Why Book Tags Are Difficult For Me

Oh it's been quite a while since a rant, eh?

So let's jump right in: Book Tags are one of the most difficult things in the world for me to do. I just have the kind of stress that no one ever talks about so I'm like, "is this all in my head?"

From what I've seen, people love book tags! They're like memes but there isn't a set day so it doesn't bug the crap out of me when I'm scrolling through my feed. Book tags are also specifically designed for me to talk shit about a book [and for it to be okay because... BOOK TAG!]

Oh, Cassie [I'm still not alright with Gen 1 moving on]

Thankfully, I'm not ultra mega popular yes I am no I'm not so I don't get tagged for everything, but there is so much stress in doing a book tag. I'm questioning if anyone shares these struggles with me?

The graphic not being visually clear.

This one makes me want to scream. No matter how well I create the image, when I stick it in Blogger, it does a freaking Instagram [lowers the quality] and makes for a very angry Nova. Now you could say, "why not just use text? Skip the graphic!"
And I'd be like:

I guess part of it is my fault - I like things done a certain way. Since I've done all my book tags with graphics, I don't think I could start doing them without because that's weird. Also, there's a joy I get in making the graphics [not that there's much creativity - I use the same template.]

The amount of books I've read is sad.

 I see someone who's read over a thousand books laugh at me from their book castle. Truth is, I've only read like 300 books and even worse, only remember... maybe, half of that? Jeez, I'm getting old and I'm only fifteen. I'm also really fussy with books - or I've become fussy so when the question is like, "list a book that had a forbidden romance you liked." [Lolol, Book tag, you think I read forbidden romance! Even more lolol, you think I like it!]

Am I not a true booknerd? Of course not! Anyone who says otherwise can challenge me to a flailing contest and epically get kicked in their deckled edges. However, you're going to see some overlap in book tags that I do. For example, if you find the Book Tag label, I'm pretty sure one [or more] of Leigh Bardugo's books are in each tag. I have no shame for this - I quite enjoyed her books I want an early copy of every book she's written: past present and future.

You might call me a fan.

This is the biggest reason book tags are difficult. How do you guys read so much and read such different stuff? [Or maybe I'm a stuffy grandma. I should get the cauliflower Asian hair now.]

I always feel so unoriginal!

Sometimes, when I do a book tag that's pretty narrow in choices, it makes me feel like I'm doing a meme and that sucks! Like for the Find Me book tag, the question was "find a book with headphones on the cover." UHHHH, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE? Guess how many other people thought of the same book?

I'm not as much of a special snowflake as I'd initially thought.

So with that in mind, I'm always like, "what's the most original book I can think of?" That's partly why it seems like I've never read anything. A) I haven't read that much and B) I'm also really picky. This is just a recipe for disaster for someone like me. Sometimes, I'll go to my shelf and pick out a book from there because I cannot think of something. And even worse, sometimes, I'll change the question to suit my thirst to be different. That's when things get reaaaaal.

Instagram Book Tags = me lazy as f

On instagram, book tags are more like "take a picture of a book with these qualifications." Something like, "your current read" or "your fave author!" [Current read is a mess to deal with because I finish books in two hours so I would have to take a picture of a book I haven't started and post it at the right time - when I'm actually reading it. My fave author? WHAT EVIL BEING WOULD ASK SUCH A QUESTION?]

Sorry guys, most of the time, I think up concepts on random. Doing a book shoot for a specific reason seems limiting to me which is why I'm always behind on book tags. Sometimes, I'll get lucky and my vision will match up with a tag [boo-yeah!] but that's very rarely.

Most of the time, it's just me going with it. I don't like taking pictures of series because I have to carry them outside and back in. Plus, I don't have any series where all the covers match and all the editions match. [I constantly mourn my HP collection because it's so bad.]


Welp. Thanks guys for listening to me rant. This is therapeutic, if you haven't try it, I strongly suggest it. [Also aromatherapy - bath and body works candles, you are my reason for still being questionably sane.]

Am I the only one who has problems with doing book tags? Do you have them too? Let me know! I want to hear the things that bother the crap out of you because odds are, they probably bother me too. [I'm suuuch a poet.]

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Nova Rants: Do YA Parents Hate Their Children?

Let me clear up that the title is a joke. A friend of mine actually used this line on herself because her name is so... strange. Those who are offended, proceed to the x on your top right corner. Those who are not, proceed to keep scrolling. [Sorry, this is a rant so I'm in a mood and I'd rather not deal with people who get annoyed at every little thing.]

