❌ top 12 AUTHORS I'd NEVER read ❌ racist, problematic authors & ones that don't appeal to me [CC]

[@anacecilia1387]

03:10 the fact that even in a dystopia with reverse racism, the opressed class is classed "pearl", while the upper class is called "coal". Amazing. She couldn't think of any other words? Precious gem pearl was the best she could come up with for an insult?

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Crying

[@esobelisk3110]

this just reminded me of that time a recording was leaked of a correspondence on danish police radio, where a cop appeared to call protesters a slur for middle eastern people, and the police department defended it by claiming that the officer had actually said “pearls”.

[@nunya2076]

Are you saying a pearl is objectively good because it's white and coal bad because it's black? Das racist! 😂

[@sheesh1483]

@@nunya2076 you're being dense on purpose aren't you? It has to do with the connotations those two minerals have, Pearls are seen as shiny, majestic, beautiful, while coal, aesthetically speaking, is mostly seen as just an unattractive dark mineral. You know that no one would use the word coal as a compliment, but they would do with pearl. It's obvious to assume that the intentions on referring to dark-skinned people as "coal" aren't positive.

[@miticaBEP07]

The moment she said “a dystopia where white people are the oppressed” I knew this book was going to be shit. But HOW shit I didn’t know or couldn’t imagine.

[@shesjustbeinemily]

"How embarrassing that you're choosing your nostalgia and memories over the rights of actual humans." THIS EXACTLY THIS.

[@brooke5258]

Nostalgia is always the excuse! There are some people that should be let go.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

The secondhand embarrassment is real

[@HopeGardner3amed]

this is why I don't buy Harry Potter stuff anymore, but I am keeping my old books cuz cake and eat it too. That and I kinda grew out of it.

[@brooke5258]

@@HopeGardner3amed I understand from a collection standpoint. We already paid for it. It is what it is now. But now that we know, that's cutoff. I don't financially support her work anymore. I don't talk about HP publicly on any social media. That universe and IP is so huge, theme parks and such. It's not going anywhere. But on a personal level, I do what's best for me.

[@HopeGardner3amed]

@@brooke5258 I can see possibly passing them down if my kids are interested. Maybe in the future it will be like Lewis Carroll and Alice in Wonderland. But yeah she is not getting my money anymore. I only watch Fantastic Beasts movies on planes or when others pay for the ticket. It's more annoying now.

[@mad1739]

You can be nostalgic about something whilst ALSO accepting that the thing your nostalgic about is problematic and accepting and wanting that to be addressed. I don't understand how that is so hard to understand

[@parkerbrown-nesbit1747]

Exactly. Most of the ones I'm thinking about are TV shows (hello, Rawhide. One in four Cowboys were Black, and yet there's nary a Black person on screen. It's not the only one...)

[@JUANxxTNAFAN]

JK Rowling did nothing wrong tho. Many and I mean many of us are right through the trans agenda! #gaysagainstgroomers

[@slayygela]

This!

[@jeremyweitendorf6723]

Using libraries or second-hand book stores is great regardless, but I’d especially recommend these options to anyone interested in reading a problematic book or author so that you’re not directly supporting them with your money

[@ZonaHiranandani]

not only that, you're supporting an accessible and affordable way of reading for the local community too! :')

[@braincabbage]

I think authors make money through libraries though, I can't remember the specifics but someone told me that they get money both through library purchases and issues

[@bro.that.is.adorable.2633]

@@braincabbage You’re right, but those royalties are considerably smaller!

[@PumpkinMozie]

I am definitely guilty of the HP nostalgia, so what I do is I allow myself to reread the series bc I already own it and just going forward I don’t purchase anything new she puts out or any merch whatsoever.

[@idek7438]

I do wish people were a bit more open minded when it comes to literature. I don't like when people just swear things off without even trying them out. As you said there are ways of reading books without actively supporting the author, and there's no harm in trying things. I've DNF'd several books because they were so toxic I couldn't go on (Haruki Murakami and his manic pixie dream female characters comes to mind, as well as The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue) but at the same time I've also enjoyed many books that contained problematic things because to me the good things balanced out the bad things. Especially with classics from other eras that reflect the views of those times

[@phenomenalsauces9725]

The abrupt stop and blank stare after you said “her coworker, Jamal” was so funny to me 😂 I too was very befuddled by that sentence

[@aresbodt6131]

one author i refuse to read is penelope douglas. their books are a prime example of people using dark romance as a disguise to write and romanticize the most disgusting shit you’ll ever read. like why are they, as an author in their 40s, writing about teenagers having sex?

[@chloebrown9106]

YES everytime I try to give a book of hers a chance I read the reviews and a brief summary and I’m so deeply disturbed

[@Privykos]

penelope douglas has some of the most disturbing stories...like birthday girl had me disturbed in some many ways, i kept saying to myself that i wouldn't be posible for it to be like that, spoiler alert, it was way worse. Credence somehow manages to be even worse. Incest, a man in his 40's having sex with a teenage girl...like how...????

[@aliciabyul9550]

✨Never read that shit✨

[@chloebrown9106]

@@Privykos my frined and I got so excited about credence but once we read a summary and reviews it was thrown off our TBR

[@Privykos]

@@chloebrown9106 for some reason I gave it an opportunity, thinking it wouldn’t be that bad. 🤡🤡🤡 good thing I didn’t buy it.

[@saltairtherustonyourdoor9944]

I love how people on book tube and book tok just completely ignore how racist and problematic some authors are. Then they claim they read “diversified” books. Like no reading a book with a single POC who’s a whole stereotype is not diversity. Thank you so much for this video!

[@1805movie]

I think the one author I'll never read is Stephanie Meyer. She's not that great of a writer, her protagonists are cardboard cutouts, and she constantly portrays toxic relationships as beneficial. Not to mention her statements about how fictional characters can't be role models (even though people had looked up to characters like Atticus Finch (prior to _Go Set a Watchman_ ) from _To Kill a Mockingbird_ for decades).

[@skylarjohnson7779]

Stephanie Meyer has worried me for years because how does a person come to think that is romantic? Then I learned more about Mormonism and realised it's probably just because of the weirdass shit that goes on in that church. Now I worry about a whole faith.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Woah had no idea about that (the comments on role models) Thank you for the info ✨ her abusive/toxic partner dynamics are alarming especially in books marketed for…children

[@Kathywake23]

As someone who has read nearly all her books, it's an excellent dumpster fire. Like scifi channel terrible. You're not missing much if you actually like plot and character development. But if you want trash, she will fulfill your needs.

[@s.k.1603]

I read the Twilight series when I was young. At 12, I liked her books but I donated the series after a few years and just reading it now makes me cringe. Same with the movies. I will never read the books again or watch the movies again. Her book The Host was more of my style, but romances aren't my thing so I don't pay attention to them anyhow.

[@idek7438]

Omg Stephanie Meyer. So many things about her books make so much sense once you learn she's a Mormon. And not in a good way

[@augustlunaonline]

13:30 My favorite type of “miscommunication” in romance is when both people explain and communicate but they both interpret it incorrectly so they have to have another adult conversation and clarify what they mean!! Yesssss I love communication!!!!!!!!

[@fortunamajor7239]

It is so wild that this vid popped up bc I was just thinking abt how Donna finds a way to slip that n word into each of her books 💀 it sucks bc as a black reader I personally love her prose but the racism is so jarring. I'm trying to read The Little Friend after DNF-ing it over a year ago and not even 50 pages in its a hard -er n word yo 💀💀💀

[@JesseOnYoutube]

LMAO!!!! She do be just slipping it in there and “academia” readers will twist their necks around backwards pretending not to see it

[@heatherdeitchman1409]

Nicholas Sparks wrote a non fiction book called, “Three weeks with my brother”. It is the story of how and why he became a writer and why he uses the same formula each time to become a bestseller. (To support and have time to intensively work with his autistic son.) He goes into his family history, the way he builds characters and who they are based on, etc. it is by far, his best book in my humble opinion.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

now that is a book i would read

[@vinnm4516]

It's such a good book! It's the only one of his I didn't put down, and the audiobook version is also incredibly well read.

[@winesaboutbooks]

I appreciate that you didn't ever say "do not read," all you said was "I won't read." So no one has any business coming into these comments hot. You made clear statements and voiced your opinions. Great video.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

thank you so much!

[@selantrian]

When people say “50 shades started convos about safe sex” I’m just like yeah to correct how much harm this book did!! At what cost?

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Exactly

[@23rdcenturyhobbit]

Book is lame, cookie cutter and nothing wasn't sexy about it.

[@laurenk5379]

She doesn't even understand how BDSM actually works!

[@melpovardaki4072]

The little friend by Donna Tartt is by far the most racist book I have ever read. The secret history doesn't even come close (I haven't read the Goldfinch). That book takes place in Mississippi and if you exclude cars and telephones, it's as if it takes place in 1890 instead of 1980. Unbelievable.

[@anonUK]

That's Mississippi.

[@lordbunbury]

So is Donna Tartt racist? Or was 1980’ies Mississippi racist?

[@anonUK]

@@lordbunbury Doesn't make any difference here. You're not dealing with literary critics or political thinkers here, just Orwell's sheep.

[@NicrophorusVesp]

I've only read the Secret History, but I am completely unsurprised to hear about the racism, yeesh.

[@kaseythompson5295]

The Goldfinch is super racist too. Don’t bother. It’s not good, it’s problematic, and it’s a waste of too many hours of your life.

