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Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind is very messy and flawed, but still manages to be a compelling protagonist
Asides from a select few classics, Gone With The Wind is one that I find myself really attached to. It was my pandemic book, and although I was too young to comprehend the messages, sixteen year old me was drawn into the story of Scarlett and the Civil War raging on her around her.
It wasn’t until I talked to my aunt about it, that I realised Scarlett wasn’t who I thought she was. I found her to be this spoiled brat who was dense and conceited, who couldn’t look past her own self to care about others. Obviously, it wasn’t true. Because like Scarlett, I realized she lived in a fantasy world. The South was her ideal heaven, her home. But disregarding that, I mean the world of a young woman who knows nothing but love and luxury. Like Scarlett, I too was living in my own world of youth and innocence.
It wasn’t until she was hit with the reality of war and barely managing to care for her family, that she has to change and grow. Away is the silly little girl, and now it’s a young woman learning to survive in the real world. It wasn’t until I was hit with the realities of college and jobs, that like Scarlett, I had to discard my old ways and young self, and learn to be stronger like she did.
Scarlett is selfish, she is greedy, she also cares, but it’s hard for her to show it. She isn’t some perfect saint, that’s Melanie. So at the end of GWTW, she realises too late, that she had one good thing but she lost it. Love. Real love. Everyone around her pretty much hated her at that point, her parents were dead. Her sisters scorned her. The friends she used to know don’t like her. Melanie died. And even in the end, Rhett left her as well.
And so at her lowest point, Scarlett was still hurting. She tried to find all the perfect things for herself, or at least what she thought she needed. But she ended up making more mistakes and hurting herself. “After all, tommorow is another day.” It signifies that not all hope is lost for her, and she will continue to find the strength to live for herself.
I just like Scarlett, she’s one of my favorite fictional protagonists. It took me some time to really understand how multifaceted her character was.
https://redd.it/1jgsovu
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Weekly Recommendation Thread: March 21, 2025
Welcome to our weekly recommendation thread! A few years ago now the mod team decided to condense the many "suggest some books" threads into one big mega-thread, in order to consolidate the subreddit and diversify the front page a little. Since then, we have removed suggestion threads and directed their posters to this thread instead. This tradition continues, so let's jump right in!
**The Rules**
* Every comment in reply to this self-post must be a request for suggestions.
* All suggestions made in this thread must be direct replies to other people's requests. Do not post suggestions in reply to this self-post.
* All unrelated comments will be deleted in the interest of cleanliness.
____
**How to get the best recommendations**
The most successful recommendation requests include a description of the kind of book being sought. This might be a particular kind of protagonist, setting, plot, atmosphere, theme, or subject matter. You may be looking for something similar to another book (or film, TV show, game, etc), and examples are great! Just be sure to explain *what* you liked about them too. Other helpful things to think about are genre, length and reading level.
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All Weekly Recommendation Threads are linked below the header throughout the week to guarantee that this thread remains active day-to-day. For those bursting with books that you are hungry to suggest, we've set the suggested sort to new; you may need to set this manually if your app or settings ignores suggested sort.
If this thread has not slaked your desire for tasty book suggestions, we propose that you head on over to the aptly named subreddit /r/suggestmeabook.
- The Management
https://redd.it/1jgd9ul
@r_books
Books with The Devil as the antagonist
I'm into books that have The Devil as the main antagonist. So far I have read:
Melmoth the Wanderer,
Azazeel,
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner,
The Master and the Margarita,
Faustus/Doctor Faustus,
Paradise Lost,
Divine Comedy,
The Screwtape Letters
Are there other books that you would recommend? My preference is either books that delve into human psyche and what makes people choose evil or a peak into The Devil's motivations.
https://redd.it/1jgawdl
@r_books
How Mr. Darcy Became One of Jane Austen’s Most Memorable Creations
https://lithub.com/how-mr-darcy-became-one-of-jane-austens-most-memorable-creations/
https://redd.it/1jg5xga
@r_books
Saw 4chan's ten year top 100 list last year. Decided to read them all. Now I'm halfway done. My thoughts.
