers (usually Caucasian girls), and of course, the ubiquitous "pretty dress" ones (do I really need to say who these usually are?) A couple of points here. First, I'd love to see the "whitewashing" of YA covers stop entirely and more covers featuring PoC characters being created and used. Second, do you agree that these "trends" can no longer be considered as such, but rather something more permanent in YA cover design? Or do you think we have a hope of escaping the pretty dress phenomenon someday?  

So, readers: have you noticed the above trends in covers? Any that I missed? What are your favourite/least favourite trends?

Also, for a blog devoted to honest appraisals of YA cover art/design, be sure to check out That Cover Girl if you haven't already!