[@matt9729]

Can you give an example of Donna’s racism not just “I was shoooooook it was so racist y’all”

[@matt9729]

Guess not!

[@MariaCortinas-wm6sj]

When someone points out their ethnicity as an argument to give themselves power, that's when you know they're awful human beings that just want to feel oppressed ​@@matt9729

[@miloiiii]

@@matt9729 I only read the secret history from her (its true that there is any POC characters in that one, even if its set in 80s/90s) but I heard that the Goldfinch has A LOT of stereotypes and anti-Asian references. there are some examples; "red cheeked street vendors bundled like Mongolians" A Korean American social worker who "smells like garlic" and the name the in all aspects brilliant narrator cannot remember. Or just a lot of chinese boxes in the bad guys house. there are also many statements that Asians products have very bad quality and are considered cheap. The most of them are problem because the narrator is written in first person, whom is 13 year old native New Yorker. A kid in that age simply couldn't know most of things that are written there (like the thing that taxi driver is "sikh"). Im just gonna add that I take these from Opinions and quotes of others. I personally didn't read this book.

[@gizmofox5995]

Y'all had me rolling talking about Dan Brown and Nicholas Sparks. I've only read one Nicholas Sparks novel (The Notebook), but judging from the movie adaptations, once you've read one you've pretty much ready them all. His books all seem to follow the same "two people meet, they fall in love, someone dies" formula.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Lol!! The formula😂

[@JR-ju3kj]

I especially agree with everyone on Nicholas Sparks. I think that Nicholas Sparks is a racist and a homophobe and I will not read any of his books. There have only been about three movie adaptations of his books that I like. All he ever writes about is two good-looking straight white people falling in love-as if people of color and the LGBTQ community cannot fall in love and have meaningful relationships. I even want to poke fun at Sparks in independent comic books that I have planned for the future for an original character that I came up with who is a black Super Hero, a Superman-like character and the most powerful Super Hero on earth. If Sparks takes issues with it( me making fun of his books and movies in a comic book), then tough break.

[@marabookstagram]

Rachel Hollis is definitely on my list. Her 'Girl, Wash Your Face' book was so hugely popular. It's considered "self-help," but her attitude and advice is so toxic and out of touch with reality. E.L. James and Stephenie Meyer are on my list too because of bad writing and how the main relationships are portrayed. They are abusive and controlling, not healthy.

[@elliot1260]

Two authors I will never ever read are Stephen King and Haruki Murakami. I don't care how brilliant their books are, there are plenty of brilliant books out there where little girls are not constantly sexualised. The pedophilic undertones of some decisions made in their books bother me and trigger me and I don't understand why people don't acknowledge that. Speaking of Dona Tartt, I am disappointed that so many people, including some brown people I know, kiss that author's ass because she writes well. When I or other people bring up that they're racist they accuse me of not having critical thinking skills or wanting to censor art or ban books. They give me some spiel about black and white thinking and lack of nuance. And I don't hate everyone who has ever loved a book that offended me. If the books mean so much to them they can love them for all I care. But the same people hate J. K. Roachling (rightfully) and (rightfully) call out people for still supporting HP. But, about HP, they say stuff like "They're children's books, why are you as an adult reading children's books anyway?" or "Her books aren't that good anyway" and paired with their continued support of Tartt and other racist or otherwise very problematic, but "intellectual", authors, I get the impression that they think that if a book is smart or deep or well-written it shouldn't be criticized. That maybe they put the art before the real life consequences of said art. Or maybe that reading and studying and understanding an 800 page novel written in an impressive style gave them such a feeling of intellectual superiority that they can't bear to acknowledge that it's anything but a gift from the gods to save culture from evil trashy books. Just a theory. I'm glad you're setting boundaries with the authors you read and protecting your mental health and well-being. Things that seem little to some, like a horrible description of a black woman in a book, or like casual racism from a character, can really chip away at your happiness. It's like micro-aggressions. And we're not here to torture ourselves for the sake of reading challenging books, we have the right to stay away from stuff that will remind us that people senselessly hate us. Stay safe!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Had no idea about Haruki omg Yeah it’s def not white folks only who are responsible for hailing Tartt. U were spot on about saying it’s bc she writes well. She writes well and writes for a genre ppl are obsessed w so they absolutely aren’t willing to hold her accountable the way they are Patterson and JKR But one day someone who isn’t Black is going to critique her or she will do something WILDLY racist and then FINALLY ppl will b like “ok wow un hauling her” while pretending they didn’t know those criticisms all along Ppl will wait until “canceling” her is popular. It honestly sickens me bc it’s fake ass activism

[@elliot1260]

@@JesseOnKZbin Oh my god, thanks for the reply!! Totally agree, it's fake activism. It's activism until it's inconvenient for them. And only when it can't be ignored anymore they'll finally stop praising her. It's sad!

[@jfarmerswatermelon6061]

Yeah Murakami female characters suck but not sure about pedophilic undertones maybe it's in his other works that i haven't read yet

[@taleforquill]

I agree with you so much on Stephen King and Haruki Murakami! People keep recommending them to me, and whenever I tell them my reasons for not reading them, people will call me hypersensitive. The excerpts I've read from King's book are absolutely vile. The constant sexualization of little girls and women in general and his blatant racism in a lot of his books make them a big HELL NO from me.

[@elliot1260]

@@taleforquill I hate when people say I'm hypersensitivd, it's so invalidating of my feelings. Don't let anyone tell you you're too sensitive. You're doing what's best for you and you have the right to avoid authors that make you uncomfortable.

[@toastiezzz]

Read The Secret History and one of the characters remarks on Jamaica having no culture threw me off so bad that I just gave away my copy after I was done. It was never challenged. As someone from the Caribbean, it was so so so insane for me to read that. While actions by/belief of characters aren’t necessarily endorsements, if the author has a pattern of lauding the same white supremacist ideas across their books without contention- it comes across as just that.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

THIS TIMES TEN DAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PPL IN THE BACK

[@tonyt1680]

Yo, who thinks Jamaica has no culture??? Uneducated as f**k!! Throw the whole author away!!!!

[@mynameisreallycool1]

I hate it when people say that about any culture. It gives off a very snooty, stuck up, and xenophobic attitude. To me, "This place has no culture." Just translates to: "This place has a culture that I think is inferior and not good enough, because it's the culture I don't like/am not used to." Or, "They don't have enough European influence, which is more sophisticated and civil than this culture, in my eyes." It's just so horrible. Every place has their own culture. There's no such thing as having no culture. It's so dumb.

[@talia9895]

I won’t disagree about the Donna Tartt issues, but saying it was never challenged is a lie considering the actual line is “Tried to get Henry to come down there with me but he said there was no culture, which I don’t think is true,” I’m Caribbean myself and have read the book twice, and having no recollection of the instance I went to check. There’s no need to misconstrue events to make things seem racist when there are so many other actual examples out there and in this video!

[@toastiezzz]

@@talia9895 I suppose that line “which I don’t think is true” did not feel like enough for me at the time I read it, considering I had no memory of it. It’s certainly not enough to dissuade anyone who believes that to be true. It felt like the claim was reduced to a matter of personal opinion. Remind me if Tartt spends any more time on that view, but, to me, “I don’t think it’s true” hardly counts as contention.

[@vicipedia]

When I was a little kid watching the LOTR movies for the first time, I was super into it because of the big battle sequences and pretty elfs with long flowing hair. Decided to read the books in middle school and wasn't super enthralled, but I kept going because they've gotta get to the crashing of armies into each other eventually, right? And as I kept reading other Tolkien bits I kept seeing that the orcs had slanted eyes, were ugly and squat and had flat noses, with dark skin, and were an evil race that could not be changed, while elfs usually were attractive, pale-skinned, light-haired, and blue- or gray-eyed, with an innate sense of good that was difficult to corrupt and a love for beautiful things. Being a POC and living in a pretty racist town I eventually drew the connections, and while it might've not been "intentional" racism (not like I would know what was going on in his head, though), it was definitely of its time. While the guy definitely did a lot of good, heavy work, it can't be denied that this kind of stuff also led to the trope of "this one race of people right here that are born evil and will die evil no matter what" that I so loathe. You've definitely captured what I dislike about Tolkien's work, so bravo :)

[@Iron-Bridge]

I like your balanced take. I'm a minority myself who did get into the Tolkien stuff if not obsessively. He's done great work on an epic scale but he's not immune from one dimensional prejudice as well. His work is certainly rooted in its time.

[@adamgillespie3393]

It definitely didn't lead to that trope, even if it perpetuated it. The inaccurate analysis of Darwinian Theory in a culture that was already racist is what created the real egregious tropes. This happened waaaay before LOTR came out. Throughout colonialism, eugenics was a massive excuse used, also before LOTR. So it did not 'lead' to any tropes as those ideas already occupied a firm place within Europe. It was even used to claim superiority amongst Europeans, obvious examples being the prejudice against the Irish and colonisation of Ireland or the claim of Aryan supremacy.

[@alonzomuncy4659]

Far as I've been able to tell, Tolkien was not intentionally racist. I think if you went back in time and pointed out how he was being racist, he would not want to be racist. During WWII he absolutely roasted the Natzis when they wanted his support. I think a lot of the pro-light skin stuff is an artifact of him trying to write a mythology he felt that they didn't have. His sense of place of middle earth is definitely north west Europe. With his descriptions, I think he was going with 'ugly' rather than 'racist'. That said, he was also a man of his time. He was born in South Africa, he was upperish class, as a professor he was part of the Elite. In that place and time there is definitely a bias against POC that I think he may have unconsciously absorbed and reflected in his work. In short, the problems with Tolkien come from his place and time subconsciously influencing him rather than an intentional malice.

