If only Dr Who would let the daleks go back thru time and stop the Twilight series. Or go to an alternate universe where Game of Thrones got finished. That would make the daleks heroes!!!!!
Merph, I think the reason why everyone loves project hailmary is because of how much time Andy put into the science aspect. That is the reason why I love this book so much.
That's so true! I feel the same way. The way everything was explained made the book read as if it were an autobiography of a physicist. Never felt like anything was made up.
I have a very complicated relationship with Jane Eyre. The story itself: Eh. I understand why it was so well-loved when it was published, but reading it today... Yeah, it's not the best, but not the worst. So why do I kinda love it? *The writing* ! I've read so many books that were set in the Victorian Era, but never had a book that made me feel like I was really there. Her descriptions of even the most mundane things are so stunning. If Charlotte Bronte would have written a book of 1000 pages, just describing things, I buy it, I would read it and I would love it.
This is so interesting because, for me, its Emily Bronte's withering heights that deserves all the hype. I adore her writing. I couldn't stand Charlotte's writing. Its so funny how subjective writing is.
My sister is a big reader but she just couldn’t read Jane Eyre, supposedly the descriptions for her were just endless and Boring. Not much of a romnance guy myself so I probably won’t try them.
Wow I couldn't feel more differently then people who hate it. Jane Eyre is my favourite book of all time, I have reread it so many times. I love the characters, the storyline, and especially the prose.
Exactly. I wasn't sure I liked it because I mostly read fantasy, not scifi but I ended up enjoying it so much! Also, just like what Jan Se mentioned, the audiobook was great!
I am evidence that supports your theory 🤣 not normally a sci-fi reader, so I was surprised to love it. It was also refreshingly wholesome and I needed that since all I read is pretty tragic or brutal stories. Also, spoiler below - I did NOT think I was going to like an alien story, but I adored rocky, so that was another pleasant surprise
Please DON'T read Jane Eyre as a romance novel! Read it as Evolution Novel of Woman agency. At a time when women had no choice in deciding who will be their life partner, Jane Eyre was so rebellious. You got a woman who refuses to allow others to make decisions for her. And even if her final decision about love is the wrong one, it was HERS. Which at the time it was published, was soooo unheard of! But yeah if you read the book as another romance novel you will be bored to tears and angry.
i... i liked it as a romance novel :'l Then again, I don't read many. Like you said, I liked how the story went way beyond the romance and how themes were explored through it. I enjoyed it because it felt realistic and while the romance itself is not ideal at all, the way Jane handled it was pretty realistic imo. I loved her character a lot. Ultimately I admire the novel for her character.
@@vulkanofnocturne Um....yes? Like, this was very much a thing back when this novel was written. Like, it wasn't a legal requirement or anything but it very much was the done thing for women to marry someone that their parents chose. Like...there’s a reason this is such a common trope in old stories. It's because it was an actual thing. These were written as high stakes realistic situations.
@@kayleighbrown459 "it wasn't a legal requirement or anything but it very much was the done thing for women" So you're agreeing with me (in a negative tone)
The reason PHM is so hyped is because it is hard scifi that is very accessible but feels very scientific, and the story has a heart that much of hard scifi lacks.
High school English teacher here - "Gatsby" is beloved by educators for it's use of symbolism, the unreliable narrator, and the poetic language. It's also a great conversation piece for students - Why is the great American novel about the failings of American society? How does wealth and privilege impact character? Why can't some people let go of the past? While it's not a book I look to pick up frequently for a reread, I do consider it one of my favorites and every time I do reread it, I find it more and more poignant.
I think to call Nick Carraway an unreliable narrator is a stretch. He's not omniscient. And he does have a subjective point of view. But that does not make him unreliable. I also don't think the novel is really about the failings of American society although failure and success are themes. It's more about character and dreams. I've always considered Daisy the true villain because she has no goals, no character and no moral judgment.
@@donjindra I don’t think there are any true “villains” in the story at all. They are all morally grey characters with serious flaws. Nick is trying to figure out his life by following the lead of other people. Daisy is stuck in a marriage with an abusive controlling man she doesn’t love, but it’s the 20s and she doesn’t have many options (especially since there’s a child involved). Also, she enjoys their life of decadence and is willing to put up with Tom’s tomfoolery, jealously, and abuse to have it. Daisy has major flaws, but it doesn’t make her a villain. Also, I don’t agree that a character has to be omniscient to be an unreliable narrator. If they were, it would be a malevolent type of narration, deliberately keeping things from the audience. He’s just a narrator that doesn’t know everything that is happening and it all is colored by his own experiences and judgements.
@@donjindra he’s not omniscient, but he IS unreliable. He calls himself unbiased at many points, but he frequently makes judgments that influence the readers’ perceptions (like his judgments of Tom, even of Gatsby). A narrator doesn’t have to be omniscient to be unreliable, they just have to say one thing and do another
@@the.almost.book.doctor8326 I read Daisy as villain on my first reading in college, years ago. And It's how she came through to me when I reread the novel lately. Gatsby's flaw is that he doesn't see the real Daisy. He can't get an idealized image of her out of his head. Daisy isn't stuck in her marriage. She's stuck in her pampered, ambivalent existence. She floats through life. No, she doesn't love Tom the man, she loves the status. She loves being the object. I agree Nick doesn't know everything that's happening. I agree his view is colored by his subjective POV. I disagree that this means he's unreliable. This subjective, limited POV is exactly how we go through life. All stories we hear from others are colored with their own experiences and judgments. We never get the whole story. This does not make everyone unreliable. A few speckles of unreliability do not make one unreliable. I'm beginning to wonder if the "modern" audience has lost a feel for nuance and expects the narrator to spell everything out, to "lay his cards on the table." I suppose it comes down to who one thinks is unreliable -- the "true believer" or the person who doesn't quite know what to make of things. I put more trust in the later. That's how I see Nick.
The Darker Shade of Magic series is one I find to be SO overhyped. It had a neat concept but none of the characters really kept me interested and Lila's over-edginess made me roll my eyes. Book 3 was a let down too. For some reason it gets compared to Mistborn a lot, and I think Mistborn is 100x better. Also, I definitely agree with you on The Great Gatsby!
Completely agree. I inhaled those books because they are very fun and easy to read + I loved the atmosphere, but man I wish those had been done by Laini Taylor or Brian McClellan.
100% with you there, I was drawn in by the concept because it sounded incredible and then I started it and was honestly surprised by how unlikable I found the characters to be and how boring I found the different worlds and magic. I agree on Lila's character too- I was kinda lukewarm on her and then (SLIGHT SPOILER) there was that scene where she had the magic clone of Kell do a strip tease in front of him while he was tied up and I realized at that point that this was probably not for me. I ended up finishing the first book and was just incredibly underwhelmed with how it concluded. It also included a line which always annoys me when I see it in books and it's when a flirtatious character hits on the main female character in some weird objectifying way and she gets rightfully annoyed and responds with a threat and the flirtatious character replies with "I like this one" or something along those lines. It annoys me at the best of times and here it was just the nail on the "I won't be continuing this series" coffin.
V.E. Schwab in general for me. The premise always seems like something I would 100% LOVE, so I get the hype. but each time I read one I find myself closer to “that was fine”. It’s a bit of a disappointment.
I just finished the first book in the Darker Shade of Magic series and found it to be a lighthearted and enjoyable read but nothing groundbreaking. The pace moved well and how the different London's tied together was unique. I didn't have too many issues with Kells and Lila, but I did read this right after finishing Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself and what a difference. In the end Shades was average.
I just finished listening to the first one a bit ago, and it was okay. I actually liked Lila, but Kell was so incredibly boring, I just didn't care for his scenes. Lila to me at least had interesting motivations, Kell was just boring.
Sigh: I'm going to get hate for this but...Sarah J Mass's writing is pretty ordinary. Objectively speaking, there are major character building and plot issues plus logic sometimes walks out. I understand she was only 16 when she wrote Throne of Glass but I've read passages of her Fairy trilogy and still nope. I respect that people may enjoy a little escapism. I have my own favorite bad series. That's OK, we need those books in our life. Her escapism is not for me.
You will probably get far less hate for me, because of how I feel about Brandon Sanderson. He is a writer that comes up with amazing concepts and is a master at world-building, but his stories are so boring. I desperately want to like Sanderson, because of how many like him, but what is happening in his stories is so boring to read about.
@@Greendalewitch I don’t understand the boring remark? Do you mean it takes to long to get to exciting? I flew through the stormlight archives and I only started them a while ago.
@@Greendalewitch I think Sanderson is an overhyped author as well. Agree about him coming up with really good concepts, but I don't think his plots are boring. No for me, it's his writing and characters. I don't know, his writing style sounds so amateurish to me for some reason, his dialogue always sounds off, and his characters never feel like they have depth. I can enjoy a few on a shallow level but there was never a character of his that I absolutely fell in love with you know?
@@anonymousname5860 I felt that the stories of the characters lack both the proper conflict and fully realised inner desires to make the stories interesting. Conflict is the fuel that makes one fly through a book, be it inner conflict, personal conflict, social conflict or escalating conflict. Sanderson in my opinion, creates great world building and characters but has a problem adding conflict, be it to the plot or making characters acting upon their desires. I read Legion by Sanderson and you would think that man with multiple personality disorder would be interesting, but its a drawn out story of man that has come to peace with his life that he has multiple personalities and has a vague longing to a see a dear old flame, and its hard to get invested into such a story that is about a man that has come to peace with who he is, and only vaguely wants to see someone he loves. Mistborn has characters that are taking action, but take so long in doing it, that I dropped out of the story. What also bothered me also is that it has a love story subplot between Vil and Elend and the foundation of all love stories is what is keeping those two apart, but they soon get together and the plot rather focuses on the social conflict rather than the personal ones, so I never felt there was a conflict going on there that makes it a worthy subplot about a love story that is worth reading. I admit I havent read the Stormlight archives, but im gonna give them a change. That might perhaps change my view on Sanderson. Note: This is also all very subjective. What might not work for me, might work for you. I know a lot of people love Mistborn and even know some that like Legion, but im not one of them. Perhaps I will like The Stormlight Arvhices. I really hope I will.
@@00ammy00 Its the lack of conflict and fully realised inner desires that does it for me. I agree with you when you say that there was never a character of this that one absolutely falls in love with. Its because ( in my opinion ) they lack inner conflict and desires. I go into more detail about this in my reply to Anonymus Name, which is a comment I seem to have posted at the same time as yours, if you are interested.
I love Merph because she mixes genre fiction with literary fiction and classics. Too many just fantasy channels out there. I could kill myself if the only thing i have to read is one genre...
I was reading the Maas books to my teenager out loud. We stopped at the chocolate scene like people are trying to kill her every way they can, she finds mystery chocolate on her bed and eats them, we laughed and laughed.
That is quite literally one of the deaths in Long Live the Queen. If you don't have Poison training, you'll dig in and start frothing. It even has it's own death portrait. (You'd need to go through with it to get the All Deaths achievement, but that's another thing entirely.)
I enjoyed reading The Great Gatsby, but I think the main reason that it is taught so often is that it is a perfect case study in elegant symbolism. Colors, cars, TJ Eckleberg, all of these things have symbolic importance, but none of it is on the nose, and is great to study in a classroom. It's also a very good case study in unreliable narrators, as Nick is, albeit very subtly, unreliable, and makes a lot of themes in the book stand out much more. I definitely do not think that Gatsby is the greatest book of all time, nor do I think that it should be a mainstay in every English course (I'd much rather read a book about people that have actual, real problems from the time period and not just "boohoo I'm rich and I can't swoon a girl," i.e any Faulkner ever) but I do see why it is taught a lot of places. It has a pretty prose style, it's rather easy, and it does things in a rather concise and effective way that makes it a really good book to study. Also Nick is *extremely* gay for Gatsby, change my mind
"Also Nick is extremely gay for Gatsby, change my mind" I had a hard time understanding this cos i could understood nick's admiration for gatsby without any gay undertone, i love my friends, i wish i had some of their characteristics and i hate when they're treated great unjust. the reason for gay undertone feel condescending for me like 2 men can't bond or be close without it being gay, i see this with like naruto and saskue or sherlock and watson, guys that have admiration and deep bond with each other, which then some fanbase conclude as having gay undertone. also " I'd much rather read a book about people that have actual, real problems from the time period and not just "boohoo I'm rich and I can't swoon a girl," "feel a big misrepresentation of the actual story if you remember what happened to myrtle and george.