I also want to say that this post doesn't mean that I hate people who don't have normal names. If you have a name that is "different," be proud of it. No, my qualms are with how in some books, it seems like having a weird name is the most important thing. [I don't consider a name like Sigmund weird. No, I mean like Linoleum.]

What I don't understand is how so much of the YA I'm reading features these unique names. And unfortunately, these names don't sound good at all. Personal opinion, but some of them make me want to cringe. Can you imagine a HELLO MY NAME IS... with someone's name being Hallelujah [and it isn't Christian fic.]

For instance, if you've got a name like America Singer, wouldn't you get teased? This has actually made me question YA multiple times. How has no one found fault with the one-of-a-kind names and teased the kid? I'm not saying that it's right because it isn't but as a kid, whenever a substitute would pronounce someone's name wrong, we would all die from laughter. And truth be told, it wasn't that funny. We were all in like fourth grade.

Well, maybe I shouldn't be talking, "Nova Lee Zaiden" but a) we can't choose our last name and b) I know more than one Nova. [The Cockerspaniel dog in Scooby Doo.] Plus, I've gotten teased before, particularly during science class in grade six when we were learning about space. And they ask why I hate science...]

It isn't even the last name [we can't control these things, just ask my friend Alyssa Butt.] America. The country. Hello guys, I'm Canada Lee Zaiden. Nice to meet you.

I go to a school with diversity but with the majority still being white. Names like Sarah, Olivia, Nicole [holy crap, there are a lot of Nicoles] and Ryan [same deal with Nicoles] are the typical. However, the school I used to go to was majority South Asia so I had to quickly learn how to pronounce names that were different from mine. Maybe that's why this bugs me. There were always a few kids had such different names that you would never pronounce it right on the first try. For example, Sima [pronounced: sim-ah. Like Simba without the b.] I always thought it was awful and it isn't anyone's fault but that's why you should spell your name when you go to Starbucks. Take it from a girl called "Nivea."

Maybe we can blame the world of the story. I'm willing to let things go for Tolkien-esque stories where you need the fantasy sounding names. I'm totally willing to let it go for books that aren't set in our time [but also makes me wonder if in the future we're all going to have weird names and it's going to become the norm.] But a lot of times I'll be reading a contemporary set in modern day. [And yes, the main character often hates her own name and wishes to be called a common form of her name. Just ask Normandy Pale - who likes to be called Mandy.]

I don't think I've ever read a story where the name of a character is significant. Maybe in the beginning, there will be some ice breaker with a funny story but then it just doesn't matter. And since the MC might opt to be called something other than their birth name, what's the point of even mentioning it?

Would you stop reading a book because of a character's name?
Probably not? I have no idea. I tend to get easily annoyed - as you can probably tell. However, I don't think I would judge an author's ability and story by the character's name alone. However, if a bunch of things annoy me, the character's name throughout the story would bother the crap out of me and just tip the scale.

You know something annoys you but it doesn't annoy you enough to stop? Like when the quality of a movie is terrible but the movie is good. I'd still watch that movie.


I don't plan on having kids of any kind but if I were to have them, they would be nice sounding names that aren't too common but are also easy to pronounce. If I have to, I'll get them different names for the land that we live in. [That's what happened to me. I was named in Chinese and given another name after because it would be such a struggle for people to pronounce Xia Wen.]

Is it a new thing to make a story stand out by giving the character a bad name? And don't say there isn't such thing as a bad name because there totally is. It just depends on what you think constitutes as one. And maybe it all boils down to personal opinion. The author might think their name is gold, some readers will agree and people like me will be like, "dude, did your parents hate you or something?"

What do you think? Would you ever stop reading a book because of a character's name? If you have names for your future children, share them with me! I promise not to judge. I don't hate names. I just hate how they've changed so much in the years I've been a reader but the characters are still straight and white and American [at least, for the most part.]

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Have I Just Been Plagiarized?

Two rants in one week, gee, I'm on fire!

So I consider myself to be like Taylor Swift in blogging. What does that mean? I use all the crap/good experiences in my life/blogging life to write down as posts. Unlike her, I don't really leave clues as to who these people are, though. To me, I just need a healthy way to get it all out without putting someone under the microscope.

I've written about twitter drama and how to's, "originality in blogging" and getting along with others. All these discussions came from fights/misunderstandings with others and I totally don't regret writing it at all.

To those who don't know because you're somewhat new *waves*, I am ALL about the originality. I know that I'll never be 100% original, which is fine, but I do my best. You can see this when I do "Mandatory Rules On", "Novel Melodies" and even the way I write my reviews. I've always felt like there's something special about your blog. Make it special.