I wasn't a big reader growing up. Didn't read for pleasure and stopped reading after college for about 7 years. Made a new year's resolution in 2023 to read 6 hours a week and have stuck with it ever since.
Saw this list last year and thought "there's no way anyone's actually read all of these". I'm sure some have, but probably not many. A couple months later I decided to read all of them. At the time I had read 23. 6 back in high school and 17 as part of my new reading. Today I finished the 51st book. Been focusing on the shorter ones lately, so page count-wise I'm only like 40% done.
Overall, skews extremely male and western, which isn't a big shocker for 4chan. A lot of these books are just not that fun to read, but I'm no quitter. They've given me information that's useful and helped me with my attention span issues.
Here's what I've done. The ones with End Dates are the completed ones.
Top 5:
East of Eden- You see a lot of praise of this book on here, and rightfully so. Beautiful, fun to read, and a great story. I lived on the central coast near the Salinas Valley for about 8 years, so all the imagery I could picture really well.
Catch-22- Funny, interesting, great story, lots of fun characters as well as sad and beautiful moments.
The Grapes of Wrath- Story that transcends time and is extremely relevant to modern day. Great structure and lovely writing.
Stoner- Just a story about a guy doing his job. Doesn't sound too interesting, but getting to know this guy is a nice experience.
Siddhartha- Talks a lot about the meaning of life in a very beautiful way. Lots of wisdom to glean from this book.
Bottom 5: I won't give reasons for these, but they're all kinda the same. Didn't understand what was going on and I couldn't follow. Probably just too dumb.
Ulysses, To The Lighthouse, Pedro Paramo(tbf I was going through a breakup), Demons(also going through a breakup), The Sound and the Fury
Other Books: These aren't necessarily the next 5 favorite, but ones I think are interesting.
White Noise- Very funny, scary, good critique of modern life.
The Trial- I am a government worker, so I could relate to this extremely well.
Crime and Punishment- My favorite of the Dostoevsky works. Raskolnikov's interactions with Porfiry will always stick with me.
The Metamorphosis- Creepiest, most anxiety inducing book I've ever read, by far. Beware reading this one.
Pale Fire- Extremely cool structure. Funny. Plays with writing without being too hard to read.
Books I'd add: These aren't necessarily my favorite books I've read, but ones that fit the theme of this list.
To Kill a Mockingbird- No idea why this wasn't already on the list. Arguably the most famous American novel.
Giovanni's Room- Only book to make me cry. But it's about gay people, so I don't think 4chan would like it.
To a God Unknown- One of Steinbeck's lesser known books, but I'd put it up there with East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath.
Left Hand of Darkness- Very strange book, and explores topics way ahead of its time.
The Poisonwood Bible- Excellent story of a family out of their element and how they deal with completely alien obstacles.
https://redd.it/1jfy7aa
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Literary Locomotives: Nine Books Set on Trains That Show How They Changed the World
https://lithub.com/literary-locomotives-nine-books-set-on-trains-that-show-how-they-changed-the-world/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
https://redd.it/1jfpc3k
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Title of the book appearing in a dialogue/sentence
I love it when the title of the book appears in a sentence/dialogue. It just pulls a reader towards a larger perspective all of a sudden.
I immediately flip to the cover page to see it again and soak it all in.
Like, everything makes so much sense now, all the pieces are falling in their places.
And then I see how well the cover page encapsulates the essence of the book.
Especially in well written books where the title doesn't immediately give away what the book is about. I can't remember any example right now, but are there people who feel something similar?
https://redd.it/1jfpnpx
@r_books
What’s one behavior you see repeatedly in book characters which no one has in real life?
Either things that are annoying or things that are too reasonable, any kind of behavior you see repeatedly shown in books but that no one actually does in real life?
For me it’s characters tossing their watch to the side in what is written as badass behavior when their watch is broken
From Jurassic Park, when Tim Murphy (the brother) gets tossed by the Rex in the Jeep:
> He looked at his watch, but the face was cracked; he couldn’t see the numbers. He took the watch off and tossed it aside.
