I love that you’re DNFing more, I’m also on that journey because I forced myself to finish so many mediocre books last year and I realized I wasn’t living my truth
100000%, I know EXACTLY what you mean and I feel the same! I get so frustrated when I look back at how many 1 star/2 star books I read and just how much time I wasted! I'm so glad that we are both starting to reallocate that time to better things!
the moon mushroom earrings!!! it's such a shame that I only hear mid things on Hench bc it really does seem like a great idea for a book. That's totally fair about audio!! Especially if it's not a book you're super excited for. I tend to do the same with mystery/thrillers.
13:38 I had that same problem. I found that using dollar store reading glasses helped. The glasses made the line I was reading stand out in a way that allowed me to focus on it. Game changer
Thank you so much for watching and I'm happy you commented so I could discover your channel as well!!! I can't wait to see your unhaul video upcoming!!!
Master Class immediately reminds me of the RUclips movie The Thinning, and it was as you'd expect a RUclips movie to be. lol Hench's premise and real-life comparison does sound so good... "...a young woman discovers the greatest superpower-for good or ill-is a properly executed spreadsheet." I hate that you DNF'd, but I might have to give this a try just based on that one line from the synopsis. 😂 12:46 - Same here. I don't mind reading a series if the only thing that makes it a "series" is that it takes place in the same universe, but each book stands on its own. Reading a book physically while listening to the audio is honestly a gamechanger. I do that all the time. 🙌🏼 From 89 to 80 in one month? Yeah, you're definitely on track to knocking this challenge out! Woohoo!
HAHHAH OHHH now I NEED to watch The Thinning because I am so curious!!!! YESSS omg Jim I now really would love for you to read Hench so I can hear your thoughts on it!!!! I really was LOVING the first maybe quarter of the book and was having so much fun! YES I LOVE doing hyrid reads, it is SUCH a great reading experience!!! UGH I HOPE SO, I am still feeling daunted by that massive number but as long as I dont bring in too many new unreads then I think I can do this!!!!🙌📚🙏👏💯
omg I remember that show!! yes that is what it reminded me of but I couldn't remember the name. think it's a YT Red show meaning you need to have Premium.. if I'm not mistaken.
So much of your thought process brings me back to 2021-2022 when I was in the thick of my zero TBR project. You've got it. Just keep chipping away at it
It's good to hear that dnf-ing is serving you well! It does cut down on lower star-ratings too. It sounds like you're on track to reading down your physical tbr this year. Woo-hoo! ❤ 🎉
YES 10000% Dnf'ing has truly revolutionized my reading!!! I am so excited about this project, I feel like I may just do it this year!!! Thank you so much Jess!!! 💖🙏💌📚
Hench sounds like it might have some The Boys vibes, which was a comic book turned into a tv series. I'm sorry many of these didn't work out for you. There is a series by Laurell K Hamilton that might spark your interest, The Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. I have a review of the first book Guilty Pleasures coming out in April. Even though I had some "personal" criticism with it, Guilty Pleasures kept my attention the whole way through and created a world that I'm actually anxious to try again.
Ohhh Thank you so much for these recommendations! I actually had not heard of the series The Boys but I just looked it up and WOW the similarities to the themes in Hench are STRONG!!! Also I will definitely check out The Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series! I am a HUGE buffy the vampire slayer fan and this series is kind of reminding me of Buffy so I will have to check it out!
@mikalareads be careful with The Boys. It is an extremely graphic comic book, more than the tv series. In novels, graphic material is bad enough. In comics, it borders the extreme, which is definitely not for everyone.
@@Tim_with_Tomes_and_Tales Thank you SO much for the content warning with The Boys, I truly appreciate and value the warnings so much because I can get triggered by some Content! I will be careful and make sure I look up the TW before going into this series!!!
I love watching this process! I think it’s okay to grade library sale books on a different curve - the whole point is that people weren’t checking them out, so it’s pretty likely that they might not be good (though obviously there will occasionally be a hidden gem). I think that if literally no one ever talked about a given book or author, that means it probably came and went without notice. Given the scale of publishing, there’s really no such thing as a good book that isn’t talked about by at least one person. So if I’m unsure about a book and I’ve never heard anyone else talk about it, that helps me filter things out. And I still dream of being that person who only adds her yearly top ten to my personal library but that’s such a lol!