I also want to point out that plagiarism is [taken from Google] stealing language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions" and the representation of them as one's own original work. So yes, stealing a post idea is plagiarizing, even if you didn't steal my post.

So what do I do when I'm going through my blogging rounds [this was on Tuesday] and I see that someone's done a "Mandatory Rules On" post? [Mandatory Rules is when I share sarcastic "rules" on how to do something badly.]

Now the first thing I do is get a little hurt. Or a lot hurt. In this case, it was a lot. I read the post and while it was nice and had the same sarcasm that I do, I was also a little offended. Apparently, it wasn't meant to be in that format but things ended up that way.

But then! Hold up!

I did something that was both bad and good. Well, two things. The first thing I did was take my rage to twitter in an epic subtweeting match. That was the bad. As a person, I overreact and tend to regret after. It's a vicious cycle.

However, after some civil DMs and apologizing on both sides [I was totally bad!] we totally worked it out.

But the whole problem just makes me wonder. How do you know when you've been plagiarized? Because I don't consider the stupid misunderstanding plagiarism, or at least not anymore.

In a real plagiarism situation...
I love to give people the benefit of the doubt. But I'm also wildly skeptical. So without an explanation, I will almost always take things the wrong way. However, this doesn't mean that I go on a harrassment rage. I'm typically the "burn in silence" type or not, I guess, because I am writing this post.
But if you've seen something on my blog that you've never seen on another's, it is wrong to adapt it without asking. It's also rude and completely unprofessional. I guarantee, you will not make friends this way.

And how do I know?
Because I did the same thing. I stole a blogger's idea and we got into a HUGE fight [I was the wrong one, duh.] This happened a LONG time ago. Now we're friends and it's all in the past but seriously, do not mess with a blogger's features. Think of your own! Or at least, get the courtesy to ask.

But what if it's a coincidence?
Really, anyone can say that it's a coincidence and only they would know. If it is [or they say it is], it's all on them. I also refuse to call them a liar because I always want to think the best of people. I might have wary thoughts on them, but I won't hate them. People post what they want to post, right?

It's a scary thought - how far is too far? When is plagiarism a coincidence? Are they lying or are you too skeptical? All the question! Let me know what you think.

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Nova Rants: My Unpopular Opinions

 

I just want to point out before I start that if you like any of these things, that's totally up to you. I'm sure there are a bunch of things that I like that you don't. My opinion shouldn't change yours and at the same time, please don't try to change mine. Also, I'm labeling this as a rant in case I end up getting a little ranty. I won't be flat out bashing the things I don't like but the tone won't be the nicest either.

1. ARCs aren't "free."
   It's actually kind of annoying how this has to be the first one on the list. I didn't even realize that this was my unpopular opinion. I've seen on a bunch of sites that people see ARCs as free books. I know that everyone's entitled to their own opinions, like I've already said, but this is one that I always have a hard time accepting. I don't believe that ARCs are free. I think that the commitment to read them and review them is what we're "paying" to get them. People who advertise ARCs as "free" are pretty much making ARCs looking like a fun way to save money. And that isn't what it is.


2. I am allowed to mark a book down for unexplainable reasons.
   Sometimes, I find myself reading something and finishing it with a rating already in my mind. I'll be like "huh, I like this book. Two stars."
   And you might be going, "wait, Nova! Isn't a book that you like, three stars?"
   Well, that's the fun part about my reviewing system. It isn't set in stone. I don't mark books down because of dumb things, like what ethnicity the authors/characters are [excuse you, that's racism] or what they look like [that's prejudice.] But sometimes, I'll feel it in my bones that I want to give it a two star rating instead of a three without a solid reason. And with the kind of person I am, I trust my gut more than I trust reason, anyway.


3. I don't like Lana Del Rey.
   Oh, what? You thought this was all going to be bookish. Sorry, sir, you are mistaken. And I know, you're probably hating me as I type. So many people get upset over this, which is kind of annoying. I don't like their "queen" as they put it. Fine with me. I just feel like her music makes me feel... dead inside. The only song that I enjoyed was "I Can Fly" and that's one of her lighter songs. The whole "dark" thing doesn't work for me. It's like listening to screamo.


4.  "You can't have too much of a good thing." Um, yes, you can.
   And a lot of people agree with this yet they're the ones trying to do it, which irritates me. I don't care how good a show/book series is. It gets old at a certain point. You can throw in plot twists, add new villains but the jokes and the overall idea is still the same. For example, the whole Cassandra Clare thing is giving me a heavy dilemma. I don't like the idea of her making 18 books on Shadowhunters, but I'm probably going to end up giving her my money, anyway. On the other hand, after the fifth season of The Vampire Diaries, I was prepared to call it quits [also because my favorite character died.]