So, I grew up reading Stephen King...and I did so in the era before the internet.I actually think that makes a BIG difference in how people absorb SK. I love seeing people's reactions and how they see things versus how I saw them when these books were coming out (not in a bad way, either, it's just a big difference and it's amazing to see). I've read every single one of his books and short stories, and I'll continue to do so. I personally love all of his endings. He creates these incredible, awesome evils, and the good guys always win (even though sometimes at great cost). And yes, even "that" scene in IT, it's wild to me to see how people of today take it versus what it was meant to be and understood as back when it came out (yes, it's still uncomfortable, but there's more to it than just the event that happened, and the fact that SO many readers today miss it and simply take it for the scene as though it's a standalone scene that has no connection to EVERYTHING ELSE the kids just went through...it just amazes me). BUT, if you want my opinion as to why he gets so much love? It's because he gave us reading and entertainment in the time when the television only had a few channels on it, movies didn't come out on tv in a few weeks, let alone "stream", you couldn't take your phone everywhere you went, or text a friend to talk about things if you weren't in the same room at the same time. But his books and his stories were there. He's been consistently putting out entertaining stories for around 50 years...and it's hard for some writer's to even write one book that lasts 50 years, let alone over 60, nearly 70 of them. A lot of people don't realize it until they're older, but it's hard to tell what's going to last. For example, Twilight was the rage for a while, and it's mostly thought of as a joke now. There are books people are reading right now that they think blows Stephen King's stuff away - but in 10 years, 20 years? That same book could be an "Oh yeah, I read that once, what was I thinking? LOL" kind of fad. It could go Harry Potter/JK Rowling at any moment. But, the best comparison I can give anyone today is that he was Brandon Sanderson before Brandon Sanderson. People are going wild for Sando right now - unless they don't read Sci-Fi, then, they couldn't care less. SK's popularity reached beyond his genre, and even widened its audience considerably, except to those who just didn't like horror, then,.they couldn't care less.
I’ve only read Gunslinger by Stephen King 2 years ago and loved it, just got distracted and never went back. What I loved about the book is how immersed I felt and how I drawn I was to the characters. Everytime he went into Roland’s backstory I was so fascinated, and personally love every time Roland would go on tangents and ramble on for a bit. Trying to find time and motivation to read “ The Stand” someday soon.
I think project Hail Mary was written with the intent of it becoming an audiobook, which it works really well as. Some stories work better in different formats and I think project Hail Mary was one of them
I came here because I saw Project Hail Mary in the thumbnail... I'm not a big sci-fi reader but Project Hail Mary entered my top books of all time the moment I finished it! I would literally die for Rocky. He is life, he is love. I also found it easy to suck me in, it almost felt like I was living in the world of the book, and I was excited and rooting for characters as if everything happening was happening to our own world.
The problem with classics is that they remain classics for all time, and readers who come along later may not see why the were deemed classics in the first place. The wheel was one of the most important inventions of all time. It’s a classic. But it’s also just a wheel.
King's writing is the only time where books meant for adults have actually gripped me within the first few pages. When I start reading one of his doorstop novels I know that I will breeze quickly through it just after having read the first ten pages. While I'm an adult now, I still enjoy quite a bit of YA fiction because it is often easy to read. King is similar in terms of easy to read, but his themes are often much more developed and interesting. One of my favorite podcasts "Kingslingers" actually does a slow chapter-by-chapter analysis of King's books (there first season covered all of the Dark Tower series) and it's made it possible for me to see how important all of the King-isms really are for the novels and their themes. For anyone curious about why Stephen King is so well regarded I highly recommend this funny and intellectual podcast: "Kingslinger" from Doofmedia.
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I will Hype the Dark Tower series of Kings... but honestly I am a fan of the series but that's the over all view. Book 1 was and is a dud to me; clearly King did not have a full grasp of what he wanted in that one. Books 2+ much better as the story becomes more clear and pieces from other King titles become connected to the events on the page it absorbs your sense of reality and draws out your paranoia and consirital mind to notice things around you IRL that connect to the story and by the time you reach the end of Book 7 you begin to feel that the books reality is your reality but your not the focus in it. Granted this may have just been my experience but I do suggest listening to classic rock radio stations while reading... it eerily flows with the story beats more often than it honestly should. As to reading it... the scene you made me think of was a fridge full of flying leechs. Thats the one I found most disturbing.
In my experience, lots of people (me included) started loving Jane Eyre after realizing that it's actually not a romance book. That gave me a completely new view for that book and a new appreciation for it.
The only reason I can think of to why The Great Gatbsy is so hyped is because it was written in the roaring 20s about the roaring 20s by a man that was known to often par take in many roaring 20s things.
Not really why it is considered 1 of the 2 great American novels, it is a masterclass in symbolism, musical writing, great discussions on how wealth not only cosumes the rich but also the poor. It has some really insightful points on how America operates and offers great commentary on the ideal American experenice not only in the 20s but it has extended to today It also shows the horrors of a carefree life. Daisy and Tom are careless people, they don't care for each other themselves, their child or anything, and in the 20s that's what the American dream was, to live a carefree life. The Great Gatasby shows the horrorible extreme end of that
I actually LOVED Project Hail Mary. Couldn’t stop reading it…I felt it improved on the execution of the similar-in-concept The Martian. Maybe I’m just a science nerd, lol 🤷♂️
There were parts of Jane Eyre I liked, but overall I can't with the toxic romance. The male lead's first wife is from West Indies and is biracial and she is forced to marry when you think about it suddenly it makes you want to vomit. The lead male blames her parentage for her mental health issues. He makes himself the victim in the situation, "feel sorry for me, my wife is crazy and I've resisted being violent toward her, don't you think I've suffered."
Disappointed by the lack of Daleks in this video.* *I know the BBC are mad on striking any video with any Doctor Who content regardless of fair use etc.
I swear Project Hail Mary was written purely for the audiobook. I usually don’t do audiobooks. I randomly decided to with this book. I cannot imagine having read it traditionally now. It would have been a lesser experience or at least for me. - I agree it is slightly overhyped. I’m surprised so many loved it. The ending was a rather … it was a choice. I loved it. I am surprised so many others did.
I looovee project Hail Mary, but hey I love physics and maths so maybe it was just more up my street. I just love the way Andy weir is clearly well versed and passionate about physics, he makes such realistic space travel issues in his stories and he can write the science in it in a very accessible way.
THANK YOU for vindicating my feelings on The Great Gatsby. It was actually one of the least interesting books I had to read in high school. I asked quite a few people who thought it was great if there was something deeper I was missing after reading it and got nothing. It actually upset me quite a bit at the time that people were holding it up as something super important but couldn't explain why when to me it was kind of just a somewhat interesting read that didn't feel like it went anywhere (I wasn't alone among my class in this).
The book easily could’ve been shortened by like 50 pages, which is insane because the book is already incredibly short. Like I only remember three events that happened💀
Had a teacher in college point out that the book wasn’t actually well received when it was released. It was only 20 some-odd-years later, when the US military sent shipments of the book over to soldiers fighting in WW2, that it took off because for the soldiers it was a reminder of better times, and it kind of just stuck around after that
I feel like as a first taste of the classics for many young ppl it's spectacular, because it's usually the one classic teenagers are willing to take seriously. But for ppl already antiquated with classics, it's really not worth the hype compared to others. Anyway, I don't even thing the author intended it to be treasured as a 'classic', for what it is it's a fine story, enjoyable, and just deep enough. Which is good! So then, for teenagers it's like the best classic ever, because it's the only one they actually read oftentimes XD
Yes, I had to annotate the entirety of The Great Gatsby this year for school and it almost put me back into the reading slump I was in for 4 years after just getting out of it. And I’m not even a plot driven reader, I live character analysis books, but non of the characters were interesting or well written enough to drive the story. The only good thing I can say about it is that it’s fun to rant about.
The Great Gatsby is a beautiful use of language, symbolism, and narration. It is decent at a cautionary tale about obsession and an examination of the wealthy. I think it's a wonderful piece of literature and I'm very glad to have read it. Also I will likely never read it again as I didn't really enjoy it? I admire it greatly, but don't enjoy it much.
Respectfully disagree with your comments about Jade City and Jade War. Fonda Lee writes amazing protagonists; they are complex, well fleshed out, and have amazing relationships with each other. I also thought she did a great job of subverting expectations as well having dire and permanent consequences to people's actions. I was hesitant to read it at first since it is modern fantasy and I just had the impression that I would really dislike it. However, it ended up working really well for this series and made me interested in reading more modern fantasy! Also, I would like to say that I am not someone who typically cares for political dynamics in books, I don't mind it but its not what I'm looking for when deciding what to read. So even if you're not interested in that aspect I still think that this book is worth a read!
While I didn’t connect with the mc very much I do very much agree with you that she writes incredible relationships. While I didn’t love the books, there were some scenes that shocked me and blew me away, and it was always because of the dynamics between the characters
With Stephen King, I'm going to paraphrase a statement by film maker Neil Jordan from the mini documentary "Lestat, Louis, and the Vampire Phenomenon": [King] and Rice took the horror genre and turned it into something fresh, gothic, and beautiful. The reason he is so beloved is that: he took a genre and made it into art. While he does have some questionable content in his novels, the story, the characters, and his overall mastery of English not only helps with excusing those parts, but makes those uncomfortable moments a bit more bearable. Sort of like having that one weird friend who is wonderful at helping you through the rough and traumatic episodes of life. At least, as a hardcore King fan, that's my take.
I didn’t read the great gatsby in school either. When I did finally read it I very much enjoyed it and I think the hype has to do with when it came out and with the way the book was published in droves to be sent to soldiers who were at war. I think it became a “viral” book before the idea of going viral was a thing. But I do think it holds up to the hype.
I haven’t read Project Hail Mary yet, so I’m not commenting on that book specifically but I have read his other books. The Martian could be argued as a simple premise - but it’s how it’s written! - if you didn’t think his writing style is particularly special, that’s a personal thing but I think how it’s written is what elevates a book, even if a premise is just “ok” (I’ve heard from other reviewers that the reveals at the end are great too, but I don’t want spoilers so haven’t delved too hard….). So, for me, how it’s written is often what makes the difference.
Haven’t read the Martian so I’m not sure how consistent Weir’s writing style is, but I couldn’t even make it through one chapter of Project Hail Mary *because* of the writing. It read to me like the self-insert fan fiction of a teenage boy, not the narration of an adult physicist.
When I read Gatsby in HS it was mainly treated as a period piece for us to learn about the US in the 20s. Between that, the whole pining for someone you can’t have, and how accessible the symbolism is, I can see why a lot of people love it. The only part I truly dig is the last line about being borne ceaselessly back into the past.
I read the first Throne of Glass and i enjoyed it, and then I went to start the second book and she immediately decides to not assassinate people, and there's a love triangle. Immediately put me off. I also think Adam Silvera is overhyped - I absolutely hate his writing style. I had to force myself through Infinity Son and DNF'd They Both Die at the End
If you're feeling open minded I'd suggest giving ToG 3 a go. It's where the actual plot of the series starts tbh. I appreciate that's not ideal in a series
I'll say this about Stephen King: I think he's over-hyped as the master of horror. I've read seven of his books, and only one scene in one of them scared me at all. The rest of the time, it was all suspense, which I loved, but at the same time, for growing up hearing about him being this undisputed master of horror, I'm sitting there going where are the scares?? Something else with him, though. There are authors who release their first books and then they write more, they hone their style more, they get better at the craft, and if you read their later books, then go back to earlier ones, the earlier ones are a lot harder to get through because they hadn't really found their stride yet. Not so with Stephen King. The first book of his I read was Mr. Mercedes. Later, I read Salem's Lot. Except for the cost of things in Salem's Lot obviously reflecting when it was written, you'd NEVER know that was his second novel published. It has none of the floundering, none of the 'I've got to find my footing' that other beginning authors have. For that alone, I think Stephen King is worth the hype.