That is an EXCELLENT point about books from Library book sales!!! Like they are there for the most part because people were not checking them out, so there really is a good chance that they may not be a hit! The next book sale I have on my calendar is actually for next weekend and I WILL be going in first with my logical brain and not my magpie/hoarders brain hahah!!! I am going to be SO much more careful about what I choose and definitely take the time to quickly skim reviews before I checkout too!!
Master Class sounds so strange. A dystopian teen novel from the perspective of a parent is an interesting take. Re: The Looker, as a person who has struggled with infertility I am SO TIRED of this being used as the reason a woman turns into an evil demon. It’s such a dated and harmful trope. That’s such a shame about Hench. I had it on my TBR as the premise did sound really good. This video has inspired me to have a purge of my own book collection1 Don’t feel bad about reading with audiobooks! My best friend has ADHD and finds that syncing an audiobook to play at the same speed as her physical reading is the best way for her to enjoy books. I’m sorry if anyone has made you feeling badly about how you enjoy reading.
YES Masterclass was really reading JUST like a popular teen dysotpian but just flipped perspective and I could not find myself getting into it! Also I agree totally with what you said about infertility being used as a trope to portray women as evil, and it being so harmful! I really was suprised reading Looker that this was the route the author went down, I expected more! Omg Thank you so much Ally for your words about reading via audiobooks and to not feel bad about it!!! I have never been diagnosed but I have always struggled with reading comprehension and my reading speed when I read a book physically is extraordinarily slow, I value what you said here so much and it makes me feel much less alone or weird about this!!!
I'm doing the These Books Will Self-Destruct for the first time this year, the majority of them don't have audiobooks hence why they've been on my shelves for years. 😂 Theme Music was one of them, so I'm always worried I'm going to get rid of a 5-star book. But physically reading is getting so difficult for me but so many of my horror books don't have an audio. 😢
AWWW I empathize with you on this!!, I have so many books I have been putting off reading for so long for this reason! And thats the really difficult part too is do I take the risk because it could be an amazing book OR I could put a ton of energy into reading it physically for it to be a flop and I will just feel like I wasted so much time😅 And I've noticed that too with so many horror books either don't have an audio or its really hard to find it, like my libraries definitely do not stock the horror genre like they do other genres UGH its so frustrating😣
I've really spent the last few years identifying my preferences when it comes to audiobooks, buying books, and DNF'ing, so I completely appreciate this!
I love this so much!!!! I feel like this is exactly where I am currently, just trying to reframe my habits around reading, and make this hobby as enjoyable and beneficial as possible!
Okay I have to admit for the most part I am not a fan of the superhero genre! 🙈EXCEPT for I LOVE the Miles Morales Into the Spider-Verse series and could watch those films on repeat💯! I also liked the Tom Holland Spiderman movies as well...so maybe I am just a fan of the Spiderman verse hahah!!! (but like alllllll the rest I am so tired of arggggg!)
03:49 um yeah what kind of message are we trying to send to women over something they have 0 control over. I love that you commented on this and articulated it so well bc its such a good point.
YESSS like it just always bothers me so much because it plays into the thought that "women have to have kids to be fulfilled and fulfill their purpose", while male characters tend to get larger sweeping storylines than that and go on a full arc, but women get stuck in that one box!!!
I do the same with listening and eyeballs for similar reasons. I'm dyslexic and the words start moving and I don't understand what I am reading without the audio too.
Oh my gosh I realllllly relate to you so much!!!! I am not diagnosed but ever since I was in school, even though english was my favorite subject, I always had the same issue with comprehension. I am a very very slow reader when reading physically and I always felt so badly about myself for that, it just would take my brain ages and I would have to reread large chunks!