5. I don't do non-canon ships 99% of the time.
   Most of the time, I have complete faith in the writer that the canon ship will work out the best. The whole non-canon thing doesn't usually agree with me because I'm like "NO DUDE. THESE TWO BELONG WITH EACH OTHER. THE WRITER SAID SO!" I do like reading non canon fanfiction because some of it is so imaginative, but I don't think I've ever really shipped non-canon on my own [without someone's pushing]
   


6. Reverse racism doesn't exist, it's just racism.
   The idea of reverse racism is specifically racism to people of Caucasian descent. I've heard a lot of people say "racism to whites doesn't exist because they're the ones who are in power!" Forgive me if I'm ignorant but if you're saying that they can't experience racism because they're in a position of power, aren't you just giving them that power?
   [Taken from Dictionary.com] Racism: hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. That's why the idea of "you can't be racist to whites" never made sense to me because in this straightforward definition, there's nothing conditional about it. If you put someone who's Caucasian in a foreign location, they could experience racism like everyone else. Maybe there's something I'm missing but since when did racism become conditional? 


7. I overreact and I don't care.
   Too often, I find myself on a website where I see something that's written ignorantly. Just a few days ago, I found a blogger who posted about the first one. It sent me on a mini rage where I proceeded to unfollow them. Plus, said person had a post on how someone should run their blog [and unlike my "Mandatory Rules On...", theirs was serious!]
   A lot of people tell me that I overreact and not in a good way. I will bitch and I will moan. I don't typically do it publicly, though. However, it's in my nature and while I do overreact, my reactions never go past thoughts. I don't ever take it out physically or verbally, which I guess is what saves me.


8. I hate reading hyped books.Sometimes I cave in and read them, but 9/10 times I won't read hyped books. That's why I haven't read TFioS, the Shatter Me Trilogy, Miss Peregrine or If I Stay. I just don't want to end up being let down. Also, I like supporting the authors who don't get as much attention [yet!] That was me with Veronica Roth, to be honest, though she was quite hyped [I wasn't part of the blogging community yet.]

Yes, I know that some of these might not be as "unpopular" as I think they are, but it's my own experiences. I just included things that I've either a) gotten backlash [for my opinion] for or b) everyone else says oppositely [*cough* Lana Del Rey]

Do you agree with any of these? Or is my unpopular opinion really unpopular. It's fine to disagree! I used to do these posts all the time on another platform, so I was interested in seeing how they'd do on my blog.

Let me know, guys!

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Nova Rants: Bittersweet Endings

I have a lot of feelings [most of which are indescribable] so bear with me. There's a feeling after reading a final book in which the ending is unclear or bittersweet; especially for a series that's very close and personal. Soon the feelings take over everything you do and then before you know it, you've got a full blown book hangover. You don't know whether to cry or to read it again; to scream or to declare your love for the book.

I'm sure you've probably read a book like this. I can name quite off the top of my head. And yeah, there are books that'll make you feel kind of hungover for a day... or a week, right?

Try six months.

Reading that book was the best worst evilest most beautiful screw it, I don't know even know with this one. I suppose, i's all of them.

Bittersweet endings, or more specifically, Saving Elliot [a book on wattpad], completely wrecked me with its ending.The thing the author did with this book was give a taste of hope for the characters and then, quicker than reading speed, take it all away. Saving Elliot was pretty much everything I want in a book: a bad boy, a sarcastic girl, raging fire chemistry and horrible backstories.

By a quarter into the book, I knew that this was going to be a favorite of mine. See, unlike so many books, this one made me feel something. And it didn't just make me feel once; it made me feel over and over and over which for me, has always been hard in books.
And maybe that's why even after such a long period of time, I'm still not over it.

I think of it kind of like having an old crush. Where you know you'll always like him but you'll never get the ending you want. And if you've ever had middle school/high school crushes, maybe you understand what I mean.

This ending just did everything to me! I don't know whether to cry or to laugh. It's like I've forgotten how to function and I have to constantly remind myself, it's just a book! [Haha, no it isn't!] I want to do a re read, but I feel like it will make it worse. Then on the contrary, another part of me argues that nothing can be worse than crying over the fact that this book isn't real.

Have you ever had a book hangover? Was it as bad as mine? Or do you have a remedy for how I'm feeling? Do, share!

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Nova Rants: One Star Bash Reviews

One Star Bash Reviews

This one is a rant, only because I have a lot to say, but I know I'll be censoring myself heavily so to not offend people.