Problem is, everyone I know who ears a watch actually likes their watch and would keep it to either get fixed or keep in a box later, as a keepsake
Why would anyone take off a watch and throw it away? In a location they’ll never return to?
I have seen this behavior multiple times in multiple books and have never met someone who would do this
https://redd.it/1jfndmb
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How come short story compilations aren't that popular anymore?
>"Like always. I write 'em. They print 'em. Nobody reads 'em."
>"I read them. All of them."
>"Thanks. You're a nice person," Junpei said. "But the short story is on its way out. Like the slide rule."
Honey Pie by Haruki Murakami (2001)
You'd think that in the age of low attention spans, short stories would be preferable to the masses. On the internet there does seem to be a taste for short stories (think creepypastas, copypastas, r/nosleep etc). Yet, in the publishing world, I haven't heard of any popular short story collections coming out lately. Why is this the case?
https://redd.it/1jfk906
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is it only goodreads?
So i started using it last year and i am taking the reading challenge, and they have this side quest every trimester where you collect 6 bookmarks by reading qualifying books,
I read everything as long as the writing is good and it's interesting to me.
and i really look forward to collecting all 6 bookmarks and finding something new but this season there is a mandatory sweet and spicy? well.. romance category
and it has 100 qualifying books and they all suck!
all the covers are just so... tacky, and the titles too.
maybe that's just what the romance genre is now or is it just the goodreads collection that sucks? i don't know, but yeah guess i am gonna mess up my streak :(
https://redd.it/1jfgbyu
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Controversial insider account by former Meta official has strong first-week sales
https://apnews.com/article/meta-careless-people-bestseller-zuckerberg-bd010d09d5cfe5a4ff7dfd5419a56aa4
https://redd.it/1jfcqzt
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hard to make the pack of assassins subplot interesting, but reallly, it didn't need to be there. The simple conflict between Evan and Tommy is enough. The subplot with his sorta-daughter is more than enough.
• The last few chapters involve a tangent to that subplot, and Evan's handling of it is a little odd. Without spoiling too much, he's not as lethal as he could be, and usually is, and it's not really spelled out if this is some change of heart or what. He's mad at Tommy, and seriously considering killing him... but another asshole who does more egregious things is let off the hook, somewhat.
• I still don't quite buy how upset Evan is ready to go to war with his buddy. His friend sells guns, he knew that. When they first met, and Evan wanted a gun, his buddy didn't ask questions like "ok, you want this customized colt with no serial number... what're you gonna do with it? You promise not to do anything bad, right?" ... no, he just sells high-tech guns, no questions asked. So why is Evan salty that bad people might get them? Somehow this point isn't really addressed.
Thanks if you made it this far. Those who read it, what'd you think?
https://redd.it/1jf6jss
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ReviewSpoilers Nemesis - Gregg Hurwitz (Orphan X book ten)
For anyone unfamiliar, these are (sort of) spy/assassin thriller novels, and the simplest way to explain them is to think Black Widow (from the Marvel Universe) meets John Wick.
Orphan X is a retired assassin whose government name is Evan Smoak. Stay with me, the last name dumbest part of these novels, I swear.
He was recruited at an early age out of a foster home in Baltimore, singled out for certain traits, and chose to trade a life of being broke for some new, unknown path. That path ended up being intensive, ceaseless training to become an expert at killing people... hand to hand, guns, etc... but also gaining a sort of challenging homeschooling that made him literate, and taught him to think critically, understand what motivates people, and blend in.
He worked for years doing contracts for the government, before deciding he'd had enough one day and retiring. There's a whole series of 9 books before this, some of them go into how that went, but you can guess it wasn't easy. Now he spends his time randomly helping people in heavy situations. They get his number from a friend or stranger, they call him when they get desperate, and he solves their problem. Then he asks them to pay it forward by passing his number to someone else.
The running theme throughout these books is...
