Hey bookworms! Sorry if you weren't looking for a rant in a video like this, I just don't like bullies on Twitter going after booktubers. Hope everyone had a great Christmas!
I'll admit, I usually don't care for rant-videos or "worst-book"- kind of videos, but I don't mind the ones you've done. You're never mean-spirited or shouty about it, you're always up front about it being your opinion, and acknowledge that others might disagere. I like that. I've followed one or two book-tubers who've slowly slid into having rage-reading and "bad books" as their main content, and after a while it just gets exhausting to watch. I mean, I get it, some people like that kind of stuff, and all better for them. And although I don't much like those videos myself, I agree with what you said, I don't think it's right for twitter-bullies to go after those book-vlogers.
You guys are not book critics and official reviewers, you are better. Why? Because you are down to earth, no circlejerk of elitism and writing for peers and not for consumers. No agenda pushing, etc. And i love it. Merry Christmas, Mike and everyone who reads it, and happy new year.
I, in general, try to stay away from books that have great “reviews” from the professional reviewers, because usually those critically-acclaimed books are not my style at all. I come to Booktube to get recommendations, because the creators are real people who actually read the books and enjoy the same type of things I do. Down-to-earth is SPOT ON!
@@jericosha2842 I tend to agree. It's been a while since i've read it, so I'm shy on a lot of the details but I remember it dragging on a bit at times. Also I had trouble connecting to some of the main characters. Plot was good overall though.
I liked Elantris well enough. I read it after I read Mistborn, which was the first of Sanderson's stuff I read. I'm glad I didn't read it first because I don't think I would have continued with him if I had.
While I didn't like Elantris as much as Warbreaker, (I expected to love it.)I still liked the worldbuilding and the characters...hmm need to reread it.
And OMG the duel between Rand and Darth Demandred was so epic, although I didn't like that they explained being able to channel the One Power with midichlorians, oh well.
Let me guess, the author vs. reviewer drama was from Book Twitter, wasn't it? I don't have Twitter but I'd be surprised if it wasn't from there because Twitter, whatever faction it is, is the home of all things bigoted and disgusting. Like most of this is just unnecessary drama. I honestly feel like most people on Twitter just need a nice, attractive therapist or a fluffy pillow to scream their fucking heads off!
Booktubers ARE legitimate critics. I don't understand why some people refuse to acknowledge this fact. Just because Booktubers aren't a part of a major journalist publication doesn't mean that they aren't performing the same cultural function of a critic. And, yes, Mike, I agree, Booktubers should be left alone to make their lists, as long as they're not being malicious. On the other hand, those Booktubers (just like the authors they criticize) need to be okay with the criticism they receive, whether that's from their fanbase or from anyone really. PS. Can't wait for the MALAZAN read-along :)
I like when people talk about books they didn't enjoy. It makes it more authentic. When somebody only raves about every book I question if they're honest or not.
Thanks for your respectful video. Actually, one of the things I like most about your channel is your balanced approach to all your reviews. I don’t always have the same experience with a book, but we don’t need to have the same tastes. Keep doing what you do. Merry Christmas Mike!
Amen, Mike! If we only ever said wonderful things about the books we review, no one would have any reason to listen to us because we wouldn’t be believable. I love the therapeutic pause after you mentioned Sanderson. Ha ha! Even a writer with as much success as he has can have a miss.
I think you're more likely to write bad books if you're successful. You already know a good chunk of people will buy and like it regardless of quality.
No one likes everything. Anyone who does only positive reviews is lying, either outright or by omission. The minute you stop being honest is the minute you give up your integrity and you may as well not even bother to do reviews anymore. This infection of ownership/coercion of opinion, either by influence or sponsorship, by the producer has destroyed many channels, not just in this genre but across all media. At one point it almost destroyed YT completely, turning it into one giant infomercial distribution center... it has never really recovered.
The Phantom Menace reference broke my heart haha. I love the prequel films. Anyways, loved the video! You are spot on when you said that writers should expect criticism, and, as an author myself, I can say it's the nature of the beast. Some people will love your work, others will think you can't worth crap. On one of my stories I had people who thought it was well written, while a few others thought my writing was subpar. You can't please everyone, and to be a professional writer (or a hobbyist who enjoys putting their work out there as I am), you need to learn how to take criticism, valid and bullshit alike.
The sip of coffee before talking about Sanderson is priceless LOL 😂 Elantris didn't work for me either, that's why I used to stick to Mistborn for a long time. But now I've read other stuff from the cosmere.
Mate you are the man for bucking social norms. One point, I think authors should have every right to respond to critics if they want to. But if they do it in a duchey way, people will see it.
Mike , you keep going. You are obviously a lover of books and a seeker of stories and that's good. Remember when we speak out about anything at all ,we are vocalising not just our point of view but the point of view of others who may feel seem the way. Others may disagree with our assesments and that's fine; their voices will represent others who feel the way that they do since you cannot have an absolute. So keep ranting ,commenting and criticising that is the way we all gain true knowledge
Elantris is definitely the weakest Sanderson novel in terms of quality, but I am still excited for a sequel, because Sel as a world is one of the most interesting worlds in the Cosmere, and I'd like to see him revisit those characters with all this extra experience under his belt. Edit: That said, I also want a warbreaker sequel more, because Nightblood. Nightblood alone is enough reason to make it my most anticipated book.
Would hate for you to criticise a book and allow a reader, with a limited number of books they're going to read in their life who thinks they might not enjoy said book for some of the reasons you didn't, make a decision not to read it and improve their life a little
I think it's a bad look if you're a young author still looking for a big time break. But don't disrespect "just book bloggers" and then get pissy about their opinions. They are simply addicted to Twitter high-fives over anything else.
Merry Christmas Mike! Good list can definitely see where you're coming from but I would still rather read every book on this list back to back than have the experience I had reading Rythmn of War
I think it sometimes just depends on where you're at in life. What your emotional levels are. I have read books and depending on the mentioned aspects, my enjoyment of the books differed. Perhaps this applies to other people too and would influence what they feel is their most dissapointing reads of the year.
