Category: discussion

Aria @ Book Nook Bits is the new host for Let’s Talk Bookish! If you aren’t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

March 8: Favorite Female Protagonists

Prompts: It’s International Women’s Day! Who are some of your favorite female protagonists? What makes a female protagonist feel genuine to you? Share some recommendations!

Welcome to another week of LTB here at DTRH, everyone! Also, happy International Women’s Day! In honour of that, today’s topic is all about female protagonists, a topic I can definitely relate to, since on the whole I tend to prefer reading from the perspective of female protagonists whenever possible. Accordingly, my favourite protagonists often come from my favourite books.

My favourite book in my younger days was Memoirs of a Geisha. Recently, one of my favourite books has been The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Both of these feature a female protagonist who really go through the gamut of unfortunate things in life and still manage to find their way. They are forced to grow up as they face their world full of disadvantages yet smartly manoeuvre their way through it in order to reach their goals. It’s just one of my favourite tropes and will continue to be, I think.

The protagonists in both of those books definitely feel real to me, and are inspiring in a way. It isn’t that I would have necessarily followed their path exactly or even have chosen to do all the same actions. However, I do recognize the courage it takes to be able to execute on the plans you have for your own life, and it can be hard in the face of adversity or things not going your way. I really had a respect for these characters, and I think that’s what makes them some of my favourites. I also prefer to read in the POV of female protagonists in the YA stories, though they may not necessarily be as relatable. Some of my favourites include the Caraval, Ninth House, and Legendborn series.

I am never to sure how “genuine” a protagonist in a YA novel really is, as there are usually elements of exaggeration that I find appropriate for the story, but perhaps not genuine to real life. That being said, the conflicts they face are often real, and I really enjoy the books where big themes like family, betrayal, or forgiveness are explored within the story, and I find that female protagonists (written by female authors) tend to have the most authentic feel to their characters. I also really enjoyed the protagonists in The Ivory Key duology, for those interested.

Also, I really enjoy Kate Quinn’s historical fictions. They are always very well-researched and captivating in their story. I also heard from the author herself recently that she chooses these historical eras to place her female characters, and will write them to overcome and carve out a sphere of power in a time where women were not allowed to have power. In that way, I also find the stories that she writes to have very empowering female leads, so check those out too! I particularly enjoyed The Rose Code myself.

Who are some of your favourite female protagonists? Do they always come from your favourite books? Let me know in the comments below!

Aria @ Book Nook Bits is the new host for Let’s Talk Bookish! If you aren’t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

March 1: Series That Could Have Been Standalones

Prompts: Are there any series that you think could have been standalones? Or series that just should have ended sooner? Do you like having long series, or do you prefer to have a story more condensed?

Welcome to another week of LTB here at DTRH, everyone! Today’s topic will probably be contentious, and it’s all about series that could have been standalones. Can’t wait to see what you all have to say about which sequels probably should not have been made.

I don’t think I have a strong contender in my mind for series that I think should be standalones. But certainly a lot of fantasy books in my opinion would be just fine as one book. I totally understand that sometimes the fans want more, or the authors want to explore more, and that’s totally fine. In my mind though, I don’t mind an open-ended ending as long as there was a complete story within it, and I think a lot of book ones really deliver on impact and story, and their sequels will often fall short. Assuming no cliffhanger endings or untied loose ends, I feel like books like Six of Crows, Ninth House, and Caraval would have done just fine without a second or third book. Not to say that their sequels were bad, but it is just really hard to have the same impact as the initial book.

Continue reading “Let’s Talk Bookish – Series That Could Have Been Standalones” →

Aria @ Book Nook Bits is the new host for Let’s Talk Bookish! If you aren’t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

February 23: Do You Ever Reread Childhood Favorites? (Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly)

Prompts: What were some of your favorite books when you were younger? What books got you into reading? Do you ever go back and reread those books? What do you remember loving most about your childhood favorite books?

Welcome to another week of LTB here at DTRH, everyone! Today’s topic is about favourite books as a child, and whether we re-read these books from time to time. I feel like as a bookish community it wouldn’t be uncommon to want to re-read these books, but it would also depend on whether we have the time to read older books when we mostly have never-ending TBRs. Can’t wait to hear what you all have to say.

Memoirs of a Geisha and The Supernaturalist were some of my favourites as a child. I also really enjoyed The Deltora Quest series when I was really quite young. These are books that still come to mind when I think of childhood favourites, though I’m sure there are others I would also re-read from my younger days. Series like Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events are obviously examples of other series that I remember fondly.

I think it really was series like the ones I mentioned above or The Magic Treehouse that really helped me get into reading. I am a bit of a completionist, so it really helps sometimes to have a series to push more reading. I also really enjoy world-building, so the more I can learn about a world through books and the lens of the protagonists, the more interested I get. So series tended to be helpful for me, at least when I was younger.

I remember loving the adventure of these books. That’s what was fascinating for reading, but also for my general interest in the books. Every book was a small adventure, and the overall plot was also a larger adventure. I really enjoyed the journey of all the small adventures, but also in how it added up into a huge story arc. I remember really putting myself into the shoes of these protagonists and going on these adventures and letting my imagination run wild, and I think that’s what really sold it for me. As an adult, re-reading these is really more of a trip down memory lane, the nostalgia of what I once felt, and also interesting to see what I missed the first time. Overall, these are not my favourite books anymore, but they still hold a special place in my heart.

What about you all? Do you enjoy re-reading old favourites? Is there simply not enough time for such indulgences? Or do you just make time for them? Let me know in the comments below!