@@mikalareads same! I genuinely thought I was stupid until I was assessed for dyslexia in uni. Thank goodness for immersive reading! I was the same with English being my favourite subject. Maths though… not for me! I think I’m actually worse with numbers than words 😂 maybe it’s more that I want to read but I don’t want to maths 🤭
YES oh gosh I so relate, I just adored How Can I Help You!!!!! I really am glad I read that before reading Looker because now I know that future books from this author may be better but that first one was a bit of a miss! 😅😬🙉🚫
I love that you are DNFing right when you know it's not going to get over a 3. I really need to do that. I should just keep moving on until I find something that hooks me. 2024 is the year of DNFing!!
YES I LOVE that: 2024 is the year of DNFing!!🎯🙌💯👏 YEssss thats exactly the point I am at because I just this book isnt bringing me much value and I think a year from now I wont remember this book AT all, so let me re-allocate this time to something that I may get more out of!!!
RIGHTTT!!!! omg that is totally what I was getting as well from Hench, it was so fun and then started to drag! It just is a bit too long for the kind of story it is, in my opinion! YESS 100% Dnf'ing is just SO freeing and helps reading stay fun for me!💯📚🙌
YESSS okay I LOVED the start of Hench, so now I feel so good about quitting knowing that it really only did continue to go downhill from where I dnf'd! So I feel like I got the best out of it and then quit while I was ahead hahah!!!! 😅🙌💯📚
I hesitate to say Marvel because so many of the marvel franchises I am not a fan of 😭 But I think I would say Marvel over DC just because I have seen more of them! Although I did really like the first DC Wonder woman!
I love that you’re DNFing more, I’m also on that journey because I forced myself to finish so many mediocre books last year and I realized I wasn’t living my truth
100000%, I know EXACTLY what you mean and I feel the same! I get so frustrated when I look back at how many 1 star/2 star books I read and just how much time I wasted! I'm so glad that we are both starting to reallocate that time to better things!
the moon mushroom earrings!!! it's such a shame that I only hear mid things on Hench bc it really does seem like a great idea for a book. That's totally fair about audio!! Especially if it's not a book you're super excited for. I tend to do the same with mystery/thrillers.
13:38 I had that same problem. I found that using dollar store reading glasses helped. The glasses made the line I was reading stand out in a way that allowed me to focus on it. Game changer
Okay thank you so much for this tip, I think this could be really helpful for me as well!!! I will definitely try this!!! 🎯💯👏🙌
Discovered your channel through this video. I'm also in the process of doing a (LONG OVERDUE) unhaul. Happy Reading! 😎📚👍
Thank you so much for watching and I'm happy you commented so I could discover your channel as well!!! I can't wait to see your unhaul video upcoming!!!
Master Class immediately reminds me of the RUclips movie The Thinning, and it was as you'd expect a RUclips movie to be. lol
Hench's premise and real-life comparison does sound so good... "...a young woman discovers the greatest superpower-for good or ill-is a properly executed spreadsheet." I hate that you DNF'd, but I might have to give this a try just based on that one line from the synopsis. 😂
12:46 - Same here. I don't mind reading a series if the only thing that makes it a "series" is that it takes place in the same universe, but each book stands on its own.
Reading a book physically while listening to the audio is honestly a gamechanger. I do that all the time. 🙌🏼
From 89 to 80 in one month? Yeah, you're definitely on track to knocking this challenge out! Woohoo!
HAHHAH OHHH now I NEED to watch The Thinning because I am so curious!!!! YESSS omg Jim I now really would love for you to read Hench so I can hear your thoughts on it!!!! I really was LOVING the first maybe quarter of the book and was having so much fun!
YES I LOVE doing hyrid reads, it is SUCH a great reading experience!!!
UGH I HOPE SO, I am still feeling daunted by that massive number but as long as I dont bring in too many new unreads then I think I can do this!!!!🙌📚🙏👏💯
omg I remember that show!! yes that is what it reminded me of but I couldn't remember the name. think it's a YT Red show meaning you need to have Premium.. if I'm not mistaken.
So much of your thought process brings me back to 2021-2022 when I was in the thick of my zero TBR project. You've got it. Just keep chipping away at it
Thank you so much!!!!!! I love this! You are motivating me to keep going and if I stick to it I will see payoff by the end of the year!!!
