Any other recommendations for books? I likewise mostly end up reading Christie-esque mysteries and romance, but If We Were Villains looks great. Anything else that you’ve read that you’d recommend?

The social status of Harry Potter facilitates her ability to continue pushing her hateful views. Harry Potter fandom gives her millions of dollars that she then donates to hate orgs making the UK a fucking nightmare for trans people. Even if you don't give her money, the people you're cheering on and sharing space with do! And again, her nastiness is IN the books you love so dearly.

If you're committed to putting your enjoyment of bigoted children's books above the health and safety of trans people, that's a choice you can make, but I'm not gonna lie to you and tell you that's not a really messed up one.

I loved Harry Potter too. Then I grew up and realized that the enjoyment I had for this book series wasn't worth ignoring the harm it facilitates.

There's everything in a short story, it'll cost you like a dollar (maybe 0 if you find it online) and a short read, but there's: Space spider, a male-only moon country, centaurs, a giant whale, fish people LIVING in the giant whale.... I read it and i was in awe, like whoever did the translation from old Greek to English did an amazing job, my first read of 2023 and a great start, not to mention it's over 1800 years old which still baffles me, you'd think we'd have changed a lot in nearly 2 millenia, nope, i bet we shitposted just as hard back then, they probably had lol too...

FWIW, here's my mental definition of the 5 star levels when rating a book such as on Goodreads:

1 star = Bad. Didn't finish, or finished but really hated it.

2 stars = Not good. Maybe didn't finish. Had a lot of issues.

3 stars = Fine. May be entertaining but poorly written, or well written but didn't work for me. Had some issues.

4 stars = Good. I really liked it. Not perfect but strengths greatly outweighed the flaws.

5 stars = Excellent. I would read this again. This book has earned a place as a physical copy on my bookshelves. Few or no flaws.

I really like them and whilst I do have to skip back due to wandering thoughts sometimes, I retain information better than just reading. It's an easy way to pass time doing small tasks and, with the right narrator, they can be such an immersive experience. Also, sometimes I'll listen to a book and then read it after since it helps with comprehension. But idk anyone else who has the time for that. If you're struggling with feeling like you didn't complete it, and if its possible for you, I'd recommend reading the last chapter or two of the book to see if that helps combat it?

I feel that way about Charles Todd's Inspector Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford mysteries. I really like the characters and its the first time I've read books that describe what the soldiers went through during WWI. I stopped reading for a while so a few more books of each series could come out.

I have not bought a physical book in years. Road Trip - book, working on a hobby - book, working out - book, you get the idea.

You just solved a mystery for me. It's plagued me for YEARS. I read this book years ago, and absolutely loved it, then forgot the name. I couldn't remember enough details to ever ask for help identifying it.

Now, I'm going to go re-read it!

I hope you enjoy it if you do read it :D

Climate apocalypse/dystopia is my auto-no.

I still feel ill when I think of the Kite Runner.

More than 5 and you start to get hung up on distinctions that aren't very meaningful. Sort of like in science class when they teach you about significant figures.

What I think would be cool would be a 2-dimensional scale. Something like separate ratings for "How much did you enjoy this book?" and "How good is this book as a work of literature?" Because there are plenty of books I've read that are high in one or the other of these but not both, and that's where I struggle with a simple 5 star scale.

> You see two people share a drink at a bar and then head to a cabin and the thread of evidence ends there, none of the conversation involving revoked consent is captured.

Sure, but if they're crew they're already someplace they're not allowed to be and will lose their job for.

And there's no way to deny most of what happened.

This doesn't mean crime is impossible but being a serial rapist crew member is basically impossible. Kind of the same way murders still happen but you don't have the serial killers with 50 victims of our grandparents time because forensics are so much better than they used to be.

> Few convictions lead to persecutions.

Note that your source is, basically, the closest cruise ship equivalent of ambulance chasers. Not that some of what they're saying isn't correct but take it with a grain of salt.

A series rather than a book, but I'll never finish the Discworld.

