the way my heart stopped when you called me a horror girlie. top-tier compliment and i've never been more proud to be labeled in my entire life 😇 i would also like to thank past jan for making herself presentable during that All Hallows vlog clip lmao
I ALSO DNF'D KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE and it was def because of the audiobook. look at us agreeing on books more & more. i almost lost hope after A Certain Hunger lol
I understand why some people either had no interest in Babel or decided to DNF it. I've always had a particular interest in words, so, for me Babel is an all time favorite. If you gave up on it too early, you missed an exciting ending. Still, people like different books. That's fine.
I have the opposite problem where I'm super intrigued by the language and academics included in the book but I am not at all interested in historical fiction or the grittyness I've heard it contains. Sometimes I'm inclined to read it because of the academics and language but then I know that I would hate the actual plot of it so I never will
Fun nerdy fact, as a linguistics students, I would argue that DNFed is actually (good) grammar at work. Acronyms can lead to coining new words (led, or radar, for example), and once they're accepted into the language, they are subjected to pluralization, -ed past endigns, etc. Only that if we are using it as a verb (and in booktube, we are!), using all lowercase letters would be "good grammar" (dnfed instead of DNFed). Btw, I loved this concept! You should totally turn it into a series. This month I dnfed the second book in the First Law Trilogy, and realized I just should have dnfed book one 🤷🏼♀️
As a French Canadian (Quebec), we do that aaaaall the time with English words that just make more sense to use in context. If I want to say that something is very weird or messed up, I'd say "c'est fucké" which is just an application of French conjugaison of f*cked up as an adjective. Language is meant to evolve and be used in an efficient way on the daily, so why not make up words and bend them to our will!
girl i SKIPPED to the babel part bc it's one of my fave books ever (if not my fave!) and i was so nervous about what you'd think! i'm so glad that you enjoyed it and i totally agree with you that i loved the textbook-iness of it, and also loved how light the magic was bc my brain can't handle too much 😆
Twice in my life I've reread books I had previously dnf'd. I ended up loving one of them. I think I just went into it with the wrong expectations the first time. The second one perplexes me to this day because I dnf'd it after not liking a specific thing that happened in the plot. And when I tried reading it again that thing just DIDN'T happen. Like it wasn't in the book. At all. So WHY did I dnf it? I will never know.
I really liked Babel last year, but I just read Yellowface and I absolutely loved it! It was a 5 star read for me. I hope you enjoy it too when you get around to reading it :)
Love this idea! I have soft dnfed Babel, started it in March but kept getting distracted and now feel like it’s more of an autumn book and I want to read my summery books now!
first of all: Liam is getting so big I can't handle it and im sure you can't either (I have a 5 year old and am in complete denial that she's starting kindergarten this year). Second, I am SO happy you liked Babel. it gets so many mixed reviews and it's one of my favorites.
Out of curiosity: where do you live and when will your child start school? I'm from Germany and kids here can start Kindergarten at 2 and will leave when they start school from at ages of 5-7
@@human9460in the US we have pre-school which is 3 and 4 year olds, and we have one year of kindergarten at age 5, and then you start first grade. It’s just a matter of language, we call it preschool and kindergarten and y’all just have the one term.
I was so close to DNF Bable, I ended up finishing it and still think my thoughts on it are still confused whether I enjoyed it or not. However, if you liked it so much you would probably enjoy her series 'The Poppy War'. Which I also had mixed thoughts on so I'm hesitant to pick up Yellow Face.
i was nervous for you to read babel, but i'm so glad you loved it!!! i can definitely see how the messaging is heavyhanded, but THE KICKER IS IT STILL WENT OVER SOME PEOPLE'S HEADS LOL. so like... it definitely needed to hammer its points home. i do also agree that i wasn't really emotionally invested in the story though because characterizations were definitely the weakest part of the book
For Babel it’s EXTREMELY light fantasy and it’s a lot. It really picks up toward the end. Tbh I considered DNFing about halfway through but I’m SO glad I finished it and ended up loving it.
I really liked Episode Thirteen, and I really liked seeing your opinions on it! If you want a book that’s a similar style, The Appeal is also mixed media! There is also a mystery in there which is really fun to try and work out!