Evan grew up with such a strange childhood, and has had to do terrible things, and endure them, so he's not really normal. He's a chameleon, able to live in an expensive condo and look like an ordinary dude, "not too handsome", polite and unremarkable in every way. Shutting down conversations about his boring fictional job, driving an F-150 because it's the most common car there is, and therefore the most anonymous.
This has given him an inability to really connect with people, and relate their everyday hopes and stresses. I know the term is overused, but it's borderline autistic.. he really is baffled by simple interactions. And he's OCD. He can talk to people, but not really TALK to them. He spends a lot of the series with one friend, the guy who makes his customized, anonymized guns. And for a few books, there's a romantic subplot with Mia, a neighbor whose kid takes a liking to Evan. Even these friends, he keeps them at arm's length. His only really tight connections are with another former member of the Orphan program, and a recruit who becomes something like a daughter to him.
The author never properly fleshed out Tommy, the armorer who tricks out Evan's guns, truck, and helps him procure everything from exotic blades to armored window blinds. But this is the book where Hurwitz gives Tommy the stage.
At the end of the last book, we find out Tommy sold someone a gun that was used to target Evan, and unsurprisingly... he's pissed about that. And although they sit down and talk about it... these are classic 'guy books', meaning at some point they're gonna shoot each other over it.
Evan, unsatisfied with the conversation, isn't really ready to execute his friend for, I guess, being an indiscriminate gun dealer who will sell to any old scumbag... so he returns to his place for another conversation. But he finds himself getting shot at by not just Tommy (or at least, some expert sniper) but a whole team. And this forces him to scramble and conclude... whether he wants it or not, they're now at war.
Tommy, meanwhile, has a whole separate problem... a 'busted deal' that has resulted in a squad of killers being sent to hunt him down, and he's been called upon to repay a debt to a former marine buddy who he didn't even really like, but he promised to help his kids.
The kids, it turns out, ran over a family of hispanics. They're broke country boys, raised on steady racist propaganda, desperate for respect, so they go out looking to harrass and terrorize to build a reputation, but accidentally jumping straight from spraypainting mosques to murder. And now Tommy has to figure out how to get through to them and make them understand the consequences for this are so much worse
The wildest details in the Facebook memoir Meta is trying to bury
https://www.engadget.com/social-media/the-wildest-details-in-the-facebook-memoir-meta-is-trying-to-bury-183310491.html
https://redd.it/1jex452
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George Orwell and me: Richard Blair on life with his extraordinary father | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/mar/19/george-orwell-me-richard-blair-life-with-extraordinary-father
https://redd.it/1jeujae
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Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton is one of the most fun space operas I’ve read in years - if you like expansive SF stories with immersive worlds and big, high-stakes plots, this one's for you!
This is an extremely fun, engrossing novel that took me to another place for a while, and sometimes that’s what you need. Hamilton is also notorious for writing ridiculously long books, which makes this shorter read (a hilarious thing to say about a 900 page book) the perfect introduction to Hamilton’s writing. It’s also stand-alone vs being part of an enormous series.
Here’s the no-spoilers setup (but still in spoiler bars in case you wanna go in totally fresh): >!a dead body has washed up on the docks of Newcastle, which has become one of the most important cities in the world because it is linked via wormhole gate to the enigmatic jungle planet of St. Libra. The body looks like one of the Norths, the clone brotherhood that controls the interstellar gateways and the entire interstellar economy - but none of the Norths is missing. !<
>!As Detective Sid Hurst investigates, links appear to a horrible mass murder that also targeted the Norths 20 years ago on St. Libra. Angela, the woman who was convicted of that crime, always insisted she was innocent and that an alien had killed her friends. Now that the murderer has struck again while she was locked up, it looks like she just might have been telling the truth.!<
The police procedural element, primarily through the eyes of Detective Sid Hurst, is extremely well done and is a really clever narrative device in a sci-fi novel. While Sid gradually unravels the mysteries of the crime, it let’s us explore the world in an extremely organic and compelling way.
