#harry potter is a crap protagonist and makes me angry

[fanfic-lover-girl]

I like Slytherin and Hufflepuff house and I am so sad that they are done so dirty in the books.

“And it wants all the Houses to be friends?” said Harry, looking over at the Slytherin table, where Draco Malfoy was holding court. “Fat chance.”

Harry immediately rejects the idea of house unity including Slytherin and nothing in the story ever acknowledges the tragedy of this. The post battle scene where all the houses are together was so unearned and Harry did nothing to deserve it as the protagonist. I believe with my full heart that Harry is a crappy protagonist and gives the chosen one trope a bad name.

“— then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won’t it? It doesn’t matter to us, Al. But if it matters to you, you’ll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account.” “Really?” “It did for me,” said Harry.

Even in the epilogue, nothing has changed. Scorpius is immediately put on a watchlist by Ron and Albus is scared about being sorted. And Harry's moment with Albus is ruined by his last lines. If it really didn't matter to the family, Albus would not be so nervous about it. But obviously, with an uncle like Ron, Harry is spewing crap. Oh and if it bothers you so much son, just ask the hat to put you in the good house like it did me :).

I really wish Harry had one Slytherin friend. Even if it was not Draco, someone, anyone! Harry ends the series having little connection with his Slytherin or Hufflepuff peers. So sad.

Anti-Slytherinism: the last acceptable prejudice in Harry Potter

Reading faramircaptainofgondor’s excellent meta about why Sorting in Harry Potter is an outdated, harmful institution that needs to die, It made me think about the truly awful rap Slytherin and to a lesser extent, Hufflepuff get in series.

When it comes down to it, the only Houses shown to be worth being in are Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Gryffindors are brave, Ravenclaws are smart….and then Hufflepuffs are the kids left over after teams have been picked and Slytherins are evil because a load of Dark Wizards have been Slytherins.

Our initial view of Slytherin and Hufflepuff is filtered through Hagrid and then Harry in a classic case of how prejudice is learned, not inherent. On re-reading it’s obvious how mistaken these assumptions are.

Hagrid first brands Hufflepuff “a load o’duffers”, then mentions Slytherin was Voldemort’s house. So we already have the Houses It Sucks To Be In established, and it never really changes. While Hufflepuffs are generally portrayed positively, after one song calling them ‘patient, just, true and unafraid of toil’ the Sorting Hat reverts to labelling them ‘the rest’, we spend most of Goblet of Fire being reminded that they’ve had no glory in centuries and are frequently patronised (of course, this isn’t at all contradictory to the collective resentment in Philosopher’s Stone at Slytherin winning the House Cup 7 years running, oh no). And notably, Hufflepuff beats Gryffindor at Quidditch not once, but twice and everyone gets super-pissy because HA HA IMAGINE LOSING TO HUFFLEPUFF - OH SHIT. Amos Diggory comes across as obnoxious for the way he crows about Cedric’s achievements, but I can’t really blame him when everyone else thinks Hufflepuff is a synonym for loser.

Good for you Hufflepuff, you show those jerk houses. Anyway, back to the House Everyone Hates.

Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin,” said Hagrid darkly. “There’s not a single wizard or witch that went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin.”

After PoA, we know this to be complete rubbish, as Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor and committed the vilest betrayal in the entire series. And while Hagrid isn’t aware that Pettigrew did this, at this point he thinks Sirius Black, also a Gryffindor, is responsible for betraying Lily and James and killing Pettigrew. This is how deeply ingrained anti-Slytherin prejudice is, that he completely forgets that to claim every wizard that’s gone bad has been Slytherin. By doing this, Hagrid transfers this prejudice to Harry. When he gets to Hogwarts, he thinks the Slytherins look “an unpleasant bunch” because he has been pre-disposed to believe them unpleasant by what Hagrid told them. And he begs the Sorting Hat not to put him in Slytherin, because he doesn’t want to be in the same house as his parents’ murderer, and thus begins a series of Slytherin House being collectively held responsible for the deeds of one egregiously evil wizard.

And unfortunately, even Dumbledore, for all his talk of the school needing to unite after Voldemort’s return, buys into and propagates this anti-Slytherin nonsense. In CoS, Harry is worried that he’s just like Voldemort because of the many similarities they share:

‘It only put me in Gryffindor, because I asked not to go in Slytherin.’ ‘Exactly,‘said Dumbledore, beaming once more. ‘Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.’