I love annotating books and finding annotations in books! Don't let the aesthetic get in the way of enjoying your book and writing your thoughts, you will absolutely not care next time you pick it up to look at your annotations, you'll just be glad to reminisce about your past self view on the book
I really loved this video concept! I would love to see more like this too. I really appreciate how respectfully you handle the reasons behind a DNF. I have a lot of respect for your opinion because of this!
Love this concept ! My most recent DNFs have been: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, The City of Dr. Moreau, & Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. All very different books from each other, and DNFed for different reasons as well.
Babel is one of my all time favorite books. I loved the pacing, the textbook-ness, the story it was driving home, the magic. I want another book that does this but haven’t found one.
I loved this video! I would love to see more videos like this. It was really helpful to learn more about why someone might DNF a book and why it might be worth it (or not!) to keep going. Expectations make a big difference in how someone enjoys reading a book.
I’m even more excited to read Babel and Big Swiss now 👏🏼. This year I’ve dnf’d The Incendiaries, We can Never Leave this Place, and How to Sell a Haunted House 🥴
Based on the blurb for Babel I knew it wasn’t for me so I didn’t try and read it even though its super hyped. My husband tried to read it and DNF’ed after 20% he was bored and realized he was forcing himself to read it and he almost never DNFs books.
Omg your experience of Babel was EXACTLY how I feel about it! Loooved the first two thirds but the last third was wayy too rushed. I feel like maybe it could’ve had more impact as a series
I should’ve DNFd it from like chapter 2. I couldn’t really make myself get over how much I didn’t like the main character…which was kinda like the whole point of the book
This video reminded me to go back to a book I dnfed. The twisted ones, I was really enjoying it but reading it in the dead of winter when it gets dark at 4:30 wasn't a great idea cos I did get too spooked out
5 minutes in and I already love the concept! I'm considering DNFing "The Doloriad" from Missouri Williams. Not what I was expecting and the writing is ... different.
The made me want to try Babel. I didn't want to go into it as I had already been disappointed with several overhyped books, but I think knowing better what it is will put me in the right frame of mind to give it a go. Thanks for your reviews!
I also DNF episode thirteen earlier this year lol and I'm so happy that you read it so I can decide if I do want to revisit it!!! I read killers of a certain age and the funny thing is I did DNF it a couple times but then I decided to push through and ended up enjoying it!!
This was awesome! I would love to see more of this content. I read all of Babel. I wish I could have enjoyed it as much as you did. I did not dnf, but I did not enjoy it at the level you did. Although I did find a lot of it engaging for sure. I am now second-guessing picking All Hollows. I am very much also not interested in reading multitudes of mediocre books.
Oh and obviously babel. I picked it up solely because of the hype. I’m not a fantasy reader by any means, I hated the audiobook (that’s honestly the number one reason why I dnf these days 😅), and I couldn’t connect with the main character. And I’m a huge reader of character-driven books. I listened it for about 3 hours and it was a HUGE struggle
I was torn between finishing Babel and dnfing it. I ended up finishing it and gave it a 4 but the there was a section in the middle that almost lost me. It helped that I had a 6 hour drive and I refuse to be on my phone an drive at the same time so I just didn't stop ergo I couldn't change the book. Honestly if I had stopped I probably would have changed it.
My DNFs so far in 2023 - Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid - My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones (I know, I’m sorry!) - The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill - Passionate Thirst by Cameron Dean - The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
This is such a good video concept! My two most recent DNFs have been The Things We Do To Our Friends because I didn't like the writing style and Tampa by Alissa Nutting because the content made me want to crawl out of my own skin lol
I love that you DNF Road of Bones because I really didn't like it. I was going to try All Hallows as a second attempt at Christopher Golden. Still going to try, but LOVE that you had this in your video. Also here for Episode 13. I didn't realize ppl didnt enjoy that one.
I also gave Babel 4.5 while having kinda the opposite opinions as you, which I find funny. I found the parts that were supposed to be impactful VERY impactful, even though I completely agree that more could’ve been done with the characters to make you care about them. But I did struggle with how tedious the book is at points and the textbook like quality it had. I loved all the discussion had and the directions the book went so much though. I’m planning a reread without the footnotes and I think I’ll enjoy it even more the second time around.
