One of the things I always love about your videos is that you're not afraid to say you don't like something and why! I would also like to see a video about any upcoming historical fiction you're looking forward to, if you're able to do it.
I am always trying to be transparent about my reading experiences, so will continue to do so even if they are unpopular opinions. 🙃 thanks for the video suggestion! I made a 2025 anticipated releases video but had a hard time finding much historical fiction I was stoked about. As we get into the year a bit I’m sure more will come up on my radar and I’ll definitely try to share.
Hi Gloria, love your channel! Always wonderful to find people who read nonfiction and historical fiction. Ken Follet is spectacular but he is not the best at writing women, I agree.
Thank you for saying hi! I'm curious if Ken Follet's spy thrillers (especially the ones you mentioned recently) are similar with the women and sex scenes. Would you say so?
I agree with you about Kelly’s book. Shocks me that she shares so much and has such a nonchalant attitude about her choices. Loved Ina’s memoir!! What historical fiction are you excited for in 2025? Would love a video on that!
Nice to know I'm not the only one who feels that way! And thank you for the suggestion. I will try to prioritize that. I made an anticipated releases video but only included 2 historical fiction as I couldn't find much that I was stoked about. But I'm sure as the year continues a bit more, they'll be some titles that stand out.
THANK YOU so much for sharing your thoughts on Pillars of the Earth. You echo my sentiments exactly, except you're much more graceful with your words, which is admirable. I ended up hating this book for the same reasons, and I agree it was compelling - I wanted to know what happened in the end! The only point where I disagree is that I very much enjoyed all the cathedral architecture and construction descriptions, but I am an engineer, so you got that spot on as well, haha! You just shot to the top of my "favorite BookTubers" list!
I love Pillars and have read World Without End which I also loved. Haven’t continued yet but have 1-2 of the others on my shelf. Appreciate your thoughts about Kelly Bishop’s memoir. 😊💙
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I can see why it has worked for so many people, but I think I may be done with the series after just reading the first one. Now I know!
For readers especially sensitive to graphic violence and sexual content, I would say it's worth skipping. If those themes aren't a bother, it's an interesting read!
I was really caught up in Pillars of the Earth and then (a couple years later) read World Without End. I truly liked them both very much. Now I have A Column of Fire that I hope to read this year. I'm a Ken Follett fan, what can I say? :-) I've put the Ina Garten memoir on reserve at my library - it sounds great!
There's definitely something incredibly compelling about his storytelling and characters, I get it! I just didn't get along with some parts of it and don't think I'll continue on.
I adore Ina's quiet, kind demeanor! She is elegant & down to earth at the same time. I read some great Sci-fi last year (I am not used to saying that) and 2 of them made my top reads of the year? Who even am I? I tried reading Follet years (decades??!) ago and DNFd it. Too much for my sensibilities 🤭
Totally, there is just something about Ina! I love when a genre surprises you like that, I'm hoping for more of that in 2025. I think I may be on the same page with you as Follet. I'm probably more of sensitive reader about certain subject matter anyways.
Pillars was compelling reading for me although I did skim a lot of the cathedral building description. It has been many years since I read it but I remember a lot of violence and villainy. I don’t recall the graphic sex, which is odd because I tend to be squeamish about such content.
Oh it's there! But funny how we forget about some things. For example, I always recommend City of Thieves and then the people I kept recommending it to were jarred by some of the sexual content and language, yet that was not the part that stood out to me. I loved the story. So I totally understand how that can be the case with a big series like this as well.
I loved Long Bright River! However, it is more literary than God of the Woods. Both of these books are being adapted which is extremley exciting to me!
It's nice to hear that many more people are aligned with me on the book. I expected to me an outlier in my opinion. It was tough to read in many aspects, and have now decided that I won't continue on.
I stopped being interested in Ina Garten when she turned down a child from the Make a Wish foundation. It has been a lot of years but that just didn't sit right with me. I just finished The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis. I thought it good not great...meh..... I was sick also finally went to Urgent Care thank goodness I feel better......Happy New Year....Happy Reading.