[@skeezaworkan]

"evil race that could not be changed" - Orcs were once elves that Morgoth tortured for so long, that they became orcs. Tolkien made them that way to show that even the best of us could be turned to evil if we were subjected to abuse. Also, somewhere in books Gandalf says that orcs can be redeemed, it's just very unlikely. But even Tolkien himself in interviews said many times, that no one is irredeemable. Even orcs can turn back and redeem themselves.

[@Rose-ry6gm]

I have to say, I am a fully fledged lover of Tolkien. This did rub me the wrong way upon reading his for sure. I definitely think it wasn’t intended to create or perpetuate racist stereotypes but the unfortunate truth is it has which absolutely sucks. I definitely agree with one of the other commenters here who pointed out that since the orcs used to be elves it was meant to be a representation of how anyone can be changed to evil but unfortunately evil was definitely represented in a racist manner. I don’t think Tolkien meant any harm. but I am definitely biased as I am a huge fan of his works.

[@chestersnap]

My mom introduced me to the Anita Blake series when I was 14 with the caveat that I had to talk to her and discuss what's in them. If nothing else, the books aren't vanilla. My cousin was telling me she thinks my mom's book recommendations are why she's now into BDSM

[@AbeNoSeirei]

Same ^.^' Though I picked them up myself. Vampires and Voodoo seemed interesting, but I mostly got introduced to BDSM etiquette.

[@KittyAndTheBooks]

I grew up reading Tolkien but I would never ever see a fault in someone not being interested in his books. There is - at least in my opinion - not one book that can make you a "real fantasy reader", the genre is just too diverse nowadays (and that's what I love about it). And yes, I totally see how his "dark/black is evil" stereotyping is harmful. It's absolutely ok to stay far away from that.

[@AnaCVazquez]

Interesting because I never saw the darkness as referring to skin pigment. It’s pretty clear Tolkien is referring to actual darkness(absence of light)but I understand how it can be interrupted differently. To me Tolkien is the definitive modern fantasy work. It’s touches on universal themes of good vs evil.

[@nicklepin7133]

@@AnaCVazquez exactly

[@n.r.tupperauthor6573]

​@AnaCVazquez it is referring to actual darkness. So confused by their perpetuation of it being skin. Maybe because of the movie? 32:10

[@lavenderlylin]

I remember reading the DaVinci Code because I’m a history buff, and one thing I noticed is that most of the facts are… not very accurate. I asked one of my favorite history professors about it and he went on a rant for about ten minutes. And while I did read The Secret History, I remember being shocked at how disturbing and racist and not diversified it was. I wanted to enjoy it, but I could NOT get past how glorified every single white character was… even with the incest or murder.

[@Alexandraadftxr7052]

As someone who also likes, and knows a lot of things about history, this is one of the reason why I will never read DaVinci Code. When I read, or watch something historical then I alway enjoy if it's as historicaly acuret as posible. And Leonardo da Vinci is one of my favorit artist, because of his art, and his life, so after watching the movie, (I'm pretty shure this is the same for the book), where he was in a secret cult/sociality, and in a conspericy theory I hated the movei, and turnd me away from the book. (Sorry for the grammer, and speling mistakes, English is not my first laungvige.)

[@lordbunbury]

Why would you read The Da Vinci Code and expect historical accuracy? It’s like saying everything in a Batman comic didn’t really happen.

[@mmmirele]

I've read a lot of books. The DaVinci Code is the only one I hurled at a wall with great force.

[@cronchybo]

I feel like I'm one of the only ones who enjoys that book... I know it's not accurate, I just think it's a cool premise!

[@danieldelappe7830]

Any History teacher loss their shite on Dan Brown. It’s actually funny to watch.

[@erikabautista7072]

God I just finished The Secret History and really enjoyed it. I noticed some racist undertones but thought that 1) they were there just to highlight how fucking horrible the characters were 2) they were supposed to reflect a time that was less 'woke' (I can't think of a better term sorry) and that racist shit wasn't as called out. But you mentioned that the text never really calls out or critically challenges these casual racism, and now you gave me so much to think about and reconsider. One thing's for sure though, I'm yeeting The Goldfinch out of my TBR

[@FairyBogFather]

I disagree with Bowties & Books on The Secret History (haven't read Goldfinch, so can't speak to that one). As a queer Latinx/native person, I felt like it portrayed my experience of academia very accurately. Not referring to the murder, of course, but the attitudes of a lot of my more privileged peers matched the characters in the book to a tee. The way they justify their immoral acts and strip people of their humanity to benefit themselves. Even though the "protagonist" of the book wasn't critical of the characters, I wouldn't argue that the narrative itself isn't critical. It read like a horror novel to me. It's what happens when people with so much power and privilege realize they really can get away with anything. The systemic racism and abuse of power in higher education is absolutely real and I think the book reflects that.

[@FairyBogFather]

That said, Donna Tartt's liberal use of the n-word is pretty sus. I feel like non-black writers can express racism without actually alienating and triggering black readers, but so few actually try. That is defs disappointing.

[@NoOrdinaryScholar]

For Me, 2/3 authors I can't read are Sarah J Mass and Cassandra Clare (they are basically the same person to me, so in my head they're one) I've just had way too many of the racist, microaggressing, and abusive people I grew up with flock to them to feel like that's a space I want to be anywhere near. As well E.J. Mellow, i read the first two books of their Mousai series and the first one I tried to let some stuff pass, namely their not great discussions of drug abusers, as just not knowing better. But their second book completely disgusted me with the abusive relationship that resulted in a LOT of victim blaming. The use of a queer character exclusively for a "you thought they were a couple? Plot twist, she's gay" immediately followed by the character that misunderstood saying "Plot twist, Yeah, I'm totally bi so it's not weird" even though they have exclusively been talking/thinking about romance and sex with relation to guys the whole book. And I was SUPER uncomfortable with the way race was handled. Pretty much all dark skinned folk were either in the criminal class or othered in an island nobody from the main area of the book has been to in generations. And the way the Author used the word "wild" to describe the things related to them made me so physically uncomfortable.

[@gautaminandi5572]

Oh, speaking of Casandra Clare i heard she has done a hell amount of things in Harry Potter fandom starting from throwing tantrums over a ship from writing incest and phedophilic fanfictions.

[@curiouslanguage2032]

I hate it when you find a book appalling and no one seems to notice the issues in it. Like they don't even mention ist at all. Especially if they're hyper aware of problematic content in other books, but somehow miss it in that one. That's how i felt reading the Magicians and also Ready Player One. I DNF'd both of those books because the level of sexism/homophobia in those was so disgusting to me, and yet no one ever seems to notice or talk about it? I'm like, did we read the same book???? Thank goodness I found some videos that mentioned how sexist Red Rising was, because I thought for sure it was going to be completely ignored since it's such a popular book. I heard the sequel gets rid of a lot of it, but I'm not sure if I feel okay continuing just because of its absence, you know? The damage was already done, and if someone hurts you and then doesn't hurt you in your next encounter, that doesn't undo the original hurt. I wonder if the author ever acknowledged it. I'll look into the the Goldfinch. I had her books on my TBR but I'll probably skip it after hearing you talk about it. Like you said, too many exciting books to waste my time with racist trash.

[@kurapikakurta3863]

I was going to read Ready Player One because it's scifi readathon month for me. I guess I'm scraping that off of my reading list.

[@neghiethervil5606]

Can't do the romance either. The first "romance-like" book I actually loved was Sarah Waters' 'Tipping the Velvet' and then I realized I prefer to read fiction with elements of romance. But pure romance for me is not only hard to read, it's harder to write.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Yesssss I relate

[@0fficialselena__90]

I have heard a lot about this book...how is it? I'm trying to find proper and pure romance books not sexist or full of lust, etc. DO you have any recommendations?

[@lauraisnotfine]

@@0fficialselena__90 if that’s what you’re looking for, I don’t think ‘Tipping the Velvet’ will be for you. It’s a great read, IMO, but the romance is quite secondary to the thriller elements, and the book touches on some dark themes.

[@connorbooth7207]

I don’t know. I probably have an unpopular opinion here, but usually when I read a story and a character says something that isn’t right, even down right horrible, I see the character themselves as being a bad person. I don’t really attribute what a character says in the book to represent the authors real life values. What authors write in their books don’t totally represent them as a person, unless they just come right out and say something like JK Rowling did, or something is leaked. They’re fictional characters, who do represent horrible people in reality. In my opinion, dislike the character, not the author. Unless the real author’s character and values are problematic

[@JesseOnYoutube]

i do hear you on this! there’s a good and a bad way to write characters who are morally questionable. for example if their language or behavior is challenged in the text in some way shape or form. hoping that make sense?

[@connorbooth7207]

@@JesseOnKZbin I agree. It’s probably also how different people see it. I personally sometimes like it when a character is problematic, but they don’t get challenged in the text, if it’s done well. It almost leaves it up to the reader to make their own interpretations in a way, and has realism to it. There are so many bigoted people in reality who never get challenged or aren’t brought to justice. If it’s done right, some characters can represent this; but I definitely understand if it makes others uncomfortable

[@emilyf4639]

I wholeheartedly resonate with what y’all said about Donna Tartt. I’ve only read The Secret History, didn’t know much about her or the book but knew there was Greek mythology which I’m interested in so gave it a go. It was the most disturbing thing I’ve ever read. Not only was the gore and topics incredibly upsetting to read about, but the excuse of racism, sexism, homophobia under the guise that it’s dark academia and that all of the characters are supposed to be awful is such a tired, shitty excuse, and part of the reason why I’ve stayed away from dark academia over the years. These characters are such horrific people and it’s evident how much of their characterizations are reflected in the author.