Love this so much! I to dnfd Babel! I’ve also only dnfd two other books that I know you have read already lol. Our Wives Under The Sea and Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. Such a fun idea for a series though! Can’t wait to see more!
I am glad you read and reviewed Babel. I loved it. I did have to switch to the audio book at one point because the size of the book was overwhelming to me. Glad I am not alone in enjoying that book. (I rushed to watch some review videos after I read it and felt somewhat alone. lol)
ok i've been putting off Babel because i'm super intimidated by it but now i'm feeling like i have to pick it up this month... i've been in a huge slump though so i'm not sure a chunky book like that is the best choice atm 😂 loved this video concept and would be super interested to see more like this in the future!
I love this because I’m currently reading Babel and enjoying after previously Soft dnfying, but my reason was issues with the quality of the arc (audiobook) I couldn’t get through it because it was distorted and now I’m liking it ;which is crazy because It’s not likely to be a book I would understand / and there are things I don’t but I’m liking it!! ❤️
I also decided to finally read Babel before starting Yellowface lol, halfway through and I LOVE it so far so fingers crossed i like the second half too
Big Swiss sounds like its in the same wheelhouse as Milk Fed, which I loved, but I know many people didn't enjoy.... So I guess I''m checking out Big Swiss from my library tomorrow, lol
I had the same thoughts about Killers of a Certain Age and same 3-star rating. I had higher expectations than it delivered on .. but it was OK. I am glad I heard your review though because I had pushed the Veronica Speedwell books lower on my TBR because of KoCA... now I'll give them a chance!
I dnf'd We need to talk about Kevin years ago. Last month I tried again, with audiobook, and it was incredibly sad, moving... I liked it. Sometimes is good to try again.😊
I almost didn't finish Babel. I ended up giving it four stars, BUT just for enjoyment...it got a low three. It read like a textbook to me for almost half of the book, which I usually like, but this just wasn't done (to me) in a way that was interesting. I also felt like certain events took place out of order or without a point. I gave it four just because, like you said, it really hammered the point home. It did exactly what it was meant to do. I tried to read HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt...heard so many positive reviews and the hype got me excited, and the synopsis was so interesting. I spent the first 30% of the book rolling my eyes before I put it down and didn't pick it back up. I almost didn't finish House of Hunger for similar reasons...I did manage to finish that one though. I got an ARC for The Malevolent Seven recently and did not finish it for the same reasons.
As someone who just DNF'D Episode Thirteen I thank you for finishing it and confirming for me that I don't want to pick it back up. 🙊 Another great video, Kayla! 🖤
I gave Babel a 5, but I definitely agree with everything you said about it. I love what it had to say, I loved learning with Robin, I loved the writing and the slower, meandering plot, but I also agree it was weak when it came to its characters, thus affecting moments that were meant to be impactful. Still, it's so funny when people rate it really low because "it wasn't what they expected." Like... the title is literally "Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History" lmao. That certainly sets the exact tone of the book!
I fight through a lot if books, but I dnf'd Afterparties and American Dirt. The former was short stories that I couldn't get into, and the latter was just too sad.
I dnf’d The Gleanings by Neal Schusterman, the book was absolutely dire and didn’t need to be added on to the end of a series especially after The Toll that was bad enough
I enjoy this video concept. It's interesting to see if I'm "justified" in a DNF, or if it's really something worth continuing. Half of my DNFs are books that I keep off to the side because I'm convinced I'll come back to them and enjoy them more. Like maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset for them the first time around. My 2 biggest that I want to come back to that I had to DNF are The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz and The Leaving by Tara Altebrando. Andrea's book I can't leave on my DNFed pile because she is technically family and I want to give her books a fair shot. It's also why I haven't read her sister's book, The Writing Retreat, yet. The Leaving had a blurb that intrigued me and I had high hopes for it... and then it turned into something I wasn't expecting and didn't really enjoy. I'm not sure if I just didn't enjoy it because of the high hopes and expectations or because it isn't my cup of tea.
I don't know why, but I find it highly interesting what books people DNF. Another (similar) idea for a video: Go through books that you wanted to DNF, but decided to push through and split them into a) worth pushing through & b) should've DNF'ed when you wanted to.
I would be interested in a video about an "unhinged woman" in books. I haven't really read that trope before and it looks like you have a few to recommend.
