"I should read that" meme
Jun. 28th, 2019 05:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushika"I should read that" meme. I was tagged by chthonic_cassandra. I'm not tagging anyone, but if you're the Wednesday reading wrap up type or have an "oh, I have thoughts on that" impulse then rest assured I legitimately want to read what you have to say about these questions.
A book that a certain friend is always telling you to read:
I'm more likely to run into "here's my favorite treasured thing that I wish everyone would read/which people should read to understand me"—inward-facing, universal-but-social recommendations; I've received fewer specific recommendations to me in particular which I haven't solicited. TBF I do the exact same thing—I'll give book recommendations on request, but books are so personal that "I read this and thought of you" seems chancy or intrusive. (Also, like, social anxiety.) But some books in the former category which I've hesitated to pick up because I'm not ready/they may not be for me/I worry all that enthusing has built them up in my head include Richardson's Clarissa, Virginia Woolf, and the Star Wars extended universe.
A book that's been on your TBR forever and yet you still haven't picked it up:
Samuel R. Delany, Elizabeth Wein, Mary Renault's The King Must Die, Elizabeth Enright, and Angela Carter's Burning Your Boats are all really old items on my TBR. It doesn't bother me when something stays on my TBR for ages—there's probably a reason I'm holding off, and when I'm ready I'll get around to it. I'm also happy to chase new discoveries and TBR additions; I don't like to feel beholden to my TBR, I never want to feel obligated.
A book in a series you've started, but haven't finished yet:
Look I have to read most CJ Cherryh books in print because they're old/obscure, and print hurts my fragile eyes—so getting through the Alliance-Union series has been and will continue to be A Process. I'm not sure yet if I'll read more of the Farseer books, but keep them on my TBR in case I need them to fill another endless summer afternoon. I sincerely enjoyed Kate Milford's Greenglass House, but am saving the connected books until I'm not reading another MG series.
A classic you've always liked the sound of, but never actually read:
Most of the books that meet this are sincerely on my TBR, so it's just "haven't actually read, yet." The exception may be Andrew Lang's "Colored" Fairy Books—I worry they're too similar to other early fairy tale collections and/or too repetitive to actually be worth reading if you didn't imprint on them when young, which I didn't, but they come up a lot in a lot of discussion about fairy tales/retellings.
A popular book that it seems everyone but you has read:>
What's the difference between popular and hyped, as in the question further down? If the answer is "in my social circle" vs. "in social media," then the answer is probably A Song of Ice and Fire, which people I know & trust love (and have recommended to me specifically on account of all the weird interpersonal shit it has going on). I was waiting for the series to be complete, because I hate ongoing media; since that will probably never happen, now I have to decided how much I care about epic fantasy.
A book that inspired a film/TV adaptation that you really love, but you just haven't read it yet:
I loved the hell out of Killing Eve (have only seen the first season; pls no spoilers) but have little temptation to read Codename Villanelle—my impressions is that it's not as quality/cogent/progressive, so I'm happy with the good version. Because I prefer works with an endpoint to works ongoing, I'm more likely to watch anime than read manga/light novels/novel series, even if the source is probably better and I do want to read it someday when it's done; examples include but are not limited to Black Butler, Re:Zero, FKMT (okay, Akagi is complete, I'm just lazy), Durarara!! (same, but when the show came out that wasn't true!), and Natsume's Book of Friends.
A book you see all over Instagram/Tumblr/BookTube but haven't picked upyet:
BookTube got big into Madeline Miller's Circe but I wasn't in the mood for it at the time ... and now that initial hype has died down and opinions have diversified, I'm not especially tempted to read it. V.E./Victoria Schwab has been nominated for a dozen BookTube-adjacent awards, but I know her style won't work for me, so I can't be bothered. I've stopped reading most YA, so that hype now passes me by with little regret.
chthonic_cassandra. I'm not tagging anyone, but if you're the Wednesday reading wrap up type or have an "oh, I have thoughts on that" impulse then rest assured I legitimately want to read what you have to say about these questions.A book that a certain friend is always telling you to read:
I'm more likely to run into "here's my favorite treasured thing that I wish everyone would read/which people should read to understand me"—inward-facing, universal-but-social recommendations; I've received fewer specific recommendations to me in particular which I haven't solicited. TBF I do the exact same thing—I'll give book recommendations on request, but books are so personal that "I read this and thought of you" seems chancy or intrusive. (Also, like, social anxiety.) But some books in the former category which I've hesitated to pick up because I'm not ready/they may not be for me/I worry all that enthusing has built them up in my head include Richardson's Clarissa, Virginia Woolf, and the Star Wars extended universe.
A book that's been on your TBR forever and yet you still haven't picked it up:
Samuel R. Delany, Elizabeth Wein, Mary Renault's The King Must Die, Elizabeth Enright, and Angela Carter's Burning Your Boats are all really old items on my TBR. It doesn't bother me when something stays on my TBR for ages—there's probably a reason I'm holding off, and when I'm ready I'll get around to it. I'm also happy to chase new discoveries and TBR additions; I don't like to feel beholden to my TBR, I never want to feel obligated.
A book in a series you've started, but haven't finished yet:
Look I have to read most CJ Cherryh books in print because they're old/obscure, and print hurts my fragile eyes—so getting through the Alliance-Union series has been and will continue to be A Process. I'm not sure yet if I'll read more of the Farseer books, but keep them on my TBR in case I need them to fill another endless summer afternoon. I sincerely enjoyed Kate Milford's Greenglass House, but am saving the connected books until I'm not reading another MG series.
A classic you've always liked the sound of, but never actually read:
Most of the books that meet this are sincerely on my TBR, so it's just "haven't actually read, yet." The exception may be Andrew Lang's "Colored" Fairy Books—I worry they're too similar to other early fairy tale collections and/or too repetitive to actually be worth reading if you didn't imprint on them when young, which I didn't, but they come up a lot in a lot of discussion about fairy tales/retellings.
A popular book that it seems everyone but you has read:>
What's the difference between popular and hyped, as in the question further down? If the answer is "in my social circle" vs. "in social media," then the answer is probably A Song of Ice and Fire, which people I know & trust love (and have recommended to me specifically on account of all the weird interpersonal shit it has going on). I was waiting for the series to be complete, because I hate ongoing media; since that will probably never happen, now I have to decided how much I care about epic fantasy.
A book that inspired a film/TV adaptation that you really love, but you just haven't read it yet:
I loved the hell out of Killing Eve (have only seen the first season; pls no spoilers) but have little temptation to read Codename Villanelle—my impressions is that it's not as quality/cogent/progressive, so I'm happy with the good version. Because I prefer works with an endpoint to works ongoing, I'm more likely to watch anime than read manga/light novels/novel series, even if the source is probably better and I do want to read it someday when it's done; examples include but are not limited to Black Butler, Re:Zero, FKMT (okay, Akagi is complete, I'm just lazy), Durarara!! (same, but when the show came out that wasn't true!), and Natsume's Book of Friends.
A book you see all over Instagram/Tumblr/BookTube but haven't picked up
BookTube got big into Madeline Miller's Circe but I wasn't in the mood for it at the time ... and now that initial hype has died down and opinions have diversified, I'm not especially tempted to read it. V.E./Victoria Schwab has been nominated for a dozen BookTube-adjacent awards, but I know her style won't work for me, so I can't be bothered. I've stopped reading most YA, so that hype now passes me by with little regret.
