Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Totally Should've Book Tag


Story Time: For the past few months, I’ve been checking out some book bloggers on YouTube because I figured it would be good blogging research. And along the way, I’ve noticed a lot of the book tags I’m familiar with or have done myself, such as the Unpopular Opinions Book Tag and the Cake Tag. I’ve also discovered some unfamiliar tags circulating around the BookTube community. In fact, I was already eyeballing the Totally Should’ve Book Tag when TT @ Intro to Blurb tagged me for it. So this works out very nicely. Thank you, TT! 

(Just as a side note, I realize I have a backlog of about seven tags, some dating all the way back to November 2015 or thereabouts. I promise, I haven’t forgotten about those, and I will get to them eventually. It just might take me a while since I tend to do tags as the mood strikes me.) 

Before diving into the tag, I also want to mention that I noticed this tag has evolved a bit since it’s creation last year. Because I’m a fan of both the original questions and the added questions, I decided to go ahead and use them all. And since I found the original tag video, I’ll include the link here, so you can check that one out as well. 

Without any further ado, here’s the tag. (Click on the book covers for the Goodreads descriptions, if you'd like.) 


Totally should have gotten a sequel


We were promised a sequel to THE HOST way back in 2012. Actually, we were promised two sequels, and I have yet to hear a peep since then. I want these sequels SO BADLY I frequently imagine buying Stephenie Meyer a small chocolate store as incentive to write/finish them. Please don’t try to tell me this is unreasonable. (My thinking is, if she sneakily wrote LIFE AND DEATH and dropped it on us without much warning, mayhap she will do that with THE HOST sequels as well? One can always hope.) 


Totally should have had a spin-off series

  

All right, I realize this is probably not going to be a popular opinion, given the backlash over the Hunger Games theme park idea and the potential furthering of the Hunger Games movie franchise. And I do understand some of the reasons given against those—don’t get me wrong. But I would love to read a trilogy of books narrated by someone from the Capitol, someone who watches Katniss experience the games and gradually comes to see the problems with the Capitol lifestyle. That kind of awakening would be super satisfying for me, and I would enjoy having a unique chance to explore the culture and the world of THE HUNGER GAMES further. I also think, if handled correctly, a trilogy like that could strengthen the main message of THE HUNGER GAMES rather than compromising it. Maybe I should buy Suzanne Collins a small chocolate store as well—you know, just to sweeten the deal. *writes check* 


An author who totally should write more books

Speaking of Suzanne Collins, I have not heard anything about what she’s working on now, and I would love to read some new stuff from her. I also wish Margaret Mitchell had written more books (and, you know, not been hit by a car) after writing GONE WITH THE WIND


A character who totally should have ended up with someone else

  

For my top three, (since I can’t stick with just one) I’ll just say I wasn’t a fan of the love triangle endgames in the LEGEND trilogy, the Grisha trilogy, and the MATCHED trilogy (I haven’t finished reading that trilogy yet, so I shouldn’t judge—but from what I do know of the ending, I do not approve). 


Totally should have ended differently


I don’t actually think ALLEGIANT should have had an entirely different ending, but I do think what does happen at the end could have been handled better. *hides from rabid fans* I’m not upset about the conclusion, don't get me wrong. It’s just that the execution fell a little flat for me, especially when I reread the book. I felt that there were a few holes in the logic of the resolution, and I would have liked it if things had been wrapped up in a more meaningful way. With a little tweaking, I think the last 100 pages could have been extra powerful. 


Totally should have had a movie franchise

  

For this one, I want to say THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, but I honestly don’t know how well that would translate to film. In the wrong hands, it has the potential to be worse than awful. I’d rather just stick with the book and my poor, pummeled heart. So instead I’m going to say the LEGEND trilogy. While the dystopian movie industry might be in danger of overload, I think these books would translate well to screen, and I think the visual aspect—with all the landscapes and technology—would be stunning. I would also love to see WOOL turned into a movie. And since the film rights have been picked up for ILLUMINAE, I am anxious to see where that will go. 


Totally should have had a TV show

   
  

I think The Lunar Chronicles would translate well into TV show format, especially considering how long WINTER is. This would also allow the writers to incorporate some of the stories from STARS ABOVE into the narrative. 