Salem's Lot was my favorite King novel and my third horror novel ever. I read it at 19. I reread it a few years back after 24 years...it fell in my estimation big time. Now i think King's masterpiece is Pet Sematary, the only King novel in my horror top ten.
Yeah…Actually non of the books I have read of King have been „Horror“. Most of them were Fantasy. Some I would call psychological thrillers. IT is Fantasy, sometimes Dark, sometimes magical. The Stand is Fantasy. The Talisman is Fantasy. The Dark Tower is Fantasy. Carrie is Fantasy. Its mostly just deeply disturbing what the characters go through and seeing their POV. So for me, Stephen King is one of the best Fantasy authors. Classic Horror…not really.
@@carlosbranca8080 I watched the original Pet Sematary when I was about ten, and it scared the hell outta me. Which is why, I think, that I can't bring myself to read the book yet. I want to. I own it. I just can't do it yet, lol.
Oh my gosh yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Throne of Glass! I gave that one star easy peasy. I described the main character as the female version of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast but worse. She was so arrogant about how she could take out everyone, but then she never trains. She doesn't even scope out rooms as she enters. Someone could be waiting for her with a crossbow, but she doesn't care. Probably her beauty will stop the arrows in their tracks. Loved this video! I actually had to pause it to laugh along.
I feel the opposite. Hated the "Great Gatsby". Figured I should give him a second chance - read "Tender is the Night ". That only confirmed Fitzgerald is not for me.
I feel exactly the opposite. I adored Jane Eyre. I've read it three times. I hated every word of Wuthering Heights, and want the time back that I spent slogging through it.
Project Hail Mary is on my list of favorite books EVER! Loved the writing, the wit, the voice, the exposition, the characters, the story, the ending! And maybe because I am a reluctantly retired (because of disability) teacher, I loved loved loved that the main character was at heart a teacher. I laughed, I ugly cried, and I was terrified the whole way through with what might happen. Couldn’t put it down. I see this book on my shelf now, 6 months later, and it still makes me happy. Take a chance on it!
I read The Great Gatsby as an adult. I am not American and while it was required reading for some of the students in my high school, I was never in class with a teacher who made it a mandatory read. When I did finally read it I felt like how you currently describe your feelings towards the book. Talking about it with a friend she told me to think about the message "The American Dream is Dead." Not being American I should say I interpret the American Dream as anyone can come from nothing and become rich. When I started to think about the book and the concept that the American Dream is dead I gained a deeper appreciation for it and continued to think about it long after I had read the book. I am now a big fan of the novel.
If you ever feel like giving Stephen King another try, I would recommend Dolores Claiborne. Based on books you've loved in the past, it feels right up your alley. It has a unique female protagonist, revenge themes, and an atmospheric seaside setting. Check content warnings, as the story has some disturbing themes, but they are integral to the plot and not thrown in to be exploitative.
I recommend the podcast On Eyre from Hot and Bothered to get stuck into the themes of Jane Eyre from the perspective of people who love the book but don't want to ignore the problematic bits
The Great Gatsby had that weird comment that still sticks with me. That overweight woman who's dating Gatsby, and Fitzgerald says something like "She was graceful, as women of her size sometimes are." (It might even have been beautiful.) And I always saw it as kind, but in a condescending way. Like how Judy calls Nick "An articulate fellow." in Zootopia. Both rub me the wrong way.
Hail Mary is my favorite read so far this year. I LOVE it, it made me read Andy Weir's last two books and liked both. That character you were talking about makes the book, and I thought the writing was excellent. I was not a fan of the ending but all in all great book. I will read his next book, just in the hope he will mention something about Hail Mary characters. Lol.
I'm there with you on The Great Gatsby. I think it has a lot of nuance and definitely has excellent commentary, but it's not something I would go up to someone and be like "You have to read this!!" or even go back to after finishing it the first time.
The present timeline is pretty slow for quite a while. It gets more interesting about halfway through, which is fine because we get the past timeline to keep us motivated
The Great Gatsby is my favorite book 😂 however, let me clarify that I think I read it differently than other people. I find Nick hilarious because he's so pretentious and ironic, I passionately hate Daisy, but somehow not Tom (he's a terrible person, I just don't hate him), and Gatsby is the most pathetically tragic character I've ever read and I ADORE HIM my sweet angel baby. I actually have a podcast episode coming out soon about The Great Gatsby (Shelf Obsessed podcast). But I totally understand people thinking it's overhyped or even not liking it, makes total sense.
I liked The Great Gatsby. But I think it was because I read it while watching clips of the movie and honestly, if it wasn't written back in the day, I feel like it would make a nice LGBTQ story 😂 just the passion and intrigue between Nick and Gatsby and their constant interactions, pair that with Nick helping and trying to understand Gatsby and being the only one to attend his funeral in the end- there was more romance elements there than in any other "relationships". I despise Daisy, I don't care for her sob story of having to be married to an a-hole because she doesn't want to be poor or looked down on in society- idc. Tom, he's an a-hole, but strangley I don't hate him because I'm not expecting him to change. And Jordan just felt like an add on character, Nick didn't even seem to be attracted to her and I honestly thought Jordan and Daisy had more chanced of hooking up and having a romance, than nick with Jordan and gatsby with Daisy, would.
@@remixtbh Spot on! In the 70s version of the movie, Truman Capote was the original screenwriter and "In his rejected draft, Nick Carraway was a homosexual and Jordan Baker a vindictive lesbian" which I wish was the version we had gotten
Merphy! I appreciate these kinds of videos so much. The number of times I have picked up a hyped book that fell absolutely flat on its face for me is exasperating. I could really do with some more specific examples of things you've noticed, as our reading interests don't always align perfectly and it's hard to determine whether something will bother me from generalizations. Would really appreciate it! Keep up the good work, I love your channel. X
The Great Gatsby is one of many books schools assign to destroy a love of reading. I used to think the mark of a classic was its ability to depress. List of classics assigned in the 80's English classes in Bloomington MN: The Great Gatsby, A Separate Peace, 1984, Animal Farm, Flowers For Algernon, Of Mice And Men, Romeo and Julliet, Old Man And The Sea, Death Of A Salesman. If you aren't suicidal after that you are at least emotionally damaged. If not for books like The Illustrated Man, I, Robot and A Spell For Chamelion that I discovered on my own, I probably would have been like so many people that never pick up a book after high school or college. Well, I'm INTP so that probably wouldn't have happened.
I loved Project Hail Mary. For a few reasons. The first was that I normally don't like back and forth in time stuff, I usually feel like it's a cheap way to not give us information that the characters already have, and usually one timeline is so much less interesting than the other. In PHM I found both actually interesting, and there was actually a good reason for it. I also super super loved the character you referenced in the video. Third reason has spoilers... As someone who was in the early stages of learning a goreign language through comprehensible input, the whole process of Rocky and Grace figuring out how to communicate was fascinating to me.
Omg. Thank you for including “The Great Gatsby” in this list and confirming my dislike for this book. I have NO idea why this is required reading for certain schools and could not find ANY motivation to finish this one. I DNF’d this book after trying SO hard to be open to why this would have any sort of appeal and I have no regrets.
I am one of those people who LOVED Project Hail Mary. I think it might be in my top 50 favorite books of all time. Maybe top 20. I can't speak for everyone but the main reason I love it is because of the more realistic journey of discovery Weir brings the readers on. It's actually kind of a rare type of Sci-fi story. Much of Spacd Sci-fi out there is Space Opera, which is fine but I love reading stories of people visiting know places in space for the first time. I want to feel like I am the astronaut. It's rare to find a story of discovery like this that isn't about discovering extraterrestrial life (though there are aspects of that) but exploring new worlds. One of my favorite authors is Ben Bova, he does it perfectly! Books like Mars, Return to Mars, Venus... I just love that stuff!
I think I tried to read Lolita one time but couldn't finish it. I think I picked it up because of how controversial it was and how it was restricted from some school libraries. I remember thinking "People fought for this? Why?" The controversy around the book hyped it more than it deserved. Now, controversial language and scenes do not make a book good or bad, but stirring up controversy to give the book attention is a tactic authors, publishers, and advertising people use to sucker people into reading mediocre/bad literature.
I'm currently reading The Throne of Glass series and I'm actually enjoying it. It's maybe because I went into it with low expectations and knowing that it's Fantasy-Romance. If you're someone who wants to try reading any SJM book, I say go for it. I also avoided her books for so long because of all the hate she's been receiving for the past few years. Don't be influenced by other people's opinion. Please form your own!
I went into it know that the plot really kicked off by book 3 and 4. So I got through the first 2 pretty easily. The first was a solid 5/10. Just okay. But the series gets really, really good by the end. Especially the last three books. I think that's because the series followed along her going from a novice to a much more professional writer. The issues I had with the first few books mostly fade away by the end, so if anyone struggled, I'd just say try to get through the first 3 books.
Stephen King is one of my favorite authors, I just love this character work so so much. I've read like 10 of his books so far and none were below 3 stars, which for such a prolific author is kind ofa big deal. I also like that he isn't afraid to try something completely new just to see what happens, most authors aren't that bold. Plus, by virtue of his characters always being really well fleshed out, I generally connect to the story, regardless what it's about. The one thing of his I generally find disappointing is the really short stories because I think he just doesn't have the page count for me to get invested in them. Also, the Bachman books have mostly been a miss for me.
I've read over 30 of his books and only disliked a couple of them (The Revival, Dolores Claiborne, Under the Dome). But I'm actually the opposite in that I think his short stories are even better than his novels! Stuff like The Shining and IT never gave me more than mild goosebumps, but pretty much all his short stories in The Night Shift scared me shitless, and Different Seasons (a book of four novellas) is one of my all time favorite King books. Haven't read too many of the Bachman books but one I did read was Thinner, and I remember really liking that one as well. It had a rarity in a King book, which was a great ending.
@@00ammy00 The Long Walk is so good! You should give it a try. I've read all of his books up to what he published in 2001 and I honestly can't tell if I'm just burned out on him or if he's getting worse. I think I'm just getting tired about things I was willing to forgive in the 60s that I'm not so forgiving about 30 years later. I'm gonna be taking a break from him for a while once I finish what I'm currently reading
So there's a manga called drops of god that I think you should give a go to partly because it's good but mostly because it'd be delightful if you had a brightcellars ad while reviewing a manga about sommelier's trying to find the ultimate wines.
I really liked the Stand when I read it as a teenager, other than the ending of course. Even as a kid it felt like a cop out because he couldn't be bothered to figure out a better way to achieve the same thing. I tried a few of his other novels and they were just very generic feeling, nothing stands out at all when I think back and try to remember them.
I read The Stand last year and uh... That first section hits hard in the middle of a pandemic. Every time someone coughed or sneezed I made a horrified face. The middle section was alright and I hated the last third for similar reasons. Like what was the point of everything done if that's how everything was solved?
Project Hail Mary, because even though there is something standard about its overall arc, many other such books are not so well delivered and frankly so very heartwarming. Nevernight, about 900 books, about half of them fantasy, and none of them written like this. It was just different and a breath of fresh air. I had no issues with the writing, and as my first trip into the fantasy assassin genre it is also my favorite.
I'm glad someone finally said it. I've tried to read Steven King stuff but haven't made it through any of the books I started. This when I was trying to get into reading and not quite there . So maybe I need to go back and try
I think the book I did not like, which is still overhyped for me, is 1984. Everyone says it's this great dystopia novel, but half of it is basically a romance book, which totally turned me off. Like, I wanted to read about what's going on with the world and not follow an (unnecessary) love story xD The dystopian concepts are cool, but not really explored as they are always hyped up to be, imo.
Think you're the first person I've seen that didn't jive with the Jade books, which is cool. Thought the endless amount of compliments seemed one note, so to see the other side of things is appreciated.
This may require too much commitment, but I got the most from Gatsby when I read it out loud to myself... I tend to speed-read and in the process miss a lot of linguistic nuance (great for, say, Andy Weir - not so much for Fitzgerald). Reading it out forced me to slow down, compose the sentences, and take in the inflections that are built into the way he writes. Experienced in that way, Gatsby is (to me) an incredibly beautiful book.