Admirable words…or they would be if Dumbledore hadn’t just used Harry’s decision to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin as a shining example of why he’s not evil like Voldemort. And then in DH, Dumbledore says something which suggests how Sorting is actually pretty awful, but it gets buried in yet more anti-Slytherin prejudice:

“Karkaroff intends to flee if the Mark burns.” “Does he?” said Dumbledore softly… “And are you tempted to join him?” “No,” said Snape. […] “I am not such a coward.” “No,” agreed Dumbledore. “You are a braver man by far than Igor Karkaroff. You know, I sometimes think we Sort too soon…”

Wow, nice backhanded compliment Dumbledore. The Head of Slytherin is brave, yes, but that doesn’t mean hey look guys, Slytherins have worthy qualities too! No, it just means Snape might have been sorted into the wrong house. And therein lies the problem with Sorting: it defines people by one prominent quality and ignores the rest. People are a mixed bag at any age; to pigeonhole kids with years of development ahead of them is crazy.

With Snape, Slughorn and Regulus, Rowling’s clearly trying to show there are good Slytherins too to offset the “Slytherin = Evil” impression, but it doesn’t do nearly enough to eradicate 7 books’ worth of a narrative portraying Slytherins as the enemy. It’s not just that the books are from Harry’s POV - there are no Slytherins in Dumbledore’s Army, but the Inquisitorial Squad is composed entirely of Slytherins; during the resistance under Neville, there is no banner representing Slytherin in the Room of Requirement; and we actually had to be told by Rowling outside the book that the people who came charging behind Slughorn after Harry’s sacrifice were Slytherin students and their families because there was no way of telling that from the writing. Rowling is absolutely guilty of lazy characterisation.

Everyone in-universe constantly harps on about Slytherins being horrible, but does it ever occur to them that things like centuries of prejudice, the OTHER THREE QUARTERS OF THE SCHOOL hating them and actively rooting for them to fail, and the Headmaster cheating them out of a House Cup triumph might have something to do with it? Why on earth should Slytherins be nice to people who assume they’re scum from the age of 11? Frankly, those aforementioned Slytherins who came back from Hogsmeade to fight for Hogwarts are the biggest heroes of the book, because they had every right to tell Hogwarts to go screw itself for years of being heaped with guilt-by-association for other people’s sins, but they didn’t. Because Slytherins are much better people that they’re given credit for.

[astharoshebarvon]

I try really hard to just ignore things like this, I really do. Then I end up seeing something so bad it makes me upset.

I mean the sheer audacity, the entitlement to believe a gay ship should be turned het and it’s alright. No, it’s not, it will never ever be. Shut the hell up and be tired in ofc/character, si, reader crap. Stop trying to turn gay ships into your gross het agenda.

Then bring in all sorts of crappy reasoning, atrocious lies to justify your bull takes. It’s astounding the amount of nonsense that can come out of homophobic writers when they are called out for their crap.

the homophobic/self insert awful genderbent writers are saying its self insert in their notes, they want to get done in by the dominant male, have his babies or whatever nauseating crap is they want and you have weird freaks defending them.

Who the hell is femharry? who is that? While we are it, how come these lies, bull takes vanish in FF, FM stories?

Where are Male wednesday/male enid stories, or one of them male other female. Where are male rhaenyra’s, female daemon’s, ff, fm stories? where the hell are male rey’s and femkyle ron stories? male know it all and her malfoy brat stories, female darkling and male alina, both fem, both males? nah, this special distinction, need only ever exists for MM ships. even writing this makes me uncomfortable. 