I think he’s talking about How to Train Your Gavin. He’s a middle grade booktuber that got bullied on twitter by a bunch of MG and YA authors (can’t name specifics bc it’s not my genre/crowd) for making a worst/disappointing books of 2020 video.
As a Sanderson fan I agree with others that the fanbase is sometimes really toxic and we tend to put him on too much of a pedestal. I personally like Elantra’s, even though I agree with your review. You can clearly see the beginning of ideas he would later develop, but it just still isn’t there. And also as you said no one is perfect.
Some books are good. Some books are bad. If they were confident enough to publish a book and have it beaten by critics, they should expect the people that are actual consumers/readers/fans to do the same. I'm not a critic professionally but I studied literature for years. I can have an educated opinion on a book and so can everyone else.
You Booktubers are more important than “journalists.” Your opinions are real and come from your hearts. I have chosen many books because of you alone, Mike. Thank you! Keep it all going💕
Free speech includes criticism. No one likes to be criticized, but everyone has the right to. I am reminded of Fahrenheit 451 in terms of a need for protection from anything that isn’t positive. A great book. Great video too!
This is why I read all the three star reviews for a book(they tend to be more thoughtful and balanced and you can get a better sense of the books quality from them) or wait for a book tuber whose tastes are close to mine to recommend it before buying. Books are too dang expensive and too much of an investment of time to read something you don’t enjoy and honest reviews are a gift to people who only have so much free time. I have two kids I hustle to different events and cook meals for a house to maintain and a wife I like to spend time with. My reading time is basically me sacrificing sleep and it is precious, so from the depths of my heart...Thanks for being honest.
@@odiums_taint just finished Valour....bloodyjings ...breathless finale.....i found myself exclaiming out loud a few times during this book!!! going to dive straight in to Ruin....hold on.......!!!
Hi Mike I’ve been with you from the start of your channel I always look forward to your videos, they are always respectful and informative I’m still on the fence about Malazan 🤣 Have a wonderful Christmas and I hope Santa brings you lots of books Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family 🌲🛍
They most likely feel threatened by some of the influence that 'book bloggers' can have due to the platforms they use being so large and Booktube increasing in popularity/size. Probably makes them feel better to decrease that threat in their mind by belittling it. The criticism they receive could be their best friend and some authors could do well in taking it with a pinch of salt and using it to improve on their writing flaws. I agreed with you though Mike, criticism does not equal hate and there are plenty of writers out there who are still good people and decent writers regardless of flaws!
Strongly agree with your rant! The point of reviewing books is that you help other people decide what books they will probably like and probably dislike. A reviewer disliking a book doesn't necessary harm the author, because their reasons to dislike a book, might be my reasons to be interested in it and pick the book up. I do agree that it needs to be done respectful, but if a reviewer can only praise books and not say anything negative, it kind of throws out the entire point of making and watching reviews.
My most disappointing read of the year was Bird Box by a substantial margin. *ducking behind cover* And I don't like Sanderson's books, they feel very bland to me. Same for WoT, where every good idea that was hinted at got lost along the way. Every story thread I kinda liked was dismissed. And the only unpredictable thing was how many books it took to reach the very obvious conclusion to several of the threads that were not dismissed. Well, it just wasn't for me, I also didn't enjoy the writing style, same with Sanderson.
Entertainment Weekly & People magazine do a Best and Worst Lists every year. No one goes after them for doing that. Mike, just keep posting what you want. If you want to make a Worst List, then do it.
I just got Ryria Revaluations for Christmas. Can't wait to read them, and knowing one of them takes place all on a ship sounds awesome actually! I'm a big Master and Commander fan.
while it wasnt the Worst book i read this year... RoW was by far the most disappointing. Which caught me off guard since Dawnshard was a lot of fun. Timeshards by Dana Fredsti was the worst, and by a huge margin.
Here.. I'll go too. I adore Stephen King, he has been my favorite author for over 35 years. I was disappointed in If it Bleeds. The three short stories were great, classic King, except for Life of Chuck which was a departure but I still enjoyed it.. very experimental/weird fiction. The title story took up half the book and bored me to tears. It featured a character that has been in four of his recent novels and I'm beyond tired of... and was an inferior copy of The Outsider. There was no reason for this story to exist. The first chapter was fabulous and I wish he had taken that and gone a completely different direction with it. When I realized where it was going I actually put the book away and didn't finish it for months... and I typically read a new book of his the minute it comes out and finish it within a day or two. It won't stop me from snapping up the next one, in fact I already have it on reserve.
@@mikesbookreviews Jerome was in the story as was his sister.. but they were just kind of there, bascially name drops as anyone could have taken their places in the plot. I liked Holly at first, it was nice to see a character on the spectrum (she reminds me of my daughter actually) and she was handled well.. but enough already lol. I wouldn't have minded as much if the story itself were more original and took the characters somewhere new.
I loved the last two Dark Tower books. They worked for me. The first one, not so much. The bigger point being that it is totally okay to share your own personal reactions, positive or negative, to books, and it's totally okay for other people's reactions to differ.
@@avendesora2495 thanks for that. I got to go check this out to see for myself how "bad" this is. I understand criticism can sting, especially when you're an author trying to sell a product. But the type of author reaction I'm hearing, pretty ridiculous.
I think that Talisman reads best for a younger reader. I read it when it was new(ish?) book, in my sophomore year of college (1984/85). I read it after reading Eyes of the Dragon, by King, which I also loved. I have never gotten around to reading the Dark Tower series, but now that I know some of my favorites (Talisman, Eyes of the Dragon, The Stand, It, Rose Madder, 'Salem's Lot) are tie-ins with the series, I'm going to be diving in, starting in October. I'm looking forward to be reading the expanded world version, using Jimmy Mango's list as my guide.
I prepared the popcorn ready to watch a big angry mob against your disappointment abound Sanderson books, I was expecting you to pull a book from the Stormlight archive... what a disappointment it wasn't (LOL) ;-). Always enjoy your video, thanks!