I love opinion videos! I discovered Brandon Sanderson on your channel and hearing you talk about him made me so curious i had to check him out! Now I'm not saying I'm obsessed, but I've binged-read 8 cosmere books in a 4 month time span...
You should just read Norwegian Wood by Murakami. It's short and probably his best book that is easily accessible to mainstream readers. Idk why those two books were recommended as first reads for Murakami. 1Q84 and the Wind-up bird chronicles are definetly the 2 best books of his but they are really long so I wouldn't read those if you aren't sure if you like Murakami yet. He is one of my favorite authors and I think it would be a real shame if you stopped reading Murakami after Sputnik and Kafka and didn't give Norwegian Wood a read. Even South of the Border, West of the Sun I would recommend over Sputnik and Kafka.
I love Murakami but I could not bring myself to even like Norwegian Wood a little bit and it’s one of his most recommended books I really really don’t get the hype. On the other hand 1Q84 was my first Murakami experience and it’s still my favourite. First time I was really charmed by the mystery and the weirdness of his styleOf magical realism but on a reread I find it hard to recommend to people who find him … problematic because it does have all of the stuff he’s criticized for. As a fan I really do have to gloss over a number of scenes and his fascination with boobs and male genitalia to be able to enjoy his books 😅 but I do always love the ✨vibes✨ they feel like Japanese cottagecore to me :))
I think a lot of casual sci-fi readers enjoyed Project Hail Mary, because it's quite fast paced, easy to get into, funny and heart-warming. You see it happen oftenly with thrilers, where really basic thrilers get such high hype because they were picked up by casual readers who loved it, while the thriler lovers thought it was only an ok read..
Oh please do recommend some good thrillers if you’re speaking from experience! I’ve not had good luck with thrillers lately and would love to know what I need to be picking up instead
@@merphynapier42 Recently I've been into badass female leads. 1. I loved They Never Learn (female serial killer). 2. Love You More by L.Gardner (has detective point of view, never gets boring IMO). 3. japanese thriler Confessions by Kanae Minato was fast, twisty and mindblowing. 4. An extremely thrilling, don't have time to breathe read-No Exit. 5. High school reunion mixed with drama, mystery, love and thrils- In My Dreams I Hold a Knife. 6. Not really a thriler but The Maid by N. Prose was also heartwarming, funny and cosy-mystery (strong family, found family themes ). and 7. John Marrs's thrilers with sci-fi elements- The One, The Passengers and The Minders. Hope you find something that spikes your interest :P Sorry for writing an essay xD
I wrote a whole two page rant about how awful reading Gatsby was only to then delete it all out of anger and instead condense it all into a few short paragraphs to send to my English teacher 😅 Most of the readers in my class agreed with me but didn’t go quite into detail as I had. School assigned reading was so incredibly disappointing as someone who reads 24/7, and at one point (I am still kind of stewing in this idea) I was confident that school was specifically choosing books to convince students to avoid reading by making it as dull and unimpressive as possible.
It cracks me up that you like Pet Semetary so much because it is the only King book I've read and I loathed it for the very reasons you describe not liking his other work. I liked the first two-thirds of the book, but the third part was a disjointed mess. I am not opposed to weird, but it served no function. The ending felt like he made a list of "all the terrible things that could happen" and checked them off. It felt very empty and unrewarding, which was a shame because the first two parts were a great setup. I have heard some people describe his works as having "eras" and that a certain era in particular really needed a better editor to cut certain scenes out/trim the story because they got too out of line. (It and Pet Semetary are two of the works that fall in this era.) Knowing this has made me curious to read a few other works of his, but I've got a complicated relationship with horror so they aren't high on my tbr list.
With Weir and King a large part of the Hype is that they are written in a way that people who don't read much still really enjoy them. King's lack of plotting/endings is less obvious to those with a shallower frame of reference.
"It" is my favourite book ever. Its world building around the different eras, its character development, its gorgeous friendship depiction, so natural and genuine. You just feel like the losers are your group of friends from when you were young, they are so weel written. And yeah its scary as hell, children gets eaten and thats heavy. And yeah, the sewer´s part is off puting to say the least, the most divisive part of King´s career I think. IMO, im not against it but it definitly could have been removed from the final product lol, yeah the kids needed to snap out of their despair and fear, but King could have found a different wat for them to do it. Anyway this became too long. Merphy, I wholeheartedly recommend it to you. Its super scary but in contrast it can be one of the most wholesome and cheerful books ever, if that makes any sense.
Love that your first choice is Project Hail Mary. It's a fun interesting read, but it reveals his weaknesses, which are seemingly pretty severe. This guy cannot write women to save his life, and his male characters seem to be limited to "quirky problem solving science guy."
LMAO “quirky problem solving science guy”, didn’t think this could perfectly explain how I feel about The Martian. Yeah, the premise of the story is interesting but the whole book is just full of “shit goes wrong, I’ll just fix it cause I’m a quirky problem solving science guy”. I know it’s supposed to stay lighthearted to mimic how the main character deals with these issues, through humor, but it gets boring as the plot is extremely repetitive . It got to the point where every time a problem happens, I knew he would fix it. There was way to much plot armor for me to enjoy the story. I would have preferred a bad ending cause so much shit goes wrong, yet he never died.
Considering the fact that my firstborn daughter is literally named after Jane Eyre and I am of the opinion that Gatsby IS the great American novel (which may or may not be saying much), I cannot entirely agree with you on this. But great video!
I think a huge reason everyone loves Project Hail Mary so much is because a lot of people listened to the audiobook, and the narrator for the audiobook does an incredible job.
I would say Percy Jackson is really overhyped. I mean, it's a good and fun franchise, but I think people overhype it too much. I hope I won't get cancelled for saying that. 😅
I mean I think most of the overhype is it being a ton of middle schoolers first or second taste of a crowd pleasing fantasy book series that also featured Greek mythology which is rad. Think about being taught about Greek mythology in school or self learning about it, and being able to infer or guess plot points based on your knowledge! Or having a favorite god or monster show up, it was gratifying as hell. Being one of these guys, I understand the gut reaction to overhype it when in reality to an adult reader it's like a 6.5/10. Doesn't stop me from loving regardless tho.
I love it a lot but it isn’t a masterpiece of fantasy with deeply complex characters and world. The characters are amazing, the world is super fascinating and creative, the action is phenomenal but it isn’t that good. Heroes of Olympus though is pretty damn amazing despite a bad ending
Thank you for sharing your opinion on Jade City! My views are very similar to yours but it feels like everyone else absolutely loved it. I almost started wondering if I read the same book!
I read IQ84 and colorless Tsukuru, and I agree with your points on Murakami. I can appreciate the absurdity/fantasy aspects, but I desperately needed thorough explanations
Court of Thorn and Roses is probably the most pushed book by Booktok. I think that's what fuels my hatred for that book. I tried to read it, didn't like, however it is everywhere and has such high praises. I CAN'T ESCAPE IT. Also,I feel Bridgeton series is overhyped as well, minewhile I have read fanfiction that are better written than it
I read The Duke and I due to the Bridgerton hype, and about halfway through I realized that Merphy reviewed it awhile ago, so I sighed for what was coming. I love A Court of Thorns and Roses for all the problematic aspects of it, honestly. But I'm weird. I get why seeing it everywhere would make you hate it, though.
@@songweretson I have no issue with people liking Court of Thorn and Roses. I understand why people do, it just isn't my cup of tea (TBF, I have quite the specific taste). But with 'The Duke and I', I don't even remember the MC's names, as I just called them Draco and Ginny throughout the book. Well, until I almost threw it at wall, the only reason I didn't was because it was a library book. It also made me Google available ways they would find out about sex in 1813. Turns out, aside the obvious WOMEN TALK TO EACH OTHER, THERE IS NO WAY A 20 YEAR OLD WOULDN'T HAVE HEARD ABOUT IT, porn/erotica were also widely available during that time. There was even a erotic/porn book about the ways women found out about it. And it's in public domain now
@@lelnel6242 RIGHT?? The mother in the series is supposed to be this great matriarch, with how many children... And she couldn't be bothered to tell her daughter what to expect?? It's so stupid. That really irked me, too. That and a scene where it was obvious Quinn had no regard for historical fashion. But then she gets it right in a later seen. I wanted to scream. Even before I got to THAT part.
@@songweretson Not just her mother. Her/her mother's friends or women that just got married. It is quite obvious that it was written by an US American who genuinely believes that England was so prude it used to put socks on furniture(not true). Somehow the characters in Pride and Prejudice, a book that came out in 1813, felt more familiar, recognisable and relatebale than a book published in 2000
@@lelnel6242 It's ironic that so many romance writers so obviously want to be Jane Austen, yet they fail to realize that what makes Austen great isn't the love story, or the setting. It's that Austen understood people.
Surprised by Green Bone Saga. Easily my favorite thing I read last year. I will say Jade War was probably the weakest of the three, but Jade Legacy was amazing. I read the series right after finishing The Poppy War and The Green Bone Saga was everything I was missing from that series. Totally agree with King though. He has written some masterpieces, but so much of his output is mediocre at best.
Agree on Jane Eyer, I like all Bronte sister books except that one. Also I don't get why people hate on Wothering Heights, sure characters are unlikeable, romance is unhealthy but that is the point. Also the ending is great you finally see glimpse of hope in that God forsaken place.
Calling a book meh is okay, hating a book is normal, but wanting a book destroyed by fictional extraterrestrial mutants is a whole new level.
If only Dr Who would let the daleks go back thru time and stop the Twilight series.
Or go to an alternate universe where Game of Thrones got finished.
That would make the daleks heroes!!!!!
Right! A level where no level has levelled before.
I’m confused lol. Merphy somehow got me interested in reading Project Hail Mary when she was trying to say it was overhyped.
I was going to say "Overhyped doesn't mean bad; just that the hype around it is more than it deserves," but Daleks were brought up.
Lol same! Never heard of it but she made it sounds kind of good to me.
Yeah, I'm watching this trying to understand why any of these book should be destroyed?!?! The title makes no sense to me.
@@SavageMinnow the title is overhyped ;)
@@mondriaa and yet, none of them seem like they are over hyped ?
Merph, I think the reason why everyone loves project hailmary is because of how much time Andy put into the science aspect. That is the reason why I love this book so much.
That's so true! I feel the same way. The way everything was explained made the book read as if it were an autobiography of a physicist. Never felt like anything was made up.
I thought the book was ok, but I loved Rocky an unreasonable amount
@@felipedonadon8015 I was rooting for him too! ❤️
And it's just. SO. FUN. And the xenobiology part was awesome. Especially about the tiny things, winkwink
@@felipedonadon8015 the story really picks up when rocky comes into it
“Written like someone who desperately wants to be poetic but is not!” Wow that’s a BURNNNN to any writer😂 buts it’s honest and I love it!
I have a very complicated relationship with Jane Eyre. The story itself: Eh. I understand why it was so well-loved when it was published, but reading it today... Yeah, it's not the best, but not the worst. So why do I kinda love it? *The writing* ! I've read so many books that were set in the Victorian Era, but never had a book that made me feel like I was really there. Her descriptions of even the most mundane things are so stunning. If Charlotte Bronte would have written a book of 1000 pages, just describing things, I buy it, I would read it and I would love it.
This is so interesting because, for me, its Emily Bronte's withering heights that deserves all the hype. I adore her writing. I couldn't stand Charlotte's writing. Its so funny how subjective writing is.
That book made me want to die. It was boring as hell and I hated it
I quite liked Jane Eyre for the writing and the gothic-vibes-lite...but I was not happy about her getting together with Rochester. Why? Just...why?
My sister is a big reader but she just couldn’t read Jane Eyre, supposedly the descriptions for her were just endless and Boring. Not much of a romnance guy myself so I probably won’t try them.
Wow I couldn't feel more differently then people who hate it. Jane Eyre is my favourite book of all time, I have reread it so many times. I love the characters, the storyline, and especially the prose.
I think Project Hail Mary is so hyped because it’s surprised a lot of people who didn’t think they’d enjoy it or who normally don’t like sci-fi
That's a good point! I'm a sci fi fan and loved the book, but I could see it appealing to a wider audience as well, a la The Martian.
