Sensitive People are Too Annoying with Books. (1 Viewer)

[Lovely_Cornchips]

So to be fair I am into thriller, suspense, and mystery books
and all of these tend to be on the darker side.
A lot of them require content warnings or trigger warnings because of this.
I don't really have an issue with warning readers of what is to come if it could possibly cause a horrible memory to come back
or for more to come up for them.
That's completely fine to me and should be done.

But I get so aggravated when I read reviews for books that I've read and regardless of whether I liked the book
or not someone turns something from the book into a massive deal.
I'll obviously hear them out and read what they have to say and see if there is validity for me.
But a lot of times it feels like the person is finding a reason to hate a book without having a reason.
So they scrounge for something really small to get offended by and then right off the genre, the writer, and more for it.

For example,

Spoiler: Homophobia & Sexual Assault

The book I just finished had a scene or two where two younger girls were making out with each other. Later on, it turns out to be a grooming situation and the one girl is essentially manipulating the other for some sort of gain. Now I understand that that is fucked up. But a person I read a review from turned this into the writer trying to demonize exploring sexuality at a young age and condemning experimenting and exploring this and also targetting queer women as a whole.

I'm sorry but WHAT!?!?!
I did not get that at all from the text-and I understand that books are meant to be interpretted differently. Not everyone is going to experience the book the way I did or come out with the same thoughts but some of the conclusions people jump to when reading books is so....out there and extreme??? It feels like they really want books to be kind of dimmed a bit content-wise. I feel like this specific genre is MEANT to be messed up and push the envelope a little bit. Each serial killer unless they are psychopathic usually NEEDS a motive of some sort and a lot of time reviews like this critique the motive saying it makes people that went through this this and that look bad or paints them in an awful light. Or they call it torture porn. And it's just like...You'd rather the motive be really weak and silly or there to be no motive?

I don't understand these critiques of this genre of book, to be honest.
​

 

[Willow]

Ooof what’s the name of the book?

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

Ooof what’s the name of the book?

It's called His & Hers

 

[Willow]

It's called His & Hers

I will look for it in French

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

I will look for it in French

Good luck!

 

[Willow]

Good luck!

I don’t read really in English

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

I don’t read really in English

Oh that's fine XD I wasn't commenting on it negatively

 

[Willow]

Oh that's fine XD I wasn't commenting on it negatively

I mean I am not able to understand too complex books in English

 

[OnlyCalB]

Books, like art and even movies etc, can be open to interpretation.

But it can be really frustrating when some people go to ridiculous lengths with their own interpretation that they become angry and start hating ferociously.

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

Books, like art and even movies etc, can be open to interpretation.

But it can be really frustrating when some people go to ridiculous lengths with their own interpretation that they become angry and start hating ferociously.

Yea like I said I don't have an issue if someone likes a book or not-shit is up to interpretation but it sometimes gets ridiculous the shit people twist.

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

I mean I am not able to understand too complex books in English

That's fine. I can't understand french so I doubt I could read a book in French.

 

[Willow]

That's fine. I can't understand french so I doubt I could read a book in French.

I only speak French

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

I only speak French

I thought we were talking in English?

 

[Willow]

I thought we were talking in English?

Really?

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

Really?

Yeah! Did I suddenly learn French!!?!?

 

[Willow]

Yeah! Did I suddenly learn French!!?!?

Maybe you did

 

[SofDrink]

That's true. Some people take it too far and don't consider everything. To be fair, some people value one aspect over others enough that they feel the book is truly tainted, so I can understand why it ay happen sometimes. I'm not the biggest fan of romance, and even just an inkling of it popping up between the main characters throws me off. I do my best not to write the book off as bad, though it does get difficult lol

 

[raymondchouku]

I had a similar situation where I had to read and write an essay on why I agreed or disagreed on a feminist critique of Twilight in university. It was longwinded and boring and had nothing to do with society as a whole. Unless Mormonism has that much of an impact on American society, which I don't think it does.

To your point though I could see where the person that wrote the review was coming from. Gays have been portrayed [for centuries] as pedophiles, deviants, and predators, but it is a stretch to say that that alone makes the book homophobic. I mean. Is Ellen homophobic for sharing her story of sexual assault?

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

I had a similar situation where I had to read and write an essay on why I agreed or disagreed on a feminist critique of Twilight in university. It was longwinded and boring and had nothing to do with society as a whole. Unless Mormonism has that much of an impact on American society, which I don't think it does.

To your point though I could see where the person that wrote the review was coming from. Gays have been portrayed [for centuries] as pedophiles, deviants, and predators, but it is a stretch to say that that alone makes the book homophobic. I mean. Is Ellen homophobic for sharing her story of sexual assault?

I understand the critique to an extent but feel that any character should be portrayed anyway without holding back based on some part of that character's identity. Because like it or not it is plausible but it doesn't mean every gay person or lesbian is a predator? I don't know if that makes sense. But I know some people are incapable of thinking like that and automatically assume the worst about the LGBT+ community.

But the book didn't even focus on that scene, the main intent of the book was to figure out who was murdering all these women within this childhood friend group.

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

That's true. Some people take it too far and don't consider everything. To be fair, some people value one aspect over others enough that they feel the book is truly tainted, so I can understand why it ay happen sometimes. I'm not the biggest fan of romance, and even just an inkling of it popping up between the main characters throws me off. I do my best not to write the book off as bad, though it does get difficult lol

I rarely read romance but also sometimes find it super annoying for romance to be inserted into every YA book when it's literally NOT needed in EVERY FUCKING BOOK!