I knew you would love Babel! To anyone - should I read The Secret History first before I dive in though just for a frame of reference to the thematic response? I have not read it because I hated The Gold Finch but I am willing to try Donna Tart again.
I laughed out loud when Kayla said this 😂 I read all of R.F. Kuang‘s books and „warm stories“ are not her thing 😂 she‘s more of a „let‘s inflict emotional damage“ kind of writer.
I aggressively DNF books. I have 2 piles for DNF though a second pile for "try again later" if I think the timing just wasn't right. I'm looking forward to All Hallows because I was the same age in the 80s
it didn’t come out this year, but i DNF’d Things In Jars by Jess Kidd… which is crazy bc i’m the person who will 100% trudge through pretty much any book i have started
Getting caught up so I’m a little late to commenting. But I DNF’d Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott this year. I couldn’t get into the characters or their stories. I ended up donating it to my own Little Free Library and it went away within a week. I’m hoping whomever picked it up will love it.
I just finished Babel today (audiobook) and you perfectly described the issues I had with it in terms of your critiques. I’ve been sort of struggling with it and what my rating is all day. I think I’d have appreciated it more if I read it with my eyes, also. So thanks for helping me sort out my thoughts! That said, it very much made me excited to read more from RF Kuang. I flipped through Yellowface briefly today and I’m thinking I will pick it up.
I have All Hallows preordered as it doesn’t come out on kindle in the Uk until September I think, I’m interested to see what I think of it, I really hope I like it 🤞🏻🤞🏻
So happy to have a video! The only DNF so far was A Castle in the Clouds. 28% and I found it too annoying to go on. I would still like to see a video where you CAWPILE your rating and what happens.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
the way my heart stopped when you called me a horror girlie. top-tier compliment and i've never been more proud to be labeled in my entire life 😇 i would also like to thank past jan for making herself presentable during that All Hallows vlog clip lmao
I ALSO DNF'D KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE and it was def because of the audiobook. look at us agreeing on books more & more. i almost lost hope after A Certain Hunger lol
Babel is absolutely my most tabbed book ever
yessssssssss I love when I get on youtube and a kayla video is the first thing in my sub feed ☺
🤗🤗🤗
Same!!!
You not being able to put the book down while getting ready was so cute
I understand why some people either had no interest in Babel or decided to DNF it. I've always had a particular interest in words, so, for me Babel is an all time favorite. If you gave up on it too early, you missed an exciting ending. Still, people like different books. That's fine.
I loved Babel. The history included was intriguing. There was a slow part 2/3 of the way through, but persevere. The end is fantastic.
I reeally disliked it but still finished it (for some reason) 😂
I finished it and still didn’t like it unfortunately
I have the opposite problem where I'm super intrigued by the language and academics included in the book but I am not at all interested in historical fiction or the grittyness I've heard it contains. Sometimes I'm inclined to read it because of the academics and language but then I know that I would hate the actual plot of it so I never will
Fun nerdy fact, as a linguistics students, I would argue that DNFed is actually (good) grammar at work. Acronyms can lead to coining new words (led, or radar, for example), and once they're accepted into the language, they are subjected to pluralization, -ed past endigns, etc. Only that if we are using it as a verb (and in booktube, we are!), using all lowercase letters would be "good grammar" (dnfed instead of DNFed).
Btw, I loved this concept! You should totally turn it into a series. This month I dnfed the second book in the First Law Trilogy, and realized I just should have dnfed book one 🤷🏼♀️
As a French Canadian (Quebec), we do that aaaaall the time with English words that just make more sense to use in context. If I want to say that something is very weird or messed up, I'd say "c'est fucké" which is just an application of French conjugaison of f*cked up as an adjective. Language is meant to evolve and be used in an efficient way on the daily, so why not make up words and bend them to our will!
girl i SKIPPED to the babel part bc it's one of my fave books ever (if not my fave!) and i was so nervous about what you'd think! i'm so glad that you enjoyed it and i totally agree with you that i loved the textbook-iness of it, and also loved how light the magic was bc my brain can't handle too much 😆
I think the mistake is that it made it to the wrong side of booktok, where they are not used to politics in their books.