Have you ever seen those reviews with a bunch of "WTF" gifs or gifs of that nature? Those reviews chock-filled with sarcasm? Those ones that just make you laugh?

I love them. There I said it. They make me laugh so much, especially when I agree with them or when I can relate. And they're usually very factual and have strong points.

What this rant is about is me writing them. I've had ideas to write these things and I've realized that I can't. For me, I have a loud sense of what people think of me and I always think of people  before me. That being said, in a huge way, I don't agree at all with these kinds of reviews. On one day, I'll love reading them and the next, I'll be like "holy crap, if I was the author, I'd feel like such a pile of shit." So that's me. I'm not saying that people who write these kinds of reviews should feel bad or anything, it's a "to each their own" phrase; and most of the time, these people are so nice anyway.

Plus, these reviewers don't bash the author; just the book. I feel like I have to point this out.

Have you seen parodies of songs before? Now, comes the rant part because yeah. I hate parodies that degrade artists more than like anything. They're almost always the same and follow the same thing. It's a video of music that uses the same time, changes words and is meant to be "funny". While this doesn't seem too bad, it bashes the artist. For me, it's not okay. And it isn't even funny.

Artists like Bart Baker are ones I stay away from because I don't find him funny. I find him rude and pretty mean. Like a one star review, I would hate to be an artist being made fun of by someone who does it for fun. At least with a book review, the reviewer is making fun of a bad book, not the author. Some parodies even go to making fun of the artist as a person. NOT COOL. (Like when people repeatedly call One Direction GAY, I just can't. It's insulting, not to mention horribly untrue.)

And then there are people like Lisa Schwartz, who write parodies that are just fun to watch. They don't mention the artist at all. These are reminiscent to the bad reviews that are done in a classy way. They might be ranty, because anger is okay, but they aren't hurtful to the author. (But again, authors really shouldn't read reviews if they can't take it... lol.)

It's a topic that's been turning in my brain for a while. I feel like reading these kinds of reviews make me feel wrong, even though I like them. I'm also a pretty peaceful person so there's that. Do you write these kinds of reviews? Do you read these kinds of reviews?

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Nova Rants: Drugs, Sex, Alcohol and Other Mature Topics in YA

Drugs, Sex, Alcohol  and Other Mature Topics in YA

This was originally going to be a "Won't Shut Up". This meaning that I was supposed to deal with this topic in a mature and calm way. Then I started thinking about it and then realized that I'm pissed off about this and so became the Nova Rants. 

The topic of Drugs, Sex and Alcohol is one I constantly have to deal with as a teen. I was reading Perfect Chemistry during class one day and then someone asks: "what's it about". For those who don't know, Perfect Chemistry is about Mexican Gangs. So naturally, I got looks. And then after those looks, I asked the person what their problem was and got into a little staring match. 

Anyway, that's what brought this on.

I'm tired of hearing that YA shouldn't be a genre where these things happen. Um, look around you, geezers! There are teens getting preggo, drinking underage and dying. So why should we have to ignore what's going on? Realistic fiction. Notice the word realistic? As in teenagers of the 21st Century are not having high-tea parties, they're dirty-dancing in a club. 

Don't freak out on me. This is what's going on. I know a girl in my high school that's honestly doing things for money. Do I talk to her? No. Do I know what's going on? Yes. All this stuff is going on in YA and sure it's a little a lotta screwed up, but don't deny that it's happening.

Is it fair to leave us in the dark? Is it fair to teach us about these things when we can drive and only then? Why do you think I learn Sex Ed when I'm in Grade 5? It's cause there are teens getting preggo at like 16. We have to learn about these kinds of things to help us in the future and sue me if I want to know about these things to help me make smart decisions.

And then there's the flip side.

 Don't be the dumb-assed author who decides to write about this topic in a really rude, untrue and just stupid way. I read this one book and the word/idea of "rape" was carelessly thrown around. Mmkay, that isn't true. Rape is a serious and traumatic issue that should be dealt in a classy way (like all of these serious issues). When a book is written in such an offensive and disgusting way, it gives readers the wrong impression, which just boils me.

Here's what I think, overall. Read these books. Don't shy away from them. Know these things and get a taste of what life really is. It isn't all happy and "Sound of Music" like. 

And if you're reading a book with mature themes, swallow your stupidity. Don't go "ew" when girl think she's pregnant. For f*cks sake, grow up people. And stop judging people like me who do read these kinds of things. It isn't porn, it's a lesson for the future if a problem happens and a mature decision has to be made.