[@fayla8127]

do you genuinely not read books that explore bad characters in general? or is there something about her books specifically?

[@emilyf4639]

@@fayla8127 I have no problem reading books with morally grey/bad characters, but when the characters use racial slurs/commit absolutely horrible acts with no commentary whatsoever about why their actions advance some sort of message about the plot or develop their characters, then I have a problem with it, which is something I noticed in The Secret History.

[@BishopWalters12]

LOL, you MSNBC viewers are too much.

[@johnsullyB]

@@BishopWalters12 ah yes, empathy bad. 😂

[@BishopWalters12]

@@johnsullyB LOL

[@shereadsmysteries]

I always appreciate anyone who is willing to take the time to educate us on important issues like this! Thank you for y’all’s work!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Awww ty for this!!

[@user-jd4fz7ws2s]

the point you made about people loving dark academia too much to renounce a racist author is something i've been thinking for so long but never heard anyone say before. extremely validating moment right there

[@Sarah06294]

Tolkien was not a racist. His letters demonstrate that he was anti-racist both during peacetime and war. His letters clearly show that he was disgusted by both Nazi racial theory and anti-German racial propaganda. Tolkien was a linguist with a deep interest in European mythology. His story is essentially a rewrite of European folklore myths- it’s not even that original. His work contains no reference to African or Asian culture or folklore because he was never acquainted with any of their ideas, stories, or traditions. Tolkien simply wrote a fantasy story. He stated himself there were no allegories in his work as he had a strong dislike of allegory. Yet for some reason people keep overanalysing and see allegories that are not there.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Hi Hazel 🥰

[@krpchnkva330]

I had no idea about Donna Tartt! Just got one of her books from the library and haven't read it yet thanks for the warning. Unfortunately there is a big racism problem within the community and some people are very reluctant to address it. JKR was one of my biggest literary disappointments because I grew up with Harry Potter, still have my books but I refuse to spend another dime on her work, after reading her books again I have also noticed many problems I couldn't really see as a kid, racism, anti semitic tropes etc. Somebody said at the end of the day the magic in her books came from us readers and I agree.

[@h.f.hussain4632]

The ‘magic’ came from her imagination and talent as a writer.

[@sillykitty1818]

I’m genuinely curious, what racism and anti Semitic stuff was in HP? I loved the books when I was younger but haven’t read them in years. Still own them. But I do not remember anything like that in the books. I know JKR herself is awful but I don’t recall anything blatant in the books that was racist. But it’s been a long time as I said.

[@h.f.hussain4632]

@@sillykitty1818 Why is J.K. Rowling awful?

[@middirain4058]

@@sillykitty1818 I think it's mostly subtext that kids wouldn't really pick up on. Like the goblins are definitely based on antisemitic stereotypes, which is made so much worse in the way they're talked about and treated by the magical world. Also the elves were happy to be slaves? Idk seems kinda fishy to me. There's quite a lot more, but those were just off the top of my head :)

[@levist9535]

@@h.f.hussain4632 She's a TERF, supports a fascist who is very misogynistic, and a whole bunch of other things

[@marshmallow864]

I agree with this list and would add Emily Duncan who wrote Wicked Saints. It's based on several antisemitic tropes and they're a well known bully. Oh and Jay Kristoff 🤢.

[@angelaholmes8888]

Yep I'm definitely will never read books from either of them

[@horrorfanatic6990]

Oooh what did Jay Kristofer do??? I never heard of him before but just bought a book by him the other day, because the plot sounded interesting.

[@devonmunn5728]

@@horrorfanatic6990 Last I know he was supportive of an artist who whitewashed characters. It's been a while since I've heard about it. A previous series of his was also criticized for racism

[@BooksToAshes]

@@horrorfanatic6990 I believe the thing that really got people mad about him was a series he put out with Japanese characters. It’s called The Lotus Wars, the first book being Stormdancer and a lot say it’s cultural appropriation, has stereotypes, and some say because of this, he’s racist. Either for the content of the book or the writing itself I’m not sure (I didn’t read it personally). He also had an interview for it and when asked how he researched and prepared for the books he joked about eating pokey and other things that sounded more like a joke than a legit answer. That alongside other issues he’s kind of put himself into (like defending an author that was being problematic). I enjoyed Nevernight and may continue his books since I own them but may just use library books from now on if he writes any other books.

[@ispent35minutestryingtocha80]

I guess it’s a good thing I brought her book secondhand 🤢🤢🤢 I didn’t know

[@catherinebruno1689]

The Secret History by Donna Tartt was hours and days of my life that I will never get back. It's the one book that I still question why I never DNF'd it. Authors I will never read include, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Colleen Hoover, and Christina Lauren. None of their books appeal to me, they all seem mediocre and boring.

[@devyncandace1392]

oh god i bought the secret history last year and still haven’t picked it up for some reason..seemed like it had many high reviews but maybe it’s over hyped. on the other hand, i thought taylor jenkins books were overhyped yet i’ve read seven husbands of elevyn hugo and just finished daisy jones and i was rlly impressed , they were 4.5/5 stars for me

[@devyncandace1392]

colleen hoover tho drives me crazy i read november 9 and wanted to die

[@oliviabokame7730]

@@devyncandace1392 same here ! i dont know why people love this book so much. Ben was so creepy, I was so embarassed

[@Exiled_Rouge]

That "Save the Pearls" book sounded like one of the worst ideas one can come up with for a novel. Sweet mother of cinnamon rolls. I had to pause the video and look it up because I doubted this could be real.

[@brooke5258]

It was just SO. MUCH. Was it self published? Who thought "yes, this is great. Send it out"? The fact that she even came up with that idea... Noughts & Crosses has a similar premise. I tried reading it, but... I'm not the audience for it. There are better ways to get white people to see their privilege.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Damn now I want a cinnamon roll

[@Exiled_Rouge]

@@brooke5258 the one-paragraph summary seems like a decent science fiction premise. But the following paragraph introduced the concept of "coals". I question the judgment of whoever heard this book pitch.

[@alexreid1173]

I just can’t believe it came out only 10 years ago…

[@moustik31]

But wait, doesnt it have a similar premisse to "The Ones We Burn"? I feel, like authors learnt nothing.

[@claucara-joanjettfan3984]

When ever you grow and reread things that are "Nostalgic" things or childhood can turn into a bad message. For example Disney they make people feel nostalgic or stuck in the childhood brain, but Disney has a lot of racist/antisemitic, and sexist scenes, movies and shows. They are improving but still there's some mess up things.

[@starrsmith3810]

Literally me with The Aristrocats and the very obvious racist stereotype……

[@whatruthreads]

THANK YOU for talking about Donna Tartt. I really enjoyed The Secret History... and I had The Goldfinch on my TBR, but it is now GONE. I am so sorry a book ever made you feel like that and you have convinced me to never pick up one of her books again.

[@giigiireadss]

Jesse they came running, sprinting, and jumping over walls to defend Sir Patterson. I was just like damn sign me up for that pay roll cuz y’all cannot be doing this mess for free😭😭😭

[@brooke5258]

I can just imagine what they were like. Comic book nerds are the same way. I stay out of those spaces cause I'm just here for a good time lol

[@MrsSergeantBarnes]

I stumbled upon this video through my recommended section and I am so glad I did, particularly for Donna Tartt. I remember when the movie version of The Goldfinch came out and tumblr lost their minds over the dark academia themes and the romance between the main character and this other male character. They were praising it so I thought I would give it a shot and bought the book second hand for pretty cheap. That was a good two or so years ago and I still have not had the time to read it, but now after seeing your critiques on both the book and its author I never will. Been doing some super late spring cleaning and that book is going in the donation box immediately. I do not want to read a book that blatantly racist and that also makes a POC feel so utterly disgusted about themselves because of its depictions of their race. It's really sad that people are so ride or die for this book and its author...

[@NS-et5wh]

You could maybe leave in content warnings in the book if you're gonna donate it? Might save someone else from reading it unknowingly

[@MrsSergeantBarnes]

@@NS-et5wh I never even thought of that, but that's a really smart idea. I actually thought of just tearing out the pages and using them in my various crafting projects, like turning them into paper stars or bouquets of paper flowers. Figured it would be a better use for the book than passing it along to some unsuspecting person.

[@NS-et5wh]

@@MrsSergeantBarnes Oh yeah your idea sounds way more fun lol! Honestly I think all books should just come with content warnings when you buy them. Would save a lot of people a lot of trouble

[@MrsSergeantBarnes]

@@NS-et5wh It's honestly surprising how that's not a thing. We have content warnings on movies and tv shows, so why not also have them in literature?

[@kurapikakurta3863]

@@MrsSergeantBarnes Lol I have done exactly that for books that I absolutely despised. Used them for crafting so no one else can read them XD

[@cecilbenderman6240]

Okay in all honesty, as one such white boy Tolkien fan... it's COMPLETELY valid for u to not enjoy his work or have an interest in it. The main reason I enjoy his works these days is mostly because of nostalgia and the way I used to enjoy it when I was younger, but his prejudices do show through in many of his works, and it's something that WAY too many fans don't even acknowledge. If I didn't read his works when I was a lonely 12 year old in middle school, I probably wouldn't like the tolkien canon, and I think if someone IS a fan of his, it's entirely necessary to acknowledge the ways he promoted anti-black sentiment and the sexist themes of his work. But I think it's entirely fair to not want to consume his work based on his prejudices and the gross themes found throughout them. Any fantasy fan who disagrees I think should just shut up. Not reading or watching or however consuming whatever media based on the way the creator is harmful is very valid and it should be, in my opinion, the norm.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Love this take! Thank you for sharing. Any modern fantasies I’ve you been loving that I should check out?