I think it is so hyped because the audiobook is extremely good it really uplifts the entire book like no other audiobook I have listened to before.
Oh! I never thought of hype being from that perspective! Great comment, thank you
Exactly. I wasn't sure I liked it because I mostly read fantasy, not scifi but I ended up enjoying it so much! Also, just like what Jan Se mentioned, the audiobook was great!
I am evidence that supports your theory 🤣 not normally a sci-fi reader, so I was surprised to love it. It was also refreshingly wholesome and I needed that since all I read is pretty tragic or brutal stories.
Also, spoiler below -
I did NOT think I was going to like an alien story, but I adored rocky, so that was another pleasant surprise
Please DON'T read Jane Eyre as a romance novel! Read it as Evolution Novel of Woman agency. At a time when women had no choice in deciding who will be their life partner, Jane Eyre was so rebellious. You got a woman who refuses to allow others to make decisions for her. And even if her final decision about love is the wrong one, it was HERS. Which at the time it was published, was soooo unheard of! But yeah if you read the book as another romance novel you will be bored to tears and angry.
i... i liked it as a romance novel :'l
Then again, I don't read many. Like you said, I liked how the story went way beyond the romance and how themes were explored through it. I enjoyed it because it felt realistic and while the romance itself is not ideal at all, the way Jane handled it was pretty realistic imo. I loved her character a lot. Ultimately I admire the novel for her character.
Yes, this. All of this.
"At a time when women had no choice in deciding who will be their life partner," Do people really believe this?
@@vulkanofnocturne
Um....yes? Like, this was very much a thing back when this novel was written. Like, it wasn't a legal requirement or anything but it very much was the done thing for women to marry someone that their parents chose. Like...there’s a reason this is such a common trope in old stories. It's because it was an actual thing. These were written as high stakes realistic situations.
@@kayleighbrown459 "it wasn't a legal requirement or anything but it very much was the done thing for women" So you're agreeing with me (in a negative tone)
The reason PHM is so hyped is because it is hard scifi that is very accessible but feels very scientific, and the story has a heart that much of hard scifi lacks.
High school English teacher here - "Gatsby" is beloved by educators for it's use of symbolism, the unreliable narrator, and the poetic language. It's also a great conversation piece for students - Why is the great American novel about the failings of American society? How does wealth and privilege impact character? Why can't some people let go of the past?
While it's not a book I look to pick up frequently for a reread, I do consider it one of my favorites and every time I do reread it, I find it more and more poignant.
100% agree.
I think to call Nick Carraway an unreliable narrator is a stretch. He's not omniscient. And he does have a subjective point of view. But that does not make him unreliable.
I also don't think the novel is really about the failings of American society although failure and success are themes. It's more about character and dreams. I've always considered Daisy the true villain because she has no goals, no character and no moral judgment.
@@donjindra I don’t think there are any true “villains” in the story at all. They are all morally grey characters with serious flaws. Nick is trying to figure out his life by following the lead of other people. Daisy is stuck in a marriage with an abusive controlling man she doesn’t love, but it’s the 20s and she doesn’t have many options (especially since there’s a child involved). Also, she enjoys their life of decadence and is willing to put up with Tom’s tomfoolery, jealously, and abuse to have it. Daisy has major flaws, but it doesn’t make her a villain.
Also, I don’t agree that a character has to be omniscient to be an unreliable narrator. If they were, it would be a malevolent type of narration, deliberately keeping things from the audience. He’s just a narrator that doesn’t know everything that is happening and it all is colored by his own experiences and judgements.
@@donjindra he’s not omniscient, but he IS unreliable. He calls himself unbiased at many points, but he frequently makes judgments that influence the readers’ perceptions (like his judgments of Tom, even of Gatsby). A narrator doesn’t have to be omniscient to be unreliable, they just have to say one thing and do another
@@the.almost.book.doctor8326 I read Daisy as villain on my first reading in college, years ago. And It's how she came through to me when I reread the novel lately. Gatsby's flaw is that he doesn't see the real Daisy. He can't get an idealized image of her out of his head. Daisy isn't stuck in her marriage. She's stuck in her pampered, ambivalent existence. She floats through life. No, she doesn't love Tom the man, she loves the status. She loves being the object.
I agree Nick doesn't know everything that's happening. I agree his view is colored by his subjective POV. I disagree that this means he's unreliable. This subjective, limited POV is exactly how we go through life. All stories we hear from others are colored with their own experiences and judgments. We never get the whole story. This does not make everyone unreliable. A few speckles of unreliability do not make one unreliable. I'm beginning to wonder if the "modern" audience has lost a feel for nuance and expects the narrator to spell everything out, to "lay his cards on the table." I suppose it comes down to who one thinks is unreliable -- the "true believer" or the person who doesn't quite know what to make of things. I put more trust in the later. That's how I see Nick.
The Darker Shade of Magic series is one I find to be SO overhyped. It had a neat concept but none of the characters really kept me interested and Lila's over-edginess made me roll my eyes. Book 3 was a let down too. For some reason it gets compared to Mistborn a lot, and I think Mistborn is 100x better. Also, I definitely agree with you on The Great Gatsby!
Completely agree. I inhaled those books because they are very fun and easy to read + I loved the atmosphere, but man I wish those had been done by Laini Taylor or Brian McClellan.
100% with you there, I was drawn in by the concept because it sounded incredible and then I started it and was honestly surprised by how unlikable I found the characters to be and how boring I found the different worlds and magic. I agree on Lila's character too- I was kinda lukewarm on her and then (SLIGHT SPOILER) there was that scene where she had the magic clone of Kell do a strip tease in front of him while he was tied up and I realized at that point that this was probably not for me. I ended up finishing the first book and was just incredibly underwhelmed with how it concluded. It also included a line which always annoys me when I see it in books and it's when a flirtatious character hits on the main female character in some weird objectifying way and she gets rightfully annoyed and responds with a threat and the flirtatious character replies with "I like this one" or something along those lines. It annoys me at the best of times and here it was just the nail on the "I won't be continuing this series" coffin.
V.E. Schwab in general for me. The premise always seems like something I would 100% LOVE, so I get the hype. but each time I read one I find myself closer to “that was fine”. It’s a bit of a disappointment.
I just finished the first book in the Darker Shade of Magic series and found it to be a lighthearted and enjoyable read but nothing groundbreaking. The pace moved well and how the different London's tied together was unique. I didn't have too many issues with Kells and Lila, but I did read this right after finishing Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself and what a difference. In the end Shades was average.
I just finished listening to the first one a bit ago, and it was okay. I actually liked Lila, but Kell was so incredibly boring, I just didn't care for his scenes. Lila to me at least had interesting motivations, Kell was just boring.
Sigh: I'm going to get hate for this but...Sarah J Mass's writing is pretty ordinary. Objectively speaking, there are major character building and plot issues plus logic sometimes walks out. I understand she was only 16 when she wrote Throne of Glass but I've read passages of her Fairy trilogy and still nope. I respect that people may enjoy a little escapism. I have my own favorite bad series. That's OK, we need those books in our life. Her escapism is not for me.
You will probably get far less hate for me, because of how I feel about Brandon Sanderson. He is a writer that comes up with amazing concepts and is a master at world-building, but his stories are so boring. I desperately want to like Sanderson, because of how many like him, but what is happening in his stories is so boring to read about.
@@Greendalewitch I don’t understand the boring remark? Do you mean it takes to long to get to exciting? I flew through the stormlight archives and I only started them a while ago.
@@Greendalewitch I think Sanderson is an overhyped author as well. Agree about him coming up with really good concepts, but I don't think his plots are boring. No for me, it's his writing and characters. I don't know, his writing style sounds so amateurish to me for some reason, his dialogue always sounds off, and his characters never feel like they have depth. I can enjoy a few on a shallow level but there was never a character of his that I absolutely fell in love with you know?
@@anonymousname5860 I felt that the stories of the characters lack both the proper conflict and fully realised inner desires to make the stories interesting. Conflict is the fuel that makes one fly through a book, be it inner conflict, personal conflict, social conflict or escalating conflict. Sanderson in my opinion, creates great world building and characters but has a problem adding conflict, be it to the plot or making characters acting upon their desires.
I read Legion by Sanderson and you would think that man with multiple personality disorder would be interesting, but its a drawn out story of man that has come to peace with his life that he has multiple personalities and has a vague longing to a see a dear old flame, and its hard to get invested into such a story that is about a man that has come to peace with who he is, and only vaguely wants to see someone he loves.
Mistborn has characters that are taking action, but take so long in doing it, that I dropped out of the story. What also bothered me also is that it has a love story subplot between Vil and Elend and the foundation of all love stories is what is keeping those two apart, but they soon get together and the plot rather focuses on the social conflict rather than the personal ones, so I never felt there was a conflict going on there that makes it a worthy subplot about a love story that is worth reading.
I admit I havent read the Stormlight archives, but im gonna give them a change. That might perhaps change my view on Sanderson.
Note: This is also all very subjective. What might not work for me, might work for you. I know a lot of people love Mistborn and even know some that like Legion, but im not one of them. Perhaps I will like The Stormlight Arvhices. I really hope I will.
@@00ammy00 Its the lack of conflict and fully realised inner desires that does it for me. I agree with you when you say that there was never a character of this that one absolutely falls in love with. Its because ( in my opinion ) they lack inner conflict and desires. I go into more detail about this in my reply to Anonymus Name, which is a comment I seem to have posted at the same time as yours, if you are interested.
When you skip all the other tubers ads but you watch all of Merphy's because she's got a daughter to feed.
Same
If I had Adblocker I would definitely turn it off when watching Merphs videos
Guess other booktubers don’t have children to feed
I love Merph because she mixes genre fiction with literary fiction and classics. Too many just fantasy channels out there. I could kill myself if the only thing i have to read is one genre...
I was reading the Maas books to my teenager out loud. We stopped at the chocolate scene like people are trying to kill her every way they can, she finds mystery chocolate on her bed and eats them, we laughed and laughed.
That is quite literally one of the deaths in Long Live the Queen. If you don't have Poison training, you'll dig in and start frothing. It even has it's own death portrait. (You'd need to go through with it to get the All Deaths achievement, but that's another thing entirely.)
I enjoyed reading The Great Gatsby, but I think the main reason that it is taught so often is that it is a perfect case study in elegant symbolism. Colors, cars, TJ Eckleberg, all of these things have symbolic importance, but none of it is on the nose, and is great to study in a classroom. It's also a very good case study in unreliable narrators, as Nick is, albeit very subtly, unreliable, and makes a lot of themes in the book stand out much more.
I definitely do not think that Gatsby is the greatest book of all time, nor do I think that it should be a mainstay in every English course (I'd much rather read a book about people that have actual, real problems from the time period and not just "boohoo I'm rich and I can't swoon a girl," i.e any Faulkner ever) but I do see why it is taught a lot of places. It has a pretty prose style, it's rather easy, and it does things in a rather concise and effective way that makes it a really good book to study.
Also Nick is *extremely* gay for Gatsby, change my mind
"Also Nick is extremely gay for Gatsby, change my mind"
I had a hard time understanding this cos i could understood nick's admiration for gatsby without any gay undertone, i love my friends, i wish i had some of their characteristics and i hate when they're treated great unjust. the reason for gay undertone feel condescending for me like 2 men can't bond or be close without it being gay, i see this with like naruto and saskue or sherlock and watson, guys that have admiration and deep bond with each other, which then some fanbase conclude as having gay undertone.
also " I'd much rather read a book about people that have actual, real problems from the time period and not just "boohoo I'm rich and I can't swoon a girl," "feel a big misrepresentation of the actual story if you remember what happened to myrtle and george.