This one was a lot more serious that I thought. Do you see why this has to be a rant? The next thing I write will most likely be a "Won't Shut Up" where my Bitchy Opinions will have to take a backseat. I do think, however that this wasn't that Bitchy and a lot more tasteful that what I imagined myself writing.

What do you think on this topic?

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Nova Rants: Book vs. Movie Fans

Nova Rants is a feature in which I rant about that crap (bookish, please!) that pisses me off in the worst way possible. Wanna know how opinionated I can be? Trust me, it's a lot. There are no limits to what I talk about and how far I can go in my topics. And I'm not known to sugarcoat.

Book vs. Movie Fans

Ever have a book you really love and the the movie comes out? I'm going to use Divergent because it was the first book I'd read that got me into reading YA in the first place. So this rant is basically about the things I've seen on Instagram.

I feel like sometimes there is a rift between book and movie fans. Like, aren't we supposed to be united? Divergent the movie and Divergent the book is the same concept and based off the same thing! So why is it that book fans have problems with movie fans?

Situation #1: Book Fans thinking they're better because they're book fans.
"Omg! You've only seen the movie?! Ew, you aren't a true fan!" Like CAN YOU NOT? I know you're trying to be cool but it isn't cool when you're bashing someone else. A Divergent fan is a Divergent fan. "Divergent" used to be a book and now it's a movie. But when someone says they're a Divergent fan, don't assume they mean book. And if they mean movie, don't get up their case because they haven't read the book and you have. So what if they don't know who Uriah is or who Marlene is? Like no. Just stop.
My worst is when someone goes "OMG! This movie was so good! I am now so obsessed with Divergent!" and some rude person just has to go "LMAO. How can you be obsessed with it when you haven't even read the book?" I feel as though it's the movie that's really a big promo for the book. Veronica Roth is making tons of money because her book has turned into a movie and become quite a hit. Isn't that the main thing? Why ostracize someone because of such a silly reason?

Situation #2: The Movie is Better than the Book
Okay, in some cases the movie will be better than the book. For me, I didn't like Catching Fire the book. Okay, kill me, yell at me, I don't really care. Opinion, thank you. I didn't like Catching Fire because I thought half of it was boring. But the Catching Fire movie? My gosh, it was one of the best book to film adaptations I've ever seen!
Situation Two is kind of the opposite of situation one. Where people have to start bashing the book because they're like "the movie is so good! How did Frances Lawrence manage to turn such a horrible book into a hit movie?" (That is an example. It is not the way I think nor would it be something I'd ever say.) Also, like can you not? You are offending those who like the This isn't cool. Hate of any kind isn't cool. I don't understand why there has to be hate. I have to write negative reviews but there's a difference between negative and hateful.

So to sum it up, whether you've read the book or watched the movie, it doesn't make you any better. Reading the book in 2011 or reading it in 2014 does not matter. Watching the movie without reading the book or with the book also doesn't matter. You're supporting an author and should be united as a fandom. Isn't that the important thing?

What are your thought about this? Ever seen Situation #1 or #2 happen on Social Media?

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Nova Rants: Dragging a Series to Hell

Dragging a Series to Hell

It's more like "Dragging Me to Hell" because I read this stuff, but I hope you get the idea.

What does this mean exactly? For those who know, here's a cookie. For those who don't... It's literally dragging a series out. Listen up, authors. Books are not TV Shows. An episode of a TV show is half an hour; this is not the equivalent to a book. It takes me closer to two hours to read a book and only a 1/2 hour for a TV show. Plus, at least the TV shows I watch have some kind of substance. Teen drama, but still something.

And there are still some people who fell in love with the series and are buying them up. You're either dedicated to the series, or you're made of money. However, I have other books to read and I'm Out of Time.(Plus, I have a life, thanks... well, sorta.)

Cassandra Clare. 
This is my opinion. I'm not trying to change your opinion, so please don't try to change mine.
 

Let me be honest... TMI fans... TID fans... Other fans... I was a fan who went: omg, her books are so good! At least that's at first. And then I read another series.... hm... this looks a LOT like (her other series.) Plus, TID was lied to me about the Steampunk. Don't be fooled by the word "steampunk". It's barely there in Clockwork (whichever). So yeah. TMI... TID...TDA...

They're all seem the same basic plot to me.  The basic plot about "people who are half angel, walking slowly and dramatically and killing demons." And then there's some fluff here and there and we're all eating it up like it's the best thing since sliced bread. 