It's good to hear that dnf-ing is serving you well! It does cut down on lower star-ratings too. It sounds like you're on track to reading down your physical tbr this year. Woo-hoo! ❤ 🎉
YES 10000% Dnf'ing has truly revolutionized my reading!!! I am so excited about this project, I feel like I may just do it this year!!! Thank you so much Jess!!! 💖🙏💌📚
Hench sounds like it might have some The Boys vibes, which was a comic book turned into a tv series. I'm sorry many of these didn't work out for you. There is a series by Laurell K Hamilton that might spark your interest, The Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. I have a review of the first book Guilty Pleasures coming out in April. Even though I had some "personal" criticism with it, Guilty Pleasures kept my attention the whole way through and created a world that I'm actually anxious to try again.
That’s what I was thinking the connection to The Boys. It’s a very interesting concept, but I also DNFd Hench.
Ohhh Thank you so much for these recommendations! I actually had not heard of the series The Boys but I just looked it up and WOW the similarities to the themes in Hench are STRONG!!! Also I will definitely check out The Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series! I am a HUGE buffy the vampire slayer fan and this series is kind of reminding me of Buffy so I will have to check it out!
@mikalareads be careful with The Boys. It is an extremely graphic comic book, more than the tv series. In novels, graphic material is bad enough. In comics, it borders the extreme, which is definitely not for everyone.
@@Tim_with_Tomes_and_Tales Thank you SO much for the content warning with The Boys, I truly appreciate and value the warnings so much because I can get triggered by some Content! I will be careful and make sure I look up the TW before going into this series!!!
I love watching this process! I think it’s okay to grade library sale books on a different curve - the whole point is that people weren’t checking them out, so it’s pretty likely that they might not be good (though obviously there will occasionally be a hidden gem). I think that if literally no one ever talked about a given book or author, that means it probably came and went without notice. Given the scale of publishing, there’s really no such thing as a good book that isn’t talked about by at least one person. So if I’m unsure about a book and I’ve never heard anyone else talk about it, that helps me filter things out. And I still dream of being that person who only adds her yearly top ten to my personal library but that’s such a lol!
That is an EXCELLENT point about books from Library book sales!!! Like they are there for the most part because people were not checking them out, so there really is a good chance that they may not be a hit! The next book sale I have on my calendar is actually for next weekend and I WILL be going in first with my logical brain and not my magpie/hoarders brain hahah!!! I am going to be SO much more careful about what I choose and definitely take the time to quickly skim reviews before I checkout too!!
Master Class sounds so strange. A dystopian teen novel from the perspective of a parent is an interesting take.
Re: The Looker, as a person who has struggled with infertility I am SO TIRED of this being used as the reason a woman turns into an evil demon. It’s such a dated and harmful trope.
That’s such a shame about Hench. I had it on my TBR as the premise did sound really good.
This video has inspired me to have a purge of my own book collection1 Don’t feel bad about reading with audiobooks! My best friend has ADHD and finds that syncing an audiobook to play at the same speed as her physical reading is the best way for her to enjoy books. I’m sorry if anyone has made you feeling badly about how you enjoy reading.
YES Masterclass was really reading JUST like a popular teen dysotpian but just flipped perspective and I could not find myself getting into it! Also I agree totally with what you said about infertility being used as a trope to portray women as evil, and it being so harmful! I really was suprised reading Looker that this was the route the author went down, I expected more!
Omg Thank you so much Ally for your words about reading via audiobooks and to not feel bad about it!!! I have never been diagnosed but I have always struggled with reading comprehension and my reading speed when I read a book physically is extraordinarily slow, I value what you said here so much and it makes me feel much less alone or weird about this!!!