Just say you are pathetic that you can only make yourself feel better by being so homophobic in a MM ship. there are thousands of fm stories, mangas, fiction. what’s the appeal of coming between a gay ship and erasing the sub male. because it’s him only who gets erased, never the dom one. if he is, the stories are unpopular as hell and are so few in no it’s laughable.

to go so far as to say, oh look how intimate would be if it was straight bull, lol, we dont like slash.

just say you are jealous and so so upset that your vile fm ships will never reach the popularity and  love of MM ship so you have to be gross and bring in your straight crap into them,

tom riddle will never ever be with any imaginary mary sue fem harry/ofc/ reader insert, in any way or form. stay mad about it. it really hurts them he is loved with harry, the real, main, male protagonist of harry potter. all he will ever do for is him, Harry Potter, the male, the guy, boy not some imaginary fem.

it’s not intimate if mm but only if fm, shut the hell up! this one sentence tells you exactly how homophobic some people are

it’s the same bull now prevalent in abo stories, they are also homophobic now, because somehow females are omegas but males arent. go to hell and stay there!!!! they were never omegas, abo is gay erotica sub genre, it exists because of them, it is for them, it was created by MM slash fics. i have to say, a person has to be way way too horrid, jealous and insecure to take so much from a gay ship. are all your lame, pathetic, gross fm ships dead?

why shouldnt we feel rightfully upset to see these vile stories in MM ship tags? if these homophobic writers have the so called right to do this, we have the right to get angry too and call it out for what it is, blatant homophobia towards MM ships only.

i just cannot understand why. why are straight/fm shippers so weird? you’ll find them shipping young boys with old hags but will come after MM ships because surprise surprise, they are popular and no one cares for their lame het agenda.

this reminds me of a thing where some people hate lucemond, daemyra, especially daemon, hate boner for this man is unreal!! but ship worst of the worst ships and like literal trash characters. are we upset he wasnt a fool, an idiot? he did something with dark sister in his last act which some people dont like. they give dark sister to someone else. have him be killed.

jealous jealous jealous. saying he is bad and supporting a rotten fem who made a woman walk after giving birth.

[papirouge]

i find it very interesting of how i see more anti-disney sentiments from christian creators but it's only because dumb american politics and fear of "wokeism" that rotted their brains into goo.

the only ones i've seen be criticized by christian creators are the more recent ones like turning red, moana, princess and the frog, and encanto. disney is a beyond sus company for sure, but white people really act like magic and witchcraft wasn't a thing since disney's beginnings and it isn't an element in their white features and they hold Walt Disney to a blasphemously high standard and worship him. they're still fine showing their children cinderella, frozen, and peter pan because they're "classics". really wish these people would be bold enough and say with their chest they somehow fear people with different backgrounds more than satan. i don't say this to say all of those films are harmless because it is disney at the end of the day. while i don't want to assume all of the people behind their movie have bad intentions, the company clearly does given their history. but how are these new works any more atrocious than the earlier works?

i won't say that i'm any morally superior because i still consider myself a new/"lukewarm" (and trying to fix this) christian and i'm still trying to tear myself away from the sinful worldly entertainment i spent years consuming without considering God. i hate to say it is hard since i've made my closest friend through similar interests, but seeing the hypocrisy makes me question to God if i'm the one who's in the wrong.

i find it very interesting of how i see more anti-disney sentiments from christian creators but it's only because dumb american politics and fear of "wokeism" that rotted their brains into goo.

Yeah, they are such raging hypocrites lmaolll Like, Disney glorifying witchcraft for entire generations & brainwashing them to elevate its magic world (=demonic) as a cultural staple was a-OK, but a BLACK ARIEL??? INADMISSIBLE !!!

I've said it and I'll say it again, every Christian straight up angry at Disney for *this* while never having peeped a word about its whole witchcraft glorification is a clown and a hypocrite. It's been decades since Christians warned off against culturally accepted witchcraft (not only Disney, but also Dungeons & Dragon, LOTR, Harry Potter, etc.) and guess what? They've been clowned, and called "religious" and "pharisees" by those Christian brainwashed by those shitty movies/books.

If they had a brain they'd understand that this is a sign for them to finally ditch Disney and dip out of this worldly entertainment crap.....but look, instead, they are begging for the old Disney to come back.... They have no discernment.

the only ones i've seen be criticized by christian creators are the more recent ones like turning red, moana, princess and the frog, and encanto.

Pause for a moment and see the common denominator between all these movies.......👀White people really ain't sleek with their bias ; of course movies with a non White protagonist were fated to be a problem one way or another.