So, I grew up reading Stephen King...and I did so in the era before the internet.I actually think that makes a BIG difference in how people absorb SK. I love seeing people's reactions and how they see things versus how I saw them when these books were coming out (not in a bad way, either, it's just a big difference and it's amazing to see). I've read every single one of his books and short stories, and I'll continue to do so. I personally love all of his endings. He creates these incredible, awesome evils, and the good guys always win (even though sometimes at great cost). And yes, even "that" scene in IT, it's wild to me to see how people of today take it versus what it was meant to be and understood as back when it came out (yes, it's still uncomfortable, but there's more to it than just the event that happened, and the fact that SO many readers today miss it and simply take it for the scene as though it's a standalone scene that has no connection to EVERYTHING ELSE the kids just went through...it just amazes me). BUT, if you want my opinion as to why he gets so much love? It's because he gave us reading and entertainment in the time when the television only had a few channels on it, movies didn't come out on tv in a few weeks, let alone "stream", you couldn't take your phone everywhere you went, or text a friend to talk about things if you weren't in the same room at the same time. But his books and his stories were there. He's been consistently putting out entertaining stories for around 50 years...and it's hard for some writer's to even write one book that lasts 50 years, let alone over 60, nearly 70 of them. A lot of people don't realize it until they're older, but it's hard to tell what's going to last. For example, Twilight was the rage for a while, and it's mostly thought of as a joke now. There are books people are reading right now that they think blows Stephen King's stuff away - but in 10 years, 20 years? That same book could be an "Oh yeah, I read that once, what was I thinking? LOL" kind of fad. It could go Harry Potter/JK Rowling at any moment. But, the best comparison I can give anyone today is that he was Brandon Sanderson before Brandon Sanderson. People are going wild for Sando right now - unless they don't read Sci-Fi, then, they couldn't care less. SK's popularity reached beyond his genre, and even widened its audience considerably, except to those who just didn't like horror, then,.they couldn't care less.
I’ve only read Gunslinger by Stephen King 2 years ago and loved it, just got distracted and never went back.
What I loved about the book is how immersed I felt and how I drawn I was to the characters. Everytime he went into Roland’s backstory I was so fascinated, and personally love every time Roland would go on tangents and ramble on for a bit.
Trying to find time and motivation to read “ The Stand” someday soon.
Merphy woke up today and chose violence. Nice!
I think project Hail Mary was written with the intent of it becoming an audiobook, which it works really well as. Some stories work better in different formats and I think project Hail Mary was one of them
I came here because I saw Project Hail Mary in the thumbnail... I'm not a big sci-fi reader but Project Hail Mary entered my top books of all time the moment I finished it! I would literally die for Rocky. He is life, he is love. I also found it easy to suck me in, it almost felt like I was living in the world of the book, and I was excited and rooting for characters as if everything happening was happening to our own world.
YES!
The problem with classics is that they remain classics for all time, and readers who come along later may not see why the were deemed classics in the first place. The wheel was one of the most important inventions of all time. It’s a classic. But it’s also just a wheel.
King's writing is the only time where books meant for adults have actually gripped me within the first few pages. When I start reading one of his doorstop novels I know that I will breeze quickly through it just after having read the first ten pages. While I'm an adult now, I still enjoy quite a bit of YA fiction because it is often easy to read. King is similar in terms of easy to read, but his themes are often much more developed and interesting. One of my favorite podcasts "Kingslingers" actually does a slow chapter-by-chapter analysis of King's books (there first season covered all of the Dark Tower series) and it's made it possible for me to see how important all of the King-isms really are for the novels and their themes.
For anyone curious about why Stephen King is so well regarded I highly recommend this funny and intellectual podcast: "Kingslinger" from Doofmedia.
Completely agree
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I will Hype the Dark Tower series of Kings... but honestly I am a fan of the series but that's the over all view. Book 1 was and is a dud to me; clearly King did not have a full grasp of what he wanted in that one. Books 2+ much better as the story becomes more clear and pieces from other King titles become connected to the events on the page it absorbs your sense of reality and draws out your paranoia and consirital mind to notice things around you IRL that connect to the story and by the time you reach the end of Book 7 you begin to feel that the books reality is your reality but your not the focus in it.
Granted this may have just been my experience but I do suggest listening to classic rock radio stations while reading... it eerily flows with the story beats more often than it honestly should.
As to reading it... the scene you made me think of was a fridge full of flying leechs. Thats the one I found most disturbing.
In my experience, lots of people (me included) started loving Jane Eyre after realizing that it's actually not a romance book. That gave me a completely new view for that book and a new appreciation for it.
The only reason I can think of to why The Great Gatbsy is so hyped is because it was written in the roaring 20s about the roaring 20s by a man that was known to often par take in many roaring 20s things.
Not really why it is considered 1 of the 2 great American novels, it is a masterclass in symbolism, musical writing, great discussions on how wealth not only cosumes the rich but also the poor. It has some really insightful points on how America operates and offers great commentary on the ideal American experenice not only in the 20s but it has extended to today
It also shows the horrors of a carefree life. Daisy and Tom are careless people, they don't care for each other themselves, their child or anything, and in the 20s that's what the American dream was, to live a carefree life. The Great Gatasby shows the horrorible extreme end of that
I actually LOVED Project Hail Mary. Couldn’t stop reading it…I felt it improved on the execution of the similar-in-concept The Martian. Maybe I’m just a science nerd, lol 🤷♂️
Project Hail Mary also had the most adorable alien out of any book/show/game I've ever read/watched/played
There were parts of Jane Eyre I liked, but overall I can't with the toxic romance. The male lead's first wife is from West Indies and is biracial and she is forced to marry when you think about it suddenly it makes you want to vomit. The lead male blames her parentage for her mental health issues. He makes himself the victim in the situation, "feel sorry for me, my wife is crazy and I've resisted being violent toward her, don't you think I've suffered."
Project Hail Mary is, like, one of the best books I’ve ever read. 😭😭😭
Disappointed by the lack of Daleks in this video.*
*I know the BBC are mad on striking any video with any Doctor Who content regardless of fair use etc.
I swear Project Hail Mary was written purely for the audiobook. I usually don’t do audiobooks. I randomly decided to with this book. I cannot imagine having read it traditionally now. It would have been a lesser experience or at least for me. - I agree it is slightly overhyped. I’m surprised so many loved it. The ending was a rather … it was a choice. I loved it. I am surprised so many others did.
I love the concept of wine ranting about over-hyped things. That idea can have a whole YT channel by itself; retirement goals.
I looovee project Hail Mary, but hey I love physics and maths so maybe it was just more up my street. I just love the way Andy weir is clearly well versed and passionate about physics, he makes such realistic space travel issues in his stories and he can write the science in it in a very accessible way.
THANK YOU for vindicating my feelings on The Great Gatsby. It was actually one of the least interesting books I had to read in high school. I asked quite a few people who thought it was great if there was something deeper I was missing after reading it and got nothing. It actually upset me quite a bit at the time that people were holding it up as something super important but couldn't explain why when to me it was kind of just a somewhat interesting read that didn't feel like it went anywhere (I wasn't alone among my class in this).
The book easily could’ve been shortened by like 50 pages, which is insane because the book is already incredibly short. Like I only remember three events that happened💀
Had a teacher in college point out that the book wasn’t actually well received when it was released. It was only 20 some-odd-years later, when the US military sent shipments of the book over to soldiers fighting in WW2, that it took off because for the soldiers it was a reminder of better times, and it kind of just stuck around after that
I feel like as a first taste of the classics for many young ppl it's spectacular, because it's usually the one classic teenagers are willing to take seriously. But for ppl already antiquated with classics, it's really not worth the hype compared to others. Anyway, I don't even thing the author intended it to be treasured as a 'classic', for what it is it's a fine story, enjoyable, and just deep enough. Which is good! So then, for teenagers it's like the best classic ever, because it's the only one they actually read oftentimes XD
Yes, I had to annotate the entirety of The Great Gatsby this year for school and it almost put me back into the reading slump I was in for 4 years after just getting out of it. And I’m not even a plot driven reader, I live character analysis books, but non of the characters were interesting or well written enough to drive the story. The only good thing I can say about it is that it’s fun to rant about.
@Daniel Bermea Honestly not a huge fan of either but I can relate to wondering why people were raving about gatsby.
The Great Gatsby is a beautiful use of language, symbolism, and narration. It is decent at a cautionary tale about obsession and an examination of the wealthy. I think it's a wonderful piece of literature and I'm very glad to have read it. Also I will likely never read it again as I didn't really enjoy it? I admire it greatly, but don't enjoy it much.
Respectfully disagree with your comments about Jade City and Jade War. Fonda Lee writes amazing protagonists; they are complex, well fleshed out, and have amazing relationships with each other. I also thought she did a great job of subverting expectations as well having dire and permanent consequences to people's actions. I was hesitant to read it at first since it is modern fantasy and I just had the impression that I would really dislike it. However, it ended up working really well for this series and made me interested in reading more modern fantasy!
Also, I would like to say that I am not someone who typically cares for political dynamics in books, I don't mind it but its not what I'm looking for when deciding what to read. So even if you're not interested in that aspect I still think that this book is worth a read!
While I didn’t connect with the mc very much I do very much agree with you that she writes incredible relationships. While I didn’t love the books, there were some scenes that shocked me and blew me away, and it was always because of the dynamics between the characters
With Stephen King, I'm going to paraphrase a statement by film maker Neil Jordan from the mini documentary "Lestat, Louis, and the Vampire Phenomenon": [King] and Rice took the horror genre and turned it into something fresh, gothic, and beautiful. The reason he is so beloved is that: he took a genre and made it into art. While he does have some questionable content in his novels, the story, the characters, and his overall mastery of English not only helps with excusing those parts, but makes those uncomfortable moments a bit more bearable. Sort of like having that one weird friend who is wonderful at helping you through the rough and traumatic episodes of life.
At least, as a hardcore King fan, that's my take.
I didn’t read the great gatsby in school either. When I did finally read it I very much enjoyed it and I think the hype has to do with when it came out and with the way the book was published in droves to be sent to soldiers who were at war. I think it became a “viral” book before the idea of going viral was a thing. But I do think it holds up to the hype.
I loved your point about how “he was on drugs” doesn’t change your feelings about the book
I haven’t read Project Hail Mary yet, so I’m not commenting on that book specifically but I have read his other books. The Martian could be argued as a simple premise - but it’s how it’s written! - if you didn’t think his writing style is particularly special, that’s a personal thing but I think how it’s written is what elevates a book, even if a premise is just “ok” (I’ve heard from other reviewers that the reveals at the end are great too, but I don’t want spoilers so haven’t delved too hard….). So, for me, how it’s written is often what makes the difference.
Haven’t read the Martian so I’m not sure how consistent Weir’s writing style is, but I couldn’t even make it through one chapter of Project Hail Mary *because* of the writing. It read to me like the self-insert fan fiction of a teenage boy, not the narration of an adult physicist.
@@arianab.8364 blimey! I really like the way he writes…it’s always subjective….thanks for the comment Ariana.
I was so happy to hear you enjoyed Wuthering Heights as well! It’s one of the books that stuck with me after reading it for a class.
When I read Gatsby in HS it was mainly treated as a period piece for us to learn about the US in the 20s. Between that, the whole pining for someone you can’t have, and how accessible the symbolism is, I can see why a lot of people love it.
The only part I truly dig is the last line about being borne ceaselessly back into the past.
I read the first Throne of Glass and i enjoyed it, and then I went to start the second book and she immediately decides to not assassinate people, and there's a love triangle. Immediately put me off. I also think Adam Silvera is overhyped - I absolutely hate his writing style. I had to force myself through Infinity Son and DNF'd They Both Die at the End
If you're feeling open minded I'd suggest giving ToG 3 a go. It's where the actual plot of the series starts tbh. I appreciate that's not ideal in a series
I read The Great Gatsby in high school all those years ago and absolutely despised it. As did most of my class.
I'll say this about Stephen King: I think he's over-hyped as the master of horror. I've read seven of his books, and only one scene in one of them scared me at all. The rest of the time, it was all suspense, which I loved, but at the same time, for growing up hearing about him being this undisputed master of horror, I'm sitting there going where are the scares??
Something else with him, though. There are authors who release their first books and then they write more, they hone their style more, they get better at the craft, and if you read their later books, then go back to earlier ones, the earlier ones are a lot harder to get through because they hadn't really found their stride yet. Not so with Stephen King. The first book of his I read was Mr. Mercedes. Later, I read Salem's Lot. Except for the cost of things in Salem's Lot obviously reflecting when it was written, you'd NEVER know that was his second novel published. It has none of the floundering, none of the 'I've got to find my footing' that other beginning authors have.
