2021 Reading Discussions

[Alicia]

I put my name in every time. One day it will be my turn!!! I just like feeling like I'm winning, even if I didn't end up liking it. Free just makes everything a bit better.

[Ellie]

They took giveaways away form us in the UK! 😭 I had won a few in the past as we had much lower numbers of entries for ours. I understand that authors/publishers have to pay quite a lot to run a giveaway on here now so it makes sense that they push the book afterwards, but I would find it annoying if I thought I'd won!

[Sherri]

I finished The Guest List by Lucy Foley last night. I did enjoy it more than I thought. 4 stars. I used it for a book set on an island.

[Alicia]

I also enjoyed it more than expected. I started off with low expectations because people kept comparing it to Agatha Christie. And no one compares to Agatha.

But it kept me excited and I liked the different narrators.

[Alicia]

Has anyone noticed a huge trend in naming female characters Beatrice/Beatrix/Bea?

I actually love the name, but even I'm starting to get burnt out.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I was just talking about this with a friend! A person I follow on Instagram named her child Beatrix and they call her Birdie, which is adorable lol. But I'm surprised it's making such a comeback in names.

[Steve]

Emily wrote: "I was just talking about this with a friend! A person I follow on Instagram named her child Beatrix and they call her Birdie, which is adorable lol. But I'm surprised it's making such a comeback in..."

If anyone likes looking at name data (I've spent a lot of time on this site while we've been thinking of names for our baby), the US Social Security Admin. lets you search its database and it gives bar graphs of each name's ranking on its top 1000 for the year since 1900: https://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babyname.cgi

Beatrix just entered the list in the 900s for the first time in 2019. Beatrice fell off the charts in the early 2000's, but is climbing its way back into the 500's now.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Alicia wrote: "Has anyone noticed a huge trend in naming female characters Beatrice/Beatrix/Bea?

I actually love the name, but even I'm starting to get burnt out."

Isn't one of the royal children named that, or at least a middle name? Or maybe that was the royal family in Red, White & Royal Blue!

[Alicia]

There is a Princess Beatrice, who is cousins with William and Harry. I don't remember Red, White & Royal Blue but it's been a while.

Also American Royals and the sequel, One to Watch, The Midnight Bargain, and The Once and Future Witches.

I know there are others, but those immediately come to mind

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

There was definitely a Lady Beatrix (Beatrice? They called her Bea) in The Royal We.

[Steve]

I saw this thread/question on Reddit and thought it's an interesting topic: what's something that writers do that annoys you? Like common tropes or phrasings or tactics they employ that make you roll your eyes or groan or cringe?

For me it's the "omniscient narrator who is now not going to tell us everything to set up a reveal later." You've encountered it before, no doubt. Often the characters huddle up and one person makes a plan, but we're not allowed to hear that plan, because that'll ruin the surprise in 3 chapters. Or the character stumbles upon a clue and smiles to themselves, but we can't find out what that clue is. This trope often ends a chapter or section.

It annoys me because up until this point, the narrator will tell us every detail and thought, and now is shading us from what is happening for the sake of building suspense. It's never really suspenseful to me; it's more eye rolling and frustrating because they CAN tell us right now, they're just being a jerk!

[Alicia]

I HATE when there is a book set in a different country (most seen in LatinX countries) and the author randomly puts in "gracias" or "hola".

The book is set in Ecuador! Of course I'm assuming they are speaking Spanish. I don't need random Spanish words. Like imagine if the book is translated into Korean, are Koreans to expect that people in Ecuador are speaking Korean minus the random "gracias"? No, we get it! They are speaking their native language!

[Jillian]

I don’t like the phrase “took the stairs two at a time.” I have a bit of a phobia about stairs (I saw a terrible fall at a baseball game as a kid).

[Caio]

I absolutely hate when the writer makes a mistake about a culture that he/she doesn’t belong. Last year I read a book that the author wrote that Brazilians speak Spanish. WTF! I’m like: “Did you even try to Google before write this?”.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Steve wrote: "I saw this thread/question on Reddit and thought it's an interesting topic: what's something that writers do that annoys you? Like common tropes or phrasings or tactics they employ that make you ro..."

The withholding of info you describe doesn't bother me. I am more annoyed when characters spend a lot of time telling each other things we already know.

Something that annoys me a lot is using conversation in a phony way to convey information. Example - "as you know, the harvest was bad this year . " Well, if the other person knows it, why would you say it? Author Michael J. Sullivan, who advises would-be writers, calls this the "your father, the king" style of writing. Nobody would say that. A related annoyance is name dropping in historical fiction. "I was just passing by the tavern and a young man named Hamilton was talking about revolution."

I also get annoyed when there are obvious Americanisms in a British setting or vice versa. An editor should check those.