And don't get me started with the "Black people deserve original Black characters movie adaptation, not Black washed ones!!" argument, when Black Panthers got White people in their feelings, calling it "pandering" (yeah bc a movie/TV show with only White characters is normal and you're woke™ for daring to criticize it, but saying a movie about an AFRICAN KINDGOM with mostly Black characters convey a "BLM/anti White agenda" totally makes sense right?)

disney is a beyond sus company for sure, but white people really act like magic and witchcraft wasn't a thing since disney's beginnings and it isn't an element in their white features and they hold Walt Disney to a blasphemously high standard and worship him.

Disney isn't just "sus". Walt Disney was a 33rd degre freemason and a pedophile. Remember that when the same people calling to cancel a brand just bc they hired a transperson as their model, elevate Disney movies as some sort of cultural staple..... Their stupidity is astounding.

I mean, look at the Lord of the Ring / Narnia stans.... IMPOSSIBLE to slap some sense to them. They are soooooo arrogant, thinking that because those books elevate European culture with a sprinkle of Christian symbolism suddenly erase their obvious witchy elements (Narnia children literally follow the demon Pan in that closet 🤦🏾‍♀️). But they would NEVER start to claim as Christian (non White) folklore, even when they some use Christian symbol. For example ome traditional witch in Africa actually use CHRISTIAN CROSS to cast spell. Does that make them Christian too? 🙃 Of course not, because that's only a prerogative of White European scrotes from centuries ago 🙃

they're still fine showing their children cinderella, frozen, and peter pan because they're "classics". really wish these people would be bold enough and say with their chest they somehow fear people with different backgrounds more than satan.

The "I want Disney to go back to classics" take is retarded because DISNEY HAS NEVER BEEN ABOUT AUTHENTICITY. "DISNEY CLASSICS" WERE AS MUCH WHITEWASHED THAN TODAY'S MOVIES IT'S JUST THAT THE WHITE DIDN'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T CHANGE THE CHARACTER SKIN COLOR. SO I WISH PEOPLE SEETHE ABOUT DISNEY COULD BE HONEST THEY'RE JUST UNCOMFORTABLE WITH SEEING CHARACTERS THAT DON'T LOOK LIKE THEM ANYMORE, INSTEAD OF PRETENDING CARING ABOUT AUTHENTICITY. PEOPLE LOOKING FOR AUTHENTICITY DON'T WATCH DISNEY MOVIES, YOU FOOL. THEY ACTUALLY READ THE ORIGINAL NOVELS FROM THEIR ORIGINAL AUTHORS.

And none of this is new. I remember that when Hercules got release, Greek representatives were mad at Disney that totally rewrote the legend (in the original tale, Hercules dies because of a poisoned fleece). In the Little Mermaid, the prince ends up marrying a foreign princess and she kills herself out of desperation (actually the witch spell fated her to die if she failed making the prince fall in love with her). I've even seen idiots arguing about the Hunchback of Notre Dame skin color/ethnicity (bc Disney made her exotic looking) when in the original novel , the plot twist of the story is that Esmeralda is not an Egyptian gypsy, but a stolen children from a WOMAN FROM REIMS (a city of France) so Esmeralda is ethnically White 🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️ .....tbh I could go on about how Disney popular stories are just fake and white washed.

Conclusion ? Disney is nothing "classical". Disney "Classics" aren't even orignal stories

i won't say that i'm any morally superior because i still consider myself a new/"lukewarm" (and trying to fix this) christian and i'm still trying to tear myself away from the sinful worldly entertainment i spent years consuming without considering God. i hate to say it is hard since i've made my closest friend through similar interests, but seeing the hypocrisy makes me question to God if i'm the one who's in the wrong.

And yet you're making more sense than 99% of Christians on this hellsite. I truly believe the Bible when it says the first will be the last, and the last will be first. New Christians sometimes have more self awareness than older ones. They're not burning that hard for Christ anymore and lose focus on sin. Which explains why so many of them are literally whiteknighting dominions of satan.

[doberbutts]

Man, that post about that friend who went wildly downhill after you admitted to liking Snape is definitely an Experience, but also reminded me that a huge portions of Snape's fandom tends to be marginalized people (especially ethnically) and are also very keenly aware of all the bigoted crap implied throughout the Harry Potter series. Which, is admittedly *very* besides the point of that post but does sort of reinforce an idea that actually listening to people with "problematic" favorites is more likely to net you a greater and more complex understanding of the world then just knee-jerk hating them because the creators presented them as someone unlikeable.