[@parkerbrown-nesbit1747]

@@JesseOnKZbin Anything by Tamora Pierce. She's a Young Adult author, but I discovered her books in my 40s. She's really cool because she doesn't talk down to her audience.

[@hannahwerner9812]

@@parkerbrown-nesbit1747 This is such a good recommendation! I loved her "Song of the Lioness books", still one of my favourite series to this day. And just today her "Wild Magic" Series arrived, really looking forward to that :D

[@parkerbrown-nesbit1747]

@@hannahwerner9812 She's one of my favourite authors (I've read everything she's published -- many times). Her Circle of Magic/Circle Opens series is really good as well.

[@chand.5064]

@@parkerbrown-nesbit1747 Tamora Pierce has racist controversies

[@bobatealily]

As an Asian person, thank you so much for recommending me not to read The Goldfinch. Donna Tartt, more like Donna FART. I have never heard of it until now even tho it was adapted into a movie starring Ansel Elgort and Finn Wolfhard in 2019 When you mentioned how anti-Asian as fuck that book is, I immediately did not want to read it. I did some research of my own about it to see the anti-Asian nature and I cringed so hard. Found an article talking about how anti-Asian it is and it was full of textual evidence. It demonizes Chinese and Japanese cultures and people. It implied that ginseng tea smells bad bc it's Chinese. To me, ginseng doesn't smell, it just has a very strong smell. It made it clear that one of the characters, Andy, who has a Japanese wife, Miyako married Miyako because "he had a thing for fanservice miko and slutty manga girls in sailor uniform". As much as I love anime and manga (I create my own manga) and the sailor uniform aesthetic, that line just makes me so uneasy. Andy only likes Miyako because he fetishizes Japanese women. And it stated that Japanese people are undemonstrative which is why Miyako did not cry at her husband's funeral and it was presented as a bad thing. Just because you didn't cry at the funeral of a loved one doesn't mean you hate them, don't care about them, or are glad that they're dead. Everyone has their own way of grieving. I didn't cry at my paternal grandfather's funeral but I was still devastated. Crying doesn't always mean you truly miss someone. I mean I get that culturally, in Japan and other Asian cultures, we are not too expressive openly for cultural reasons but that doesn't mean we're completely stoic, unfeeling, and don't feel emotions. We are more expressive and emotional when we're in more comfortable and appropriate spaces like with friends and family but around strangers, we are not too expressive to save face and not to give bad first impressions. And Japanese being perceived as undemonstrative is an outsider's perspective since Western cultures encourages people to be more open with emotions even to strangers. To be frank, Japanese people do express emotions publicly just not in a way that's deemed expressive by foreigners. For my case, I come across as cold, aloof, stoic and undemonstrative to strangers for practical universal reasons. I don't know these random people on the streets and I don't want to show them my true self and comfortable side because that's careless and they might use stuff about me against me. Also, I'm autistic, traumatized and have been abused and ran into way too many people with unrequited feelings for me. I'm like a dog that will growl at you if you try to pet her without letting her lick your hand first. When you get to know me, I'm more social, perky, expressive, and happy go lucky. It's just me. I only open up to people I trust of course.

[@JAKandtheBookStack]

Super super insightful on Donna Tart. I haven’t read her books but I’ve never heard her described as racist, which supports your point of how we as a community react to dark academia. I’d love to educate myself on why that book is bad so I’ll investigate other resources like you suggested.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank you, Jak. The silence on issues w her politics are astounding. There’s also homophobia and xenophobia in the goldfinch that ppl sidestep addressing. :( it’s just really frustrating. We shouldn’t be giving books a free pass simply bc we are obsessed with Dark academia. The book community Can do better

[@deembbest4553]

31:40 Thank you so much for mentioning how traumatizing misrepresentation can be in books and media. I absolutely refuse to watch The Boys, and I don't really trust anyone who loves that show. I skipped the first season, so I didn't even know about all the other problematic shit from it. And I got to either like episode 2 or 4 in the 2nd season, and we see the racist storm hero kill an entire building full of black people and other people of color. And I was so in shock about so many things in that scene. I cried. From the fact that the murder of these people had a sort of comedy beat to it, to the fact that Kripke stated that the show was supposed have this deep message about racism, but all it looks like is torture fantasy against POCs for the benefit, entertainment, and education of white people, and I just couldn't.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Big hugs. If it’s any consolation, I started the boys bc it came highly suggested but I had to cease watching after something that happened very very early on in the season. I simply could not. So I relate and send you love, safety, and comfort

[@SEmme-ov6yy]

How did the murder scene have a comedy beat to it? I watched it and it was portrayed as something horrible

[@deembbest4553]

@@SEmme-ov6yy I understand that you had a different experience with this. Unfortunately, that episode, and especially that scene was very stressful for me, and I am not willing to argue the validity of my experience on this. You may accept my words as they have been stated, and believe me, or you may leave it. I will not be debating this, however. Have a nice day. 😉

[@sirduchessofpuns8846]

One of the worst authors I've ever read is P.C. Cast. She's highly popular, her books are praised for being feminist, progressive, and diverse, and her H0use 0f N1ght series is being shopped around for a TV adaptation - but her work is TRASH. Both badly written and deeply harmful. Internalized misogyny and sex shaming everywhere; POC are exotified, fetishized, and heavily stereotyped, and in M00n Ch0sen a white character employs black face to blend in with the dark-skinned people of her village much like Save the Pearls; queer characters are either heavily stereotyped, misery porn, killed off, or all of the above; mental illness, addiction, and disordered eating are both trivialized and demonized; the r-slur was used rampantly throughout the H0use 0f N1ght series and she defended this choice as recently as 2019; and that's just the tip of the iceberg. I try not to judge people for their reading preferences, but I honestly cannot fathom how anyone has read this woman's work and walked away thinking she's empowering and a good ally.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

God that sounds HORRIBLE

[@sirduchessofpuns8846]

@@JesseOnKZbin I'll spare y'all the quotes, but like... there's SO MUCH going on with this author's work and it's barely improved in her 20 years of writing

[@loischionye1353]

Oh wow. Haven't finished the first book in the House of Night series but I'll keep an eye out

[@vinnm4516]

The first one is a sort of taster, but the later books get really, really ugly very fast. It might be worth looking up some in depth synopses to see if you want to continue reading them

[@stormeyedselkie]

I CANNOT BELIEVE I used to read these books when I was MUCH YOUNGER. I am so sorry Me, I'm glad I actually have a good reading taste now

[@factura_rb7114]

Y'know, my grandma is like 83 years old and THE ONLY books that she reads are written by Danielle Steel (if it's not her, then she's not interested). But I'm happy for her, because now she's reading a lot and she's happier since she started reading her books! ☺️ But I'm really not interested in reading her 😃 like c'mon I have better things to read, I'm not gonna waste my time lol

[@Silverraine1]

Sometimes I read racist xenophobic authors like Lovecraft in order to understand the context of the 'canon' that bipoc writers like Victor LaValle, NK Jemisin are writing against/challenging/critiquing when they write Lovecraftian books. It lets me appreciate them even more. I'm going to read The Secret History for the same reason. I'll probably still enjoy the vibes but I've always hoped that a ton of bipoc and queer writers get the opportunity to write dark academia and magical school books. What I mainly wanted to say is that if anyone wants to, or has to, read problematic authors then don't feel bad, just do it with full context and awareness.

[@bethieandbooks]

I remember getting like 30 pages into the Goldfinch and her referring to a taxi driver as ‘the Sikh’ multiple times on one page, like wtf?? Didn’t bother picking it up again

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Ugh

[@kerryonmywaywardson9805]

literally the Goldfinch is the worst book for so many reasons. Nothing redeems it

[@bookchelves9392]

omg the edit with the name Jamal had me hollering, you are amazing!!! This is such a great video. I also love your hair, you look gorgeous

[@riochanae4627]

OK BUT FIRST OF ALL “Gotta catch Jamal” made me SHRIEK 😂😂 Secondly- the first author that I do not under any circumstances fvck with is Jack Kerouac. Thirdly, if you have not checked out Ebony Stewart I highly suggest you do- she’s a black, queer, femme poet with some published works that are EVERYTHING. Hilarious as ever- sending you love 💛💛

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Omg her name is gorgeous Ty for the love and the suggestion

[@AM0rning]

People can still love their problematic books out of nostalgia but even that’s not an excuse to ignore the issues within the books and we must hold the authors accountable to educate them so they can’t continue perpetuating the transphobia and racism. Authors I hate with a fervent passion: Haruki Murukami - His books are very misogynistic in the sense that all women in his books are perceived through the male’s voyeuristic POV and they have no personalities beyond being his objection of affection who reward him with sex. Ernest Cline - Misogynistic writing of female characters. His MC is a caricature of a entitled geeky guy who chase after the object of his affection solely because she was a girl? He stalked her until he won her over which reeked so much of entitlement that he thinks he earned her by being a such “NICE GEEKY GUY”regardless of whether she likes him or not, he “deserved” after all his MASSIVE geeky trivia paid off to win the game. Malcolm Gladwell - He boldly pretended his books are backed up with data when in fact he only have unreliable data with a narrow pool and foolishly thinks it’s enough to back up his observations” with his interviews. He defended rapists, racist cops and misogynist people by claiming it’s all a miscommunication, blaming rape victims for “sending mixed signals while drunk” to rapists who saw it as a green light to force themselves onto the victims which in his “expert opinion” is a big miscommunication instead of actual rape...and he also defended a racist cop for “misreading” a black woman’s social cues and used those “cues” as a reason to arrest her when there was zilch evidence that she was doing anything bad. He try to be a “logical” white man that rationalise heinous crimes committed by rapists and racists, twisting them to look like a misunderstanding while ignoring the dynamic between the racist cop who was clearly using his racism to justify his arrest toward a black woman and how rapist uses alcohol to gain access to their victims. Very disgusting!!!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Oh my god had no idea about gladwell… what the…f…

[@AM0rning]

@@JesseOnKZbin It gets so much worse if you can believe it! It was so upsetting.