I'm doing the These Books Will Self-Destruct for the first time this year, the majority of them don't have audiobooks hence why they've been on my shelves for years. 😂 Theme Music was one of them, so I'm always worried I'm going to get rid of a 5-star book. But physically reading is getting so difficult for me but so many of my horror books don't have an audio. 😢
AWWW I empathize with you on this!!, I have so many books I have been putting off reading for so long for this reason! And thats the really difficult part too is do I take the risk because it could be an amazing book OR I could put a ton of energy into reading it physically for it to be a flop and I will just feel like I wasted so much time😅 And I've noticed that too with so many horror books either don't have an audio or its really hard to find it, like my libraries definitely do not stock the horror genre like they do other genres UGH its so frustrating😣
I've really spent the last few years identifying my preferences when it comes to audiobooks, buying books, and DNF'ing, so I completely appreciate this!
I love this so much!!!! I feel like this is exactly where I am currently, just trying to reframe my habits around reading, and make this hobby as enjoyable and beneficial as possible!
This was the first time I heard you talk about superhero’s what’s your opinion on the genera
Especially when it comes to media
Okay I have to admit for the most part I am not a fan of the superhero genre! 🙈EXCEPT for I LOVE the Miles Morales Into the Spider-Verse series and could watch those films on repeat💯! I also liked the Tom Holland Spiderman movies as well...so maybe I am just a fan of the Spiderman verse hahah!!!
(but like alllllll the rest I am so tired of arggggg!)
03:49 um yeah what kind of message are we trying to send to women over something they have 0 control over. I love that you commented on this and articulated it so well bc its such a good point.
YESSS like it just always bothers me so much because it plays into the thought that "women have to have kids to be fulfilled and fulfill their purpose", while male characters tend to get larger sweeping storylines than that and go on a full arc, but women get stuck in that one box!!!
I do the same with listening and eyeballs for similar reasons. I'm dyslexic and the words start moving and I don't understand what I am reading without the audio too.
Oh my gosh I realllllly relate to you so much!!!! I am not diagnosed but ever since I was in school, even though english was my favorite subject, I always had the same issue with comprehension. I am a very very slow reader when reading physically and I always felt so badly about myself for that, it just would take my brain ages and I would have to reread large chunks!
@@mikalareads same! I genuinely thought I was stupid until I was assessed for dyslexia in uni. Thank goodness for immersive reading! I was the same with English being my favourite subject. Maths though… not for me! I think I’m actually worse with numbers than words 😂 maybe it’s more that I want to read but I don’t want to maths 🤭
Oooh a perfect video to watch while I get ready this morning!
AWWW Thank you for watching!!!! 😭💖💗🙏🙌📚
Glad I never picked up Looker.. how disappointing though- How Can I Help You.. one of the best books I read last year. 🔥
YES oh gosh I so relate, I just adored How Can I Help You!!!!! I really am glad I read that before reading Looker because now I know that future books from this author may be better but that first one was a bit of a miss! 😅😬🙉🚫
@@mikalareads yes! will definitely keep my eye out for another one from her! 😄
I love that you are DNFing right when you know it's not going to get over a 3. I really need to do that. I should just keep moving on until I find something that hooks me. 2024 is the year of DNFing!!
YES I LOVE that: 2024 is the year of DNFing!!🎯🙌💯👏
YEssss thats exactly the point I am at because I just this book isnt bringing me much value and I think a year from now I wont remember this book AT all, so let me re-allocate this time to something that I may get more out of!!!
I so wanted to love Hench but it definitely dragged! I fully support dnfing books you aren't loving. It's freeing!!
RIGHTTT!!!! omg that is totally what I was getting as well from Hench, it was so fun and then started to drag! It just is a bit too long for the kind of story it is, in my opinion! YESS 100% Dnf'ing is just SO freeing and helps reading stay fun for me!💯📚🙌
I hated Hench with a burning passion so I think it was a good decision cause the start was the best
YESSS okay I LOVED the start of Hench, so now I feel so good about quitting knowing that it really only did continue to go downhill from where I dnf'd! So I feel like I got the best out of it and then quit while I was ahead hahah!!!! 😅🙌💯📚
Great unhaul 📚☕
Thank you!!! 🙌🥰
Like are you a fan of marvel or dc
I hesitate to say Marvel because so many of the marvel franchises I am not a fan of 😭 But I think I would say Marvel over DC just because I have seen more of them! Although I did really like the first DC Wonder woman!
First!
💌🥰📚🌺🌼💖💗😻🙏