At the beginning of the new year, our writers gathered to discuss our reading goals for 2024, and the conversation devolved from there. Here is a brief collection and transcription of our discussion. It has been edited for length and clarity.<\/sub><\/p>\n\n\n\n EU:<\/strong> Eugene<\/sub><\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> Elise<\/sub><\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> Peyton<\/sub><\/p>\n\n\n\n EU:<\/strong> In terms of reading goals I know we kinda dropped the ball; are we doing anything differently this upcoming year to administer that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> I don\u2019t wanna put any number goals; I feel like you and I talked about that before, Peyton. I just wanna do my best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> I agree, I think a number goal is kind of . . . The goal is not to hit a certain amount of books, it\u2019s to change, like, am I reading before bed? Or if I have free time, am I choosing to watch something or choosing to read something?<\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> Choices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n EU:<\/strong> I\u2019ve been reading a lot on the subway\u2013it helps that I have a two hour commute every day, in total. One hour each way. That\u2019s been a really big help getting through books. I\u2019m trying to use my Kindle more; I feel like physical books are actually kind of a physical barrier, sometimes, to reading. So using my Kindle has been a game changer. Although I\u2019m getting yelled at by my roommates, like, You should be using the Libby app on your phone<\/em>! <\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> Oh my god, I use the Libby app! <\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> Support your local library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> Yeah, support your local library! <\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> What I found last year is whenever I checked a book out from the library, I always read faster. Because you have five days to pick up this book and then three weeks to return it. I was like, Oh my god, I\u2019m on a time crunch! I need to get on this so I can return it on time! I almost have to give myself homework. <\/p>\n\n\n\n EU: <\/strong>I do think having a little bit of a time crunch helps. When I\u2019m on the train, I only have 50 minutes to read as much as I can for today. So bust out the pages on my Kindle. Maybe the goal is to have self-discipline . . . I do think I want to aim for some<\/em> numerical goal though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> I read five books I liked [in 2023], and I think I read around seven romance books to fill the void and they were all terrible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EU:<\/strong> Why is romance like that? I cannot do romance books, which is so sad, because I would like to enjoy a little romance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> In these romance novels that you\u2019re reading, are the relationships thematic, or is it just these two characters get together<\/em>? Cause that\u2019s the difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> Mostly these two get together, <\/em>and it\u2019s fucking miserable, dude. <\/p>\n\n\n\n EU:<\/strong> I hate it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> I\u2019m wanting the powerfulness of Queen of Attolia<\/a><\/em> and it does not hit. So I\u2019m chasing something that\u2019s never going to happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n EU:<\/strong> It\u2019s like a drug except you never get a rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> Part of that is . . . very few things in this world will reach the madness\u2013the illness\u2013that Queen of Attolia<\/em> gives you. I just came out of re-watching When Harry Met Sally<\/em> in theaters and even though that\u2019s a rom-com, the entire relationship is thematic and deep, and they spend special attention working on the themes of that relationship. That’s why it works. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so good. It all has to be working together. It can\u2019t just be \u201cI want character 1 to get with character 2,\u201d we have to understand why<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EL: <\/strong>Yeah, I agree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n EU: <\/strong>I think the worst part of romance books is when there is no plot but they\u2019re manufacturing conflict, so I\u2019m just sitting there like, Why is this happening?<\/em> It’s so painful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> They\u2019re really good at writing moments<\/em>, but they\u2019re not built on anything in particular, so they don\u2019t hit. They have well written moments, but where is this coming from? You barely know each other, there\u2019s nothing this is built off of, but that\u2019s a nice speech that you made, I guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> It\u2019s the Red, White, and Royal Blue<\/em>, like, \u201cWe hate each other, but we hate each other based on really stupid nonsense and a few quips and jokes about the royal crown, and now all of a sudden we\u2019re switching and we\u2019re in love with each other.\u201d So people bill it as \u201cenemies to friends for lovers,\u201d but they didn\u2019t hate each other over anything for real<\/em>, they had no diametrically opposed views that would make them enemies, and now the resolution as friends or lovers, even though it might be a nice moment, it still doesn\u2019t hit because the set-up isn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> Yeah, that was my experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n EU:<\/strong> I think the one thing that The Song of Achilles<\/em> does for me that other romance books don\u2019t do is the yearning and the constant need to be in this person\u2019s life\u2013 <\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> The devotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EU: <\/strong>Yes, the devotion, the loyalty, because they build it the entire novel. It\u2019s not just like, Where is this coming from? