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Wow, I agree with basically everything you said, especially royal + guard (I'm just a sucker for loyalty and devotion) and just intense friendships in general. I just love characters being obsessed with each other 🤷 I haven't read Robin Hobb yet so I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for but in terms of self-sacrifical character I love Adora from Shera. She's also one of my favourite alteration of the chosen one trope and the perfect example of the pure of heart, dumb of ass and home of sexual meme 😆 For complex family dynamics I loved Jude and Madoc's relationship in Cruel Prince!

an asian american woman writing a book about jealousy from a white woman towards an asian woman, how interesting??? Usually, asian women are envious of white women being at the top of the european beauty standards. What a weird dynamic. Maybe it's about RF herself. Most asian american women authors are married to white men.

I got myself into the mindset that I had to post reviews on books I read. That had a large inegative mpact on my enjoyment of reading. I decided to step back and get back to the sheer enjoyment of reading and maybe posting a review if I really liked a book.

Thank you for this review. I have read Yellowface and will probably reread it after listening to several Asian reviewers on YT. I would categorize my reading as pretty superficial though I do find Yellowface accessible even on that level. I mainly focused on the jabs at the publishing industry and the social media reactions to Juniper Song. You've given me things to think about.

I can argue that the girl hate from Iron Widow, like that one girl who hated Zetian at first sight, was a reflection of how patriarchy encourages rivalries between women, and Zetian was a flawed person and flawed feminist if she were judgey of other women. But also, the girl hate didn't really do anything for me and could have been left out. I feel like the hater girl was just there to set up the plot twist of which characters would betray Zetian in the end.

Me watching this video as a baby youtuber.. 😳

I’m reading it now and I’m like 70% of the way through. The only thing that is kinda bugging me is how dumb June is with many of her decisions. She keeps making decisions that are OBVIOUSLY going to get her into trouble. Don’t get me wrong: I know she’s bad and I want her to get caught, but it isn’t very interesting to me if the decisions that lead to her downfall are so foolish that I can’t imagine someone actually making them. If she was more cunning it would make the book a little more interesting and would make her predicament a little more believable.

I'm normally too shy to comment on videos but I decided to get over myself this once because this video was the epitome of "right person, right place, right time" for me! I'm also a pretty slow reader (30-40 pgs/hr depending on the "complexity" of the prose etc.) and on top of that, I'm a somewhat sporadic/all-or-nothing type of reader, meaning I can go weeks without reading a single page only to hunker down and read an entire book/series practically in one sitting when the mood strikes haha! I joined Storygraph last year and in my excitement to "find my people" joined so many read-alongs and buddy reads only to end up feeling super cranky and chronically exhausted in less than 2 months... I remember feeling so confused at the time because I really loved discussing the books we were reading together until it hit me that the reason I was starting to feel burned out was that I had forced myself to go against my "natural ways" haha... Another thing that really resonated with me was what you said about feeling the need to read the books (especially the new releases) that either are recommended by the content creators you follow or appear on your community feed on SG/GR just because it almost makes you feel like those are the books you SHOULD be reading and if you're not, it means you're not reading the "right" books. The same goes for what you said about how you feel about those books once you've heard/seen someone else talk about them. I often find myself thinking, did I actually like the book or was my reading experience affected by how X, Y and Z felt about it? It's absurd to feel that way, of course, and you know it's absurd but you still can't help feeling that way...and as you said, that's not the content creators' fault AT ALL! It's 100% on the consumer if they feel that way and it's up to them to do whatever they need to do to get their head straight, so to speak. Anyways, I'm sorry I'm rambling. I'll wrap up before this turns into an essay (lol)! Thanks for making this video! You may feel like you're only saying things that others have said a thousand times before but that shouldn't stop you from sharing your thoughts because you might just end up being the one person someone (like myself) needs to hear those words from. I'm glad you took the time you needed to sort your thoughts and rekindle your love for reading. I love your videos and get excited every time you post a new one, no matter how sporadically that may be, so keep doing things your way - we'll all still be here!

La animo a leer la Biblia

I'm a slow reader as well. I prefer to read a book 'precisely' instead of skimming through the pages and forgetting everything I've read the next day🥲 And also how people read as many books a year... My favorite book ever is 1200 pages long and it took me 3 months to finish. I wouldn't have wanted to miss it in the world!

RUclips recommended you to me after your first or second video and I really like your content. I started Robin Hobb thanks to you. And I love her work. And I appreciate you talking about the algorithm. I somehow made it into amazon's number one slot for fantasy for a self-published book waaay back. And I made decent money on the exposure to topping (or in top 100) on that list for two weeks. I never, ever came close to that again and it ruined my writing for years. Like I forgot the first few books I published were just for fun, for me. And I've toyed with a RUclips channel for Star Wars books, but fear the algorithm ruining something I started for fun. I really love when creators like yourself talk about this kind of stuff.

This is so spot on for how I’ve been feeling this past year.

I usually describe myself as a glacial reader lol

I am also a very slow reader. It takes me about 35-40minutes to read 20 or so pages 😭. I appreciate this. Also watching book videos I’ve discovered I don’t like making tbr’s even though it looks fun to do, it just doesn’t work for me and I feel pressure to read books I’m not interested in reading at the time just to finish my tbr. I also don’t like setting goals to finish a certain number of books or type of books. It just takes the fun out of reading and begins to feel like homework.