 

Her "Shadowhunter" world is filled with history and plot that I'm sure is hard to let go. So bam! This woman wants to write 18 books in total about Shadowhunters. She is milking a dead cow. And there are still people dedicated to her series. Come on, people! There are more fish in the sea... Different fish in the sea. This series is stale. It's going to get boring. And eventually, people'll see the sales going down. And let's be honest, City of Bones was (somewhat) of a disaster (partly because I'm comparing to what she can do now/it's a debut). Clary and Isabelle were horrible people, Simon was a loser and Jace had no style (the bad boys have evolved since like 2008.)
So here's a reader like me who has a major love/hate relationship with the series. I still love it in the sense that it's keeping "Teen Fiction Junkie Nova" happy. I'm not going to buy 18 books about Shadowhunters when some characters could use a good offing. (No seriously, I pretty much hated all her characters for their annoying-ness.)

Her characters are stale, her plots recycled and there's  talk that she's copying from Harry Potter. (Clary = Tessa, Girl who doesn't know who she is meets dashing shadowhunter... Valentine = Voldemort) Also, her titles. Ugh. And they don't even make sense half the time. What is a Clockwork Prince? No please tell me! I could draw 10,000 parallels, but that's what tumblr is for

Oh, and just so you know *sarcastic smile* This is 18 books not including: Shadowhunter Codex, Bane Chronicles and whatever else she isn't telling us yet. There are going to be more of these (insert something here) as I'm growing up. It won't even stop when I've hit 18.

Another note: She also (apparently) has an adult erotica series for Shadowhunters. Woman. Seriously? I know you want to target all audiences, but you can find a better storyline.

This is me reading City of (Whatever Hell)

I've heard defense from people saying that "it's her world. Books are set in The Real World all the time. But no one complains about that!" The "world" is a bigger place than Cassandra Clare (like any author) could ever write. Duh. There are a billion books set in The Real World. In The Real World, there are countries, continents and history that hasn't even been written yet. Don't tell me that that'll ever get boring. And please don't tell me that Clare's world deserves to be bought for 25 bucks a pop (though that might be because of my climate).
Thanks. Even JK Rowling doesn't have than many books, and her world has just as much "stuff" as Clare's.

  - Says Cassandra Clare

Let go, woman. Just let go. Find a different series. I'm sure that people'll definitely buy anything with your name on it, so why not make it something different and y'know, new?

Last note: Cassandra Clare can write. From reading her TMI series, I've seen her writing progress. I just don't like what's actually going on with her content... or lack of.

So this is my idea of "Dragging a Series to Hell". Featuring Cassandra Clare because ugh... seriously?

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Nova Rants: Piracy and Plagiarism

Piracy and Plagiarism

This is a topic that riles me up more than anything else, because for me, it's morally wrong. I am also someone who questions the laws of morality and Moral Nihilism, but Piracy and Plagiarism is theft, plain and simple. I don't care if it's for a profit or not. I don't even care if it's for charity. Without the author's/artist's permission, it's theft. And plagiarism? There's a special place in hell for you.

I'm going to call some people out.

First up is www.tuebl.com. This is a company of assholes people that host a site for eBook sharing. And they claim that people who use their site are the ones who upload the eBooks. Here's a thought, check all the books that are being uploaded. Constantly delete the ones that are not uploaded by the author themselves! It isn't fair that authors break their fingers to write a kickass book just to have a bunch of people get it for free. Uh, nuh uh! And you saying, we can't do anything about it, makes me want to go to the site and shut it down. Also, legally, it should be shut down, no matter what you claim the DMCA laws are.

Also, epubbud. This site gives away .epub files of free books. I've seen it before when I was googling a book. And I was googling that book for GOODREADS. I don't want to stumble upon a piracy site that will make me sick. Listen up pirates, you make me sick!

How are these authors supposed to make their money, like the rest of us, if people are stealing their work? Huh? And how is it fair to an author, or think of them as just humans when a pirate is stealing from them. They're practically stealing their money!
Plus, all those people who claim to not be able to afford the book and use those sites are equally gross to me. No! You go to a library! You wait for an Amazon Kindle deal! You do not go and steal from the author! And even if you buy the book afterward, I still consider it to be "you stole from an author and gave back what you stole... but that doesn't erase the fact that you still stole!"

Piracy or Plagiarism? I think they're equally bad!

Plagiarism is for those no-talent idiots (or talented, lazy idiots) who can't do anything better. But yeah, everyone has the talent to copy and paste.
Plagiarism is when an authors tries to write a book and takes out lines, sometimes scenes; sometimes excerpts and sometimes even chapters from another (successful) author's work. It is literally copying and pasting sometimes, which makes me wonder: how do you even think (in that little brain of yours) that you won't get caught? 