Hey Mike. My worst books in 2020. 1. The Poppy War is a book praised by all. I think the worst book I've never read, for the first time I had to force myself to read the book to the end. 2. The Sword of Kaigen absolutely sick boring book and characters. 3. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell I don’t even bother to comment on how bad. PS.Remember these are just my opinions. I just wanted to say what I had to say.
The Hunger by Alma Katsu. Only book i've read this year that I graded 2/10 in my journal. Would've got 3/10 if not for a glaring error on page 217 (5th line down). Read it for yourself & see if you agree. 👌
Elantris was his first book, even Brandon Sanderson says it's something he had to rewrite 7-8 times to get it ready to be published. AFTER he had an offer too. I think Anything along the lines of Calamity is fine with me for an earlier book. If he wrote Enantris before Mistborn(book 10) then I think it's okay if his book #7 that launched his Career wasn't a home run. Just means he had to work harder to get where he was. Also, Jk Rowling wrote 7 GOOD books. Sanderson Writes that size of a book in 4-6 months :) I'll take the author that puts out better and better content forever :)
HOT TAKE.... I actually find it MUCH more helpful to read negative reviews than positive ones! Here's why: When I go on Amazon to buy anything, I tend to head straight to the 1 and 2 star reviews. I find that most 5 star reviews for a product are all the same. "I loved it!" "This was awesome!" "This product worked just the way it was supposed to!" "It arrived in great condition and quickly!" (Ok, the last one has no business on an Amazon product review page, and I can't fathom why people can't understand that the delivery of a product and it's condition should be under the "seller" section.... but that's neither here nor there). But it all boils down to the fact that negative reviews are a LOT more detailed. I can find out the ins and outs of a product by reading the specific complaints from customers. But the 5 stars are just all gushing praise and saying things that I ALREADY expect from a product I am looking at. Well, the same goes for book (and movie) reviews. I find too many reviews from Booktubers that gush and praise a book. Yeah, they may give a couple of reasons why the books was good, but many of the positive aspects I could pick up on by reading a synopsis of the book. But the negative book reviews go really in depth and tend to be much more analytical. And that's what I miss from Booktube. A couple of years ago, there were so many more critical analysis and reviews of subpar books. But over the past year, it's almost all sunshine and roses. And while this is no one's fault, I find that I've been more disappointed in the books I've been reading lately. I've also noticed that many Booktubers are starting to interact much more with the Author community. There have been a ton of interviews and discussions with big time authors over the past year. I know a lot of this could be due to the pandemic, but I also feel that this is partially what has lead to so many Booktubers avoiding negative reviews. They don't want to sour a relationship with an author (or to have other authors be more likely to decline an interview for fear of their book being panned in the future). But all in all, keep up the good work. I find your reviews (even the positive ones) to be more even-keel and critical than most. PS - As you might remember... I've been the biggest shouter of Michael J. Sullivan and the Riyria books over the past year. So I am DEEPLY saddened that you didn't like the Emerald Storm. You didn't like Wesley or ANY of the crew? It is actually one of my favorite books of the series! But I guess if you don't like the boat setting, then it wouldn't float your boat!!! But I URGE you to finish the series! The final book (Percepliquis (specifically), or the omnibus Heir of Novron) gives us the single greatest ending to any fantasy series of all time! I do not exaggerate. The entire book is a great quest story, with twists, turns, suspense, tension, brotherhood, romance, magic, history, mysteries, reveals... and the final scene brought me to tears. No one knows how to incorporate every single detail they've been laying since book one into their finale like Sullivan. PLEASE read this series till the end. You will love it!!! And it's a pretty quick read too.
Mike, I'm sure you don't get to read all your comments. But if you get all the way down to...looks at the count...number 223...this video has almost convinced me to subscribe finally. I agree with you that one disappointing book doesn't make a bad author. And any criticism offered with explanation can be constructive. I'm a Sanderson fan and I TOTALLY understood when you held up Elantris. And I'm right there with you about Talisman. I've always felt weird about that one. There are a lot of scenes that work for me and character writing that feels true, but something in the delivery often feels false. Are you on GoodReads? I would love to be your friend on that site and follow your reviews/ratings. I get about 100 in a year (I consider graphic novels books, dammit) and my reviews are something like a paragraph at most on average. Just something to give myself and others an idea of how I felt and what I was focusing on as I finished the book. Same picture. Same name.
My disappointments that I read in 2020: 4. Rhythm of War, I liked it overall but it didn’t live up to my built up hype. 3 and 2. Baptism of Fire and Tower of Swallows, the series started to feel off to me here and I was surprised at the praise these books get. The Lady of the Lake did end up making the payoff worth it though. 1. Saints Blood, I have the same criticisms that Mike has.
Fuck yeah Elatris is boring as hell. Mistborn? One of the best fantasy series out there. Brandon Sanderson? In the Top 5 fantasy authors alive right now!
So we have enjoy all books or else don't talk about it? of 100% of people who buy books, how do you think they know about it? :) goodreads, amazon, bloogers etc. If you don't enjoy reading that you book sucks, then do go to twitter or any other media outlet. That's hilarious.
Huge Sanderson fan here and I totally agree. I read Elantris after both Mistborn trilogies and had the same feelings. Should've read them in publication order!
I am curious which authors are doing these kind of claims. I’m a university prof. When someone gives me a bad review yeah it sucks…but I don’t send those who DO like my teaching to gun for them.
I liked Elantris 👉👈 but it's definitely not a strong book. I saw another similar argument the other day that said: book reviews and these kinds of discussions and videos are /not/ for the authors. It's for peer to peer viewing i.e. the readers, and that authors shouldn't be coming into our (safe) space and making us feel uncomfortable about wanting to talk about negatives as well as positives of a book.
Hope you're planning one for this year too. I disagree with you sometimes but I value your candidness and that's why I watch you when I want to know if the book I want to read is at least worth picking up. Don't ever apologize for criticism if you meant it. I feel like this is such an American or western thing. It pisses me off. Tell the truth.