The worldbuilding in Great North Road is also nothing short of exceptional. Hamilton's vision of an interstellar society connected by wormholes is fantastical but incredibly imaginative and fun to explore. The descriptions of St. Libra, with its unique ecosystem and societal structures (from free societies to bio-oil production and its incredible ring system), are particularly vivid and immersive. The post-scarcity Earth setting is also well executed, providing a compelling, gritty contrast to the alien world of St. Libra.
In a refreshing change from lots of other sci-fi (and frankly from some of Hamilton’s other books), the characters here are also really well done. Sid and Angela are both really strong, excellent tentpoles to hold the novel together, and lots of the side character’s are really compelling as well. And the climax, when everyone's stories come together at once, is so, so well done.
There aren’t any huge philosophical ideas in the book, or themes that feel ‘important’, but if a sci-fi novel with strong characters, amazing worldbuilding, and an epic plot that will keep you interested all the way through (and that's no mean feat in such a long book), then I really can’t recommend this one enough.
https://redd.it/1jggb9h
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Why do you people like Haunting Adeline???
☆☆ SPOILER ALERT AND TW☆☆
I just got to the part when he literally RAPES her with a GUN and I'm done. There is no going back from this. I don't care what he does, he can go to hell and back but this is insane.
He's a guy who is trying to stop white slavery and human trafficking but in his free time he's stalking and assaulting a girl he once saw and got obsessed with??? I know it's "dark romance" but this is absolutely ridiculous. And somehow she "likes fear" and is attracted to him? No.
https://redd.it/1jgeaic
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Butter by A. Yuzuki
I just finished this book and in burning to discuss it. Spoiler alert.
is Kajimana autistic? This would explain some traits, such as her need to follow recipes quite exactly to the letter and never innovate, her social interactions at the cooking school (trying to show interest in other women by asking them constant questions about their clothes etc and coming off as creepy), her difficulties in relating to others. On the other hand she was great at reading social cues (eg reacting to emotional nuances shown by Rika).
Anyone else immensely disappointed that Rika and Reiko did not become a couple? So much throughout the book seemed to clearly point at them realising they had always loved each other and were meant to be.
Speaking of Reiko, why bother developing her character so much when in the end she disappears? She's nowhere to be found when her best friend Rika is going through major upheaval in her life (eg Kajiis betrayal).
At some point there is a suggestion that Reiko and Shinoi might have slept together? Something like Rika could notice Reiko's voice being softer around him and "wondering" but not asking - since Reiko's parents had an open marriage, this might make sense?
Why did Reiko take the dog after so many years?
What was the deal with Yokota the loner guy? Why was he so enchanted by Kajii but not at all by Reiko? This was never explained.
Why so many fleas at the Kajii home? Was this supposed to show us... that they were deranged... whilst simultaneously the case was made that they weren't? There was some quasi-incestuous relationship going on perhaps, but how does this result in flies - whilst the family does do a good job at other domestic tasks such as tidiness, cooking or tending to the plants?
Also disappointed that Rika never seemed to show any insecurity about her weight. Her only concern was being bothered by other people but she herself never had one single critical thought or dislike about her body, which I think would happen to the most reasonable person in that social context and under all that pressure.
why did Reiko go back to her husband when the book goes to great lengths to explain why they're not suitable for each other and Reiko chose him for the wrong reasons?
Makoto - ew.
https://redd.it/1jg9719
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Anyone here been to a bookish con that centers around author signings?
If so…what are you thoughts?
I saw an ad for one in my state taking place later this year. I gasped at some of the authors on their guest list - hey, I love their work!
And then I remembered comic cons.
I went hard on cons from 2015 to 2019. Met lots of celebs big and small, dropped thousands of dollars in auto and photo fees, the whole shebang. At the time it made me happy, but toward the beginning of COVID I realized I f’ing hated it in retrospect. I hated the amount of money I gave in exchange for 8 to 20 seconds of someone’s time. I hated the nasty attitudes from some of the celebrities. I still hate that when I watch certain TV shows/movies now, I have the (sometimes unpleasant) memory of meeting them. It takes me out of the story, weirdly. Ultimately, I’ve decided that a little mystery and a lotta distance has value.