I'm not- and never really was outside of somewhat casually enjoying it in the Before Times very briefly- in the fandom and so I can't verify at all whether marginalized people like Snape.

However I would say that I think it's interesting that many many people can find something that resonates with them in these "problematic" characters, even if they overall disagree with the choices and actions of these characters. Same with problematic and flawed media.

My example of Anders for instance- he's not *wrong* to dislike the Chantry or the templars or to be very sensitive about the topic of mage freedom in general. He has a huge amount of trauma surrounding that part of his life and nearly died as a result. His best friend and ex-lover was more or less killed by the authorities (depending if you consider the Tranquil as being effectively dead) and he has a potentially vengeful spirit whispering in his ear at all times. Of COURSE he commited an act of terrorism, that's a character arc that makes sense given all the shitty things that led up to that point.

And of course that resonates with people who have been heavily punished for simply existing, whether because of their sexualities or mental illnesses or personalities or ethnicities or whatever. To have someone go "but that's not FAIR. it's not RIGHT." when an authority says "people like you deserve to be caged, you're lucky we let you exist". To show the righteous anger of the downtrod in one literally explosive fit of rage.

Snape's a bad victim. He's less likeable than Anders, who we see flirting and being a gentle healer and joking around with his friends. He's severe and stern. He terrorizes the kids and is a wizard-nazi. He was abused and bullied and sexually assaulted. A popular kid at his school tried to kill him as a prank. He obsesses about the one girl that's genuinely nice to him without an agenda and becomes incredibly creepy and possessive. Any attempts he made at being friends with someone were either met with people trying to get him to join the cult, or being rebuffed because he wasn't wanted. That's a really frustrating place to be, especially as a child and especially so as a teen trying to get your footing in a world that's made it clear it will always be at least somewhat hostile to you. I don't think he made good choices. I do think what we know about his story is a recipe for "makes bad choices".

I think having him serve as a foil for Dumbledore, someone else who made very bad choices but is presented as overall likeable and even someone to respect and admire, makes him an interesting literary device. I think having him serve as a foil for our protagonist, a similarly traumatized and abused child who happened to luck into having a support network once he got away from his shitty living situation for half a aecond, makes him a very interesting character as we watch Harry recognize something of himself in Snape's misery. Not because he wanted to be Snape, but because he realized that he could have been Snape if his life took that same direction. That's why I never really minded him naming his kid after him.

Bad victims are a hard sell. People love the idea that being a victim gives you more empathy. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it makes you angry. Sometimes it makes you lash out. Sometimes it makes you not really a good person to be around anymore. Trauma's funny like that. Unresolved and unprocessed trauma festers. Sometimes inwardly and sometimes explosively as it unleashes itself onto a different victim to continue the cycle. When a villian or morally gray character is a bad victim, people have a hard time understanding why that character could be considered at all interesting.

Maybe it's because other victims realize that's the path they could have gone down. 🤷‍♂️

[lizziestudieshistory]

Books of 2020 - May

My reading is going insane thanks to the pandemic... I might need to start writing reviews as I finish the books instead of waiting for the end of the month! As usual I haven’t proof read this

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - Becky Chambers (Wayfarers)

This was a pleasantly enjoyable read for me! I usually don’t like science fiction, particularly heavily science based scifi, because (to be brutally honest) science and space bores me... However, I’d heard SO MANY good things about the characters in this novel that I had to see what the fuss was about. It’s worth the praise! The character work, inclusivity and diversity was wonderful to read. It was a beautiful novel to read and just explore who each member of this misfit crew are as they journey through space.

The sudden apperance of plot in the last 25% ruined the book a little bit, it wasn’t necessary when the rest of the book was all about character exploration. It felt like it was there just to set up the sequel (which I probably won’t read...) The problem I had with the sudden explosion of plot was the book in theme and character centred narrative (not setting or writing) felt more like a 20th century novel than a modern scifi. Everything is about the people on this ship and their found family, and each persons place in their respective societies and cultures. The action right at the end felt out of place and disrupted the love affair I’d had with the rest of the character work from Chambers. Nevertheless, I did really like this novel and would highly recommed it, particularly to people who don’t typically read science fiction.