Great video! I completely agree with you, by the way. It was disappointing to see the behavior of certain authors toward that booktuber. I am relatively new to "booktube", but it's quite clear that "most disappointing books" videos are not a new phenomenon. People have every right to express their opinions, even negative ones, respectfully. There are a few of these books (Elantris, The Talisman, The Hunger) that are on my TBR. I still plan to read them, but will temper my expectations a bit. This is off-topic, but there have been similar situations in non-book fandoms, where certain folks get quite rude and aggressive when fans dare to have a negative opinion about something: Star Wars (The Last Jedi), Supernatural (the finale), TMNT (lesser known example regarding the 2012 cartoon series; also a very long story) Anyway, thank you for taking the time to make this, and for sharing this.
Criticism is the only way to get better. Plus when I watch a video about disappointment or worst movie/book/game I might disagree with the youtuber and hear a different opinion is always fun
@@turtleanton6539 I love Daniel Greene. So no hate for him here. I also appreciate people being passionate about their Fandom. Just makes me laugh when people are shocked I don't really care for BS.
I know this video is old but Amazonia, the Yagga Tree was one of the coolest concepts I'd seen in a while but my god the tropes were like an avalanche of sludge and the characters were as lively as cardboard.
Perhaps those authors should just write better books instead of getting upset. They can't all be great books. Even King puts out a dud every once in a while. Books are expensive an they are an investment. If the book isn't that great, its fine to say so.
After the great hunt the wheel of time has bored me for thousands of pages. I’m nearly finished lord of chaos and I don’t think I can finish it. It’s ridiculously boring.
No rest for the wicked Happy Christmas man. Ps if anyone gave you a hard time for winters heart it probably the majorities 2nd worst book of the wheel of time it's the slog for god sake
As a trash tier novice writer that posts on Royal Road... You kinda get used to criticism after all the trolls come to give your story 0.5 scores and reviewers who seem to take delight in giving stories bad reviews. Of course there are people who give constructive criticism so its not all bad. I guess it's to be expected because I can't afford an editor and am too embarrassed to let friends/family help so my stuff isn't edited for anything other than spelling and grammar.
Ok yes it royally sucks when someone doesnt like your book/short story/etc.but you cannot expect everyone else or even any one else to love it the way you do, or even at all! And further more, expecting that is delusional, and any person that does think that way should find something else to do. Yes I am aware that sounds harsh, but it's just what you should get used to, if your putting yourself out there, pushing a product, you have got to be realistic. It takes a shit load of time and energy to even make a living writing, let alone making millions and most don't even get that far.
I can certainly understand how they would be upset though after putting their heart and soul into something, and then having someone - it on social media. So I deafly think we should take into account their feelings and their investment. Criticism should always be constructive.
Mike, I love your channel, and I appreciate what you do here. We here have your back brother! I too have read books that didn’t work for me. And I’m a lifelong Prince fan, and I don’t like every song of his. It’s life. Merry Christmas and keep doing what you are doing!
I have to disagree about Elantris - I found it to be far more enjoyable than Warbreaker! Nothing really worked for me in that book whereas Elantris I just could not stop reading! That said, I read both of them years ago so it may not be the same were I to reread them now. Otherwise, love your videos!
I hate that some think that you should never be criticized. Of course being rude or malicious is not good but criticism isn’t that. And it’s very personal. For example my boyfriend hates a song of ice and fire bc he does not like stories that are super politically focused. But to me learning about the rules and politics of a world is my favourite thing in stories so I love it. Just bc something is criticized by one person doesn’t mean you have to agree or that it is bad to everyone
I read House of Leaves this year and it did not live up to the hype. Which was disappointing because it’s got a heck of a cult following but came off as too convoluted for me.
Hey bookworms! Sorry if you weren't looking for a rant in a video like this, I just don't like bullies on Twitter going after booktubers. Hope everyone had a great Christmas!
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I'll admit, I usually don't care for rant-videos or "worst-book"- kind of videos, but I don't mind the ones you've done. You're never mean-spirited or shouty about it, you're always up front about it being your opinion, and acknowledge that others might disagere. I like that.
I've followed one or two book-tubers who've slowly slid into having rage-reading and "bad books" as their main content, and after a while it just gets exhausting to watch. I mean, I get it, some people like that kind of stuff, and all better for them. And although I don't much like those videos myself, I agree with what you said, I don't think it's right for twitter-bullies to go after those book-vlogers.
You guys are not book critics and official reviewers, you are better.
Why? Because you are down to earth, no circlejerk of elitism and writing for peers and not for consumers. No agenda pushing, etc.
And i love it.
Merry Christmas, Mike and everyone who reads it, and happy new year.
I, in general, try to stay away from books that have great “reviews” from the professional reviewers, because usually those critically-acclaimed books are not my style at all. I come to Booktube to get recommendations, because the creators are real people who actually read the books and enjoy the same type of things I do. Down-to-earth is SPOT ON!
No one is ever above criticism. Ever. Keep doing what you do, Mike!
Even Brandon Sanderson says Elantris isn’t very good. People need to chill.
That's funny, because it's still a good story lol.
@@jericosha2842 I tend to agree. It's been a while since i've read it, so I'm shy on a lot of the details but I remember it dragging on a bit at times. Also I had trouble connecting to some of the main characters. Plot was good overall though.
I liked Elantris well enough. I read it after I read Mistborn, which was the first of Sanderson's stuff I read. I'm glad I didn't read it first because I don't think I would have continued with him if I had.
While I didn't like Elantris as much as Warbreaker, (I expected to love it.)I still liked the worldbuilding and the characters...hmm need to reread it.
Trevor Wingard I’m glad he knows it wasn’t very good. I read that book. And it was definitely a disappointment.
It really feels like booktubers/readers don't criticise the books enough.
I’m making my way through the Wheel of Time, really looking forward to the pod racing scene in Winter’s Heart!
And OMG the duel between Rand and Darth Demandred was so epic, although I didn't like that they explained being able to channel the One Power with midichlorians, oh well.
*blurt laugh*
! Spoiler Alert !
I buy books because you recommend them. That makes you official in my eyes.
✊✊
PS - I dig the 90s throwback tee.
Happy Christmas to all of the book worms out there.