Oh I didn't know anything about that situation with Ina Garten, good to know. Sorry you've been sick, me too! My family can't seem to kick whatever is going around. I need to try a Fiona Davis book to see if I'll connect with her writing, but my hunch is no.
I would not recommend continuing after Pillars of the Earth. Way back I had loved the first book, went into the second book and was like oh it’s the same book but they’re building a bridge now. Forbidden romance… yeah it seems like Ken Follett definitely has a formula he follows and if you aren’t into it you’ll get bored and annoyed pretty early on in his work.
Thank you so much for sharing your opinion, it has definitely deterred me from continuing on. Even though I enjoyed parts of Pillars, I don't want to go through it again.
Okay.. Pillars.. I read it early in my reading life and I loved it.. That said I was into the architecture (I'm very engineer minded).. so loved that part and the character work. The book is extremely violent and whew on the rape and s*x scenes. I completely agree with what you said about a guy writing it. If I read it for the first time now I don't know if I would love it or not. I have read all but most recent book. I loved book 2, the prequel was pretty good.. I thought book 3 was barely okay (even more church corruption in that one I believe (if I remember correctly)). I plan on reading book 4. It jumps ahead (or behind) a generation or so with each book.
Thank you for sharing your reading experience! Maybe I've become more sensitive of a reader, and I wouldn't have minded certain things as much when I was younger. There is definitely a super enjoyable quality to the book, but I think I won't continue on. I'm glad I know now though!
I didn’t really like the third Gilmore girl because there wasn’t much Gilmore girls. I didn’t really care much about broadway. As for her love life, frankly, I kind of expect that when reading about actors. They don’t exactly meet one person and lived happily ever after? I sort of expect sex and drugs and bad decisions as stereotypical as that sounds.
Totally agree with you! I shouldn't have expected much except for the fact that people were loving it. I figured she had some amazing life lesson or cool stories, but I found it lacked in both. Definitely a dissapointment.
Pillars is the best book of the series so you probably won’t appreciate the others. Game of Thrones is worse in terms of sex and violence. It made me nauseous and I couldn’t justify continuing it.
I will second this. Also, GOT is crammed with politics and backstabbing and it’s a book that left me feeling tired and overwhelmed and overall in a negative mindset. I couldn’t move beyond the first book.
Thank you both Nancy and Rania for sharing your reading experiences! I feel like this confirms that a) I don't want to continue the Kingsbridge series and b) I don't want to read Game of Thrones (even though I was a fan of the tv show).
Unfortunately that seems to be the case. My average rating is 3 stars. It’s hard for me to fall in love with a book and rave about it, but that hasn’t deterred me from trying to find those gems!
One of the things I always love about your videos is that you're not afraid to say you don't like something and why!
I would also like to see a video about any upcoming historical fiction you're looking forward to, if you're able to do it.
I am always trying to be transparent about my reading experiences, so will continue to do so even if they are unpopular opinions. 🙃 thanks for the video suggestion! I made a 2025 anticipated releases video but had a hard time finding much historical fiction I was stoked about. As we get into the year a bit I’m sure more will come up on my radar and I’ll definitely try to share.
I'm glad you're feeling better, no worries about the content! I haven't read the Ken Follet book as the whole page count bit puts me off!
Thank you! You know, I'd say you aren't missing much (there's better historical fic out there). 🙃
@GloriaZThompson Yeah I have to say, your review has made me definitely not want to pick it up! 😊
Hi Gloria, love your channel! Always wonderful to find people who read nonfiction and historical fiction. Ken Follet is spectacular but he is not the best at writing women, I agree.
Thank you for saying hi! I'm curious if Ken Follet's spy thrillers (especially the ones you mentioned recently) are similar with the women and sex scenes. Would you say so?
I agree with you about Kelly’s book. Shocks me that she shares so much and has such a nonchalant attitude about her choices. Loved Ina’s memoir!!
