Man, I remember leaving a party in Brooklyn one night back in the mid nineties - had about an hour to kill on the train back to Harlem so I grabbed a copy of Henry Roth’s “Call It Sleep” that someone had left on their stoop as a giveaway. Never heard of the author, never heard of the book, but it was better than nothing. By the time I was home it was well on its way to becoming one of my favorite novels of all time. Maybe an extreme example, but a little serendipity can really enhance a reader’s life.
Oh my god Marta this is SO good. I went into my local indie bookstore on Saturday and noted to my boyfriend after we left just how refreshing it was to see different books front and centre. It's a little bit grungy in there and very politically aware, so it was completely different to what I'd find on the shelves in the Waterstones down the road. I loved it.
I'm fortunate that I don't take note of Goodreads ratings or the like before reading a book but I'm definitely in that 'comfort zone' you mention - if other people I know dislike it I probably won't bother (including Substack reviews). I really need to push myself out of this! This month I'm only reading 'darker' stuff which I don't normally pick up and I'm loving it so far, so this is a pretty good example of finding out what else is out there.
Thank you, Soph 💗 I completely agree - indie bookshops are the best if you're looking for books you don't see as often. They usually have a theme, an angle, an intentional curation vs only selling bestsellers. It's why I love them!
And I love that you're reading darker stuff this month, I'm looking forward to reading more about it!
Felt this deep in my soul! I don't even trust my own ratings, considering how likely it is that I might rate a cute rom-com as a 5-star book if I read it while in the ~right~ mood
I feel your sentiment especially we enjoyed the same books and the ratings weren't as high, but something below 3 in Goodreads is probably terrible haha.
Until i discovered Damn fine bookstore (a tiny english bookstore owned by a woman who loves unhinged books) I was totally matrixed by books that have +4 stars on GR. Thanks to her to same me <3
I've been so guilty of letting goodreads ratings affect the way I perceive books and it's a habit I'm slowly starting to break free from. I think the notion that a book's worthiness depends on how high of a rating it has or doesn't have takes the joy out of figuring out the kinds of books a person most connects to and, in this process of the 'worthy' title attached to high-rated novels, it's almost as if large groups of people are slowly starting to become like-minded with the same exact taste. It also creates missed opportunity in the sense that you never know if the book that you turned away from, because of something seemingly superficial, was going to be one of your new favourites.
So I never ever EVER read blurbs of books (they always seem to give away literally 75% of the story????) but I am so guilty of checking whether the book I want to dive into, blurb unread, is lower than a 4-star rating on Goodreads.... I do this A LOT.
This is so true: "If you get yourself in front of a crowd of 100,000 people and ask them to shout their opinions on a specific title all at once, you’ll be deafened by an unintelligible roar that reflects precisely no one’s feelings toward said book." We are all SO bloody different that you never know what works for you might be someone else's DNF.
What I have done, however, is find people who's opinions I value and those with similar tastes to my own and often gone off their recommendations (if I go off anything). The only HUGE failing on that part was All Fours (I absolutely hated it, sorry Substack!!!).
I'm also reading The Guest by Emma Cline at the moment...and enjoying it so far!
Finding a group of people whose tastes you align with is a great move! I've done that as well. It has definitely failed me in the past too, because people are just different, but it's all good. Even if we feel differently, we'll have something to talk about. But if I find myself at the bookstore and find a mysterious book I'm listening to nooobody! 😂
Enjoy The Guest! That's a personal favorite of mine that gets super mixed reviews even within my aligned community.
Love this! I think a lot about the time when I used to go to the library when I was younger and discover new books just from the act of browsing and picking whatever called my attention, and how now it's almost impossible for me to go back to that. And how it's because of my own doing, wanting to read the latest books or keeping up with trends and that sort of thing. But this has made me want to make a conscious effort to return to try and go back to that feeling.
One of the best feelings ever is to browse a bookshop, slowly and let your intuition guide you to a book you know nothing about… take it home, starting the first chapter and enjoy it! I feel so happy with myself whenever I pick a “good book” just by seeing the cover and reading the back 💖
Just finished a book that has a terribly low rating on Goodreads, I really enjoyed reading it and had a fun time, it was only a 3 star read for me but I'm so glad I read it and didn't succumb to bad reviews
There are so many great books in that 3 star space. That's where so much interesting experimental stuff is! They won't always be the best book you've ever read but they absolutely deserve a chance.