For that alone, I think Stephen King is worth the hype.
Salem's Lot was my favorite King novel and my third horror novel ever. I read it at 19. I reread it a few years back after 24 years...it fell in my estimation big time. Now i think King's masterpiece is Pet Sematary, the only King novel in my horror top ten.
Yeah…Actually non of the books I have read of King have been „Horror“. Most of them were Fantasy. Some I would call psychological thrillers.
IT is Fantasy, sometimes Dark, sometimes magical. The Stand is Fantasy. The Talisman is Fantasy. The Dark Tower is Fantasy. Carrie is Fantasy. Its mostly just deeply disturbing what the characters go through and seeing their POV. So for me, Stephen King is one of the best Fantasy authors. Classic Horror…not really.
@@carlosbranca8080 I watched the original Pet Sematary when I was about ten, and it scared the hell outta me. Which is why, I think, that I can't bring myself to read the book yet. I want to. I own it. I just can't do it yet, lol.
Oh my gosh yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Throne of Glass! I gave that one star easy peasy. I described the main character as the female version of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast but worse. She was so arrogant about how she could take out everyone, but then she never trains. She doesn't even scope out rooms as she enters. Someone could be waiting for her with a crossbow, but she doesn't care. Probably her beauty will stop the arrows in their tracks. Loved this video! I actually had to pause it to laugh along.
I love Fitzgerald! If you want to give it another try you could also try "Tender is the Night".
I feel the opposite. Hated the "Great Gatsby". Figured I should give him a second chance - read "Tender is the Night ". That only confirmed Fitzgerald is not for me.
@@suecarol1563 so it's a good test -- if you dislike both then you know to avoid that author
I feel exactly the opposite. I adored Jane Eyre. I've read it three times. I hated every word of Wuthering Heights, and want the time back that I spent slogging through it.
Project Hail Mary is on my list of favorite books EVER! Loved the writing, the wit, the voice, the exposition, the characters, the story, the ending! And maybe because I am a reluctantly retired (because of disability) teacher, I loved loved loved that the main character was at heart a teacher.
I laughed, I ugly cried, and I was terrified the whole way through with what might happen. Couldn’t put it down. I see this book on my shelf now, 6 months later, and it still makes me happy.
Take a chance on it!
I read The Great Gatsby as an adult. I am not American and while it was required reading for some of the students in my high school, I was never in class with a teacher who made it a mandatory read. When I did finally read it I felt like how you currently describe your feelings towards the book. Talking about it with a friend she told me to think about the message "The American Dream is Dead." Not being American I should say I interpret the American Dream as anyone can come from nothing and become rich. When I started to think about the book and the concept that the American Dream is dead I gained a deeper appreciation for it and continued to think about it long after I had read the book. I am now a big fan of the novel.
I love your mix of classics and modern as well as literary and genre fiction!
If you ever feel like giving Stephen King another try, I would recommend Dolores Claiborne. Based on books you've loved in the past, it feels right up your alley. It has a unique female protagonist, revenge themes, and an atmospheric seaside setting. Check content warnings, as the story has some disturbing themes, but they are integral to the plot and not thrown in to be exploitative.
I recommend the podcast On Eyre from Hot and Bothered to get stuck into the themes of Jane Eyre from the perspective of people who love the book but don't want to ignore the problematic bits
This is the best video title ever!!!
😆🤣🤣
Doctor Who references are always a win!
Agreed completely regarding Project Hail Mary! Argh, too bad that Green Bone Saga didn't land for you. I LOVED that trilogy! Great video, Merphy! :)
The Great Gatsby had that weird comment that still sticks with me. That overweight woman who's dating Gatsby, and Fitzgerald says something like "She was graceful, as women of her size sometimes are." (It might even have been beautiful.) And I always saw it as kind, but in a condescending way.
Like how Judy calls Nick "An articulate fellow." in Zootopia. Both rub me the wrong way.
Hail Mary is my favorite read so far this year. I LOVE it, it made me read Andy Weir's last two books and liked both. That character you were talking about makes the book, and I thought the writing was excellent. I was not a fan of the ending but all in all great book. I will read his next book, just in the hope he will mention something about Hail Mary characters. Lol.
I'm there with you on The Great Gatsby. I think it has a lot of nuance and definitely has excellent commentary, but it's not something I would go up to someone and be like "You have to read this!!" or even go back to after finishing it the first time.
I’m finally listening to the lies of Locke lamora. I’m enjoying the past timeline more than the present as of now but I’m only about 30% into it
I didn't enjoy the lies of Locke lamora that much but I decided to give the second book a try and I absolutely enjoyed it and the third book
The present timeline is pretty slow for quite a while. It gets more interesting about halfway through, which is fine because we get the past timeline to keep us motivated
@@Typhon6 Agree with this, plot of the main timeline takes a while to kick into gear but it definitely takes you for a ride
The Great Gatsby is my favorite book 😂 however, let me clarify that I think I read it differently than other people. I find Nick hilarious because he's so pretentious and ironic, I passionately hate Daisy, but somehow not Tom (he's a terrible person, I just don't hate him), and Gatsby is the most pathetically tragic character I've ever read and I ADORE HIM my sweet angel baby. I actually have a podcast episode coming out soon about The Great Gatsby (Shelf Obsessed podcast). But I totally understand people thinking it's overhyped or even not liking it, makes total sense.
I liked The Great Gatsby. But I think it was because I read it while watching clips of the movie and honestly, if it wasn't written back in the day, I feel like it would make a nice LGBTQ story 😂 just the passion and intrigue between Nick and Gatsby and their constant interactions, pair that with Nick helping and trying to understand Gatsby and being the only one to attend his funeral in the end- there was more romance elements there than in any other "relationships". I despise Daisy, I don't care for her sob story of having to be married to an a-hole because she doesn't want to be poor or looked down on in society- idc. Tom, he's an a-hole, but strangley I don't hate him because I'm not expecting him to change. And Jordan just felt like an add on character, Nick didn't even seem to be attracted to her and I honestly thought Jordan and Daisy had more chanced of hooking up and having a romance, than nick with Jordan and gatsby with Daisy, would.
@@remixtbh Spot on! In the 70s version of the movie, Truman Capote was the original screenwriter and "In his rejected draft, Nick Carraway was a homosexual and Jordan Baker a vindictive lesbian" which I wish was the version we had gotten
What I liked about Gatsby was the historical capture of the time and place. One feels like they are there.
Merphy! I appreciate these kinds of videos so much. The number of times I have picked up a hyped book that fell absolutely flat on its face for me is exasperating. I could really do with some more specific examples of things you've noticed, as our reading interests don't always align perfectly and it's hard to determine whether something will bother me from generalizations. Would really appreciate it! Keep up the good work, I love your channel. X
The Great Gatsby is one of many books schools assign to destroy a love of reading. I used to think the mark of a classic was its ability to depress. List of classics assigned in the 80's English classes in Bloomington MN: The Great Gatsby, A Separate Peace, 1984, Animal Farm, Flowers For Algernon, Of Mice And Men, Romeo and Julliet, Old Man And The Sea, Death Of A Salesman. If you aren't suicidal after that you are at least emotionally damaged. If not for books like The Illustrated Man, I, Robot and A Spell For Chamelion that I discovered on my own, I probably would have been like so many people that never pick up a book after high school or college. Well, I'm INTP so that probably wouldn't have happened.
I loved Project Hail Mary. For a few reasons. The first was that I normally don't like back and forth in time stuff, I usually feel like it's a cheap way to not give us information that the characters already have, and usually one timeline is so much less interesting than the other. In PHM I found both actually interesting, and there was actually a good reason for it.
I also super super loved the character you referenced in the video.
Third reason has spoilers...
As someone who was in the early stages of learning a goreign language through comprehensible input, the whole process of Rocky and Grace figuring out how to communicate was fascinating to me.
Omg. Thank you for including “The Great Gatsby” in this list and confirming my dislike for this book. I have NO idea why this is required reading for certain schools and could not find ANY motivation to finish this one. I DNF’d this book after trying SO hard to be open to why this would have any sort of appeal and I have no regrets.
I am one of those people who LOVED Project Hail Mary. I think it might be in my top 50 favorite books of all time. Maybe top 20. I can't speak for everyone but the main reason I love it is because of the more realistic journey of discovery Weir brings the readers on. It's actually kind of a rare type of Sci-fi story. Much of Spacd Sci-fi out there is Space Opera, which is fine but I love reading stories of people visiting know places in space for the first time. I want to feel like I am the astronaut. It's rare to find a story of discovery like this that isn't about discovering extraterrestrial life (though there are aspects of that) but exploring new worlds.
One of my favorite authors is Ben Bova, he does it perfectly! Books like Mars, Return to Mars, Venus... I just love that stuff!
I think I tried to read Lolita one time but couldn't finish it. I think I picked it up because of how controversial it was and how it was restricted from some school libraries. I remember thinking "People fought for this? Why?" The controversy around the book hyped it more than it deserved. Now, controversial language and scenes do not make a book good or bad, but stirring up controversy to give the book attention is a tactic authors, publishers, and advertising people use to sucker people into reading mediocre/bad literature.
I'm currently reading The Throne of Glass series and I'm actually enjoying it. It's maybe because I went into it with low expectations and knowing that it's Fantasy-Romance. If you're someone who wants to try reading any SJM book, I say go for it. I also avoided her books for so long because of all the hate she's been receiving for the past few years.
Don't be influenced by other people's opinion. Please form your own!
THIS! I went in with low expectations and actually loved her books. They are far from perfect, but to me they're fun and that's all that matters! haha
The thing with TOG is that the plot doesn’t actually start until book 3 so that turns a lot of people away.
@@aberdeen0107 Completely agree. 1 is good, 2 is boring (compared to the others), 3 is where I was hooked
I went into it know that the plot really kicked off by book 3 and 4. So I got through the first 2 pretty easily. The first was a solid 5/10. Just okay. But the series gets really, really good by the end. Especially the last three books. I think that's because the series followed along her going from a novice to a much more professional writer.
The issues I had with the first few books mostly fade away by the end, so if anyone struggled, I'd just say try to get through the first 3 books.
Well I ordered the Nevernight trilogy last week and it’s set to arrive in a couple of days, hopefully I won’t hate it as much 😂
me with Empire of the vampire
I loved Nevernight so hard. Also Empire of the Vampire
Stephen King is one of my favorite authors, I just love this character work so so much. I've read like 10 of his books so far and none were below 3 stars, which for such a prolific author is kind ofa big deal. I also like that he isn't afraid to try something completely new just to see what happens, most authors aren't that bold. Plus, by virtue of his characters always being really well fleshed out, I generally connect to the story, regardless what it's about. The one thing of his I generally find disappointing is the really short stories because I think he just doesn't have the page count for me to get invested in them. Also, the Bachman books have mostly been a miss for me.
I also fully hate The Great Gatsby.
@@hendrikscheepers4144 Have you checked Misery? that's the only one I liked more than Pet Sematary of the at least 10 I read
I've read over 30 of his books and only disliked a couple of them (The Revival, Dolores Claiborne, Under the Dome). But I'm actually the opposite in that I think his short stories are even better than his novels! Stuff like The Shining and IT never gave me more than mild goosebumps, but pretty much all his short stories in The Night Shift scared me shitless, and Different Seasons (a book of four novellas) is one of my all time favorite King books. Haven't read too many of the Bachman books but one I did read was Thinner, and I remember really liking that one as well. It had a rarity in a King book, which was a great ending.
@@isaiascanete6651 Misery is legitimately his best book!
@@00ammy00 The Long Walk is so good! You should give it a try. I've read all of his books up to what he published in 2001 and I honestly can't tell if I'm just burned out on him or if he's getting worse. I think I'm just getting tired about things I was willing to forgive in the 60s that I'm not so forgiving about 30 years later. I'm gonna be taking a break from him for a while once I finish what I'm currently reading
So there's a manga called drops of god that I think you should give a go to partly because it's good but mostly because it'd be delightful if you had a brightcellars ad while reviewing a manga about sommelier's trying to find the ultimate wines.