Totally should have had only one point of view


I have to, once more, pull the ALLEGIANT card. *hides from angry fans, again* But Tris and Four’s voices weren’t very distinct at all. Initially, I thought I was just having trouble because I was engrossed in the story and not paying enough attention, but even when I reread it, I had to keep going back and checking to see whose head I was in. So, for the most part, I came away feeling that Four’s perspective didn’t add a whole lot to the story. 

However, I did rather like the idea of being in Four’s head for part of ALLEGIANT, so I guess in this case I would change this category from “Totally should have had only one point of view” to “Totally should have polished the POVs a little more”, or something like that. *resumes hiding from angry fans* 


Totally should have a cover change

 

I haven’t read this book yet, but I would be much more motivated to pick up 172 HOURS ON THE MOON if it had a nicer cover. The original cover looks a bit tacky, and the redesign doesn’t make me go all grabbyhands. Of course, I would love to read this book someday, I just wish the covers didn’t make me want to cringe/yawn. 


Totally should have kept the original covers

 
This cover captures the mood of the story beautifully

  
These ones make me want to dust the entire house

DELIRIUM. Oh my goodness, the cover change for this one bothers me SO. STINKING. MUCH. I loved the original cover for DELIRIUM. I mean, for one thing, redesigning the covers mid-series is basically pure evil. And for another, they took a lovely, expressive cover and changed it to something frumpy and gross. And then they made the covers for PANDEMONIUM and REQUIEM even more frumpy and gross. This is probably the main reason why I haven’t purchased the trilogy yet. It would feel like I was decorating my bookshelves with vases of dusty, obviously fake flowers. Just, no. (I do still plan to buy them, and they will probably end up growing on me. I just like complaining.) 


Totally should have stopped at book one


This is not a hill that I would die on, but it would have been mildly nice if I AM NUMBER FOUR had just been a strong, stand-alone novel. I’ve only read the first three books in the Lorien Legacies series, but the writing got progressively worse from book one to book three, which frustrated me. I still do want to finish reading the series at some point, as the stories themselves are interesting. But I find it difficult to get excited over that prospect because the first three books read like my rough drafts. And I don’t read my rough drafts for fun. 


I totally should have stopped reading


ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE just didn’t hold my attention, but I forced myself all the way through, hoping it would get better. Instead my mind dragged and I lost a lot of reading momentum and time. You can read my mini review here


Totally should have not prejudged 


Confession time: I love love love ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, and I had been drooling over it for more than a year (if I recall correctly) before I got it. But for a couple months there, I wasn’t excited for it because I read some bad reviews and decided it probably wasn’t as good as it looked. So I passed up on some opportunities to buy it, which meant that when I started getting excited for it again, I had to wait extra long before I was able to get my hands on it and the rest of the trilogy. Of course, when I read it, I fell in love and kicked myself for putting it off. The moral of this story is that, if you absolutely want that shiny book beyond all reason, just buy that shiny book and then decide for yourself whether or not you like it. Another person’s opinion is not necessarily going to be your own. 



And that’s it for the tag. I hereby nominate (in no particular order): 




If I have not tagged you for this, and you would like to participate, please, consider yourself tagged. And if I have tagged you and you would rather forgo this one, that is fine as well. (See, I can be a benevolent world ruler.) 




What about you, little coffee beans? What are some of your answers for this one? Have you ever wrongly pre-judged a book? Have you ever forced yourself to read a book and then regretted it? Is there a book you feel should have ended differently? What are some cover redesigns that seriously irked you? 

20 comments:

  1. Thanks for tagging, Liz!

    It's funny, I was actually extremely against Artemis Fowl before I read it, and now it's my favourite series. And I'm so glad I wasn't the only one who couldn't keep Four/Tris straight, and I agree that we didn't need his POV. Like dude, we know you have issues with your parents. Move on. And I'm not in the best position to comment on the ending of Allegiant, mostly because I don't really remember 100% what happened (books 2 and 3 were a blur for me) but from what I remembered I was quite pleased with the ending. I thought it completed Tris' arc quite well, even if I thought a little more thought should have gone into that decision.

    Cinder as a TV show. YES.

    And is the Legend series worth finishing? I read the first one and it was pretty good, but I don't know if I'll ever get around to finishing it if it's just ok.