[@kyeoptawerk93ah]

i tried reading that book by gladwell and i could not get past like 10/15% of it. not only was it just boring but it lacked so much context just so he could defend shitty people's actions as "we all are just misunderstanding each other". like no, racists are racists and rapists are rapists no matter what the other party was saying or doing. for anyone else who doesn't know, readwithcindy did a video a little while back about talking with strangers and she explained everything i felt about it very well.

[@flamebunny6511]

@@JesseOnKZbin I had no idea either! The craziest thing about Gladwell is the fact that the racist apologist thing is ten times weirder when you find out that he’s a mixed black man.

[@Xan1ver]

I tried reading The Secret History and have never DNF'd a book so hard. First time I've genuinely wanted to fling a book across the room right into the trash before setting it on fire!!

[@GnarlyRaePepsi]

"Inquiring minds need to know" is my favorite way to get the latest gossip out of my friends. All because I saw a National Inquirer ad ONCE as a child.

[@void779]

How is there racism in LOTRS? Is it the fact that it’s set in fantasy England? Because that’s racist in of itself if I watch black panther and said “this movie sucks because there’s to many black people” I would be shunned from society

[@JesseOnYoutube]

There's so many essays, articles, and even books written by scholars on this topic that explain all of the issues in much greater detail and clarity than I can. if you just google 'racist themes in tolkein's works', you'll be able to find a plethera of info! hope this helps

[@void779]

@@JesseOnKZbin so your going to claim something and then not show proof? Interesting.

[@caitlyn.m.t9618]

I got some no go authors for me. One is Emily M. Duncan. I read Wicked Saints and I didn't enjoy but I did think there were strengths in the world building and the external conflict and some of the internal conflicts for some characters. I was interested in following her as an author because of those strengths. And then she called an Asian woman ugly on a public platform because her book was coming out on the same day as hers? That is very normal thing to have multiple books coming out on one day for starters, but it just felt like such a low blow to go after someone's looks on a public platform. And then I heard about the racism and the bullying and I just decided not to support her. Jay Kristoff is another. Firstly, if you step away from his books and look at them with a critical eye, you start noticing weaknesses in them. So I will stand by that I think he is a very overhyped and overrated author, and that his books are predictable as hell. But the reason why I stopped reading his stuff is the racism, the fetishisation, the cultural appropriation, and more. And the fact that he is just so dismissive of criticism about his books, just refusing to acknowledge the problems in them just is the final nail in the coffin. He is not even interested in listening to what people are saying, and to me that means that there is no hope for improvement on his end. I was happy to see less chat about his Empire of the Vampire (which just sounds like Nevernight but with vampires). Rupi Kaur is also another, for the same reason that I just think her poetry isn't for me. There is a quite a few modern poets of a similar vein that I don't vibe with, and I think their poetry sometimes is saying important things, but that doesn't mean I am into them. No shade, just not for me. Sarah J Mass is the absolute anti-tbr author for me. One, I think I would hate her books. They sound bad, her characters sound insufferable and her writing style is awkward and clumsy, and I am saying this as someone who has never read her stuff but keeps engaging with the content because everyone is obsessed with her stuff. Her most recent book is incredibly overhyped and I can say that because no book in my favourite section should get the amount of hype that that book did. It generally was everywhere. You could not get away from it. Bookstagram full on turned into a SJM fandom, and some people quit bookstagram for a week or two because of it. Now I never want to see content of her stuff again (which I do not say lightly. This has happened with a character and that is the Darkling. I don't have things because they are popular but sometimes something being popular makes me hate it a little bit more because I become actively sick of this thing that I didn't even enjoy in the first place.), and I am tired of having to engage with it. But also, once again, these books are heavily problematic with misrepresentation, racism, cultural appropriation, romanticisation of abusive couples, and I am over here going how is this not too much for you people. When do you say enough is enough. How has she not crossed a line with them yet? Well, I'm tired now. Apologies for the long comment and the mini rants.

[@HouseHooligan]

I feel EXACTLY this way about SJM.

[@crystaleefyffe1230]

Emily Duncan who looks like the dollar store version of a goth should be the last person to have ever call someone ugly and the author in question is someone who has always been free of drama and never publicly displayed racist or toxic behavior. SJM is known for smut and pretty characters and nothing else. I've never actually heard or seen anyone highlight or reference an actual scene in her books. It's all about shipping certain characters.

[@marieavril9470]

Thank you for the long comment

[@Lara-mx4cd]

Sometime this year I started reading the James Bond series by Ian Fleming, mostly because my library had the kindle version available with some interesting covers. And let me tell you the amount of sexism and racism and homophobia. I was astounded by how horrible it was and when I told people around me they just said:" Oh you know the fifties. That's just how it was." Like come on, yes maybe it was accepted back then but can we focus on how that's so not okay?

[@JesseOnYoutube]

YIKES lara. thanks for sharing - and totally agree that there needs to be dialogue about how these things aren’t ok even if the book is old

[@00die00991]

Fleming was just a bad spy author, Le Carre, while dense, is a muchh more realistic depiction of actual spy work

[@duskianfae]

I have a few authors I will never read, some of the anglosphere (and I felt SEEN when you explained why you would never read Tolkien), and some Brazilian (where I live), but I think one in particular is kinda of a wilde story. So, I went to college with this girl that is kinda of well known in the indie literature sphere in Brasil. We bonded on our first year due to our love for literature and writing stories. I read some of her stuff, and I decided it was not for me. But that is not why I will never read her. For you see, we went to college for animation. And what I was looking forwards the most was the moment we would all work on our own shorts. I looked torwards that since I heard that course even existed in Brasil, and so close to where I lived. And then I let her join me. Since she wasn't much of an animator but was pretty good with video editing, she was responsible for that. And she fucked it up SO BADLY. She didn't really care, she was there just because it was an obligatory class, so she went full "whatever" when editing it. The timing was off, she cluttered it with useless camera movements (when I told her I was going for a Lotte Reiniger style), there was a weird filter over it all. And, because she left it all for the last second, there was no time for it to be fixed. I felt so defeated, and there was already so much in that time of my life that was killing my mental health, that was the last drop and I dropped out. And that is why I will never read this indie Brazilian writer that is not even in our big bookstores and will hardly be published in other countries anyway. (a year after All That, there was a big drama in the indie community over a super racist book she was publishing. It was kinda vindicating, ngl, but yea, if I wasn't gonna read her for petty reasons, I would definitely not be reading her now)

[@juliaourofinoscalia3468]

Hi, another brazilian here (oi!!!) can you tell me which author you're talking about just to I can keep away when I go to the book shops?? Valeu :)

[@brooke5258]

Very surprised Jay Kristoff wasn't on the list. Also, more Akasha cameos! 😅

[@JesseOnYoutube]

I FORGET HE EXISTS

[@racheltfisher]

I am not a fan of JK - tried to read Nevernight ages ago, not for me, the only series of his I like is Illuminae series, tried the Aurora one, not for me, plus he is not a decent human being I’ve since learned

[@paulinemoll3226]

jesse i have come back to your channel after some time away from youtube and i just wanted to say i think your editing has glowed up and i think your short hair and fade looks amazing on you! thanks for telling it like it is and consistently sharing your joy and rage about books/authors with us! hope ur doing something kind for urself today ✨

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Crying!!!!!! Thank u Pauline 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@whatruthreads]

This is a great list and I will not take offence at some of these recommendations. I will still read some of them, but these are authors I generally wouldn't promote - some of them I wouldn't consider promoting and some of them I wouldn't considering buying ever again as well. I loved hearing your reasoning and discussion about these!!!!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank you so much :)

[@nanamikentoswife]

i absolutely hated the secret history. seeing people enjoy it despite the fact that there had been sooo many harmful stuff in it made me feel crazy. made me question if i read the same book as all of these people, because people LOVE IT. like how is this book your fav?? and is the big ass booktubers too! anyway glad to know that at least other people know and realize how harmful and also fucking disturbing/awful that book was. love your videos!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

The secret history was just as harmful as the goldfinch and ppl don’t wanna talk about it

[@addygrubb9021]

I am so sorry that your experience reading The Goldfinch was so traumatizing *virtual hug* 💕🐛that's awful, I've never read D*nna T*rtt and I certainly won't be giving her racist self any of my attention or coin I read one Alex Cross book as a teenager and it was so unremarkable I have no idea what it was about but I am 95% sure it had problematic mental health rep......so maybe that's why his books aren't selling and not because he's oppressed 👀 but what do I know?