I really liked the Stand when I read it as a teenager, other than the ending of course. Even as a kid it felt like a cop out because he couldn't be bothered to figure out a better way to achieve the same thing. I tried a few of his other novels and they were just very generic feeling, nothing stands out at all when I think back and try to remember them.
I read The Stand last year and uh... That first section hits hard in the middle of a pandemic. Every time someone coughed or sneezed I made a horrified face. The middle section was alright and I hated the last third for similar reasons. Like what was the point of everything done if that's how everything was solved?
"... which you should - I was angry." - perfect advertisement, love it )
I discovered Fredrik Backman by watching one of you videos. And now I love him. And I love you. So, there you go!
Project Hail Mary, because even though there is something standard about its overall arc, many other such books are not so well delivered and frankly so very heartwarming.
Nevernight, about 900 books, about half of them fantasy, and none of them written like this. It was just different and a breath of fresh air. I had no issues with the writing, and as my first trip into the fantasy assassin genre it is also my favorite.
I loved Nevernight but half the pleasure is coming from the fact that so much people hate it 😂
I'm glad someone finally said it. I've tried to read Steven King stuff but haven't made it through any of the books I started. This when I was trying to get into reading and not quite there . So maybe I need to go back and try
I think the book I did not like, which is still overhyped for me, is 1984. Everyone says it's this great dystopia novel, but half of it is basically a romance book, which totally turned me off. Like, I wanted to read about what's going on with the world and not follow an (unnecessary) love story xD The dystopian concepts are cool, but not really explored as they are always hyped up to be, imo.
Think you're the first person I've seen that didn't jive with the Jade books, which is cool. Thought the endless amount of compliments seemed one note, so to see the other side of things is appreciated.
This may require too much commitment, but I got the most from Gatsby when I read it out loud to myself... I tend to speed-read and in the process miss a lot of linguistic nuance (great for, say, Andy Weir - not so much for Fitzgerald). Reading it out forced me to slow down, compose the sentences, and take in the inflections that are built into the way he writes. Experienced in that way, Gatsby is (to me) an incredibly beautiful book.
I love opinion videos! I discovered Brandon Sanderson on your channel and hearing you talk about him made me so curious i had to check him out! Now I'm not saying I'm obsessed, but I've binged-read 8 cosmere books in a 4 month time span...
You should just read Norwegian Wood by Murakami. It's short and probably his best book that is easily accessible to mainstream readers. Idk why those two books were recommended as first reads for Murakami. 1Q84 and the Wind-up bird chronicles are definetly the 2 best books of his but they are really long so I wouldn't read those if you aren't sure if you like Murakami yet. He is one of my favorite authors and I think it would be a real shame if you stopped reading Murakami after Sputnik and Kafka and didn't give Norwegian Wood a read. Even South of the Border, West of the Sun I would recommend over Sputnik and Kafka.
I love Murakami but I could not bring myself to even like Norwegian Wood a little bit and it’s one of his most recommended books I really really don’t get the hype. On the other hand 1Q84 was my first Murakami experience and it’s still my favourite. First time I was really charmed by the mystery and the weirdness of his styleOf magical realism but on a reread I find it hard to recommend to people who find him … problematic because it does have all of the stuff he’s criticized for. As a fan I really do have to gloss over a number of scenes and his fascination with boobs and male genitalia to be able to enjoy his books 😅
but I do always love the ✨vibes✨ they feel like Japanese cottagecore to me :))
I think a lot of casual sci-fi readers enjoyed Project Hail Mary, because it's quite fast paced, easy to get into, funny and heart-warming. You see it happen oftenly with thrilers, where really basic thrilers get such high hype because they were picked up by casual readers who loved it, while the thriler lovers thought it was only an ok read..
Oh please do recommend some good thrillers if you’re speaking from experience! I’ve not had good luck with thrillers lately and would love to know what I need to be picking up instead
Weir also put so much effort into making it scientifically sound, and nerds love that shit and tend to be very loud on the internet!
@@merphynapier42 Recently I've been into badass female leads. 1. I loved They Never Learn (female serial killer). 2. Love You More by L.Gardner (has detective point of view, never gets boring IMO). 3. japanese thriler Confessions by Kanae Minato was fast, twisty and mindblowing. 4. An extremely thrilling, don't have time to breathe read-No Exit. 5. High school reunion mixed with drama, mystery, love and thrils- In My Dreams I Hold a Knife. 6. Not really a thriler but The Maid by N. Prose was also heartwarming, funny and cosy-mystery (strong family, found family themes ). and 7. John Marrs's thrilers with sci-fi elements- The One, The Passengers and The Minders. Hope you find something that spikes your interest :P Sorry for writing an essay xD
I wrote a whole two page rant about how awful reading Gatsby was only to then delete it all out of anger and instead condense it all into a few short paragraphs to send to my English teacher 😅 Most of the readers in my class agreed with me but didn’t go quite into detail as I had. School assigned reading was so incredibly disappointing as someone who reads 24/7, and at one point (I am still kind of stewing in this idea) I was confident that school was specifically choosing books to convince students to avoid reading by making it as dull and unimpressive as possible.
I love how one of the selling points Merphy has for her rant video is "I was angry"... and it's a legit selling point. Got a good laugh out of me :P
It cracks me up that you like Pet Semetary so much because it is the only King book I've read and I loathed it for the very reasons you describe not liking his other work. I liked the first two-thirds of the book, but the third part was a disjointed mess. I am not opposed to weird, but it served no function. The ending felt like he made a list of "all the terrible things that could happen" and checked them off. It felt very empty and unrewarding, which was a shame because the first two parts were a great setup. I have heard some people describe his works as having "eras" and that a certain era in particular really needed a better editor to cut certain scenes out/trim the story because they got too out of line. (It and Pet Semetary are two of the works that fall in this era.) Knowing this has made me curious to read a few other works of his, but I've got a complicated relationship with horror so they aren't high on my tbr list.
I feel the exact same way. I hated Pet Semetary. I love his ghost stories: Bag of Bones and Duma Key are just so amazing.
I love Stephen King, and I 100% agree with all of your criticisms of him. Great video, as usual.
With Weir and King a large part of the Hype is that they are written in a way that people who don't read much still really enjoy them. King's lack of plotting/endings is less obvious to those with a shallower frame of reference.
I thought Greenbone Saga as a trilogy was up there with Mistborn or Red Rising.
11:50-11:56 She makes an assassination weapon and finds an escape route like the first time she enters her bedroom. o.O
"It" is my favourite book ever. Its world building around the different eras, its character development, its gorgeous friendship depiction, so natural and genuine. You just feel like the losers are your group of friends from when you were young, they are so weel written. And yeah its scary as hell, children gets eaten and thats heavy. And yeah, the sewer´s part is off puting to say the least, the most divisive part of King´s career I think. IMO, im not against it but it definitly could have been removed from the final product lol, yeah the kids needed to snap out of their despair and fear, but King could have found a different wat for them to do it.
Anyway this became too long. Merphy, I wholeheartedly recommend it to you. Its super scary but in contrast it can be one of the most wholesome and cheerful books ever, if that makes any sense.
Love that your first choice is Project Hail Mary. It's a fun interesting read, but it reveals his weaknesses, which are seemingly pretty severe. This guy cannot write women to save his life, and his male characters seem to be limited to "quirky problem solving science guy."
100% you just described my issue with him!
LMAO “quirky problem solving science guy”, didn’t think this could perfectly explain how I feel about The Martian. Yeah, the premise of the story is interesting but the whole book is just full of “shit goes wrong, I’ll just fix it cause I’m a quirky problem solving science guy”. I know it’s supposed to stay lighthearted to mimic how the main character deals with these issues, through humor, but it gets boring as the plot is extremely repetitive . It got to the point where every time a problem happens, I knew he would fix it. There was way to much plot armor for me to enjoy the story. I would have preferred a bad ending cause so much shit goes wrong, yet he never died.
Considering the fact that my firstborn daughter is literally named after Jane Eyre and I am of the opinion that Gatsby IS the great American novel (which may or may not be saying much), I cannot entirely agree with you on this. But great video!
Finally somebody who agrees with me about Project Hail Mary! I started to think I had read a different book than everybody else.
I think a huge reason everyone loves Project Hail Mary so much is because a lot of people listened to the audiobook, and the narrator for the audiobook does an incredible job.
I would say Percy Jackson is really overhyped. I mean, it's a good and fun franchise, but I think people overhype it too much. I hope I won't get cancelled for saying that. 😅
True
I mean I think most of the overhype is it being a ton of middle schoolers first or second taste of a crowd pleasing fantasy book series that also featured Greek mythology which is rad. Think about being taught about Greek mythology in school or self learning about it, and being able to infer or guess plot points based on your knowledge! Or having a favorite god or monster show up, it was gratifying as hell.
Being one of these guys, I understand the gut reaction to overhype it when in reality to an adult reader it's like a 6.5/10. Doesn't stop me from loving regardless tho.
@@cancan1231ify I see. What you said really makes sense. I'm starting to understand the overhype now.
I love it a lot but it isn’t a masterpiece of fantasy with deeply complex characters and world. The characters are amazing, the world is super fascinating and creative, the action is phenomenal but it isn’t that good. Heroes of Olympus though is pretty damn amazing despite a bad ending
Project Hail Mary was the best on audio. The narration takes it to the next level
Thank you for sharing your opinion on Jade City! My views are very similar to yours but it feels like everyone else absolutely loved it. I almost started wondering if I read the same book!
I read IQ84 and colorless Tsukuru, and I agree with your points on Murakami. I can appreciate the absurdity/fantasy aspects, but I desperately needed thorough explanations
Court of Thorn and Roses is probably the most pushed book by Booktok. I think that's what fuels my hatred for that book. I tried to read it, didn't like, however it is everywhere and has such high praises. I CAN'T ESCAPE IT.
Also,I feel Bridgeton series is overhyped as well, minewhile I have read fanfiction that are better written than it
I read The Duke and I due to the Bridgerton hype, and about halfway through I realized that Merphy reviewed it awhile ago, so I sighed for what was coming.
I love A Court of Thorns and Roses for all the problematic aspects of it, honestly. But I'm weird. I get why seeing it everywhere would make you hate it, though.
@@songweretson I have no issue with people liking Court of Thorn and Roses. I understand why people do, it just isn't my cup of tea (TBF, I have quite the specific taste).
But with 'The Duke and I', I don't even remember the MC's names, as I just called them Draco and Ginny throughout the book. Well, until I almost threw it at wall, the only reason I didn't was because it was a library book.
It also made me Google available ways they would find out about sex in 1813. Turns out, aside the obvious WOMEN TALK TO EACH OTHER, THERE IS NO WAY A 20 YEAR OLD WOULDN'T HAVE HEARD ABOUT IT, porn/erotica were also widely available during that time. There was even a erotic/porn book about the ways women found out about it. And it's in public domain now
@@lelnel6242 RIGHT?? The mother in the series is supposed to be this great matriarch, with how many children... And she couldn't be bothered to tell her daughter what to expect?? It's so stupid. That really irked me, too.
That and a scene where it was obvious Quinn had no regard for historical fashion. But then she gets it right in a later seen. I wanted to scream. Even before I got to THAT part.
@@songweretson Not just her mother. Her/her mother's friends or women that just got married. It is quite obvious that it was written by an US American who genuinely believes that England was so prude it used to put socks on furniture(not true). Somehow the characters in Pride and Prejudice, a book that came out in 1813, felt more familiar, recognisable and relatebale than a book published in 2000
@@lelnel6242 It's ironic that so many romance writers so obviously want to be Jane Austen, yet they fail to realize that what makes Austen great isn't the love story, or the setting. It's that Austen understood people.
Surprised by Green Bone Saga. Easily my favorite thing I read last year. I will say Jade War was probably the weakest of the three, but Jade Legacy was amazing. I read the series right after finishing The Poppy War and The Green Bone Saga was everything I was missing from that series.
Totally agree with King though. He has written some masterpieces, but so much of his output is mediocre at best.
The Great Gatsby is amazing. It's so efficiently written. Worth another read!
Agree on Jane Eyer, I like all Bronte sister books except that one. Also I don't get why people hate on Wothering Heights, sure characters are unlikeable, romance is unhealthy but that is the point. Also the ending is great you finally see glimpse of hope in that God forsaken place.