What historical fiction are you excited for in 2025? Would love a video on that!
Nice to know I'm not the only one who feels that way! And thank you for the suggestion. I will try to prioritize that. I made an anticipated releases video but only included 2 historical fiction as I couldn't find much that I was stoked about. But I'm sure as the year continues a bit more, they'll be some titles that stand out.
THANK YOU so much for sharing your thoughts on Pillars of the Earth. You echo my sentiments exactly, except you're much more graceful with your words, which is admirable. I ended up hating this book for the same reasons, and I agree it was compelling - I wanted to know what happened in the end! The only point where I disagree is that I very much enjoyed all the cathedral architecture and construction descriptions, but I am an engineer, so you got that spot on as well, haha! You just shot to the top of my "favorite BookTubers" list!
Thank you for sharing your experience, Katie! It's the best feeling to find a like-minded reader. 💕
I love Pillars and have read World Without End which I also loved. Haven’t continued yet but have 1-2 of the others on my shelf. Appreciate your thoughts about Kelly Bishop’s memoir. 😊💙
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I can see why it has worked for so many people, but I think I may be done with the series after just reading the first one. Now I know!
I loved Ina Garten - we watched food network ALL the time!❤I didn’t know she had a memoir. I love you made a chicken after haha!
I think you'd really enjoy her memoir then! There was something nostalgic-feeling about it.
I appreciate your review of Pillars of the Earth. My copy will now go on the donate pile 😊
Pillars of the Earth is one of my favourite books. I thought it was so good and so did my daughter.
For readers especially sensitive to graphic violence and sexual content, I would say it's worth skipping. If those themes aren't a bother, it's an interesting read!
I was really caught up in Pillars of the Earth and then (a couple years later) read World Without End. I truly liked them both very much. Now I have A Column of Fire that I hope to read this year. I'm a Ken Follett fan, what can I say? :-) I've put the Ina Garten memoir on reserve at my library - it sounds great!
There's definitely something incredibly compelling about his storytelling and characters, I get it! I just didn't get along with some parts of it and don't think I'll continue on.
I read the whole Ken Follett series and liked it and don’t remember all the bad parts because there were so many good parts
I'm looking forward to watching the mini-series!
I adore Ina's quiet, kind demeanor! She is elegant & down to earth at the same time.
I read some great Sci-fi last year (I am not used to saying that) and 2 of them made my top reads of the year? Who even am I?
I tried reading Follet years (decades??!) ago and DNFd it. Too much for my sensibilities 🤭
Totally, there is just something about Ina!
I love when a genre surprises you like that, I'm hoping for more of that in 2025.
I think I may be on the same page with you as Follet. I'm probably more of sensitive reader about certain subject matter anyways.
Pillars was compelling reading for me although I did skim a lot of the cathedral building description. It has been many years since I read it but I remember a lot of violence and villainy. I don’t recall the graphic sex, which is odd because I tend to be squeamish about such content.
Oh it's there! But funny how we forget about some things. For example, I always recommend City of Thieves and then the people I kept recommending it to were jarred by some of the sexual content and language, yet that was not the part that stood out to me. I loved the story. So I totally understand how that can be the case with a big series like this as well.
I loved Long Bright River! However, it is more literary than God of the Woods. Both of these books are being adapted which is extremley exciting to me!
I did not know they were being adapted! Thank you for sharing that news, I'm stoked to watch both series.
Ooh you’re the second friend I know who liked Ina’s memoir, I need to listen to that one this year! I also hate touching meat lol 👀
It’s a pleasant read! Nothing overly heavy, and inspired me to cook. Yes, I make my husband do it 99% of the time cuz I can’t. 🥩
I completely agree with you about The Pillars of the Earth! I couldn't continue the series.
It's nice to hear that many more people are aligned with me on the book. I expected to me an outlier in my opinion. It was tough to read in many aspects, and have now decided that I won't continue on.
