Critiquing What You Love | BOOK CHAT

You can love something and still recognize and acknowledge its flaws :)

♦ LIPSTICK: Jeffree Star Liquid Lipstick in Mannequin

➝ DISCLAIMER: This video is not sponsored. All opinions are my own.

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REVIEW/BUSINESS INQUIRES

[gwenleaf]

Sarah J. Maas is one of my favorite authors but I 100% agree that she has some very iffy aspects to her writing. I really hate on the Internet that people in this fandom refuse to talk about the bad parts, and I love that you touched upon all of the bad parts about her books. Great video & discussion

[WhittyNovels]

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS OH MY GOSH!!!! I say on Tumblr ALL THE TIME how even though I love shatter me, there's so many shitty things about it. I've made entire posts about how Warner is a problematic character, and then people will come to my ask like "Wait, you don't like it anymore?" because for some reason if I expose a book I like's flaws, suddenly that means it's not my favorite anymore. So yes yes yes yes I love this video!!! No book is ever perfect!!!

[kariboheme]

Umm, I love you. I mean I suppose I knew this already but this video is everything. I have plenty of favorites, many of which I've pronounced perfect in that post-reading haze, but there's no doubt they have flaws. Hell, even Pride & Prejudice lagged sometimes and I'm over here like "Pick. It. Up. Jane. I care not for this pond and grass business." As a community, we need to stop validating our own opinions at the expense of others; there's enough room.
And every flaw you pointed out in this video was so spot on, especially the whole "why is fantasy not diverse bit." As someone revising her diverse-friendly fantasy novel, I hope people think of things this way.

[aristurtle]

THANK YOU for talking about the Dumbledore thing. Rowling, please don't expect a pat on the back for retroactively including diversity in your writing. The canon is flawed but we still love it, but please don't expect brownie points for being progressive in your writing when you obviously weren't when the canon came out. You can evolve as a writer. Write a new story and be mindful and respectful about writing diverse complex characters and accept that your previous work was flawed in this respect.

[brendan]

This was such a great discussion! The Throne of Glass criticism is so accurate, and I rated most of those books 5 stars.

[Mithrandir]

Finally someone talks about this! I love criticizing what I love, it shows that not everything is perfect because you love it. Sometimes the flaws make me love it more.

[kirstinmlf]

You've hit the nail on the head. Sometimes it feels like I'm not allowed to enjoy something if I can point out even one thing I don't like. On the flip side too, it also feels like I'm not allowed to enjoy things if they're problematic. Like, nothing is perfect. Everything has its faults. Just be aware of the bad parts and enjoy the good bits.

[Katesbookdate]

This is such a great discussion! I completely agree with everything you said. Whenever I point out a flaw in a book people automatically assume I didn't like the book and I'm just like NO I LOVED IT IT'S JUST NOT PERFECT.
Also your eyeshadow looks amazing

[TheOddtis]

This discussion was so well done. It can be hard with the two competing sides: one loving blindly without acknowledging the flaws and the other saying you cannot love anything if it has a problematic flaw. I love things but then sometimes feel bad if it is problematic but this discussion really made me feel better. Also, your makeup is absolutely stunning.

[elizabethgamez]

Amen! Automatically when people ask for a recommendation I want to say all my favorite series but at the same time I am a little apprehensive because even though the books and characters I'm absolutely trash for have their flaws. And I think its good to acknowledge them so people don't completely hype up the books and ruin them in the process.

[abbypage]

Just... thank you. I feel like you alleviated some of my guilt for hating so much of the Harry Potter stuff.

[chrissybooksandberries]

YES. Thank you. When I started Booktube I felt pressured to like EVERYTHING and be positive about it because I feared the backlash. It's great that you made this video because yes, you can love something but also accept that it has flaws.

[MorganRhodesYA]

Your eye shadow game is seriously on fleek! 😍👍🏻

[katiebrinkley]

I love your eyeshadow! Also, I completely agree with this discussion. You can love a story to the moon and back yet still acknowledge its flaws. I love that you're not afraid to talk about this sort of topic and you're always completely honest about your opinions!

[sheinanigans]

The way you said "Well, she doesn't kill people. She doesn't kill people." 😂😂

This is great video. Everybody should watch this.
(btw your makeup is on fleek)

[MaimJaie]

I feel this so much, I hate not being able to talk truthfully about the stories and media I consume, especially when I love them but I want to discuss how they can get better. Also if you don't put out true criticism, authors usually don't improve and then you have to watch your favourite series go down the toilet, or get tired of a formally-favourite author's work because they continue to rehash the same problems.

[racheyt]

Yessss! Buffy is part of my soul too, I don't think I will ever love a series as much because it meant so much to me, my dog is called Buffy too. But I completely agree with your points on the series, there were some dodgy storylines. This discussion was excellent :)

[emotionallbooks]

Thank you for talking about this. I've never really been introduced to this as a problem, probably because I don't often get into these kind of discussions with people on social media. I agree with what you said. I think that everyone should be able to discuss and talk about things and acknowledge the flaws. And even if someone doesn't agree with the majority of fans doesn't mean that people should make them feel bad because they realize that it isn't perfect and that they see something differently than most fans do. And just because you see a flaw in something doesn't mean that you aren't a good fan.

[dreamthosedreams]

This concept was just discussed in a fandom I'm part of because of how needlessly horrible it's been for these same reasons. It's brought up incredible discussions on how gender, society, race and ethics have affected it because fandoms don't exist in a cultural vacuum. So to have this continued with regard to Booktube is amazing and relieves me that people want to talk about things in a productive (not destructive) way. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, Sam. :D

[melaphant]

I completely loved this video 😍 You should make more videos discussing this topic. I think critiquing the books we read (even if we love them) will bring the changes we need in books, like more diversity and better plot, world, and character development. If we don't discuss these issues just because we love a series or an author, then we become complacent. Authors and publishing houses need to know that we do notice when a book has major flaws or needs more work, and even for amazing authors, talking about their works's flaws will only push them to fix these flaws in the books to come. I absolutely love your honesty. Really enjoyed this video 💗