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n EU:<\/strong> The other book I read, The Fifth Season<\/a><\/em>, was stunning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> Literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EU:<\/strong> I felt almost bad for N.K. Jemison because when I was like fifty percent of the way through the book, I was like: I\u2019m having a good time, and this is a good fantasy novel, but I don\u2019t see why everyone is so obsessed with this. Then I got to the point where my eyes were opened, and I was like, fuck<\/em>, now I feel bad for underestimating the author while reading this. Basically, there are three different characters and three different timelines, and then the author pulls a twist where they show you how those three timelines intertwine and combine, and it\u2019s just stunning. The way they pulled that off was just . . . infuriating, to be fair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> If you wanted to teach anyone about third person, second person, and first person point of view, and why they matter, and how you can use them in different ways, this novel . . . Not only are there three different characters in three different timelines, but also three different points of view. One person\u2019s in second, one person\u2019s in first, and one person\u2019s in third. It completely shapes the way the novel is written and told to you. I was very similar to Eugene, where I was halfway through and I was like, this is intriguing but I’m not in love with it<\/em>. And then that point of view twist at the end . . . That realization you have at the end, where it\u2019s like, I basically didn\u2019t understand anything that I was reading and I thought I did<\/em>. And that kind of relief that you\u2019re in the hands of a much smarter author than you are. You\u2019re like, \u201cOh, thank god.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n EU:<\/strong> Yeah, I\u2019m along for the ride now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> Elise, I wanted to get your opinion, however much you\u2019ve read of it, of the perspective switch of Harrow the Ninth<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> I\u2019m wondering who is the one speaking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> When I read these two series, I was going back and forth between them. I read The Fifth Season<\/em>, which has its major point of view\/perspective twist, and then I read Harrow<\/em>. For Eugene, Gideon the Ninth<\/a><\/em> is third person through the character of Gideon, and then Harrow the Ninth<\/a><\/em> suddenly switches, and the majority of the book is done in second person point of view. For me, because I had just come out of reading The Fifth Season<\/em>, I was kind of primed. I was like, Woah, I\u2019ve seen this before<\/em>. Not that Harrow<\/em> is copying by any means, but I was a little bit more attuned to the perspective thing going on here. Because<\/em> I had read The Fifth Season, I could see it coming. . . these books are doing quite fun and fantastic things with their perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> It seems like she [Harrow] is a little bit crazy . . . <\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> Yeah, I think what Harrow<\/em> and The Fifth Season<\/em> especially has taught me, is . . . I always thought that second person point of view was very familiar, like it\u2019s literally \u201cyou\u201d doing it, but after those books, it actually feels de-personalized. Like they\u2019re disassociating. They\u2019re not an \u201cI\u201d and they\u2019re not a name. It\u2019s good character work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n EU:<\/strong> It was exciting to be that moved and that inspired by a book. It\u2019s been a really long time since I\u2019ve felt like that over a book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n P: <\/strong>[Re: Bleak House<\/em>, 2005] I got to episode four and I decided I have to do something else, because . . . It\u2019s quite painful to watch, and it\u2019s fifteen<\/em> episodes. It drags. It\u2019s boring and it drags. <\/p>\n\n\n\n EU:<\/strong> On the note of not finishing things, I am definitely in the camp of if it\u2019s starting to feel like a chore, I just stop doing it<\/em>. I\u2019d rather preserve the joy of reading\/consuming media than forcing myself through something and being like, \u201cBye, I never want to do that ever again.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> Yeah, I\u2019ll drop it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> Don\u2019t get me wrong, I might finish it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EL:<\/strong> But that\u2019s what you<\/em> do with TV, whereas normal people are like, \u201cOkay, I don\u2019t want to watch this anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n P:<\/strong> Because for me, watching it and going, \u201cThis is so bad, and these are all the ways it is bad,\u201d is quite entertaining. I just have to take it piece by piece. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At the beginning of the new year, our writers gathered to discuss our reading goals for 2024, and the conversation devolved from there. Here is a brief collection and transcription of our discussion. It has been edited for length and clarity. EU: Eugene EL: Elise P: Peyton On reading goals: EU: In terms of reading […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[23,13],"class_list":["post-1114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conversation-about","tag-literature","tag-novel"],"yoast_head":"\nOn reading goals: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
On Romance Novels:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
On The Fifth Season <\/em>& Narrative POV<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To drop or not to drop a show? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n