So, earlier I made the decision to be a little more choosy about the books that I decide to read (as if I wasn't already book snobbish enough!). Being a book reviewer I tend to feel the need to read and review popular books, but being the book snob that I am, I tend to dislike a lot of these over hyped books, especially from the young adult genre. Over hyped does not mean well written. Take Twilight or Fifty Shades of Grey for example. My point exactly. Over the past few years I have slowly developed the process called not finishing a book, that's the thing where you start a book that you find yourself not enjoying and rather then finish it you simply don't. I have honed this ability to the point that I can simply read one chapter of a book and make a decision based on that alone. This doesn't exactly sound like the way to go about reading books, but I'm not even describing the plot, I am describing the writing. The opening chapter should be some of the authors strongest writing, if the author can't even sum up decent writing in their opening chapter then I'm not going to read their book. We all know that some of the greatest books may start out on a slow point, but as long as the writing is good I will stick with it. I checked out the following books from the library recently based on their popularity, and I returned all of them unread. The young adult genre in general is really dragging me down right now, I just can't relate to the younger cast of characters any longer and it almost feels as if the authors intentionally dumb down their writing ... or they just have poor writing skills and that's why they are writing young adult. I find myself venturing back into the adult fantasy world and really appreciating the writing and the more mature cast. I still read and enjoy young adult, but you have to kiss a lot of toads before finding your prince. I won't let hype define what I read.
"Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater. I read one chapter of this book before deciding that the writing was simply too horrendous. Upon reading some reviews of this book it also sounds oddly disturbing in a way. Basically the girl has developed feelings for a wolf that she keeps seeing in the woods surrounding her house. Okay ... that's not creepy at all.
"Anna Dressed in Blood" by Kendare Blake. I've heard this book referred to as the Supernatural television show, so I of course had to check it out. The writing ... again it was just bad.
"Graceling" by Kristin Cashore. Poor writing overall, and the main character is a severe feminist. I support women having equal rights, but this just sounds over the top.
"The Raven Boys" by Maggie Stiefvater. This just sounds like a complete waste of time despite the rave reviews ... remember this is the same author who wrote a book about a girl madly in love with a wolf ...
These books all went back to the library unread. These are the books that I would term young adult, while some of the better written and more developed YA books that I have read I would term as new adult, a genre generally in the 18-30 age bracket. I like new adult, the young adult genre however is just not cutting it anymore. That's where that stopping ability really pays off, I can start all manner of books and have the ability to put it down when I decide that it just isn't for me.
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