Why I stopped using NetGalley and cut back on reading current fiction...

If you've been around my blog for a while, you may have wondered why my reading taste has changed so much this past year. My blog has never been a hotspot on the internet, and that's never bothered me. I initially created it as a personal way to track my thoughts on books and authors. Since I've stopped getting books from NetGalley, my number of views has dropped, and I'm okay with that as well. And I'll tell you why...

Before that, I want to clarify that everything here is my personal reflections. Other people feel differently, and that's fine. I think it's good for people to think differently and for us to challenge each other's thought processes once in a while (not all the time, though - that's draining!). I'm going to break this post into two sections: NetGalley and current fiction.

NetGalley

When I started getting books on NetGalley, I thought it was great. I wasn't spending a bunch of money on books, and I was able to read authors I enjoyed. I even had a few authors stop by my blog, and I was excited. But after a couple of years, I started to feel uncomfortable. What happened when I didn't like a book? I got it for free, I liked the author, but I didn't want to "hate" on their hard work. On the other hand, I also felt I owed NetGalley something for giving me the book in the first place. I didn't feel comfortable not giving any review, either. I once saw a comment saying, "If you don't like a book, just don't leave a review." I don't think that's the answer. If I post a negative review, I'll tell you why. Normally, there was something in the book that didn't appeal to me. That thing, whatever it is, might not bother you, but if it does, you'll know you may not enjoy the book. I mean it to be helpful, but some consider it to be negativity thrown at the author.

Another issue I came across was that many of my reviews were beginning to sound the same. The books were sounding the same in my head. I wasn't trying out new authors because I was too busy keeping up with the ones I'd come to love. I asked myself, what was I adding to the conversation? I'd be reading a book, enjoying it, and then stare at the keyboard when I'd go to write the review. Everything I wanted to say, I'd already said it somewhere else for another book.

In the end, I fell out of love with NetGalley through no fault of its own. It gave me books for free, but I felt guilty if I didn't like them. I wasn't going to lie, so I gave it up. I've heard change is good (not that I'm a fan), which brings me to my second point...

Current Fiction

Once I quit NetGalley, I evaluated what I was reading. The main thing I wanted to do was get outside my comfort zone. Since all the books I'd been reading had started to sound the same, I wanted to mix it up a bit. I started to wonder, "Who decides which fiction becomes popular?" Most people have heard of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, but who decided that? That's when I wondered who else was writing books back in the day and if any of them were any good. 

I want to hunt down some hidden gems that have slipped through the cracks. Anyone can write and publish a book now, and we're overwhelmed with choices. The tales of the past are being forgotten unless they were of significance, but maybe there are still a few out that deserve some recognition. Maybe I'll be the only one finding the little diamonds, but in the end, that's not the point. I'm actually enjoying this journey more than I thought. I've also started diving into some nonfiction (Night Witches and I held the sun in my hands), and it's been great. The lesson here, narrowed down to four little words is "read what you love."

Aunt Jane of Kentucky - Eliza Calvert Hall

At the end of Lady Molly of Scotland Yard, there were 16 pages full of ads for other fiction of the time. I wrote down the titles and looked to see which ones were available on Gutenberg.org. I was a little surprised how few of them were there. I then made the mistake of asking my daughter (who likes to mess with me) to pick one. Instead of picking one of the more exciting-sounding titles, she picked this one.

Aunt Jane is an elderly woman who tells tales of things she's observed over the course of her life. It's set in the old days of Kentucky, when the women were supposed to do what the men said and cook their meals, etc., so that's reflected in the topics and actions of the characters. People die young, and women are treated like property. To be fair, it wasn't just in the "olden days" that things like that happened. I experienced that in the late 90's when I visited my future husband's family in Kentucky. The "men-folk" ate first, and I felt like I'd travelled back in time.

Anyway, this book contains nine stories. I read about quilts, a woman who stood up to some men, a horse race at the fair, and some other things. What I didn't really read was the last chapter. I skimmed that one since it was literally all about flowers and gardens. I have what I term a "black thumb" where everything I try to grow immediately dies, so if Heaven is all gardens, I'm screwed.

The book made me think of what it would be like to sit down with my grandmother and listen to her tell stories of when she was younger. The problem is, I have no connection with Aunt Jane or the people she's talking about, and while her storytelling was somewhat engaging, I wasn't interested in her stories. I remember doing this with my grandmas, but the main attraction was spending time with them. Don't get me wrong, I loved their stories, but the best part was always just being with them, especially when I got older.

