Month: April 2021

discussion

Let’s Talk Bookish – Putting Off Books You Actually Want to Read

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

APRIL 2: PUTTING OFF BOOKS YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO READ (SUGGESTED BY JILLIAN @ THE BOOKISH BUTTERFLY)

Prompts: Do you ever put off the books you actually want to be reading? What do you end up reading instead? Why do you put off the books that you would rather read for other stories? Do you treat reading books you’re excited as a reward?

Welcome to the first LTB of April, and happy Friday everyone! Or should I say Good Friday? Ha. Anyway, today’s topic is quite an interesting one, as it is inherently a bit ironic – would you not want to read your most anticipated books first?! But I think as a blogger, or just a lover of books, we all know this isn’t always the case.

So the simple answer is yes, I definitely do put off books that I actually want to be reading. I think there can be a multitude of reasons for this to happen. Recently I’ve been on pause reading a series that I have been really enjoying, kind of savouring the moment before finishing the last book and leaving the series behind me.

Normally I’d be full steam ahead but other books on hold came in that were more urgent, so I ended up putting it off, but it definitely has the added bonus of giving me a bit more time to relish the joy of reading the series – stay tuned to find out which one it is! Any guesses?

Anyway, I digress. As a book review blogger, I think the most obvious answer to why we put off books is the time constraints. An ARC review is due, or my borrowing term is coming to an end, or it’s almost time to return the book I borrowed from my friend – the list is literally endless for reasons for books to jump the queue in reading priority. I’m sure anyone out there who does reviews feels the same way, or at least knows what that’s like.

Other than that though, I personally don’t have many other reasons to be putting off books I want to read. After all, I mostly read to enjoy the book and if there’s something I want to read, I’ll generally try to read it as soon as I possibly can.

As for treating myself to a book as a reward…I don’t recall ever having done that. That being said, I have bought many a book for myself as a “reward”. Really, just finding excuses to justify my incessant book purchases. What can I say, I just love (buying, reading, talking about) books! Can anyone relate? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy April everyone! Remember to follow Rukky and Dani on their respective blogs, and feel free to submit any topics suggestions you might have to them as well. See you all next week!

2.5 star, adult

Review: The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

The Magicians #1

A thrilling and original coming-of-age novel for adults about a young man practicing magic in the real world.

Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he’s still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.

He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But the land of Quentin’s fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he could have imagined. His childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart.

At once psychologically piercing and magnificently absorbing, The Magicians boldly moves into uncharted literary territory, imagining magic as practiced by real people, with their capricious desires and volatile emotions. Lev Grossman creates an utterly original world in which good and evil aren’t black and white, love and sex aren’t simple or innocent, and power comes at a terrible price.

So close, yet so far. I would say that this story is a strong combination of The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter. This was highly recommended to me by a friend, and while I can see why they enjoyed it, I just wish I enjoyed it more too. While the aforementioned series have more of a hopeful tone and a feel for adventure, The Magicians is much more of an “adult” and “realistic” version of those two worlds, where magic really doesn’t solve your problems, and where the world is much more sinister than just a villain like Lord Voldemort.

The Magicians revolves around our main character, Quentin, who is the classic brilliant but troubled student. He goes through 5 years of training at Hogwarts Brakebills to train as a magician before being thrust back into the adult “normal” world. Eventually he also discovers that his childhood books about crossing into Narnia Fillory are also real. I would say the first half of the book is like going through all of Hogwarts, and the second part is akin to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

I wanted to like this, but I think the biggest factor for me was that I hated Quentin. I just couldn’t get over what a terrible person he was. Incredibly selfish and hedonistic, he often leads the people around him to destruction, all the while whining about it. It supposedly stems from a bit of an inferiority complex and some clinically undiagnosed depression? But I honestly could not empathize at all with him. I guess that would be the biggest gripe for me, sure he was brilliant at learning and knew he was. But the kind of person he was…I just couldn’t stand for it, and therefore never rooted for him at all.

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