Musing Mondays is a weekly theme hosted by the lovely MizB @ Books and a Beat, that asks you to answer one of the prompt questions and that week’s random question.
PROMPTS:
- I’m currently reading…
- Up next I think I’ll read…
- I bought the following book(s) this past week…
- I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
- I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
- I can’t wait to get a copy of…
- I wish I could read ___, but…
- I blogged about ____ this past week…
THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Name your least favorite plot device employed by way too many books that you actually enjoyed, otherwise.
I Bought the Following Book(s) this Past Week…
The Accidental Empress (Sisi, #1)Â by Allison Pataki
So I only bought one book and that was from the local secondhand bookstore that I just found out we had credit at. I will never go back there. It was total shit. Luckily, I did find one undamaged hardback that was on my TBR, so it wasn’t a totally lost cause.
My big haul actually just occurred at the library! No, I didn’t buy these books but it’s still a haul so I’m counting it. I’m a big fan of fantasy novels and I trust the recommendations that Regan @ PeruseProject gives, so I picked most of these from her rec video. Also, most of them have just been on my TBR for a while anyways.
- Vicious by V.E. Schwab
- Angelfall by Susan Ee
- Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles, #1) by Melina Marchetta
- Incarnate (Newsoul, #1) by Jodi Meadows
- The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1) by Brandon Sanderson
- The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Chronicles, #1) by Bernard Cornwell
- Graceling (Graceling Realms, #1) by Kristin Cashore
- The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicles, #1) by Patrick Rothfuss
Hahahaha, I just noticed how a bunch of these have ‘chronicles’ in the name. What a coinky dink.
Least Favorite Plot Device Employed by Way Too Many Books
I really haven’t enjoyed this plot device at any point, because it’s just positively silly to me, but when authors use miscommunication, or lack thereof, to be the main source of conflict in the story. It’s usually only used in contemporaries but I find it extremely annoying. If I’ve got an issue, then I’m just gonna tell you straight to your face. There isn’t going to be any of this, “well I thought you did this to me so I’m gonna do this to you” type of deal. That is insanely ridiculous. Life doesn’t work that way and it’s just very unrealistic to me. Seriously, all of the problems between Noah and Jude in I’ll Give You the Sun were completely STUPID. Most people don’t act that way towards each other, especially twins! We just sit down together and have a come-to-Jesus meeting. This what normal people do! You know it’s true, too.
Leave a comment with the link to your Musing Monday post or just answer the questions! What do y’all think of my library haul? See any that you like or any that you dislike?
Wonderfilled Reads 
I have 3 books by Brandon Sanderson but I’m so intimated by them all that I haven’t even given them a second glance haha. I’ve heard Vicious was absolutely AMAZING. I go to Regan whenever I need a fantasy rec cause she seems to always have the best. I looove her.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha yeah, they’re pretty big but most high fantasy books are. Though I’ve heard they read pretty fast so hopefully that’ll help!.. Yeah, I think she’s my favorite booktuber. She’s just really natural and very articulate with her opinions. Some other people just sound like idiots, go for theatrics, or just don’t give any reasoning behind their opinions. Plus, I like that she mentions books that aren’t being talked about by everyone. She’s very diverse with her reading which I am too so I really appreciate that.
LikeLike
Yeah, definitely! She’s actually the one who first in the booktube community to discover Mistborn and now everyone is obsessed with it haha. I have the Rithmatist by him which is much smaller than his other books so I may give that one a go first so I can get a taste for his writing style.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t heard of that one. I hope you like it though!
LikeLike
I’m right there with you on the miscommunication device in books. I can’t stand that. Even books I really liked use that, and then I’m all annoyed as I wait for the contemp characters to work out their bs. I also don’t like when a character knows something and they’re keeping it from the other because they think they know what’s best for them instead of telling them truth. A lot of contemps do that, too, and it really annoys me. It’s like just tell them and get it over with already. Then the plot ends up dragging out over this secret, and it’s just so… Did I say annoying already? Lol. I’m so bummed you couldn’t use that monster credit. I guess the mystery behind why they never used it has been revealed. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, exactly! To me, that’s just not even an excuse for conflict. You created a book around some idiotic plot point that could be fixed in less than 25 pages. To me it just sounds like the author didn’t take the time to figure out a real source for conflict. I mean anybody could make that their plot point for any book!.. Haha yes, exactly!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it’s such a lazy technique, yet so many authors do it and get away with it. I always feel like why did I even bother reading this piece of crap when I’m stuck flipping through 50 odd pages of nonsense about how their heart is broken because of this small detail they could’ve divulged in the beginning of the book. And I’m supposed to feel bad now for this character? Uh-huh. Not even close. Contemps do this too often. Even November 9 had a secret he could’ve told her from the beginning that wasn’t revealed until the end, and I liked that book. But that’s not to say I wasn’t a little annoyed when I found out about it. I feel like CoHo does that a lot with her books, but I still like them. Weird. Huh?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha yeah, just a bit. I think that’s why I don’t really contemps if I can help it. They’re all basically just the same book to me. There’s not really a journey, and I want that journey. I want there to be twists and turns. I don’t want to spend an entire book yelling at them to just tell the other person the issue, secret, or whatever. That’s just not enjoyable to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hear ya! I’m starting to get sick of contemps for that reason alone. At least with fantasy there’s usually something cool like magic or a prophecy or some evil villain that keeps you interested.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep. I want to wowed and glued to what’s gonna happen next and with contemporaries, that’s just not the case.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I ended up not posting a Musing Mondays post this week, but I was totally going to say miscommunication was the plot device that annoyed me and was overused haha It annoys the crap out of me. I can understand it being an issue every once in awhile because miscommunication does happen IRL, but when it’s the main force driving the plot and is consistently used throughout the whole book, I can’t stand it. Just talk to each other, it’s not that hard!! lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, exactly! I just feel like the author thought up their story idea but couldn’t think of how their conflict was going to work so they just chose miscommunication. I feel like it’s just such a cop out!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great haul!!! Vicious is on my TBR and Incarnate has such a beautiful cover.
Miscommunication is one of my least favourite plot devices too! In books and TV shows. Like so much conflict could be avoided if the characters just talked to each other? It all seems so pointless!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
I know, right?! It just seems like a really easy plot line that doesn’t take any time or creativity to come up with.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lack of communication can be seen in a lot of actiony type novels too, like withholding information from a character (and reader) just to move the plot forward. Even though there’s no reason to withhold that information otherwise??? I see it a lot in movies, & recently in the Maze Runner. Makes me so frustrated! Gahh!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, it can be. I think I just see it so much more in contemporary novels where it’s always the main source of conflict. But that’s just me personally. I haven’t read or seen the Maze Runner though!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is definitely overused in way too many contemporary novels, it’s true. People wanna add unnecessary drama to already dramatic stories, why???
I saw TMR, it was great. I’m reading the book now. It’s also great. I’m really enjoying them!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, that was my only issue with I’ll Gove You the Sun. It just made the story so unrealistic because of that.
LikeLike