Let me guess, the author vs. reviewer drama was from Book Twitter, wasn't it? I don't have Twitter but I'd be surprised if it wasn't from there because Twitter, whatever faction it is, is the home of all things bigoted and disgusting. Like most of this is just unnecessary drama. I honestly feel like most people on Twitter just need a nice, attractive therapist or a fluffy pillow to scream their fucking heads off!
Of course it was. Everyone just turns it to 11 with the anger on that app.
See that's why I don't go there. Nothing good happes there.
I'd forgive Erickson anything, up and including murder (not that he would ever do it).
Appreciate the rant and agree 100% with everything you said 👏🏼
Booktubers ARE legitimate critics. I don't understand why some people refuse to acknowledge this fact. Just because Booktubers aren't a part of a major journalist publication doesn't mean that they aren't performing the same cultural function of a critic. And, yes, Mike, I agree, Booktubers should be left alone to make their lists, as long as they're not being malicious. On the other hand, those Booktubers (just like the authors they criticize) need to be okay with the criticism they receive, whether that's from their fanbase or from anyone really.
PS. Can't wait for the MALAZAN read-along :)
I like when people talk about books they didn't enjoy. It makes it more authentic. When somebody only raves about every book I question if they're honest or not.
Thanks for your respectful video. Actually, one of the things I like most about your channel is your balanced approach to all your reviews. I don’t always have the same experience with a book, but we don’t need to have the same tastes. Keep doing what you do. Merry Christmas Mike!
Hear head !
my sister just started Winter’s Heart.. i made sure she was appropriately warned.
Make sure you give her a bigger warning for Crossroads of Twilight.
Amen, Mike! If we only ever said wonderful things about the books we review, no one would have any reason to listen to us because we wouldn’t be believable. I love the therapeutic pause after you mentioned Sanderson. Ha ha! Even a writer with as much success as he has can have a miss.
I think you're more likely to write bad books if you're successful. You already know a good chunk of people will buy and like it regardless of quality.
@@forwhy8723 Excellent point, and that definitely happens!
I was like "IF HE HOLDS UP RHYTHM OF WAR WE ARE GONNA RIOT" then he said Elantris and I was like.... "oh okay. That makes sense." LMAOOO
No book is without criticism
@@forwhy8723 of course. All art is subjective!
I was kinda enjoying it, though I'm yet to finish it.
@@cybersketcher1130 Elantris or Rhythm if War?
@@mooahhdeeb Elantris, though not for the characters.
people often make the Mistake that Elantris is about Raodin... they are wrong the Main Character and the best Character is Hrathen.
"I covered A LOT of Brandon Sanderson this year."
Long sip of coffee...
lol
Its absurd authors don't want bad reviews....its art, its subjective. Personnal opinions. Tell these authors to grow up.
I read Elantris after Mistborn and I felt exactly the same, then realising it was written earlier took away almost all the disappointment. :)
No one likes everything. Anyone who does only positive reviews is lying, either outright or by omission. The minute you stop being honest is the minute you give up your integrity and you may as well not even bother to do reviews anymore. This infection of ownership/coercion of opinion, either by influence or sponsorship, by the producer has destroyed many channels, not just in this genre but across all media. At one point it almost destroyed YT completely, turning it into one giant infomercial distribution center... it has never really recovered.
I’ll always be honest, regardless of the fallout.
The Phantom Menace reference broke my heart haha. I love the prequel films.
Anyways, loved the video! You are spot on when you said that writers should expect criticism, and, as an author myself, I can say it's the nature of the beast. Some people will love your work, others will think you can't worth crap. On one of my stories I had people who thought it was well written, while a few others thought my writing was subpar.
You can't please everyone, and to be a professional writer (or a hobbyist who enjoys putting their work out there as I am), you need to learn how to take criticism, valid and bullshit alike.
The sip of coffee before talking about Sanderson is priceless LOL 😂 Elantris didn't work for me either, that's why I used to stick to Mistborn for a long time. But now I've read other stuff from the cosmere.
Mate you are the man for bucking social norms. One point, I think authors should have every right to respond to critics if they want to. But if they do it in a duchey way, people will see it.
Will you read my book when I finish it (if it's accepted by a publisher)?
Mike , you keep going. You are obviously a lover of books and a seeker of stories and that's good. Remember when we speak out about anything at all ,we are vocalising not just our point of view but the point of view of others who may feel seem the way. Others may disagree with our assesments and that's fine; their voices will represent others who feel the way that they do since you cannot have an absolute. So keep ranting ,commenting and criticising that is the way we all gain true knowledge
Elantris is definitely the weakest Sanderson novel in terms of quality, but I am still excited for a sequel, because Sel as a world is one of the most interesting worlds in the Cosmere, and I'd like to see him revisit those characters with all this extra experience under his belt.
Edit: That said, I also want a warbreaker sequel more, because Nightblood. Nightblood alone is enough reason to make it my most anticipated book.
6:59 👏👏😂
Is it something you aquire when you become a dad or is it a learned skill?
Would hate for you to criticise a book and allow a reader, with a limited number of books they're going to read in their life who thinks they might not enjoy said book for some of the reasons you didn't, make a decision not to read it and improve their life a little
Ugh, I also didn't like the Talisman. No idea where this idea from authors is coming from that reader reviews are for them and not other readers.
I think it's a bad look if you're a young author still looking for a big time break. But don't disrespect "just book bloggers" and then get pissy about their opinions. They are simply addicted to Twitter high-fives over anything else.
Merry Christmas Mike! Good list can definitely see where you're coming from but I would still rather read every book on this list back to back than have the experience I had reading Rythmn of War
I think it sometimes just depends on where you're at in life. What your emotional levels are.
I have read books and depending on the mentioned aspects, my enjoyment of the books differed.
Perhaps this applies to other people too and would influence what they feel is their most dissapointing reads of the year.
What author was crying about that?
I think he’s talking about How to Train Your Gavin. He’s a middle grade booktuber that got bullied on twitter by a bunch of MG and YA authors (can’t name specifics bc it’s not my genre/crowd) for making a worst/disappointing books of 2020 video.