Reading while putting make-up you are an absolute queen
Twice in my life I've reread books I had previously dnf'd. I ended up loving one of them. I think I just went into it with the wrong expectations the first time. The second one perplexes me to this day because I dnf'd it after not liking a specific thing that happened in the plot. And when I tried reading it again that thing just DIDN'T happen. Like it wasn't in the book. At all. So WHY did I dnf it? I will never know.
I really liked Babel last year, but I just read Yellowface and I absolutely loved it! It was a 5 star read for me. I hope you enjoy it too when you get around to reading it :)
Love this idea! I have soft dnfed Babel, started it in March but kept getting distracted and now feel like it’s more of an autumn book and I want to read my summery books now!
first of all: Liam is getting so big I can't handle it and im sure you can't either (I have a 5 year old and am in complete denial that she's starting kindergarten this year). Second, I am SO happy you liked Babel. it gets so many mixed reviews and it's one of my favorites.
Out of curiosity: where do you live and when will your child start school?
I'm from Germany and kids here can start Kindergarten at 2 and will leave when they start school from at ages of 5-7
@@human9460in the US we have pre-school which is 3 and 4 year olds, and we have one year of kindergarten at age 5, and then you start first grade. It’s just a matter of language, we call it preschool and kindergarten and y’all just have the one term.
@@taylorgayhart9497 thank you🥰
Love this concept for a series so much! 🧠
I was so close to DNF Bable, I ended up finishing it and still think my thoughts on it are still confused whether I enjoyed it or not. However, if you liked it so much you would probably enjoy her series 'The Poppy War'. Which I also had mixed thoughts on so I'm hesitant to pick up Yellow Face.
I'm LOVED with Yellowface. Top 2 of the year so far!!
i was nervous for you to read babel, but i'm so glad you loved it!!! i can definitely see how the messaging is heavyhanded, but THE KICKER IS IT STILL WENT OVER SOME PEOPLE'S HEADS LOL. so like... it definitely needed to hammer its points home. i do also agree that i wasn't really emotionally invested in the story though because characterizations were definitely the weakest part of the book
For Babel it’s EXTREMELY light fantasy and it’s a lot. It really picks up toward the end. Tbh I considered DNFing about halfway through but I’m SO glad I finished it and ended up loving it.
I really liked Episode Thirteen, and I really liked seeing your opinions on it! If you want a book that’s a similar style, The Appeal is also mixed media! There is also a mystery in there which is really fun to try and work out!
love when lala picks up an unhinged woman read! the moshfegh girls are here for it!
Girl this is Lily’s Favourite book-tuber i would feel so honored!!
I love annotating books and finding annotations in books! Don't let the aesthetic get in the way of enjoying your book and writing your thoughts, you will absolutely not care next time you pick it up to look at your annotations, you'll just be glad to reminisce about your past self view on the book
I really loved this video concept! I would love to see more like this too. I really appreciate how respectfully you handle the reasons behind a DNF. I have a lot of respect for your opinion because of this!
Love this concept ! My most recent DNFs have been: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, The City of Dr. Moreau, & Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. All very different books from each other, and DNFed for different reasons as well.
Babel is one of my all time favorite books. I loved the pacing, the textbook-ness, the story it was driving home, the magic. I want another book that does this but haven’t found one.
Your Babel review verbalises EXACTLY how I felt about it too omg I’ve never felt more understood haha
i haven’t checked in in awhile and i am gobsmacked at how old liam looks! this is kind of the first time babel has really piqued my interest.
I loved this video! I would love to see more videos like this. It was really helpful to learn more about why someone might DNF a book and why it might be worth it (or not!) to keep going. Expectations make a big difference in how someone enjoys reading a book.
I love luster so much so you have convinced me to pick up big swiss. Babel is an absolute have of the year. So glad you liked it!
Oh wow, I also picked up Big Swiss on a whim at the library but I wound up really loving it! Only a few minutes into the video but I hope you enjoy 😳
This is such an interesting concept! I may borrow this! Great video as always! ❤️
So glad you read Big Swiss. I keep forgetting that I put it down and haven't picked ot back up.
I’m even more excited to read Babel and Big Swiss now 👏🏼.