And isn't it just hilarious that all these authors write under fake names? And then the fake profiles? Hmm... I wonder why! Maybe it's insurance if they get caught, which, just so you know, happens  99.99999999% of the time.

Oh, and most of the time, the story's garbage. That or readers get that thought of: I feel like I've read this before. And bingo! You've just been caught. Congratulations on a scam that failed... Epically.

Just remember, plagiarisers, you will never be as good as who you copy; in terms of writing or in terms of just being a human. That author didn't have to copy to write something well-loved, why do you? And if you just aren't cut out for writing, go take a pottery lesson or some piano classes. Leave this industry alone. If you're going to cheat and lie your way to the top, we don't want you, anyway.

Whoo... Just let off some steam. But this is a topic that pisses me off every single time someone mentions it...

  

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Nova Rants: Book To Movie Adaptations

Book to Movie Adaptations

There are two sides of this coin, so not to discredit the good ones, but because this is a rant, I am not focusing on the positive. Sorry, not sorry.

In terms of good book to movie adaptations, let me just mention Harry Potter (um, all of them!) and most recently, Catching Fire. Nothing else comes to mind. Everything else I've seen?

Do movie companies literally go: we have no more ideas! Oh, these books are doing so well on the market; let's make them into movies!

And of course, the author is ecstatic because who wouldn't be? What would you do if your book was made into a movie? So author's happy, book has a fanbase that'll pay to see the movie so the company is happy. Everyone is f*cking happy; until they see the goddamn movie. And that's when the guns come out. (Well really, it's more us on computers writing angry letters, but don't underestimate the power of the book nerds.)

Do the companies even READ the book? Do they just hear about the idea and start turning a masterpiece into a two year old's work? I can't...

"Oh, but what if we..." 

"Hmm... wouldn't it be cool if we..."

"You can change this and then change that and everything'll be fine..."

My response?

Let me go down the line of book to movies that made me:

 The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Can I just say that I was super excited for this movie that turned out to be so stupid and a let down. I expected something that was badass and paired with the book. Thanks Hollywood, for f*cking up my love for this series. The lines were so bad, I cringed. Cringed. How about the romance? I have better romance with my dog and I don't even HAVE a dog. So correction: my friend A, has better romance with her dog. And the worst part is that I LOVED the actors, but this movie killed me. And not in a good way.

Screw you, Hollywood, screw you.

Percy Jackson

If you're someone who liked Percy Jackson, it either means you haven't read the books or you aren't a diehard fan who doesn't care. I'm cool with both (opinions, opinions), but I'm neither.

In Percy Jackson (both), the directors chose the cast by playing a game of Mash. And they thought of the plot by reading the synopsis and having a monkey as a consultant. That's how bad it was. If you haven't seen it, go have fun. Bring something to bite down and muffle your screams on, though. And let's appreciate how much this movie stayed true to the book... oh wait. 

Note: this is an opinion/sarcasm, don't actually take what I'm saying as a definite fact.

Beautiful Creatures

I actually didn't read the whole book and from what I've been told, it's still terrible.
Okay, Beautiful Creatures didn't get any promo. Freaking Mortal Instruments got a MALL TOUR. And it was still a terrible movie. Beautiful Creatures didn't get anything but a few trailers and posters from what I saw. I only heard about it on twitter, from a few lovers and a few ranters...

This one I'm less touchy on because I'm not really a fan of the books. But the movie was dumb and plotless and just no. The romance killed me because it was awkward and made me feel awkward. I only got to half of the book, but even I know that they screwed around with a bunch of the plot. As if that was necessary.

UPCOMING

Divergent.

Can I tell you how excited I am for Divergent? Props to the people who got that sarcasm. Yeah.

Divergent looks a little weird. I'm sorry, but it does. Every initiate (save Tris) looks out of place. Peter is way too old and isn't even attractive *cue pout*. Four is freaking 25, thanks. And he's got a British accent; what the f*ck?And then how's Eric supposed to be the youngest Dauntless Leader if he's the same age? They're starting to screw the logic and it's making Nova:

 I am actually VERY touchy on Divergent because I've read it like 40 times. I was hoping it would stay true to the book, but with the weirdly done romance and the accents and bad casting, I don't even know anymore. The trailers were badly explained to people who haven't read the book. Just no. And from what the stills look like and what I know about these book to movie things, I'm expecting something worse that Twilight. I'm a pessimist, kill me. Of course, I have to see the movie (which I will) to have a final judge, but these are just pre-thoughts.

So yeah. This is what I think about Book to Movie Adaptations in a rant. Hope you liked it and I'll try to do more in the future. There's a lot of Bitchy Nova to go around on this blog. Wonderful.

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