Words of Radiance (volumes one and two*) - Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive #2)

We all know how I feel about Sanderson and the Stormlight Archive, I don’t think I need to rehash that here. However, this is my least favourite of the three novels out so far - I just really dislike Shallan... (Sorry)

I’d still recommend it but start the series with The Way of Kings!

*I’m still bitter I had to pay for this book twice (it was only available in the split UK edition when I bought it) so I always count this as two books in my book count each year. 

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow - Jessica Townsend (Nevermoor #1)

I ADORED this book! I was skeptical about it because I haven’t read any modern childrens fiction outside of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson since I was a child. However, this book was stunning. It was fun, fast paced romp that captures a similar feeling that Harry Potter did when I was little. Morrigan is a delightful protagonist and the world Townsend created is spectacular!

I don’t want to say too much about it because I went into it pretty blind and I think it was the best way to do it. But if there is one book eveyone should read as a pick me up then this is it! I was blown away by the quality of Townsend’s world building, plot, characters, and writing style - seriously good stuff here!

Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett (Discworld #12; The Witches #2)

I didn’t love this book as much as I was hoping to and I’m not really sure why? It’s Pratchett’s take on fariytales and he retells several well known fairytales with the typical no nonsense approach we can expect from Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick. I actually really liked the set pieces of the book where Pratchett retold stories like Little Red Riding Hood and The Wizard of Oz, or pulled from iconic imagery such as the dwarves from Snow White and traditional vampires. 

Yet, the main story (pulling from the Snow Queen and Cinderella) fell a bit flat for me. I didn’t really connect with the over arching story, which was disapointing after I’d loved Wyrd Sisters. I don’t really know what happened here - it could have been my mood or the book I’m not sure.

The Hero of Ages - Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn Era One #3)

I cried. Twice. I can’t say much more. Go and read Mistborn if you want to know why!

I do prefer The Stormlight Archive over Mistborn as a whole but the conclusion to this series is incredibly powerful. I have some major bones to pick with the series (Spook’s conclucion made me MAD which was not good as it was the last scene of the book...) but the overall quality of the series is amazing.

I do think the hype around the series ruined my enjoyment a bit - I was spoilt for the conclusion and for the majority of The Final Empire and part of Well of Ascension I was thinking ‘is this it...’ However, it is an outstanding series from modern fantasy. 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrects - J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter #1&2)

Do I need to talk about Harry Potter? It’s a childhood classic, I grew up with this and no matter how old I get this is going to make me feel like a kid again. I’m  doing a full Potter reread this year to cheer myself up and to remind myself why I loved these books so much after all the crap that’s gone down with Rowling recently.

Towers of Midnight - Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (Wheel of Time #13)

I really can’t talk about this book in a spoiler free way and if I turned this into a spoiler review this post would be ridiculously long... However, the core of my feelings on this is:

I enjoyed this, Mat’s character still reads in a strange way, and the END IS NIGH.

Read the Wheel of Time!

Defy or Defend - Gail Carriger (Delightfully Deadly #2)

I was eagerly awaiting this book and it did not disappoint. Carriger’s books are always comfort reads for me and now I’m caught up with her series I can read new releases IN REAL TIME which is amazing!

I was eagerly awaiting for Dimity’s book in the Delightfully Deadly series and I fangirled my way through this novel (Dimity was my favourite of the Finishing School girls.) Seeing her makeover a vampire hive, tackle the gothic behaviour of the vampires themselves, while establishing a relationship with Sir Crispin was wonderful. This was everything I had been hoping for from Dimity and Carriger and now I’ll have to wait for the next installment.

Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

I feel like the only person on the planet who didn’t like this book... Dickens is a hit or miss author and his books that I know the plot of through cultural osmosis don’t really work for me. I already knew the major mysteries of the novel (Pip’s benefactor, Miss Havisham’s past, and Estella’s origins) leaving very little for me to sink my teeth into. I do think this would be an excellent entry point if you want to get into Dickens, it just didn’t work for me.

Currently Reading

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K Rowling

I actually finished this book earlier but I technically read it in June so I’ll take about it at the end of the month.

Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow - Jessica Townsend

I’m about 200 pages in and I think I love it more than the first book

A Memory of Light - Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

THE END IS HERE and damn is it intense!