Despite the initial happy swoop in my stomach, I’m thinking I should probably treat a bookish event like this the same way I would a comic convention. Why risk it? “Never meet your heroes” is a saying that transcends mediums! But I’m still quite curious to hear from those who’ve been to one. How was it?
https://redd.it/1jg2hq8
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Finished Sunrise on the Reaping. SPOILERS!
**SPOILERS BELOW! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, CLICK AWAY NOW.**
I picked up *Sunrise on the Reaping* yesterday, and finished it in one day. Wow, just wow. To start, it's mandatory to read the *Hunger Games* trilogy and *A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes* before *Sunrise on the Reaping*. There are so many Easter eggs that are must-not-miss!
Some examples I enjoyed:
* Haymitch's mentors! Wiress, Mags, and Beetee! Wiress was the winner of the 49th Games. Mags was so gentle. I'm glad to see her characterisation remains steadfast, even persisting into Katniss' era. The reveal that Beetee has children with one of them being Ampert was devastating. A Victor father having to watch his own son be reaped is a special kind of cruel.
* The reveal that Mags, Wiress, Beetee, and Plutarch were all rebels long before Haymitch's time. My heart broke when they were punished after the Games.
* Snow's obsession with the Covey continues long after Lucy Gray's disappearance. How he suppresses the 10th Hunger Games, including the winner, that it's been forgotten by Haymitch's time. Propaganda worked so well that the first "mockingjay", who forever changed the Games, doesn't get to tell her story.
* Lucy Gray's music lives on in District 12, even after she's been erased.
* Effie Trinket!
* The names of Katniss' parents - Asterid March and Burdock Everdeen.
* The mockingjay pin came from Maysilee Donner.
* Lenore Dove... Edgar Allan Poe's *The Raven*. I knew how her story would end to be from the first page, but it still hit me like a freight train.
* Reaping day is on the 4th of July. It's incredibly telling that Suzanne Collins intentionally named Reaping Day as the 4th of July. All her books are a political commentary on the USA - and the USA is a land full of "Capitols".
But more than the references, *Sunrise on the Reaping* comes out in a important political time. The rebellion didn't start with Katniss. We followed the 50th Hunger Games through Haymitch's eyes; we rooted for him, and our hearts broke when Louella, Ampert, Maysilee, and Wellie died, and we saw the consequences of how the Capitol will intentionally rewrite the narrative to make it fit their agenda. Everything Haymitch did went unseen. The propaganda machine and President Snow saw to that.
In *A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes* and *Sunrise on the Reaping*, Suzanne makes a point to name every single Tribute. They aren't just random faces - they are people selected to die in service of the Capitol's entertainment. By Katniss' time, the Districts are so alienated from each other that we - the readers, and Katniss - don't care to know their names. The Capitol made sure to strip the Tributes of their humanity and freedom of speech as much as they could. The propaganda worked so well that by the time we read *The Hunger Games*, we're fooled.
I'm positive there's more I'm missing, but again, wow. She couldn't have published it at a better time. "Freedom of speech, but only when it helps Big Brother."
https://redd.it/1jftp8o
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When do you pause your reading?
Just curious and interested in everyones habits....
When do you place your bookmark or press the pause button when you stop reading for the moment? Are you someone who can put your book down as soon as you need to, or do you have to wait for the end of a chapter? Is it different for physical or audiobooks; fiction or nonfiction? Or is it just solely dependent on the situation or text?
https://redd.it/1jfp73j
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The Unbelievable Scale of AI’s Pirated-Books Problem
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/03/libgen-meta-openai/682093/?gift=iWa_iB9lkw4UuiWbIbrWGYDRoX8kfg3ZQZL6J-W0kQE
https://redd.it/1jfohg6
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A Texas bill would change how schools select library books: Senate Bill 13 would create school library advisory councils largely made up of parents. It would give school boards, rather than librarians, the final say over new books.