This year I’ve dnf’d The Incendiaries, We can Never Leave this Place, and How to Sell a Haunted House 🥴
Kayla: I don’t know WHY people are DNFing Babel
Also Kayla: I don’t know what the plot is
That’s it. That’s why people are DNFing it. 😂
Based on the blurb for Babel I knew it wasn’t for me so I didn’t try and read it even though its super hyped. My husband tried to read it and DNF’ed after 20% he was bored and realized he was forcing himself to read it and he almost never DNFs books.
I enjoyed Episode Thirteen. Very unique approach. I also read Big Swiss, which was quite funny.
Omg your experience of Babel was EXACTLY how I feel about it! Loooved the first two thirds but the last third was wayy too rushed. I feel like maybe it could’ve had more impact as a series
I was a kid in Mass in the 80s! I never got into anything, though. My mom was protective.
Just DNfd under the whispering door, which was hard too caused I loved cerulean sea so much.
I should’ve DNFd it from like chapter 2. I couldn’t really make myself get over how much I didn’t like the main character…which was kinda like the whole point of the book
This video reminded me to go back to a book I dnfed. The twisted ones, I was really enjoying it but reading it in the dead of winter when it gets dark at 4:30 wasn't a great idea cos I did get too spooked out
5 minutes in and I already love the concept! I'm considering DNFing "The Doloriad" from Missouri Williams. Not what I was expecting and the writing is ... different.
omg YES babel!!!! so so glad you loved it
You taking out your highlighter while starting babel yup I was like ‘she’s eating this up’ and I love that for me and you hahah
The made me want to try Babel. I didn't want to go into it as I had already been disappointed with several overhyped books, but I think knowing better what it is will put me in the right frame of mind to give it a go. Thanks for your reviews!
I also DNF episode thirteen earlier this year lol and I'm so happy that you read it so I can decide if I do want to revisit it!!! I read killers of a certain age and the funny thing is I did DNF it a couple times but then I decided to push through and ended up enjoying it!!
Me too! It took a couple of tries and ended up being good.
excited to hear ur thoughts about Yellowface bc it has the same critique as Babel that it’s too heavy handed, but i loved that and think u will too!
I’m reading it for a book club. I’m having trouble because the main character is SOOO unlikeable. I think that’s on purpose but it’s tough! Lol
From how you talked about I would never read it, but I do really love the cover for All Hollows.
I LOVED Babel!! I’m so glad you liked it too ❤
This was awesome! I would love to see more of this content. I read all of Babel. I wish I could have enjoyed it as much as you did. I did not dnf, but I did not enjoy it at the level you did. Although I did find a lot of it engaging for sure. I am now second-guessing picking All Hollows. I am very much also not interested in reading multitudes of mediocre books.
I really enjoyed and loved Babel. You are making me want to read it all over again.
everything you said about babel is SO SPOT ON. absolutely loved it but also felt like the characters lacked depth
this was such a fun video! would love for this to be a series you revisit. i had such a great time
I’m obsessed with every vlog, every video, I’m hooked. Always.
omg! you used my comment on killers of a certain age! that was super exciting for me! hehe loved the video 🫶🏻
Oh and obviously babel. I picked it up solely because of the hype. I’m not a fantasy reader by any means, I hated the audiobook (that’s honestly the number one reason why I dnf these days 😅), and I couldn’t connect with the main character. And I’m a huge reader of character-driven books. I listened it for about 3 hours and it was a HUGE struggle
I agree with this comment 100%
I loved this video idea and it turned out amazing. Glad you didn’t hate any books!
I stop whatever I am doing when Kayla posts a new video ❤
You made me interested in reading Babel. I read Thirteen and thought it was okay, just not what I was looking for at the time.
I was torn between finishing Babel and dnfing it. I ended up finishing it and gave it a 4 but the there was a section in the middle that almost lost me. It helped that I had a 6 hour drive and I refuse to be on my phone an drive at the same time so I just didn't stop ergo I couldn't change the book. Honestly if I had stopped I probably would have changed it.
I DNFed Mongrels last month which makes me so sad. I love SGJ. 😥 If you read it and like it maybe I'll give it another try!
This is one of my goals this year too! I"ve definitely been DNFing more this year from it.
Absolutely incredible video and concept! Definitely interested in Babel but so intimidated by how long it is.
Such a fun video idea! I love that it was a mixed bag💕
My DNFs so far in 2023
- Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid
- My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones (I know, I’m sorry!)