[acourtofbooksandtvshows]

Book review 📖

Hey guys

so I’m been thinking a lot lately about doing book reviews and so this is me finally doing it 😁

One of the reasons I’m doing this is because that when I’m done reading a certain book I have all these FEELINGS and no way to get them out😩😭 so I thought that this would be a good way to get them out without annoying the crap out of all my friends😁😉ANYway I better stop blabbering and get this show on the road!

Title: From Twinkle with love

Author: Sandhya Menon

Published: 22. May 2018

So I have some mixed feelings about this book so I think I’m going to split it up so that I start with the good

I really liked that the protagonist of the story was an Indian-American teenage girl! I loved the diversity in the story😄 I also loved that she was a total feminist and that it didn’t make her this angry feminist stereotype that so many tv shows and books have, it was just a part of her, if you know what i mean.

I also LOVED the humor and the complete geekiness of the book! 🤓 she made several references to Harry Potter and Supernatural and several strong historical females which I just loved so much!!

Thers is of course more that I love about the book but I think this is the best I explain without spoiling the whole book so I’m gonna stop here☺️

Now let’s get some of the things that I didn’t liked that much

Of course some of the actions that twinkle did I didn’t liked and there were sometimes that she did things or where she was SO oblivious that I just felt like doing that thing like on The Office where someone looks into camera when someone does something really stupid 🙄

Sometimes I thought the pace of the story was I little to slow or a little too fast, like sometimes I thought the character development was way too slow and then it would happen way too fast

But when everything is said and done, I really liked the book or else I don’t think I would have read it in like a day😁

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Therefore I give er 4 out of 5 stars

[bohemelesbian]

50 bookish questions

Okay, like @thevajunglebook didnt tag me specifically but she did say to do it if you wanted to, so here I am, doing it. 

1. What is your favourite book and/or book series of all time?

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M Danforth is my favourite stand alone and Becky Chambers’ Wayfarer’s series is my favourite series.

2. What is the longest book you have ever read? How many pages?

Probably A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, which is like 700 and something pages.

3. What is the oldest book you have ever read? (Based on its written date)

Does Shakespeare count? If not, maybe Frankenstein by Mary Shelley?

4. What is a book series that everyone else loves but you do not?

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, oops.

5. What book or book series would you like to see turned into a film/ TV series?

I want a movie for the Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers and a movie for The Last Nude by Ellis Avery. The Witches of New York by Ami McKay would be a fantastic 13 episode netflix show, if she decides to write a sequel, and I’m betting that The Power by Naomi Alderman will be optioned for a streaming service TV show too. And Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen would make a sick mini series.

6. What is your favourite stand-alone book?

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M Danforth, The Power by Naomi Alderman or The Last Nude by Ellis Avery.

7. What is a book that you feel glad for not reading?

Probably anything by Colleen Hoover tbh.  

8. What is a book that you feel guilty for not reading?

There’s nothing that comes to mind.

9. What is a book you have read that is set in your country of birth?

My favourite book by an Australian author is Burial Rites by Hannah Kent but my favourite book set in Australia is probably Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden.

10. What is a book that you own more than one copy of?

Carol/The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith.

11. What horror book made you really scared?

I get scared really easily so I don’t tend to read horror. The first book in The Diviners by Libba Bray freaked me out, so. 

12. What book do you passionately hate?

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Like, I know it’s a play and I know that excuse has been used a few times to explain why it was so crap, but I read a lot of plays so that’s not it for me. And then there’s Look Both Ways by Alison Cherry. Oooooooohhhhhh boy, don’t even get me started on that piece of trash.  

13. What is the biggest book series you have read? How many books are in it?

Probably Harry Potter.

14. What book gives you happy memories?

Probably Yes Please by Amy Poehler.

15. What book made you cry?

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, The Last Nude by Ellis Avery, How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake, A Close and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers …

16. What book made you laugh?

Yes, Please by Amy Poehler, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, any Lumberjanes comic.

17. What is your favourite book that contains an LGBTQ+ character?

Most of my favourite books contain LGBTQ characters tbh. Like, really.

18. Have you read a book with a male protagonist? What is it?

The Diviners has Memphis, who is a side protagonist I guess. Like, Harry Potter, I suppose? I haven’t read a whole lot of male centred books recently.