I hear you!!! I actually had a similar, not book related experience a couple of months ago. I was standing in line at a very popular ice cream shop here in Berlin. At some point, I was noticing that it was taking really long to move up the line. The reason? People were sampling aaaaaaall the flavors available before committing to one. As a society we've come so used to vetting everything before we commit - reading book reviews, studying restaurant menus online, sampling ice cream flavors. Where is the childlike wonder in all of that? The element of surprise? And also the feeling of maybe trying something and not liking it. Like me that night, picking a banana peanut butter flavor that tasted a bit like puke. Not the end of the world at all and a great story to tell now.
this is so good!!! my book purchases used to be so informed by the reviews I was seeing on bookstagram / goodreads and it started to all feel a bit like an echo-chamber where me and everyone I knew were reading the same five books a month.
It’s nice (and hard) trying to feel a little less influenced, going in knowing nothing and reading reviews after, having chance encounters with random books I never would have picked up before.
Also - I loved I’m a Fan too!! (and I wonder how my reading of it would’ve changed if I went in knowing it was rated so low)
Exactly! I hate to open instagram and see the same 5 books all over my feed all year long. There are so many exciting, less popular (and maybe low rated) titles out there that deserve a chance.
Regarding I'm a Fan, the mixed reviews were what piqued my interest and I'm glad I gave it a go. If people tell me I shouldn't read a book, I'll want to read it 😂
I am guilty of searching up ratings, yet lately I've been stopping myself from doing so. I've recently loved a book that does not have high rating, but it didn't matter because it was what I wanted to enjoy (and did enjoy) at the time. I checked the rating after finishing it and I was surprised to see it wasn't higher.
I'm talking about One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake
Man, I remember leaving a party in Brooklyn one night back in the mid nineties - had about an hour to kill on the train back to Harlem so I grabbed a copy of Henry Roth’s “Call It Sleep” that someone had left on their stoop as a giveaway. Never heard of the author, never heard of the book, but it was better than nothing. By the time I was home it was well on its way to becoming one of my favorite novels of all time. Maybe an extreme example, but a little serendipity can really enhance a reader’s life.
This is it! This is what I want to experience more of.
Oh my god Marta this is SO good. I went into my local indie bookstore on Saturday and noted to my boyfriend after we left just how refreshing it was to see different books front and centre. It's a little bit grungy in there and very politically aware, so it was completely different to what I'd find on the shelves in the Waterstones down the road. I loved it.
I'm fortunate that I don't take note of Goodreads ratings or the like before reading a book but I'm definitely in that 'comfort zone' you mention - if other people I know dislike it I probably won't bother (including Substack reviews). I really need to push myself out of this! This month I'm only reading 'darker' stuff which I don't normally pick up and I'm loving it so far, so this is a pretty good example of finding out what else is out there.
A blinkin' amazing post, thank you so much!
Thank you, Soph 💗 I completely agree - indie bookshops are the best if you're looking for books you don't see as often. They usually have a theme, an angle, an intentional curation vs only selling bestsellers. It's why I love them!
And I love that you're reading darker stuff this month, I'm looking forward to reading more about it!
YES Marta, this is so good, so spot-on. I also loved The Guest by Emma Cline! (Though I liked Remarkably Bright Creatures because Marcellus).
I particularly love "this is a hate letter" lol
😂 Thank you Kolina!
Felt this deep in my soul! I don't even trust my own ratings, considering how likely it is that I might rate a cute rom-com as a 5-star book if I read it while in the ~right~ mood
Same 😂 how am I supposed to use the same scale to rate chicklit and literary fiction?! The parameters couldn't be more different
reading is sooo subjective!!! the same goes for films, this is such a great post.
Absolutely! Thank you 💗
I feel your sentiment especially we enjoyed the same books and the ratings weren't as high, but something below 3 in Goodreads is probably terrible haha.
I don’t know, a part of me wants to give a bunch of books under 3 stars a try and see what happens 😂
Until i discovered Damn fine bookstore (a tiny english bookstore owned by a woman who loves unhinged books) I was totally matrixed by books that have +4 stars on GR. Thanks to her to same me <3
I know Damn Fine Bookstore and Fiona! She's amazing 🩷
omg yes! i travel 1h30 just to get there
she literally recommend me a 2 stars book that i like
i was such a medical care
I am loathe to admit it but this is spot on… and makes our reading world so much smaller
I've been so guilty of letting goodreads ratings affect the way I perceive books and it's a habit I'm slowly starting to break free from. I think the notion that a book's worthiness depends on how high of a rating it has or doesn't have takes the joy out of figuring out the kinds of books a person most connects to and, in this process of the 'worthy' title attached to high-rated novels, it's almost as if large groups of people are slowly starting to become like-minded with the same exact taste. It also creates missed opportunity in the sense that you never know if the book that you turned away from, because of something seemingly superficial, was going to be one of your new favourites.