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Ugh thank you so so much

[@fe-real]

My childhood home is full of Danielle Steel books that I've never read. I was just always put off by the fact that every story was about some rich white women being sad (with crappy husband/childhood). I couldn't relate. I recently decided to pick up "Invisible", a 2022 release. I DNF'd it on pg.9... It was a mess! No dialogue. Just one giant info dump by the author telling me how I should feel about a love story that was clearly abusive and I was like "I can't do this! Not in 2022 I'm not!"

[@sarahs.6838]

Thanks for this, I knew about most of these, but totally missed the Donna Tartt discussion. I read the Secret History recently and was underwhelmed. There was one section that was good, the rest was so BORING! Like Tartt is so enamoured with her own brilliance, she writes down everything this character does whether it is interesting or not. The group of friends is 5 guys and a girl and I literally couldn't tell any of them apart. Then she throws in nonsense literally for shock value at the end because her book is so effing boring. I didn't even get the Dark Academia vibes. I have no idea how this book became the pinnacle Dark Academia book. The Maidens (which is ridiculous and has its own problems) had more DA vibes than the Secret History. I'm glad I purged my Goldfinch copy and even more so glad now that y'all explained how awful and racist it is. My worst book of 2022 (as per y'all's request) that wasn't one that I'm reading for school was probably The Secret History, but I won't subject y'all to that, but otherwise probably Not Me by Michael Lavigne. If you want terribly written female characters by a male author, and a morally suspect plot...have at it. Haha. If y'all want bad non-fiction, I'd recommend When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt by Kara Cooney. White Egyptologists are a whole problem in and of themselves but she makes so many assumptions about the Queens that can only be read through a colonial, Western lens. For example, she assumes one queen would have been traumatized by human sacrifice, but really it was so commonplace in that time, it's impossible to assume that. When she has such few sources to work of off she makes some wild assertions about the Queens and their personalities.

[@Nao_Craft]

I DNFed When Women Ruled the World for that exact reason. I’d heard her on a podcast and enjoyed listening to her talk, but when I started reading the book, I just couldn’t deal. The writing was also suuuuuper repetitive and the book could have been half the size if she’d edited it properly

[@neverlovedaboy]

Patterson, Rowling, Tartt and King are four authors I refuse to read anymore. I still have my Harry Potter's because of sentimental reasons but I refuse to give her my own money. King is mostly because I worked as a librarian for five years and just got so tired of seeing his work everywhere, he is an okay writer and so over hyped. I don't know if he has any problematic things because I avoid him at all costs. This was enlightening about other authors, thank you for posting. I look forward to seeing your other video, liked and subscribed!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Ahhh thank u!!!!! Also ty ty for subscribing ✨💗😭

[@neverlovedaboy]

@@JesseOnKZbin No problem! I learned some new things and look forward to further new learning! Also, what did you think of The Final Strife? I'm only on the first chapter since I just picked it up but I am enjoying it the synopsis had me instantly!

[@s.k.1603]

Stephen King has some very controversial stuff. I had a coworker who read a lot of his works and said that King wrote half of his stuff while he was high out of his mind. The only book I've ever been able to finish reading of his was The Green Mile. But I know with the book IT there is an orgy scene between the boys and Beverly---and I was like "They're 12!"

[@neverlovedaboy]

@@s.k.1603 Yeah, IT was okay then I read that scene which is one to many pages and I just went nope. I just ignore everything King at this point because I just don't care.

[@BookswithNeeks]

Oh my god, I had NO idea about Donna Tarte? ALL I've ever seen is positive things about her work! Thankfully I've never picked up her books and now never will because wow. I'm so sorry yall had to go through that reading experience! On a positive note though, can I just say how much yall's videos make me LAUGH. Like the editing, commentary and jokes is just top tier. My worst book of 2022 is a tie between It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover and Vox by Christina Dalcher - I wish I vlogged my experience of it because it was truly just SO bad and cringeworthy! It was supposed to be a feminist dystopia and it's basically just reading a fictionalised version of a white conservative woman's feminism if that makes sense? It was.... bad lmao

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Haven’t heard of dalcher but it sounds exactly like our experience reading the power by Naomi alderman DEAR GOD

[@BookNerd-Maggie22]

One author I started reading was Elle Casey. And I was like "Yeah, okay, I can do this" THEN she had the nerve to use the T word to describe trans people in one of her books, and she actually stated that trans women are just men dressing up as women, and I was like nope done I am never ever ever touching another one of her books again.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

EW

[@animelovergirl8461]

That's how you know when the author did no research at all.

[@matcha.cinnamon]

i just bought the secret history and i had no idea donna tart was a literal racist & going thru the comments it looks like its a consistent theme in ALL of her books im so disappointed rn edit : just finished the video and thank you sm for making this video!!! im glad i watched till the end bc i literally bought TSH bc another booktuber had reccomended it as a dark academia book but….this is maybe the fifth time this year since i started reading actively again that i had to DNF or remove a book from my tbr list and its sooo annoying honestly. and not because of removing them but because these ppl recommending them either dont notice the blatant racism or dont care to mention that their is racism/sexism/ homophobia/etc consistent throughout the text :( I wish ppl wouldnt act so oblivious to things that are clearly problematic especially when ik for me if i had started reading i’d be completely caught off guard (((for ex: i read what big teeth and it has some homophobic issues when it’s marketed as sapphic?? and the authors recent release we all fall down is also apparently really bad )). reading is suppose to be a safe place for u to retreat to not a exclusive one smh i wont be taking recommendations from anyone with out checking to see if it’s problematic from here on out frr

[@billie_the_birdie]

This is the first of your videos I've watched; instant subscribe. Any author who ignores the concerns of a communities they're writing about is not an author I want to read. I'd like to add Mark Haddon 'A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime' (I don't know or care if that's the exact title). I read that as a teen, thought 'that's nothing like me', and held it as a mental representation of the autistic community for 9 years. Turns out HE DID NO RESEARCH ON AUTISM. None. At all. That man took the general stereotypes of autism and wrote a crappy book that mocked and laughed at the community I now, finally, realise I am and embrace being a part of. I hope I'm the only autistic person my age in this position but I bet I'm not.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Oh my GOD I read that in hs and it made me VERY uncomfortable. (I have an autistic brother) the representation was infuriating. Sorry you had to be exposed to that harmful piece of garbage. Also hi hi! Thank u for subbing and I’m so glad u enjoyed this video :)

[@billie_the_birdie]

@@JesseOnKZbin thank you! Happily the book has fallen from grace and I'm hopeful that a book like it won't be published again. There are dozens of amazing KZbinrs working to educate people about neurodiversity and the word is slowly getting out! Tragically autistic people who are BIPOC, LGBTQA+, and/or have multiple diagnoses/health concerns are treated so much worse than cis white autistics, so I've been privileged in many ways despite my late diagnosis. I've watched more of your videos now and I'm determined to be a better ally to all marginalised communities. I've made a list of the books on your enby book club and I'm going to see how many I can find in my nearest city tomorrow. Thank you for opening my eyes xxx

[@Zoe-pu3pi]

I’m autistic and had the same experience having to read that book in high school, yikes!!!

[@alicedeligny9240]

Wow, I've had the Goldfinch on my to-read liste for a while now cause people whose opinions I trust seemed to find the book really good, but now, watching this video and then looking for more information online, I'm really surprised by how racist the book appears to be.

[@pigeonmotel896]

I completely agree wrt chuck palahink, I read a lot of his books when I was younger and a lot of them were just gross for the sake of being gross (also he has a book about sex toys mind-controlling women, not kidding). I also tried to read a James Patterson book out of curiosity and I stopped at the "militant lesbian law firm"

[@JesseOnYoutube]

EW WHAT?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?! MILITANT LES--- like it sounds good but in his mouth i'm...

[@user-dt7ur1br7y]

I love how u edit lmao the very quick random flashes of pictures is so funny and not too overbearing

[@maatheru5543]

I like how well this flowed. I like how you remain consistently yourself, it has a very personal and close quality to it. been following your work for a cool min. keep it coming.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank you friend💗

[@souleylove]

When you said Danielle Steel I died! 🤣 I had sooo many of her books when I was about 12 or 13. I spent any money I could find on those books and I’m so embarrassed now! How did I not notice that all of her books (except for maybe one) are basically EXACTLY the same! I will never read one of her books again!

[@versexscape7540]

This video was so educational, please continue to share information like this, coming from the Caribbean, this helps me make better choices with what I read!

[@WhytheBookWins]

Great video! So entertaining and funny, while bringing to light so many problematic authors and books. I'll have to check out your James Patterson video. I remember reading in the news about what he was saying and it was ridiculous 🙄

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank u thank you! Also gonna check out ur channel so ty for commenting and putting it on my radar

[@mtoad]

I'm suddenly interested in The Goldfinch

[@JesseOnYoutube]

sounds like it was made for u!