I stopped being interested in Ina Garten when she turned down a child from the Make a Wish foundation. It has been a lot of years but that just didn't sit right with me. I just finished The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis. I thought it good not great...meh..... I was sick also finally went to Urgent Care thank goodness I feel better......Happy New Year....Happy Reading.
Oh I didn't know anything about that situation with Ina Garten, good to know. Sorry you've been sick, me too! My family can't seem to kick whatever is going around. I need to try a Fiona Davis book to see if I'll connect with her writing, but my hunch is no.
I DNFed “The Pillars of the Earth” in the middle, I found it extremely slow and boring, however I enjoyed the mini series a lot
I look forward to watching the mini series! You didn't miss much with the rest of the book.
I started Pillars of the Earth but put it down because it was too gross and graphic for me. You confirmed my decision was a good one!
Yes, there are many scenes that were super disturbing to read. So you are not missing out, honestly!
I felt the same about the third Gilmore girl.
So glad to hear I’m not the only one!
I agree with you 100% about Pillars of the Earth. I DNF'd at the end of part 1 due to a particularly offensive scene.
It was brutal and you are not missing out on much!
I felt EXACTLY the same way about Pillars of the Earth. I wanted to bleach my brain after reading it. 😂 I didn’t continue on. 🤣
Ha! Yes, I’ve decided I’ll stop as well. I don’t want to go through that experience again.
I feel the same about Kelly Bishop’s book.
Ok good, I’m glad I’m not the only one!
I would not recommend continuing after Pillars of the Earth. Way back I had loved the first book, went into the second book and was like oh it’s the same book but they’re building a bridge now. Forbidden romance… yeah it seems like Ken Follett definitely has a formula he follows and if you aren’t into it you’ll get bored and annoyed pretty early on in his work.
Thank you so much for sharing your opinion, it has definitely deterred me from continuing on. Even though I enjoyed parts of Pillars, I don't want to go through it again.
Okay.. Pillars.. I read it early in my reading life and I loved it.. That said I was into the architecture (I'm very engineer minded).. so loved that part and the character work. The book is extremely violent and whew on the rape and s*x scenes. I completely agree with what you said about a guy writing it. If I read it for the first time now I don't know if I would love it or not. I have read all but most recent book. I loved book 2, the prequel was pretty good.. I thought book 3 was barely okay (even more church corruption in that one I believe (if I remember correctly)). I plan on reading book 4. It jumps ahead (or behind) a generation or so with each book.
Thank you for sharing your reading experience! Maybe I've become more sensitive of a reader, and I wouldn't have minded certain things as much when I was younger. There is definitely a super enjoyable quality to the book, but I think I won't continue on. I'm glad I know now though!
I didn’t really like the third Gilmore girl because there wasn’t much Gilmore girls. I didn’t really care much about broadway. As for her love life, frankly, I kind of expect that when reading about actors. They don’t exactly meet one person and lived happily ever after? I sort of expect sex and drugs and bad decisions as stereotypical as that sounds.
Totally agree with you! I shouldn't have expected much except for the fact that people were loving it. I figured she had some amazing life lesson or cool stories, but I found it lacked in both. Definitely a dissapointment.
Pillars is the best book of the series so you probably won’t appreciate the others. Game of Thrones is worse in terms of sex and violence. It made me nauseous and I couldn’t justify continuing it.
I will second this. Also, GOT is crammed with politics and backstabbing and it’s a book that left me feeling tired and overwhelmed and overall in a negative mindset. I couldn’t move beyond the first book.
Thank you both Nancy and Rania for sharing your reading experiences! I feel like this confirms that a) I don't want to continue the Kingsbridge series and b) I don't want to read Game of Thrones (even though I was a fan of the tv show).
I feel like you never like the books you read lol
Unfortunately that seems to be the case. My average rating is 3 stars. It’s hard for me to fall in love with a book and rave about it, but that hasn’t deterred me from trying to find those gems!