- The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
- Passionate Thirst by Cameron Dean
- The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
- Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Ooof 3 of those are on my tbr. I also dnf’d the girl who drank the moon.
This is such a good video concept! My two most recent DNFs have been The Things We Do To Our Friends because I didn't like the writing style and Tampa by Alissa Nutting because the content made me want to crawl out of my own skin lol
* hair looking soft and immaculate * “I’m going to go wash my hair now” girl CAN’T RELATE
I love that you DNF Road of Bones because I really didn't like it. I was going to try All Hallows as a second attempt at Christopher Golden. Still going to try, but LOVE that you had this in your video. Also here for Episode 13. I didn't realize ppl didnt enjoy that one.
I also gave Babel 4.5 while having kinda the opposite opinions as you, which I find funny. I found the parts that were supposed to be impactful VERY impactful, even though I completely agree that more could’ve been done with the characters to make you care about them.
But I did struggle with how tedious the book is at points and the textbook like quality it had.
I loved all the discussion had and the directions the book went so much though.
I’m planning a reread without the footnotes and I think I’ll enjoy it even more the second time around.
Its always a good day when you post!! I DNFed Shutter by Ramona Emerson. I read the 1st chapter and couldn’t get into the writing style!!
hi kayla! i read Yellowface and its pretty good. It makes you find the theif a horrible person but you also find yourself sympathizing for her.
Love this so much! I to dnfd Babel! I’ve also only dnfd two other books that I know you have read already lol. Our Wives Under The Sea and Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. Such a fun idea for a series though! Can’t wait to see more!
I’m starting Babel next week and I’m so excited!!
I am glad you read and reviewed Babel. I loved it. I did have to switch to the audio book at one point because the size of the book was overwhelming to me. Glad I am not alone in enjoying that book. (I rushed to watch some review videos after I read it and felt somewhat alone. lol)
ok i've been putting off Babel because i'm super intimidated by it but now i'm feeling like i have to pick it up this month... i've been in a huge slump though so i'm not sure a chunky book like that is the best choice atm 😂
loved this video concept and would be super interested to see more like this in the future!
I love this because I’m currently reading Babel and enjoying after previously Soft dnfying, but my reason was issues with the quality of the arc (audiobook) I couldn’t get through it because it was distorted and now I’m liking it ;which is crazy because It’s not likely to be a book I would understand / and there are things I don’t but I’m liking it!! ❤️
I also decided to finally read Babel before starting Yellowface lol, halfway through and I LOVE it so far so fingers crossed i like the second half too
Big Swiss sounds like its in the same wheelhouse as Milk Fed, which I loved, but I know many people didn't enjoy.... So I guess I''m checking out Big Swiss from my library tomorrow, lol
I had the same thoughts about Killers of a Certain Age and same 3-star rating. I had higher expectations than it delivered on .. but it was OK. I am glad I heard your review though because I had pushed the Veronica Speedwell books lower on my TBR because of KoCA... now I'll give them a chance!
I’m not really a fantasy person but after hearing you talk about Babel I’m thinking maybe I should give it a shot 😍
Babel is really low fantasy, so don‘t worry
I love this idea so much!
I dnf'd We need to talk about Kevin years ago. Last month I tried again, with audiobook, and it was incredibly sad, moving... I liked it. Sometimes is good to try again.😊
I almost didn't finish Babel. I ended up giving it four stars, BUT just for enjoyment...it got a low three. It read like a textbook to me for almost half of the book, which I usually like, but this just wasn't done (to me) in a way that was interesting. I also felt like certain events took place out of order or without a point. I gave it four just because, like you said, it really hammered the point home. It did exactly what it was meant to do.
I tried to read HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt...heard so many positive reviews and the hype got me excited, and the synopsis was so interesting. I spent the first 30% of the book rolling my eyes before I put it down and didn't pick it back up. I almost didn't finish House of Hunger for similar reasons...I did manage to finish that one though. I got an ARC for The Malevolent Seven recently and did not finish it for the same reasons.
As someone who just DNF'D Episode Thirteen I thank you for finishing it and confirming for me that I don't want to pick it back up. 🙊
Another great video, Kayla! 🖤
I enjoyed the audiobook for this book, I feel like it added to creepiness 😊
@@racheltfisher Kayla did make the audiobook sound intriguing so maybe I'll give that a try.