As a Sanderson fan I agree with others that the fanbase is sometimes really toxic and we tend to put him on too much of a pedestal. I personally like Elantra’s, even though I agree with your review. You can clearly see the beginning of ideas he would later develop, but it just still isn’t there. And also as you said no one is perfect.
Your Texas accent is not strong enough!!! (My criticism for the end of the year XD)
😆😅😄
(he’s not originally from tx)
I value honesty in the BookTubers I follow even if my opinion differs. Thanks for an awesome year of reviews, Mike!
Thanks for watching!
Some books are good. Some books are bad. If they were confident enough to publish a book and have it beaten by critics, they should expect the people that are actual consumers/readers/fans to do the same. I'm not a critic professionally but I studied literature for years. I can have an educated opinion on a book and so can everyone else.
You Booktubers are more important than “journalists.” Your opinions are real and come from your hearts. I have chosen many books because of you alone, Mike. Thank you! Keep it all going💕
Free speech includes criticism. No one likes to be criticized, but everyone has the right to. I am reminded of Fahrenheit 451 in terms of a need for protection from anything that isn’t positive. A great book. Great video too!
F451 should be required reading.
I loved Elantris, I didn't have any expectations because I knew it was his first published book.
This is why I read all the three star reviews for a book(they tend to be more thoughtful and balanced and you can get a better sense of the books quality from them) or wait for a book tuber whose tastes are close to mine to recommend it before buying. Books are too dang expensive and too much of an investment of time to read something you don’t enjoy and honest reviews are a gift to people who only have so much free time. I have two kids I hustle to different events and cook meals for a house to maintain and a wife I like to spend time with. My reading time is basically me sacrificing sleep and it is precious, so from the depths of my heart...Thanks for being honest.
Ist comment finally....
BTW LOVE YOUR VIDEOs
Ahhhh my soul hurts! I loved Elantris! Please take this knife out of my heart! 😁
without your FANTASTIC content i would not have discovered JOHN GWYNNE!!!
same. very grateful. just finishing up the final Banished Land book this week.
@@odiums_taint just finished Valour....bloodyjings ...breathless finale.....i found myself exclaiming out loud a few times during this book!!! going to dive straight in to Ruin....hold on.......!!!
Hi Mike I’ve been with you from the start of your channel
I always look forward to your videos, they are always respectful and informative
I’m still on the fence about Malazan 🤣
Have a wonderful Christmas and I hope Santa brings you lots of books
Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family 🌲🛍
They most likely feel threatened by some of the influence that 'book bloggers' can have due to the platforms they use being so large and Booktube increasing in popularity/size. Probably makes them feel better to decrease that threat in their mind by belittling it. The criticism they receive could be their best friend and some authors could do well in taking it with a pinch of salt and using it to improve on their writing flaws.
I agreed with you though Mike, criticism does not equal hate and there are plenty of writers out there who are still good people and decent writers regardless of flaws!
100% agreed on The Emerald Storm, I almost dropped the series there. But it bounced back for me, hope you like the 3rd omnibus too!
What author is he talking about in the rant?
A couple of random Twitter authors who piled on How to Train Your Gavin for doing a worst books of the year video
It was pretty bad. Authors that Gav had hyped on his channel attacked him personally on Twitter. Children’s and YA authors, at that. SMH.
Strongly agree with your rant! The point of reviewing books is that you help other people decide what books they will probably like and probably dislike. A reviewer disliking a book doesn't necessary harm the author, because their reasons to dislike a book, might be my reasons to be interested in it and pick the book up. I do agree that it needs to be done respectful, but if a reviewer can only praise books and not say anything negative, it kind of throws out the entire point of making and watching reviews.
My most disappointing read of the year was Bird Box by a substantial margin.
*ducking behind cover*
And I don't like Sanderson's books, they feel very bland to me.
Same for WoT, where every good idea that was hinted at got lost along the way. Every story thread I kinda liked was dismissed. And the only unpredictable thing was how many books it took to reach the very obvious conclusion to several of the threads that were not dismissed. Well, it just wasn't for me, I also didn't enjoy the writing style, same with Sanderson.
Blasphemy!!! 🤣🤣🤣
Entertainment Weekly & People magazine do a Best and Worst Lists every year. No one goes after them for doing that. Mike, just keep posting what you want. If you want to make a Worst List, then do it.
I just got Ryria Revaluations for Christmas. Can't wait to read them, and knowing one of them takes place all on a ship sounds awesome actually! I'm a big Master and Commander fan.
Here I thought I was one of the few who dug those books. M&C I mean.
while it wasnt the Worst book i read this year... RoW was by far the most disappointing. Which caught me off guard since Dawnshard was a lot of fun.
Timeshards by Dana Fredsti was the worst, and by a huge margin.
@Francis Andrijašević with that sales pitch! cant wait ;)
It's one thing to be trolling creative work but criticism is how we get better.
I loved Elantris but then again it was my first Sanderson.
Here.. I'll go too. I adore Stephen King, he has been my favorite author for over 35 years. I was disappointed in If it Bleeds. The three short stories were great, classic King, except for Life of Chuck which was a departure but I still enjoyed it.. very experimental/weird fiction. The title story took up half the book and bored me to tears. It featured a character that has been in four of his recent novels and I'm beyond tired of... and was an inferior copy of The Outsider. There was no reason for this story to exist. The first chapter was fabulous and I wish he had taken that and gone a completely different direction with it. When I realized where it was going I actually put the book away and didn't finish it for months... and I typically read a new book of his the minute it comes out and finish it within a day or two. It won't stop me from snapping up the next one, in fact I already have it on reserve.
I like Holly, but without Bill and Jerome I don’t find her as fascinating as King does.
@@mikesbookreviews Jerome was in the story as was his sister.. but they were just kind of there, bascially name drops as anyone could have taken their places in the plot. I liked Holly at first, it was nice to see a character on the spectrum (she reminds me of my daughter actually) and she was handled well.. but enough already lol. I wouldn't have minded as much if the story itself were more original and took the characters somewhere new.
I liked Elantis, but I gracefully accept your review 🙂 Love your channel Mike!
Irrespective of which year it is, the last two dark towers books should be put on all these lists for good measure
I loved the last two Dark Tower books. They worked for me. The first one, not so much.