As far as tropes, I don't like it when a child is brought into the story just to make the adults happy or give them purpose. The children never have any issues of their own even though they have been abandoned. Examples are The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and A Gentleman in Moscow.

[Ali]

My most annoying trope is when the reader gets asides from the narrator. Something like "little did she know, she would never return....", "things were about to get much worse..."

I find it really distracting. It totally breaks my immersion

[Ellie]

Robin P wrote: "I also get annoyed when there are obvious Americanisms in a British setting or vice versa. An editor should check those..."

I have heard that some British books get a US "translation". Like they assume readers can't work out what trousers are or cope with slight spelling variations! 🙄

[Steve]

Ellie wrote: "Robin P wrote: "I also get annoyed when there are obvious Americanisms in a British setting or vice versa. An editor should check those..."

I have heard that some British books get a US "translati..."

Philosopher's v. Sorcer's Stone is a great example. "American kids won't buy that book if it's Philosopher!"

[Bana AZ]

Ellie wrote: "I have heard that some British books get a US "translation..."

I think this was useful before, back when we couldn't Google things. Like when I read a British book and it talked about someone weighing "2 stone" I was really confused.

[Alicia]

I promise this is not a spoiler, because I’m only on chapter 4, but for those that read The House in the Cerulean Sea were you nervous about who was going to take care of Calliope the cat? I was so tired last night but had to push through just to make sure she was ok.

Already loving the book.

Also, does anyone know any good books about discovering/embracing being non-binary for a young teen? Something similar to Felix Ever After but for non-binary teens

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

Ana A wrote: "Ellie wrote: "I have heard that some British books get a US "translation..."

I think this was useful before, back when we couldn't Google things. Like when I read a British book and it talked abou..."

I have certain nostalgia now about reading Chronicles of Narnia and being so confused about the boys wearing jumpers, and trying to imagine what an electric torch would look like. And I think, even if I hadn't had an older sister around to explain that a jumper is a sweater and a torch is a flashlight, brushing up against terms I didn't understand gave me an impression of the world being bigger and more interesting than just my little bubble. In a way, I think it's better to run into confusing terms and never understand them, than to never realize there's a whole world of interesting differences out there.

[Joyce]

Some confusions have to be resolved, though. Only last week I had to look up why so many Americans have Afghans sitting on their knees!

[Ellie]

Raquel wrote: "In a way, I think it's better to run into confusing terms and never understand them, than to never realize there's a whole world of interesting differences out there."

That's a lovely way of thinking about it!

I still have trouble seeing a sweater as a jumper when I read, for ages I assumed sweater was the same as a sweatshirt, like American characters were all going round in sportswear!

[Sherri]

I finished All The Devils Are Here (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #16) by Louise Penny. I love this series. I hate when I finish the latest book & I don't have another book in the series to read. This one was set in Paris but still very good. 5 stars

[Kendra]

Ellie wrote: "I still have trouble seeing a sweater as a jumper when I read, for ages I assumed sweater was the same as a sweatshirt, like American characters were all going round in sportswear!"

I'm kind of the opposite - when I was little, I always assumed a jumper was the British way of saying jumpsuit.

[Bana AZ]

Kendra wrote: "Ellie wrote: "I still have trouble seeing a sweater as a jumper when I read, for ages I assumed sweater was the same as a sweatshirt, like American characters were all going round in sportswear!"

..."

This is one of the confusing ones for me too! Where I'm from, a "jumper" is what we call overalls.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I always thought jumpers were overalls as well!

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

I was confused why the British children were all wearing boots all the time, even when it wasn't raining or snowing. But I totally agree with Raquel about the thrill of different worlds, even if you don't understand them all. Of course most of the British books I read as a child were also from earlier eras, so there were gaslights and pony carts.

[Pam]

I find myself looking up a lot of words, especially slang, when I read British and Irish novels and translations by British translators. The latest look up was for the word chav. It bothers me a little to read a Norwegian book, for example, and the characters use uniquely British expressions. I always wonder what they are really saying. I guess that’s the best interpretation of the expression in their language.

[Sam]

Anyone else noticing unexpected reading trends? So far I think 2021 is going to be the year of the djinn for me: I read A Master of Djinn which was quite good and fun, then re-read the Bartimaeus trilogy as a bit of comfort reading - The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye and Ptolemy's Gate - and then did The City of Brass which I also really liked and now need the next two books ASAP!!

[Sherri]

I finished Magic Lessons. A prequel to Practical Magic. By Alice Hoffman. I used it for "In the Beginning". I gave it 5 stars. I love this series. I hope there are more books in the future.