I gave Babel a 5, but I definitely agree with everything you said about it. I love what it had to say, I loved learning with Robin, I loved the writing and the slower, meandering plot, but I also agree it was weak when it came to its characters, thus affecting moments that were meant to be impactful. Still, it's so funny when people rate it really low because "it wasn't what they expected." Like... the title is literally "Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History" lmao. That certainly sets the exact tone of the book!
You are so right! The title puts expectations EXACTLY where they should be
I just realized I was doing my make up while you were doing yours in the beginning of the video 😆
I fight through a lot if books, but I dnf'd Afterparties and American Dirt. The former was short stories that I couldn't get into, and the latter was just too sad.
Definitely keep this as an on going series
I dnf’d The Gleanings by Neal Schusterman, the book was absolutely dire and didn’t need to be added on to the end of a series especially after The Toll that was bad enough
The Gleanings put me in a right moody slump too, not good 😫
I enjoy this video concept. It's interesting to see if I'm "justified" in a DNF, or if it's really something worth continuing.
Half of my DNFs are books that I keep off to the side because I'm convinced I'll come back to them and enjoy them more. Like maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset for them the first time around.
My 2 biggest that I want to come back to that I had to DNF are The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz and The Leaving by Tara Altebrando.
Andrea's book I can't leave on my DNFed pile because she is technically family and I want to give her books a fair shot. It's also why I haven't read her sister's book, The Writing Retreat, yet.
The Leaving had a blurb that intrigued me and I had high hopes for it... and then it turned into something I wasn't expecting and didn't really enjoy. I'm not sure if I just didn't enjoy it because of the high hopes and expectations or because it isn't my cup of tea.
I don't know why, but I find it highly interesting what books people DNF. Another (similar) idea for a video: Go through books that you wanted to DNF, but decided to push through and split them into a) worth pushing through & b) should've DNF'ed when you wanted to.
I'm so glad you continued with Big Swiss. That book's pretty good, and yeah, it requires liking the "Unhinged Woman" trope.
i love this video concept so much!! :D
I would be interested in a video about an "unhinged woman" in books. I haven't really read that trope before and it looks like you have a few to recommend.
I knew you would love Babel! To anyone - should I read The Secret History first before I dive in though just for a frame of reference to the thematic response? I have not read it because I hated The Gold Finch but I am willing to try Donna Tart again.
When Kayla says "I really thought this was going to be a really warm found family kind of story"... Oh Kayla, buckle up!
I laughed out loud when Kayla said this 😂
I read all of R.F. Kuang‘s books and „warm stories“ are not her thing 😂 she‘s more of a „let‘s inflict emotional damage“ kind of writer.
I soft DNFed Babel. I want to read it, but I realized I wasn't in quite the right mood for it when I started it.
You might raight now put down for little bit
I aggressively DNF books. I have 2 piles for DNF though a second pile for "try again later" if I think the timing just wasn't right.
I'm looking forward to All Hallows because I was the same age in the 80s
it didn’t come out this year, but i DNF’d Things In Jars by Jess Kidd… which is crazy bc i’m the person who will 100% trudge through pretty much any book i have started
Getting caught up so I’m a little late to commenting. But I DNF’d Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott this year. I couldn’t get into the characters or their stories. I ended up donating it to my own Little Free Library and it went away within a week. I’m hoping whomever picked it up will love it.
I just finished Babel today (audiobook) and you perfectly described the issues I had with it in terms of your critiques. I’ve been sort of struggling with it and what my rating is all day. I think I’d have appreciated it more if I read it with my eyes, also. So thanks for helping me sort out my thoughts!
That said, it very much made me excited to read more from RF Kuang. I flipped through Yellowface briefly today and I’m thinking I will pick it up.
I have All Hallows preordered as it doesn’t come out on kindle in the Uk until September I think, I’m interested to see what I think of it, I really hope I like it 🤞🏻🤞🏻
totally agree with everything you said about babel
So happy to have a video!
The only DNF so far was A Castle in the Clouds. 28% and I found it too annoying to go on.
I would still like to see a video where you CAWPILE your rating and what happens.