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/05/texas-school-library-book-bans-senate-bill/
https://redd.it/1jfm5b0
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Butcher by Joyce Carol Oates
Has anyone else read this? What did you think? I was perturbed and enthralled. Her descriptions are so poignant and my reactions so visceral.
It also got me thinking, like, how else would some gynecological procedures have come to be? Experimentation has its place, but ethics are to be considered.
Here is a copied description:
"Joyce Carol Oates' Butcher is a surreal and gruesome novel that explores women's agency, medical experimentation, and the abuses of power. The story is inspired by real people who committed real crimes, including an orphaned Irish servant named Brigit. The book confronts the disturbing history of medical experimentation and serves as a commentary on women's rights, the abuses of patriarchy, and the servitude of the poor and disenfranchised."
https://redd.it/1jfgwan
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Looking for unique items to bring to a book signing to have authors sign. What have you brought before?
Book signing
https://redd.it/1jfermw
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I’m sick of badass FMC having a « happy ending » at the end of the series that consists of them « settling down and starting a family »
I’m so tired of seeing this ending. In the book series she’s one of a kind, super strong with the rarest abilities. She’s such a badass and she knows it. Then the author decides that her happy ending is her finding a mate(that part can be totally fine) and getting pregnant, raising kids and leaving all the action behind.
I would think these strong independent female characters would want to live for themselves and would want to spend the rest of their days exploring and continuing being a wise old badass. Why does it have to be of them having kids and stopping their passion? Why can’t it be of them continuing to be free and strong even in their 50s or 60s?
Am I the only one?
https://redd.it/1jf8hdb
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than they know, because Evan has decided to make this his next mission - he's going to get justice for that family. Putting him directly at odds with Tommy, in a way that goes way beyond how he makes his living.
---
Anyway, that's a lot of backstory, but how is the actual book?
It's great. I felt like the ending of the previous book kind of contrived putting these two at odds, and I was prepared to dislike this followup. But the conflict over the murdered family is a genuine moral quandry that makes much more sense as a source of tension. Tommy thinks the boys can be saved. He wants to bring them to justice, via the law... even if the law wants nothing to do with it. He's come to understand the media brainwashing, terrible upbringing, and abject poverty that has driven them to this desperate, stupid need for an identity, even an awful one.
Evan, who is rational and not without empathy, can't see any of this. He just sees some racist assholes who seemingly deliberately ran over a whole family, including an 8 year old boy. And he's already pissed at Tommy, and feels like he never really knew the guy, because he's committed to protecting people who seem to be unambiguously scum.
The author does a great job portraying Tommy as this grizzled father figure who's trying to figure out how to convert their nationalism and xenophobia, to genuine patriotism. And he's desperate to make them understand that The Nowhere Man is not an urban legend, and if they don't figure out some way to repent ASAP, they're dead. They don't understand that the mild-mannered guy who just blew into town, Tommy's "friend", is basically the grim reaper.
There's a great scene where Tommy is at their hideout, and there's a sound outside... just a quick thump and a zipping sound... and Tommy knows exactly what it is, and tells everyone to sit still and not to make any moves. A second later, the "sentry" gets chucked into the room, ziptied, and Evan steps in, silhouetted. Hurwitz does a great job conveying this dread. It's like a scene from a western.
For a chunk the book, Evan is legitimately terrifying and actually becomes the bad guy for a minute. You find yourself rooting for Tommy and hating Evan's singlemindedness.
Things the author does well:
• Making Evan a nice mix of badass and wise - He's able to guide Josephine, his sort-of adopted daughter, through some challenges. When he talks, he's endlessly patient. He's persuasive. He doesn't take things personally. He's always willing to talk, not falling back on "every problem is a nail, and this gun is the hammer".
• Action scenes - these are great. The author really puts some work into bringing something original to them. For example... desperate to put just 1 more ounce of pressure into knife, in a life or death situation... Evan headbutts the hilt. You could put that in a John Wick movie and people would lose their minds.
• Light humor - this sometimes backfires but Evan's struggle with social situations paired with this rich HOA-infested condo lifestyle is easy fodder for "awkward guy is awkward" scenes.