The bigger point being that it is totally okay to share your own personal reactions, positive or negative, to books, and it's totally okay for other people's reactions to differ.
I'm curious about what Mike is referring to. Does anyone know what video or author being referenced?
I believe it was because the channel How to Train Your Gavin was getting hate on Twitter from authors for doing a worst books of the year video.
@@avendesora2495 thanks for that. I got to go check this out to see for myself how "bad" this is. I understand criticism can sting, especially when you're an author trying to sell a product. But the type of author reaction I'm hearing, pretty ridiculous.
I'm very curious to know which authors complained.
To authors
Well we are buying your product. If we don't like your product, we will be critical of the disappointed purchase.
I think that Talisman reads best for a younger reader. I read it when it was new(ish?) book, in my sophomore year of college (1984/85). I read it after reading Eyes of the Dragon, by King, which I also loved.
I have never gotten around to reading the Dark Tower series, but now that I know some of my favorites (Talisman, Eyes of the Dragon, The Stand, It, Rose Madder, 'Salem's Lot) are tie-ins with the series, I'm going to be diving in, starting in October.
I'm looking forward to be reading the expanded world version, using Jimmy Mango's list as my guide.
Winter's Heart was my least favorite WOT book, too.
I prepared the popcorn ready to watch a big angry mob against your disappointment abound Sanderson books, I was expecting you to pull a book from the Stormlight archive... what a disappointment it wasn't (LOL) ;-). Always enjoy your video, thanks!
Hey Mike.
My worst books in 2020.
1. The Poppy War is a book praised by all. I think the worst book I've never read, for the first time I had to force myself to read the book to the end.
2. The Sword of Kaigen absolutely sick boring book and characters.
3.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell I don’t even bother to comment on how bad.
PS.Remember these are just my opinions. I just wanted to say what I had to say.
The Hunger by Alma Katsu.
Only book i've read this year that I graded 2/10 in my journal.
Would've got 3/10 if not for a glaring error on page 217 (5th line down).
Read it for yourself & see if you agree. 👌
Cool. I am with you. People have opinions. Why will you not read N.K. Jemisin?
Elantris was his first book, even Brandon Sanderson says it's something he had to rewrite 7-8 times to get it ready to be published. AFTER he had an offer too. I think Anything along the lines of Calamity is fine with me for an earlier book. If he wrote Enantris before Mistborn(book 10) then I think it's okay if his book #7 that launched his Career wasn't a home run. Just means he had to work harder to get where he was. Also, Jk Rowling wrote 7 GOOD books. Sanderson Writes that size of a book in 4-6 months :) I'll take the author that puts out better and better content forever :)
HOT TAKE.... I actually find it MUCH more helpful to read negative reviews than positive ones! Here's why: When I go on Amazon to buy anything, I tend to head straight to the 1 and 2 star reviews. I find that most 5 star reviews for a product are all the same. "I loved it!" "This was awesome!" "This product worked just the way it was supposed to!" "It arrived in great condition and quickly!" (Ok, the last one has no business on an Amazon product review page, and I can't fathom why people can't understand that the delivery of a product and it's condition should be under the "seller" section.... but that's neither here nor there).
But it all boils down to the fact that negative reviews are a LOT more detailed. I can find out the ins and outs of a product by reading the specific complaints from customers. But the 5 stars are just all gushing praise and saying things that I ALREADY expect from a product I am looking at. Well, the same goes for book (and movie) reviews. I find too many reviews from Booktubers that gush and praise a book. Yeah, they may give a couple of reasons why the books was good, but many of the positive aspects I could pick up on by reading a synopsis of the book. But the negative book reviews go really in depth and tend to be much more analytical. And that's what I miss from Booktube. A couple of years ago, there were so many more critical analysis and reviews of subpar books. But over the past year, it's almost all sunshine and roses. And while this is no one's fault, I find that I've been more disappointed in the books I've been reading lately.
I've also noticed that many Booktubers are starting to interact much more with the Author community. There have been a ton of interviews and discussions with big time authors over the past year. I know a lot of this could be due to the pandemic, but I also feel that this is partially what has lead to so many Booktubers avoiding negative reviews. They don't want to sour a relationship with an author (or to have other authors be more likely to decline an interview for fear of their book being panned in the future). But all in all, keep up the good work. I find your reviews (even the positive ones) to be more even-keel and critical than most.
PS - As you might remember... I've been the biggest shouter of Michael J. Sullivan and the Riyria books over the past year. So I am DEEPLY saddened that you didn't like the Emerald Storm. You didn't like Wesley or ANY of the crew? It is actually one of my favorite books of the series! But I guess if you don't like the boat setting, then it wouldn't float your boat!!! But I URGE you to finish the series! The final book (Percepliquis (specifically), or the omnibus Heir of Novron) gives us the single greatest ending to any fantasy series of all time! I do not exaggerate. The entire book is a great quest story, with twists, turns, suspense, tension, brotherhood, romance, magic, history, mysteries, reveals... and the final scene brought me to tears. No one knows how to incorporate every single detail they've been laying since book one into their finale like Sullivan. PLEASE read this series till the end. You will love it!!! And it's a pretty quick read too.
Mike, I'm sure you don't get to read all your comments. But if you get all the way down to...looks at the count...number 223...this video has almost convinced me to subscribe finally. I agree with you that one disappointing book doesn't make a bad author. And any criticism offered with explanation can be constructive. I'm a Sanderson fan and I TOTALLY understood when you held up Elantris. And I'm right there with you about Talisman. I've always felt weird about that one. There are a lot of scenes that work for me and character writing that feels true, but something in the delivery often feels false.
Are you on GoodReads? I would love to be your friend on that site and follow your reviews/ratings. I get about 100 in a year (I consider graphic novels books, dammit) and my reviews are something like a paragraph at most on average. Just something to give myself and others an idea of how I felt and what I was focusing on as I finished the book. Same picture. Same name.
My disappointments that I read in 2020:
4. Rhythm of War, I liked it overall but it didn’t live up to my built up hype.
3 and 2. Baptism of Fire and Tower of Swallows, the series started to feel off to me here and I was surprised at the praise these books get. The Lady of the Lake did end up making the payoff worth it though.