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

I didn't realize there could be so many ways of taking the word jumper. :-) My assumption is always that it's a kind of sleeveless dress, meant to worn with a shirt under it. (Hence my childhood confusion at boys wearing them in the Narnia books...)

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

I read Klara and the Sun right after its release to be ready for an online event with the author Kazuo Ishiguro next week. I wondered if I could read it in time, but finished it in a day or so and loved it. Very thought-provoking. I predicted at the beginning something about how the story would go, which was mostly right but then there were some wonderful surprises. This would be a good book for discussion on the subjects of love, faith, and what makes us human.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Ahhh Robin that one is high on my list to read this year. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I just finished Disappearing Earth and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Lots of different characters, but the way they were written about was poignant and touching and I just loved it a lot.

[Steve]

Emily wrote: "Ahhh Robin that one is high on my list to read this year. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I just finished Disappearing Earth and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Lots of differen..."

I just finished Disappearing Earth tonight. Agree: some beautiful writing. That being said, I didn't love the narrative too much. I didn't connect with most of the stories. I understood on an intellectual level what "the point" was for the various stories, but I enjoyed a few of them.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Aw, Steve. I guess I was in the mood for that kind of book... it hit me at the right time.

I finished The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women last night and, by the end, I was listening at 2x speed because man, this book was awful, in a "everything is hopeless and everyone dies" sort of way. I kept listening because I was hoping for some silver lining, but the bit of good I did get did not overpower the images of these girls' jaws disintegrating in their mouths. So. Glad to check it off but can't recommend it anywhere lol.

[Joyce]

Sam wrote: "Anyone else noticing unexpected reading trends? So far I think 2021 is going to be the year of the djinn for me ..."

Mine is small towns in big countries (Australia, Canada and the U.S.) with a kind of provincial isolationism that you don’t get here in crowded England.

[Ellie]

Emily wrote: "I finished The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women last night and, by..."

I think the awfulness of it is why I recommend it! They still had to fight to be believed despite their jaws disintegrating. It was heartbreaking and a real reminder not to let workers' rights and safety regulations slip.

[Jillian]

Emily, I had to speed it up too...I read it last March and that was pretty terrible timing on my part. It made it an even harder subject matter for me.

Ellie, I completely agree with you.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Oh I think the subject matter is definitely important! And I'm glad their story is getting told. I just don't know if this book was the best medium for it, or maybe I just wasn't a fan of the writing style? Just was not for me.

[Sherri]

I just finished My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk for a book from the Are You Well-Read in World Lit List. I gave it one star. I didn't like the book at all. I struggled for days with it. So glad I finished.

[Hannah]

I agree about The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women. I wanted to like it, because I did think that the story was fascinating and tragic and important, but I ended up feeling like it was very repetitive and it really wore me down. I understood that the author had done a lot of research and wanted to highlight the personalities and voice of as many of the women involved as possible, but since the whole point was that the exact same tragedy had struck so many women in multiple different cities in the exact same way, following each individual woman's journey in detail was a bit much. I also thought the writing style was a bit...lighthearted maybe? Lots of quotes, lots of descriptions of how pretty the girls were.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Agreed, Hannah. It was, at the same time, both so disgusting (with the descriptions of the girls and their ailments) and so flippant.

I finished The Lost Apothecary in 48 hours and now I am stuck. It was so, so good, and I have no idea what I want to pick up to read now. Nothing on my bookshelf looks good, even though I have approx 87 books checked out from the library.

[Sherri]

I read What's Mine And Yours by Naima Coster for a book with an ensemble cast. I gave it a 3. There were at least 8 characters.

[Emma]

I’ve recently read The Galaxy, and the Ground Within and Black Sun
And they were both great, if you enjoy sci fi fantasy and epic fantasy.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Black Sun is on my to-read list this year! I really enjoyed Trail of Lightning, so I'm looking forward to reading it.

In the last two days, I've finished The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! My Currently Reading is clear for the first time in a year and a half (I've been reading Harry Potter chapter by chapter along with a podcast lol).

[Emma]

I’ve had The Bookish Life of Nina Hill on my kindle for ages. I must get round to it! The podcast for Harry Potter sounds like fun but I think I’d get frustrated if only reading a chapter at a time!

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I would save up a few episodes and read 3-4 chapters at a time then binge the podcast episodes. It got really hard at the end of book 7 when all the action was going down!

[Pam]

I finally read The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick. I started watching the tv series at the same time but it was too confusing! Same characters but different plots. Now, I can go back to the TV show. I’m now reading, A Month in the Country by J L Carr, which I found at my parents’ house when I was helping my dad declutter. For some reason, I have no idea why, it was on my TBR so I decided to read it. It’s a good fit for the seasonal read prompt.

[Emma]

A Month in the Country looks really good. Adding it to the tbr pile!