19. Have you read a book set on another planet? What is it?

Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi. I haven’t actually finished it; it’s not exactly clicking with me, but every few weeks I read a few more pages. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor is another one, though half of it is set on Earth. 

20. Have you ever been glad to not finish a series? Which?

I’m actually considering not finishing the Throne of Glass series, to be honest.

21. Have you ever read a book series because you were pressured?

Yeah, because of hype lol. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Winner’s Curse …

22. What famous author have you not read any books by?

Douglas Adams; I have Hitchhiker’s Guide on my shelf but haven’t gotten around to it. Zadie Smith as well; I have Swing Time but when I started it, I just wasn’t really feeling it so I’m going to try it again down the line.

23. Who is your favourite author of all time?

I don’t have one.

24. How many bookshelves do you own?

One big one. I’ve a few stacks around my room though, for ones that don’t fit on my shelves.

25. How many books do you own?

At last count, just under 200. That was the end of last year though.

26. What is your favourite non-fiction book?

I love memoirs. Fun Home and Are You My Mother by Alison Bechdel, Yes Please by Amy Poehler, Buffering by Hannah Hart.

27. What is your favourite children’s/middle-grade book?

Nothing comes to mind. I’ve read and liked a few but nothing really comes to WAIT does Lumberjanes count?? It’s a comic book for younguns. I’m gonna say that. 

28. What is your next book on your TBR?

I’m in the mood for Urban Fantasy about witches and, like, contemporary wlw romance so probably something in those genres.

29. What book are you currently reading?

Juliet Takes A Breath by Gabby Rivera and Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur. 

30. What book are you planning on buying next?

I dunno lol. Almost everything I buy, I buy on whim.

31. What was the cheapest book you bought?

I bought The Luxe by Anna Godbersen from a school fete for $2.

32. What was the most expensive book you bought?

Probably A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. It was the massive paperback at the height of its popularity and it was like $43.

33. What is a book you read after seeing the movie/ TV series?

Carol by Patricia Highsmith.

34. What is the newest book you have bought?

How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake, Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera, Grrls on the Side by Carrie Pack and The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery were what I ordered together from Book Depository.

35. What three books are you most looking forward to reading this year?

Lumberjanes Vol 7, Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather, If We Were Villains by ML Rio (I know that one’s already out but I haven’t gotten it yet).

36. What is a book you love that has a terrible trope? (Love triangle, etc)

If we’re talking love triangles, it’s The Diviners by Libba Bray. Actually, she’s the only writer I can think of who writes tropes I dislike and makes them good.

37. Have you read a book in a different language? What was it?

Not really.

38. What is a book you’ve read that is set in a time period before you were born?

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters.

39. What book offended you?

Look Both Ways by Alison Cherry lmao. I think my rant review is still one of the top reviews on its goodreads page lol.

40. What is the weirdest book you have read?

The Regulars by Georgia Clark; it was just a crazy plot to the point of hilarity.

41. What is your favourite duology?

The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskrie.

42. What is your favourite trilogy?

Errrmmmm The Hunger Games, maybe? Or the Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray.

43. What book did you buy because of its cover?

Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon. Gorgeous cover, but I couldn’t finish the book because the writing was so illogical.

44. What is a book that you love, but has a terrible cover?

The Abyss Surrounds us and The Edge of the Abyss by Emily Skrutskie. Love the books!!! Covers ….. eh.

45. Do you own a poetry anthology? What is your favourite poem from it?

I have Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur but I’ve only just started reading it.

46. Do you own any colouring books based off other books?

Nup. Maybe eventually. 

47. Do you own any historical fiction?

Yes, loads.

48. What book made you angry?

Look Both Ways by Alison Cherry again lol. Also Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

49. What book has inspired you?

The Witches of New York by Ami McKay. The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth.

50. What book got you into reading?

Harry Potter, initially, when I was a kid. Then after I stopped reading in my couple of years of high school, I took an elective called creative reading, where we pretty much read a bunch of texts and responded to them and I had a great teacher and suddenly, I was back in and ever since I’ve been reading like 7 or 8 books a month.

I’m tagging: @finchinlove & @violaeade & @glindaelphaba & @beautyandthebec & whoever else wants to knock one out. (no pressure though, obvs)