1. Saints Blood, I have the same criticisms that Mike has.
Agree Elantris wasnt fantastic but The Talisman is a book I love love love... sad you didnt like it
Love your honesty Mike. You’re a good man. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Fuck yeah Elatris is boring as hell. Mistborn? One of the best fantasy series out there. Brandon Sanderson? In the Top 5 fantasy authors alive right now!
So we have enjoy all books or else don't talk about it? of 100% of people who buy books, how do you think they know about it? :) goodreads, amazon, bloogers etc. If you don't enjoy reading that you book sucks, then do go to twitter or any other media outlet. That's hilarious.
Sanderson is one of my favorite authors for sure, and Elantris is definitely one of his that I don't like.
Huge Sanderson fan here and I totally agree. I read Elantris after both Mistborn trilogies and had the same feelings. Should've read them in publication order!
Merry Christmas Mike :-) love your videos, keep up the good work
I am curious which authors are doing these kind of claims. I’m a university prof. When someone gives me a bad review yeah it sucks…but I don’t send those who DO like my teaching to gun for them.
I liked Elantris 👉👈 but it's definitely not a strong book.
I saw another similar argument the other day that said: book reviews and these kinds of discussions and videos are /not/ for the authors. It's for peer to peer viewing i.e. the readers, and that authors shouldn't be coming into our (safe) space and making us feel uncomfortable about wanting to talk about negatives as well as positives of a book.
Hope you're planning one for this year too. I disagree with you sometimes but I value your candidness and that's why I watch you when I want to know if the book I want to read is at least worth picking up.
Don't ever apologize for criticism if you meant it. I feel like this is such an American or western thing. It pisses me off. Tell the truth.
Great video! I completely agree with you, by the way. It was disappointing to see the behavior of certain authors toward that booktuber. I am relatively new to "booktube", but it's quite clear that "most disappointing books" videos are not a new phenomenon. People have every right to express their opinions, even negative ones, respectfully.
There are a few of these books (Elantris, The Talisman, The Hunger) that are on my TBR. I still plan to read them, but will temper my expectations a bit.
This is off-topic, but there have been similar situations in non-book fandoms, where certain folks get quite rude and aggressive when fans dare to have a negative opinion about something: Star Wars (The Last Jedi), Supernatural (the finale), TMNT (lesser known example regarding the 2012 cartoon series; also a very long story)
Anyway, thank you for taking the time to make this, and for sharing this.
Criticism is the only way to get better. Plus when I watch a video about disappointment or worst movie/book/game I might disagree with the youtuber and hear a different opinion is always fun
I feel you, people get out the torches and pitchforks when I say that I don't really dig BS
Overhyped by daniel greene and his cult.
@@turtleanton6539 I love Daniel Greene. So no hate for him here. I also appreciate people being passionate about their Fandom. Just makes me laugh when people are shocked I don't really care for BS.
I know this video is old but Amazonia, the Yagga Tree was one of the coolest concepts I'd seen in a while but my god the tropes were like an avalanche of sludge and the characters were as lively as cardboard.
Perhaps those authors should just write better books instead of getting upset. They can't all be great books. Even King puts out a dud every once in a while. Books are expensive an they are an investment. If the book isn't that great, its fine to say so.
After the great hunt the wheel of time has bored me for thousands of pages. I’m nearly finished lord of chaos and I don’t think I can finish it. It’s ridiculously boring.
No rest for the wicked Happy Christmas man. Ps if anyone gave you a hard time for winters heart it probably the majorities 2nd worst book of the wheel of time it's the slog for god sake
As a trash tier novice writer that posts on Royal Road... You kinda get used to criticism after all the trolls come to give your story 0.5 scores and reviewers who seem to take delight in giving stories bad reviews. Of course there are people who give constructive criticism so its not all bad. I guess it's to be expected because I can't afford an editor and am too embarrassed to let friends/family help so my stuff isn't edited for anything other than spelling and grammar.
If you think your above criticism you need a slap in the face and a HUGE slice of humble pie
Ok yes it royally sucks when someone doesnt like your book/short story/etc.but you cannot expect everyone else or even any one else to love it the way you do, or even at all! And further more, expecting that is delusional, and any person that does think that way should find something else to do. Yes I am aware that sounds harsh, but it's just what you should get used to, if your putting yourself out there, pushing a product, you have got to be realistic. It takes a shit load of time and energy to even make a living writing, let alone making millions and most don't even get that far.
I can certainly understand how they would be upset though after putting their heart and soul into something, and then having someone - it on social media. So I deafly think we should take into account their feelings and their investment. Criticism should always be constructive.
No one can handle criticism and it's so freaking embarrassing. I feel sorry for all Americans who have to deal with this BS.
Mike, I love your channel, and I appreciate what you do here. We here have your back brother! I too have read books that didn’t work for me. And I’m a lifelong Prince fan, and I don’t like every song of his. It’s life. Merry Christmas and keep doing what you are doing!
I have to disagree about Elantris - I found it to be far more enjoyable than Warbreaker! Nothing really worked for me in that book whereas Elantris I just could not stop reading! That said, I read both of them years ago so it may not be the same were I to reread them now. Otherwise, love your videos!
I was distracted by your Too Sweet Shirt you’re wearing this whole video
Internet: yea you should be able to critique books without backlash
Also internet: how dare you besmirch WalMart!! 😡🤬
I hate that some think that you should never be criticized. Of course being rude or malicious is not good but criticism isn’t that. And it’s very personal. For example my boyfriend hates a song of ice and fire bc he does not like stories that are super politically focused. But to me learning about the rules and politics of a world is my favourite thing in stories so I love it. Just bc something is criticized by one person doesn’t mean you have to agree or that it is bad to everyone
Funny, I liked Elantris but hated warbreaker!
I read House of Leaves this year and it did not live up to the hype. Which was disappointing because it’s got a heck of a cult following but came off as too convoluted for me.
Yeah, The Hunger was mediocre at best. Not sure why so many loved it.