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    1. You're welcome! :)

      Interesting. I know that happened with A Series of Unfortunate Events for me, as well as other books. My sister was listening to the audiobook for Allegiant, and even though the narrator for Four is a guy, she still kept getting the two POVs confused. I died laughing when she told me. :P Yeah, the bare bones of the ending were pleasing to me too. I do think it completed her character arc well, in theory.

      *nods* It needs to happen.

      I liked it, even though I had a couple issues with it. I do think the last two books were better written. *shrugs* I would probably give the sequels four stars each.

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  2. I might steal this tag eventually, since you gave me permission to do it.

    I also agree with you on the Hunger Games spin-off; I think it would make for a really interesting read.

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    1. By all means, do so! Just, maybe hit me in the jaw or something so the police believe me when I say you knocked me out and stole it and that there was nothing I could do to stop you.

      *nods* I must have this thing. :P

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  3. I totally agree that Allegiant shouldn't have had the two POVs. It was a dead giveaway to me when I first started reading that something was going to happen to Tris, especially since the other books didn't have the shared POVs.

    This is a fun tag! And also it's my first time on your blog. Imogen Elvis sent me here from her blog:)

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    1. I'm finding out that this is a pretty common opinion among bookworms. And I'm thinking it might have been a giveaway to me as well, but I shall never know because I had the ending spoiled for me about a year before I got around to reading it. Also, it just bugs my OCD so much. :P

      I'm so glad you liked it! Welcome! Imogen's blog is wonderful! I'm so glad you decided to stop by. Sorry I'm so late in responding to your comment. :( I still really appreciate it! :)

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  4. Thanks for tagging me! I DEFINITELY have ideas for some of these...

    I hadn't thought about a Lunar Chronicles TV show before, but now I REALLY want it to exist. And Etiquette & Espionage was a big disappointment for me, too. (And for some reason, I got book 4 from the library and I'm going to read it. Why haven't I stopped yet?)

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    1. You're welcome! :)

      It needs must happen. :P I've still considered reading the rest of the series, because I don't like not finishing series, but I also don't like having reading slumps either, so I don't know if it would be worth it to give the series a second chance. And it's not like I'm running out of other things to read, so...

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  5. Oooo! Thanks for tagging me in this. As I scrolled through the questions, I was thinking about how much I'd like to do this tag. XD I have some tag build-up myself, but I will get to it soon. I'm making my way through the tags. I have six including this one. I totally agree with your opinions of Allegiant (my review for that is going up next Tuesday by the way). And yes yes yes with Hunger Games spin-off and more Suzanne Collins books!

    storitorigrace.blogspot.com

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    1. You're welcome! :) I totally read your mind...in advance...because I'm awesome like that. Yeah.
      No rush on doing the tag. :P I have some I was tagged for in the middle of last year and haven't done yet, so I am in no position to judge you. :P
      MORE HUNGER GAMES. MORE HUNGER GAMES NOW. GIMME. *composes self*

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  6. I seriously need to read The Host. *sighs* People like it a lot. (But I liked Life and Death a lot so.) I feel like everyone thought Alina should end up with someone else in Shadow and Bone. XDD I am always suspicious of books being turned into TV shows unless they are actually suggested by people who work in the film industry because people make terrible assumptions about how TV shows work, like "every chapter should be one episode!" and I am like "you have no idea how TV works."

    And you should not feel bad that I say that on this post when you just said it because you did not say anything stupid like that it is just that's what happens on Tumblr and it makes me mad so I took this opportunity to vent.

    That is where the books I know stopped, althoug you seem to have popular sentiments shared with the last two books, since many others say the same things. Just saying.

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    1. I noticed that you had marked it as read on Goodreads. I'm so glad you liked it! :) (I also liked Life and Death a lot. In fact, I ended up maybe liking it a bit more than Twilight, mainly because Stephenie was able to polish the story more.)

      Yeah, I've noticed some posts on tumblr operating under that assumption, and I'm just like, umm, no, that's not how it works honey. :P Book-to-TV adaptations really only work when the books are too long/complex for movies and have wiggle room to expand. Like, it would be unreasonable to expect an exact translation from the book to the small screen. I totally do not judge you for wanting to vent. I see a lot of ignorant, uneducated comments, and I too need to vent from time to time.