[@ttjc3696]

I've always been a fan of James Bond. It all started with Halle Berry in Die Another Day, was I 6 when I first saw it yes but her in that bikini 6 yo me fell in love) I wanted to be like James so bad and do the cool things he did and hook up with the sexy Bond Girls. When Casino Royal came out I feel in love all over again with Vesper and his badassness. I watched every single Bond movie that came after that and was impressed by all of it.......So imagine my joy when I found out it was all based on a Book series and that there were more movies before the few I had already seen. As a book lover I immediately looked up the reading order online then went to audible to use all the credits I saved to get a bunch and finally listen to the masterpiece that crated a character whom I greatly admired.......Come to find out Bond is one of the most racist, sexist, homophobic, alcoholic PoS characters in literature. He is 100000000000% worst than Bojack Horseman. The fucker might as well have worn all white and called himself a Grand-Wizard. I was utterly devastated Ian Fleming is legitimately one of the worst writers in history for glorifying such a fuckin deplorable man. The movies are ruined for me now and I'm still heart broken over that. I'm also pissed cause I waisted a lot of credits on that steaming hot garbage.😠😡🤬😤

[@tcrijwanachoudhury]

I mean Bond was never meant to be likeable.. like how could you possibly like someone like that? As a brit I've never heard of anyone say hes "good" character. I've always it interpreted him as criticism of British Sovereignty.

[@phia0685]

As you said, I feel very unsafe in the book community as a black girl because people genuinely don't care about the problematic things authors say in their books and will always try to find excuses for their foolery. I personally won't read Ottessa Moshfegh because of the banalized racism in My Year of Rest and Relaxation.

[@jenniferr.9528]

I’m so glad I found your channel. Since I agreed with everything you said about the authors I had read I’m taking the goldfinch off my TBR. James Patterson is an author I’ll never read again. I read the first Alex Cross book which made me really uncomfortable because an old white guy wrote that character. I have no idea how accurate the representation was since I’m also white, but honestly, I view it as three hours of my life I’ll never get back. As for 50 Shades of Grey, because it started out as Twilight fanfic, just no. Now it’s time to spend the rest of my evening watching your past videos starting with James Patterson.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Ahhh Jennifer thank you!!! Really hope u enjoyed the videos :) thank you for these kind words 💗✨ also not three hours you will never get back lmao

[@shamidkpzd]

As someone who’s read the Goldfinch I still don’t understand how it got the Pulitzer. That book could have been like 300 pages shorter tbh. And the ending was a mess.

[@lrp71]

Wow. So because JKR's comments didn't make you personally upset, you think that she's not as bad as an author who (as far as I know) has never used her money or voice to advocate for anything harmful? Love the show of solidarity here... By the way, authors making characters say bad things doesn't mean the author agrees with them. It's very much the opposite: the characters' offensive language and beliefs are included to reveal their true nature. Anyone who reads The Secret History should realize that though the group seems intelligent and charming at first, they are deeply prejudiced elitists and not at all deserving of the protagonist's admiration. It's quite reasonable to warn prospective readers that the book might contain more racist or slurs than expected, but it's an unwarranted leap to declare that this makes the entire book racist and the author a bigot. I don't really care to defend Tartt here by the way, as I wouldn't be surprised at all if she were a shitty person irl. This is about people being unable to differentiate between writing a racist character and endorsing racism.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Twisting points in order to get a rise out of me🥱

[@lrp71]

@@JesseOnKZbin Nah, I'm not twisting points, and I frankly didn't expect you to read the comments anyway. My replies are generally for other people who might be watching the videos. It's amusing that you don't even try to address my points, though.

[@alexp23]

I feel like Tolkien is so overhyped. I know it is unpopular opinion but when I see what is happening in internet with the production of Rings of Power and how these boys are mad about the black women playing in this tv show I am wondering if Tolkien is coming to them in their dreams or something because this shit is too crazy

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Some men will do backflips rather than stand to see Black women welcomed into their fandoms

[@zionthedon7745]

Feel free to not like Tolkien if you don’t want to, but as a black person who loves his books, you’re really overblowing the “racism” you think exists in it.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

🤦🏽‍♂️

[@zionthedon7745]

@@JesseOnKZbin i love your incredibly combative energy

[@leighhauserman9549]

I honestly can’t support Colleen Hoover. A booktuber did a video about her a few years ago when November 9 came out and had a really iffy scene regarding consent. But it’s impossible to get away from her and her fans can’t handle it.

[@parkerbrown-nesbit1747]

A really good author is Craig Johnson. He writes the Longmire series (Western mysteries). The main character's best friend is Cheyenne, and there's a lot of lore (fully researched. The Native community has embraced both he and his work).

[@MokeleMbembeLives]

I love that damn show. I might do a rewatch soon.

[@parkerbrown-nesbit1747]

@@MokeleMbembeLives we own the whole series (which differs a lot from the books). I'm slowly but surely buying all of the books, as I reread books I love.

[@leahhorton9723]

Y’all’s descriptions of poetry had more depth than most of Rupis work. Sometimes I am like okay give me simple poetry. I don’t want to think. But the poetry that means something to me is profound, gives me goosebumps, like it’s burrowing into my soul.

[@veelogation3890]

Sometimes I wonder if people just feel nostalgic for a time when they were blissfully unaware (especially of bigotry/racism). (I just don't get nostalgia really I've rarely been able to feel it for any time even childhood.)

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Oh….my god…. This comment. Holy shit. THIS 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@rachelrice9266]

I am so glad I watched this video. I actually have all three of Donna Tarrts books and didn't finish The Goldfinch, more because of concentration issues. I didn't rate it and didn't remember the racist content. I appreciate your videos because they hold me accountable as a white woman and educates me as to what is harmful to others. I was going to reread The Goldfinch to try and finish it but may just burn it instead! I can't be an ally and in good faith read books like that. I found the only two John Grisham books that I've read, constantly used the 'n-word and it pissed me off! Keep educating me! Sending love from the UK

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Had no idea Grisham did that. Yuck

[@rachelrice9266]

@@JesseOnKZbin Yes he did in the two I read and I found it upsetting, I can only imagine how you feel when being cslled derogatory names. It breaks my heart 😞😞😞

[@rowenapotter895]

Here's the thing with e.l. James. These stories were fanfiction of twilight, so there is issue right there in my mind since the basis of these stories and characters is based off another author. Also the bdsm is very problematic. Someone who is not into bdsm wrote this book, so that is an issue.

[@nakita9008]

30:27 if I were to recommend someone a book containing problematic things that I may not have noticed, I hope they would point that out to me. I am 32 years old and I am still learning, I still have subconscious biases that i am trying to overcome, PLEASE call me out!

[@TJReadstheStars]

Fully saw this on Twitter, logged straight back into this account just to watch this!!! Loved this so much. Totally get Rupi Kaur. I really like her stuff and seeing her live a few years ago was surprisingly amazing! And with you on JK Roachling... nostalgia can kiss my ass. I loved Harry Potter for a time, but I honestly can't deal with that shit anymore. And yeahhh... never read Donna Tartt. Any writer who writes a book that makes ANYONE feel unsafe within themselves should just not be read or recommended. All this being said, your honestly blows me away and makes me wanna revive my channel right this second! Basically, you're amazing and have missed your videos so much! 💙💙💫💫

[@JesseOnYoutube]

TJ !! This whole comment ✨ miss your videos so much. Really really hope you come back to Booktube because your content is a light in the darkness. You’re so vibrant and authentic and you are missed here dearly 🥺

[@nursemain3174]

Also bowtie, I’m new to ur channel but I really appreciate the way u go about giving ur opinions on books, like even if u don’t like the book u don’t attack other people who have read it or are mean to them. Which is a very common thing I see on booktube or ppl not being able to accept others opinions or criticism. So I’m glad I found ur channel, you’re what this community needs.

[@bookishcami]

I had to look up the first author yall talked about Victoria and she did indeed release the second book in the series. I cannot believe that book series was published...Anyways, this was a fantastic video and super informative!!!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Love u bbyyyyyy

[@bcfortenberry]

Appreciate your perspective. I’m an older fantasy reader and I find it’s important to question my assumptions- particularly with authors like Tolkien. Your editing and comic timing had me rolling. Subscribed.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank you!!! Appreciate it. Speaking of fantasy, currently reading the liveship trilogy. Have you read it?

[@bcfortenberry]

@@JesseOnKZbin I’m around halfway through the Farseer trilogy. She’s quite good. Gonna try and read the whole Realm of the Elderlings over the next year or so.

[@nelizadrew5283]

I'm so glad this gives me permission to continue ignoring Goldfinch and Secret History. So many people have recommended them and they just look so dense and I just don't wanna. Knowing they're also racist makes them even less of a priority. I find so many good recommendations on this channel and love recommending the channel to anyone looking to branch out from their usual.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

thank you so much Neliza! also ur name is *stunning*

[@ChloeSPBs]

the zoom on dan brown’s thin villainous lips 💀

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Villainous help

[@sarahroth7034]

I liked James Patterson at first when I was reading Maximum Ride in middle school, but in high school, I realized, "These are kind of terrible." Also, my dad met James Patterson while working for the Kindle department at Amazon, and said he's a jerk with an oversized ego, so even if his writing was good, I'd still avoid reading any of it for that reason alone.

[@gerviospades2616]

I agree, if you're not interested, you're just not interested. No one should feel bad about skipping a book/author for that reason. Though in general, with authors who are divisive/controversial, personally I wouldn't feel fair swearing off their work without even trying to read one of their books (if they interested me). But I get everyone has a different background and approach to reading. Really appreciate your insight.

[@kats3351]

Thank you for this video, you have made me so much more aware and I am now re-evaluating my tbr/wishlist, I appreciate you putting this out there as I’m trying to educate myself and consume media that is not harmful to others or created by people who are harmful 💜

[@JesseOnYoutube]

This means a lot ✨💗

[@books_with_clementine]

I also really hated the wedding date, I had to DNF it 50% in… totally agree with all your comments, the characters were so bland and one dimensional, and I freaking hate miscommunication 😂

[@JesseOnYoutube]

JUVENILE and pointless