It wasn't all bad, though. Aunt Jane did have some real nuggets of wisdom in there. Two that stood out to me were, "Things is predestined to come to us, honey, but we're jest as free as air to make what we please out of 'em." and my personal favorite, "It's jest as wrong to be too hard on yourself as it is to be too hard on other folks." Aunt Jane may not have been my favorite book in this journey, but I'm still glad I read it.

Two closing thoughts. First, I don't know who chose this cover, but it's terrifying. And second, I'm not letting my daughter choose my books anymore! It was a decent book and pretty well written once you get used to the accent, but in general, I wouldn't want to read something like it again.

I held the sun in my hands - Erika Jacoby (DTB)

It's a long, convoluted story why I decided to choose and read this book, so I'll skip that part and get to the review. The short version is that I saw a video with the author in it, and I was taken by her composure. When I noticed that she'd written her memoirs, I immediately wanted to order it. 

Erika was only a young girl when the Germans invaded Hungary in 1944. Her life was forever changed as she lived through events most of us can't imagine. She was at different camps including Auschwitz and Plaszow, but somehow made it through with her mother.

What I found most interesting was that liberation happened about halfway through the book. It's an often overlooked question. What happened to the people after the camps were liberated? I'm ashamed to say I'd never thought much about it. I couldn't put the book down as I read Erika's story of survival and what she went through trying to create a life after the war.

I read this book in two days, and I highly recommend it. This book was well written and easy to read. I was a bit nervous because I don't normally like to read nonfiction in general, but this was the best book I've read this year. Great Book!

Lady of Seven Emeralds - Clara Wimberly

So, I went a bit nostalgic and got 3 Zebra Gothics off eBay for a little over $10. Once they got here, I read the backs and picked out one to read. I was intrigued by the summary and the extreme expression on this woman's face.

Rebecca sees Ramon standing on the balcony and immediately falls in love with him. Somehow. She's a teacher at the school for the blind, and after a few days she ends up working at Ramon's house as his personal teacher. As time goes by, she's incapable of figuring out what she thinks. One minute she suspects him of something nefarious, and the next she'll love him forever.

I remembered that I have to suspend my notions of reality with these books, but this one stretched them too far. Rebecca annoyed me to the point where I couldn't wait for her to get kidnapped or for something to happen to her. The "hero" was also disappointing. Ramon openly professes that he's possessive...and she's okay with it! Even finds it endearing! Nope.

Pushing past that, it was hard for me to get invested in this book. Disliking a main character always makes it a bit harder, but when both of them are unlikable in a romance, it's a dud. The author turned the one person I did like into one of the villains, so that was another strike. 

I normally enjoy these as a few hours escape and for the cheesy factor. The damsel in distress usually makes me roll my eyes, but I never see them as a reflection of reality. AT ALL. Never have. So, it usually takes a great deal for me to dislike one of these, but this woman was just too much. Bit of a disappointment.

The Lion of the North: A Tale of the Times of Gustavus Adolphus - G.A. Henty

George Alfred Henty isn't someone I would've come across on my own. I actually saw someone mention this book on YouTube when I was watching a Sabaton video. I've been trying to expand my history a bit, and since I don't normally gravitate to nonfiction, this seemed like a happy medium. A fictional adaptation based on historical events? I'll give it a shot. I downloaded a copy of this book from Gutenberg.org.

Malcolm is a Scottish soldier who is fighting on the side of the Swedes in the Thirty Years' War. He goes through an awful lot in the book, and it's quite the adventure. While I'm certain Henty intended for the book to be read by young men (he starts his preface 'my dear lads'), I enjoyed it as a female.

This may have been originally published in 1886, but it was easier to read than I expected. My criticism is the changes in view. Imagine you're taking a pair of binoculars and focusing in on one person, then you zoom out so far they disappear. That happened many times in this book, and I wasn't fond of that. I also didn't follow a lot of that since I'm unfamiliar with German towns. The focus of the book would go from Malcolm to the overall battles and troop movements, and that's where I'd get lost.

I did thoroughly enjoy the parts of the book that dealt with Malcolm and his journey. Henty wrote 122 books and covered a variety of times. I may come back and read more of him in the future. If you need to learn more about this particular period of time, this isn't a bad place to start. Good Book!