      I did notice that, and it was gratifying. :P

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  7. I'm so glad you decided to give the tag a go - this is such a good response, and I definitely approve of these answers *nods furiously*.
    The Delirium trilogy covers NEED TO REVERT BACK RIGHT THIS INSTANT. Gah. I'm really glad to know that it's not just me who hates the weird, uncomfortable expression of some girl on the front of my beloved book. *major nope*. A spin-off of the Hunger Games narrated from a Capitol citizen would just be INCREDIBLE now that you mention it - perspectives, insights. I'm totally up for that.

    - Suzanne Collins please take note -

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    1. Thanks so much for tagging me! I really enjoyed writing it. :) I'm so glad you liked it! :)
      THEY DO. OMG, THEY REALLY DO. Tbh, I'm not even sure what they were going for when they made those facial expressions. Just that they make me uncomfortable. The redo for the first one is, comparatively, not as bad. But still. I'm glad that we're all onboard for The Hunger Games spin-off. I mean, I'm sad, because I doubt it will happen. But I can also still hope. :P *sends Suzanne Collins thousands of fan letters explaining the idea* *gets kicked out of country for harassment*

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  8. YAY TAG FUN!! *flails* I shall put it on my list to do although, I warn you, I have like tags from um...2 years ago, probably?! SOMEHOW I NEVER GET AROUND TO TAGS *weeps* But this one does sound particularly fun. OH and I totally agree about Suzanne Collins. I want more books. demanding it, honestly. I feel like she is the next reclusive famous writer like Harper Lee. GAH. I mean, I do understand. I would probably never want to publish another book if THG was so famous too. xD I WOULD like to know Haymitch's full backstory...

    Those newer Delirium covers are AWFUL. But I picked up a really nice hardcover from a library sale that is nothing like either of those?? It's kind of orangey and looks like a field? *shrugs* I haven't read it. I'm just a hardcover addict. #noshame

    aLSO HECK YES THE LUNAR CHRONICLES WOULD BE PERFECT FOR TV. SOMEONE MAKE THAT HAPPEN IMMEDIATELY.

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    1. *happy dance* I AM SO BAD WITH TAGS TOO, DON'T WORRY. *weeps with you* *eats an entire pint of mint-chocolate chip ice cream* I've wondered the same thing about her. Like, is she content with her success and retiring, or does she just not know what to write? I hope she's happy, whatever she's doing. But I want MORE. *wails* Omg, yes, I would love a book about Haymitch's Hunger Games and all the events surrounding it. I would eat it in one bite. *chomp*

      I feel like they sat down at the drawing board and tried their VERY HARDEST to come up with the worst covers they could imagine. Because I'm not sure how they could possibly be worse. :') I've seen a cover of that description available used on Amazon. Mayhap I will do some digging sometime, when I'm ready to buy the trilogy.

      SIGNS PETITION.

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  9. The Lunar Chronicles would make an awesome TV series! Maybe if we bookworms keep saying it loud enough someone will take the hint and make it happen. XD

    I keep seeing the Legend trilogy at the library and have this impulse to borrow them solely for their covers. But I've yet to give into said impulse.

    Oh, yes. A different perspective on The Hunger Games would be good. It would definitely strengthen the overall message of the trilogy. Even it was from some of the other districts, like dthe district Rue is from, isn't that 11? I always wondered what 11's reaction was to the Hunger Games, how they were effected by Rue, Katniss, and Thresh and the complete aftermath as they joined the rebellion.

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    1. YES. I mean, it's happened before. We just need to be super obnoxious about it all the time so they make the TV series just to get us to shut up. :P

      They do have great covers. I see them on my shelves and go all grabby hands.

      It would be great to see 11's reaction. I'd also love to see perspectives from the career districts, because they would be so different from 12's. *nods*

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  10. Hm, The Knife of Never Letting Go should be a movie... but people would probably complain anyway. And as usual, I have a lot of books to check out!

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    1. It should be. *sobs because it isn't* I imagine they would end up with more to complain about on this count, just because it would be difficult to convey the idea of noise all the time without bugging the audience.
      Happy reading! :)

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