• General writing - I've read a lot of authors who do these sort of military ninja/spy/detective thrillers... Lee Child, David Baldacci, one Jack Carr (ugh), and going further back, spy classics like Clancy and Cussler. Hurwitz is better than most of them at just writing, putting some lyricism and sharp dialogue into scenes that could have skated by with something more minimal.
• This is random but, his occasional hacker technobabble that explains how someone gets into a system, propagates disinformation, or hides from facial recognition cameras, is couched in enough reality to be pretty believable. Though there's an earlier book where they have swarms of explosive drones that look (and are the size of) dragonflies and have good enough AI to solve problems and track targets. Which is kind of "game over" if you think about it.
Things that could be better:
• Naming. Smoak is terribly contrived. "Candy McClure" for the super sexy assassin. It's pretty cheesy.
• The author worked
I’m turning 30 this year and reading makes me feel like I’m 13 again
These last two years I have absolutely been devouring books. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I take breaks to get completely absorbed in a video game or rarely, a TV show, but I’ve really fallen back in love with reading.
Since I reread my childhood favorites, the Harry Potter series, Maze Runner, and then the Hunger Games, I decided to go ahead and reread the Twilight series as well—make of that what you will, but it really makes me feel nostalgic for my younger life. I had forgotten how much I loved these books and I still do. I have really been able to get fully emotionally involved in these books again, and in the many new ones I’ve read of course. I thought I would never feel like this again, as a mom, almost 30, disabled, and mostly not thrilled with my life. There’s just something so fantastic about being able to escape into books again.
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Genre standards for memoirs
I'm currently reading ‘Careless People’ by Sarah Wynn-Williams about her time at Facebook as Zuckerberg shifted his focus more and more to politics. I'm halfway through the book and really enjoying it, but I'm confused about the memoir format.
Wynn-Williams speaks with relative clarity about events more than a decade in the past, which I can't really fathom, or she repeats entire dialogues, which seems even more questionable to me.
This is my first time reading a memoir, so is this normal for the genre? Can I assume that she has given herself creative freedom to capture the spirit of the memory, even if it means putting the wrong words in other people's mouths? And what is the scholarly value of memoirs as a contemporary witness?
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When do you write a review of a book you don't like and when do you just leave it be?
The reason for the title is to ask the question what prompts you to give a bad rating of a book versus moving on without rating? And also some anxiety around how the internet can be a fickle beast. I've seen books review bombed, I've seen public opinion change from popular YouTube videos and vitriol thrown at creators. This book isn't very popular and has mostly good reviews and the last thing I want to do is start a hate campaign.
I've been reading Birthright of scars: Rising by Laurisa Brandt
I saw a short video by Elisabeth Wheatley saying she really liked the book. I haven't read Elisabeth Wheatley's books but I like her content so I picked up this book thinking there were enough good signs for me to like the book.
So, I went into Birthright of scars blind.
I was struggling with the book through the first few chapters. I wasn't sure if it was my headspace but the pacing felt weird. Now I'm at the 50% mark and I think I can confidently say the book is bad.
The characters are suddenly making choices they wouldn't have made in the beginning of the book with no character growth or external forces that would have prompted these choices.
I did a search through the ebook out of curiosity and through first glance there's about 30 instances of someone wiping or rubbing their mouth in a 596 book.
Those are just some of my complaints.
I'm not at the point of DNFing Birthright of scars yet, but I do not think I'm going to read the second book in the duology either way.
I'm now heavily side eyeing the author who has promoted this book and I haven't read Elisabeth Wheatley's books and I previously intended to but if she thinks this is good writing then I'm not sure I'm going to waste my time with her books.
I have strong feelings about this book and pretty much none of them positive. I've been reading and keep thinking "Who proofread this?"
To me it seems it very clearly needed to go through at least a few more rounds of editing.
I'm worried I'm just going to come across as a hater. What situations do you negatively review a book? Are you harsher on New York Times Bestsellers and popular books (I know I am)? Have you left a negative review on a book and then later came to regret it?
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