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I had mixed feelings while reading it: was mesmerized by the description of Salina Valley in the beginning and was thinking to myself "how comes I didn't discover this book earlier?", then felt a bit exhausted by the initial conflicts between the two brothers and Cathy's erratic behaviour, but after getting into it I couldn't stop.It took me like 2 weeks (?) to finish it, which is unusual when I dig a book. But I have an excuse, it's a pretty thick book lol. At times it can be a bit boring and unrealistic, but some of the characters and their dynamics make it the masterpiece that it is. Its rawness distinguish it from a lovely feel good novel with nice characters; it's relatable, almost palpable and larger than life. Imo its imperfections make it perfect, it's a fine balance that Steinbeck mastered

I love them for non-fiction, and retain information better than I do with regular books. With fiction I struggle to keep track of the story.

Love.them. they allow me to read while doing other things,like driving or cleaning or boringnshitm

> Again, it may not be the intended purpose, but getting to hire cleaning staff and not have to pay them American mimimum wage seems awfully convenient...

It absolutely is. In a sense it's a lot like migrant farm workers who come from Mexico to the US to pick our fruit. That's simultaneously a job that no American is willing to do for the wage it pays, and a job that is good enough / pays well enough to make sacrifices to travel and do for many Mexicans.

You talk to people who work on ships, and the story you get a lot is that, yeah, they work long hours and they're away from their families a lot of the year... but what they're paid, while by our standards really low, is also a lot more money they can make at home with the skills they have. For a lot of crew this is a sacrifice they choose to make so their kids can have better lives than they did when they were kids. I like to think I'd be willing to do the same in their situation.

You also will, for example, meet crew who are gay and from countries where it's dangerous to be gay or something similar and this is their way to be able to, essentially, escape and get to be who they are.

> As for planes, it's an efficient mode of transport for me, not a luxury. At worst I'm there for 12 hrs? At no point am I being sold the fantasy of an air resort or expected to mix and mingle with the hundreds of people on the flight.

Ok, then let me try: whatever you're picturing for crowding is probably not accurate on a modern ship. The biggest ships in the world will have thousands of passengers but also are, essentially, small floating cities.

The issue is cameras don't magically fix the issue.

I think an environment that's constantly splashing drinks leads to cases of dubious consent. You see two people share a drink at a bar and then head to a cabin and the thread of evidence ends there, none of the conversation involving revoked consent is captured.

Few convictions lead to persecutions. Again, if it's bad on land, I think it's worse on a boat with fewer third parties to assist.

I'm almost finished with Legends and Lattes and most of the book is low-stakes. Plus, the serious parts aren't presented in a heavy way. For example, >!Viv is depressed about the fire for two days and then conveniently everyone pulls together to rebuild despite the fact that there's no money for it.!<

I find false advertisement more common in literary fiction, where the person who wrote the summary tries to invent a plot or raise stakes that're not actually there. For example, I just read We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama. Part of the description is:

>When Dolma comes across the Nameless Saint in a collector's vault, she must decide what she is willing to do for her community, even if it means risking her dreams.

This is really not what happens at all.

Straight info, yes. Anything I want to delve into, to appreciate - book.

This is good to know.

See this is why I like TheStoryGraph. It's a 5-star scale, yes, but it lets you do 0.5 and 0.25 stars, so really it's a 20-star scale if you want to get that specific.

There's nothing wrong with reading mainly one-two genres and many do so successfully, although it may lead to reading burnout. Talking from my own personal experience - I used to read a lot of crime and thriller books, but now just the thought of reading another book of these two genres gives me shivers.

As someone who discovered new genres in the last years, I found helpful:

• Reading lighter or shorter novels first. For example, in case of sci-fi, those books were The Hitchicker's Guide to the Galaxy and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Both of those demonstrated that sci-fi isn't what I thought it would be.

• Trying out subgenres or books with multiple genres combined. For example, I like some aspects of magic but high fantasy with complex magical systems is too much. So instead I read urban fantasy, magical realism and fairytales.

• Choosing based on some elements from books you have enjoyed. Environment, atmosphere, era, characters, etc. For example, I love Sherlock Holmes. So when I learned about Agent Pendergast series, I had to give it a try even though horror isn't exactly my cup of tea. Needless to say, I enjoyed it a lot. Another example is my favorite urban fantasy series, The Rivers of London, that not only takes place in one of my favorite cities but also combines police work with magic. I mean..it's perfect combo in my eyes lol!

So to sum up, only thing that helps is to choose books more thoughtfully and read, read, read. It takes time and experience to learn to put aside your biases and expectations and to appreciate different genres and what they can offer imho.

Edit: wording