Everything you mentioned is true for me as well and I’m also taking a similar approach now. Great minds 🤘🏽

The long awaited return!! 🎉🎉

I have felt the same way! I am currently taking a break from posting on booktube. Its been almost a year since I made my last video. My relationship with booktube started to get toxic. I needed a break to fall in love with reading again. Thank you so much for making this video!

Happy you are back!!

I also want to hardly know anything going into a book. Knowing a book thing is coming on chapter XX or looking out for the thing that half of people hate, is too much influence before. I want to hear that after reading and see if I agree.

I really love hearing your thoughts on reading and books in general! Even though I just started posting videos this year, I can see how some of the social parts and comparison takes a toll on a person. It’s really great that you have figured out ways to do this that works best for you 💖 I’m excited that you will continue to share your thoughts.

I can understand where you're coming from. I have been doing videos in the past (all of them are privated now) and then I was in a big reading slumb and then I was so ... anxious because what would I be talking about? So I feel you. And the burnout and of it all. But I am glad you are still here.

I'm a similarly slow reader. The pressure coming from all sides is to consume, consume, consume and it gets exhausting after a while. The price for stepping back from that is isolation, feeling like I'm out of the loop. I haven't squared the circle yet, but am coming closer the more time goes by. I hope you can, too. edit: on the audio thing, I tend to listen at about the same speed as I read. My brain can outpace the slower narrators, so I turn those up to 1.15 or 1.20x. 3 or 3.5x seems absurd and I wouldn't be able to take it in, much less remember much of anything!

A pleasure to see you and hope that you're well. Always enjoy the content.

I'm also a slow reader, maybe not quite as slow as you, but close! And I have learned I don't want to read faster. I love really taking a lot of time to sink into a story and a world. I don't mind audio reading, but I am very cautious about which books I read with my ears because slowly reading with my eyes is a first class experience for me. I'm glad you took the time away from youtube to figure out what was and wasn't working for you!

Hey stranger!!!! I TOTALLY agree with everything you touched upon. I have a similar relationship with being on booktube. Reading as much as humanly possible is not fun. Slow readers unite! ❤ If weren’t for audiobooks I’d probably read like a book a month…but I agree, I don’t retain the information from audiobooks. I have also been thinking about taking a break to focus on books I’m super excited to read.

Glad you're back and will be enjoying what you're reading more!

As a fellow BookTube content creator, I related to almost everything you said in the video😅BookTube and book social media has definitely changed my relationship with reading (especially in some negative ways...), but like you said, it is about finding that balance. I hope you find more peace and less worry in your reading life and thank you for your insight!

Welcome back!! I’m so glad you did this. Figuring these kinds of things out and staying true to yourself are everything. Be well. Be happy. Read for the joy.

love strongly loving or hating book content. LOVE

I picked up Guns of the Dawn on your recommendation. Hopefully you're back to uploads in the near future.

This was amazing book, just finished it. I agree, the rarely done, good romance.

Hey Christea, I just bought Guns of dawn because of you!!!

nooooo we miss you 😭😭

I love the way you talk about books - I feel like I understand these stories just listening. I want to be like you when i grow up. Subscribed.

I watched this review a month or so ago and have come back just to say that I picked it up. It was really good and I'm glad I impulsivly decided to read it.

I have the same thing with romances, where I need to be invested in both characters as individuals to really lose it for the romance. I gotta get to a Marvellous Light 😪I wish I had loved Emily Wilde more.

Just came back here to say that I bought Guns of the Dawn because of this video, am currently a third of the way through and greatly enjoying it. Thank you for the recommendation. 🙏

I read Guns of the Dawn because of you and I loved it!!!

and my TBR is just getting longer and longer 😅 Thanks for the recs 💕

Shame on Divine Rivals! But I can get your complaints lol. I don’t like fake dating either most the time, there’s only 2 or 3 that I’ve actually liked and thought the trope wasn’t used for just drama.

FYI--The secret society of irregular witches was VERY disappointing in my opinion (cringey romance, cheesy at times). It had an eerily similar plot to the house in the cerulean sea (which came out first) so it kind of rubbed me the wrong way the whole time while reading it because it almost seems like the author copied TJ Klune and did it worse.... Even though you put it in absolutely not, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND the house in the cerulean sea!!! It is so much better than the secret society of irregular witches!

Okay, I need to get to The Mask of Mirrors!!

great recommendations x3 My favorite favorite romance subplot was in Ocean's Echo, Sci-Fi stand-alone and it was just.so.good! And I still need/want to read Guns of Dawn :'DD I'm sure it will happen someday 🙈

I really want to see a video like this again but with books you have read.

I hope you enjoy Addie and SOA! I think both get a bit overhyped, but they are good books. Night Circus! Intrigued to hear your thoughts! Starless Sea has a bit more plot, but it’s v much about stories themselves. That’s a shame on Never Let Me Go! The twist was wild to me lol.

13:43 I cannot agree more!!! Great video, we have very similar taste so I'm gonna take a lot of the recs! My favorite fantasy with romance subplot is the forest daughter by Juliet Marillier, its a "the six swans" retelling with slowburn enemies to lover <3