100% agree. Couldn't have said it better!
So I never ever EVER read blurbs of books (they always seem to give away literally 75% of the story????) but I am so guilty of checking whether the book I want to dive into, blurb unread, is lower than a 4-star rating on Goodreads.... I do this A LOT.
This is so true: "If you get yourself in front of a crowd of 100,000 people and ask them to shout their opinions on a specific title all at once, you’ll be deafened by an unintelligible roar that reflects precisely no one’s feelings toward said book." We are all SO bloody different that you never know what works for you might be someone else's DNF.
What I have done, however, is find people who's opinions I value and those with similar tastes to my own and often gone off their recommendations (if I go off anything). The only HUGE failing on that part was All Fours (I absolutely hated it, sorry Substack!!!).
I'm also reading The Guest by Emma Cline at the moment...and enjoying it so far!
I just finished The Guest…and I hated it haha 😂 Such an unsatisfying ending 😫
Hahaha that's fair! I LOVED the ending 🤣
Finding a group of people whose tastes you align with is a great move! I've done that as well. It has definitely failed me in the past too, because people are just different, but it's all good. Even if we feel differently, we'll have something to talk about. But if I find myself at the bookstore and find a mysterious book I'm listening to nooobody! 😂
Enjoy The Guest! That's a personal favorite of mine that gets super mixed reviews even within my aligned community.
Love this! I think a lot about the time when I used to go to the library when I was younger and discover new books just from the act of browsing and picking whatever called my attention, and how now it's almost impossible for me to go back to that. And how it's because of my own doing, wanting to read the latest books or keeping up with trends and that sort of thing. But this has made me want to make a conscious effort to return to try and go back to that feeling.
Ahh, I missed the library! It's such a great place to foster that spirit.
One of the best feelings ever is to browse a bookshop, slowly and let your intuition guide you to a book you know nothing about… take it home, starting the first chapter and enjoy it! I feel so happy with myself whenever I pick a “good book” just by seeing the cover and reading the back 💖
Yesss 100%! 💗
Same with movies and tv shows 😊
Just finished a book that has a terribly low rating on Goodreads, I really enjoyed reading it and had a fun time, it was only a 3 star read for me but I'm so glad I read it and didn't succumb to bad reviews
There are so many great books in that 3 star space. That's where so much interesting experimental stuff is! They won't always be the best book you've ever read but they absolutely deserve a chance.
I hear you!!! I actually had a similar, not book related experience a couple of months ago. I was standing in line at a very popular ice cream shop here in Berlin. At some point, I was noticing that it was taking really long to move up the line. The reason? People were sampling aaaaaaall the flavors available before committing to one. As a society we've come so used to vetting everything before we commit - reading book reviews, studying restaurant menus online, sampling ice cream flavors. Where is the childlike wonder in all of that? The element of surprise? And also the feeling of maybe trying something and not liking it. Like me that night, picking a banana peanut butter flavor that tasted a bit like puke. Not the end of the world at all and a great story to tell now.
haha YES! Absolutely. Also, there is a special place in hell for people who sample all the ice cream flavors when there's a line behind them 😂
There is haha!
this is so good!!! my book purchases used to be so informed by the reviews I was seeing on bookstagram / goodreads and it started to all feel a bit like an echo-chamber where me and everyone I knew were reading the same five books a month.
It’s nice (and hard) trying to feel a little less influenced, going in knowing nothing and reading reviews after, having chance encounters with random books I never would have picked up before.
Also - I loved I’m a Fan too!! (and I wonder how my reading of it would’ve changed if I went in knowing it was rated so low)
Exactly! I hate to open instagram and see the same 5 books all over my feed all year long. There are so many exciting, less popular (and maybe low rated) titles out there that deserve a chance.
Regarding I'm a Fan, the mixed reviews were what piqued my interest and I'm glad I gave it a go. If people tell me I shouldn't read a book, I'll want to read it 😂
I am guilty of searching up ratings, yet lately I've been stopping myself from doing so. I've recently loved a book that does not have high rating, but it didn't matter because it was what I wanted to enjoy (and did enjoy) at the time. I checked the rating after finishing it and I was surprised to see it wasn't higher.
I'm talking about One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake
We never know what's on the other side of a lower rating!
I haven't read anything by Olivie Blake, and I've never heard of this particular title, but I've heard great things about Alone With You in the Ether.
I have yet to get around to reading Alone With You in the Ether, I do own a copy, though