Prologues and Epilogues – Let’s Talk Bookish

Buenas tardes, amigos! Welcome back to the blog. It’s time for another Let’s Talk Bookish discussion. As always, Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by me and Dani @ Literary Lion, where we discuss certain topics, share our opinions and spread the love by siting each other’s posts.

Today’s topic is: Prologues and Epilogues: Are They Necessary? (suggested by Fives @ Down the Rabbit Hole)

Thank you so much to Fives for suggesting this topic and being a part of LTB! I haven’t really ever thought about how prologues and epilogues affect stories, so this will be interesting to discuss.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

What’s the difference between having something as a prologue vs. a chapter 1?

I think prologues tend to be set several years before the action of the story, or they tease the climax part of the story. If it’s set some years before, it’s usually used to share some important event that explains how the character reached whatever situation they’re in.

For instance, if a character is set on revenge in the main story, the prologue might show the event that set the character on their vengeful path.

I think I’ve only seen one series that uses prologues to tease the climax of the story, that is the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. It always starts with a dramatic moment where the main character is realizing that someone is a traitor, or something terrible is happening. You don’t know who or what of course, but it serves to get you excited. It also kind of makes me try extra hard to guess everything before it happens.

Based on this, there’s a major difference between first chapters and prologues. First chapters dive into the main story right away, while prologues are setting the scene or trying to get you excited. And sometimes, it’s crucial for a story to have a prologue just to help the reader get oriented with the plot or to keep them hooked until the big reveal happens.

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Is it too much to have both a prologue and epilogue?

First of all, I think an epilogue’s role in the story is to basically tell what happens after the main events of the plot. Usually it’s set a little while after a dramatic ending where you hopefully get to see the characters living their best lives and being happy.

I love having epilogues, because they are usually so wholesome and make you feel relieved that everything worked out nicely. In mysteries/thrillers, they can also serve as a chance to show what happened to the murderer, or abductor, or whoever the bad guy is if the book didn’t follow their trial. And that is definitely necessary for some closure.

Is it too much to have a prologue and an epilogue? I don’t think so, mostly because I don’t really care that there are two more chapters. And you can’t even really call them chapters because they tend to be much shorter than the normal chapters. So there’s really nothing bad about them. They just help to enhance the main plot and don’t really have a negative in my opinion.

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A few other thoughts:

There are times when a book doesn’t have an epilogue and it frustrates me because I would like to know what happened after the main events of the story. In contrast, if a book doesn’t have a prologue, I don’t care. It doesn’t really change anything because whatever information is included in a prologue will no doubt find its way into the main plot eventually.

However, not all endings offer a look into how everything turned out after the dramatic finish, so I find myself wanting an epilogue to give me that happy ending. Sure, sometimes an ambiguous ending is just perfect for a book and is almost necessary to keep my heart pounding or breaking after the book ends.

But you know, every once in a while, a nice tidy happy ending is very good for my heart too.

And that’s all I have to say on epilogues and prologues for today. Be sure to visit Dani’s post to join the linkup!

Some questions for you:

• Do you like prologues and epilogues? If not, why?
• Do you think epilogues have more value than prologues and vice versa?
• What’s the best prologue/epilogue you’ve ever read? Has one ever ruined a book for you?

Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Let’s Talk Bookish – What Makes a Good Villain?

Hey people and welcome to another Let’s Talk Bookish post! Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by me & Dani @ Literary Lion, where we discuss chosen topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts.

Today’s topic is: What Makes a Good Villain (courtesy of Dani!)

This is an awesome topic and I am super excited to talk about it, so let’s get started!!

Let’s Talk Bookish – Favorite Way of Reading a Book

Hey lovely friends and welcome to another Let’s Talk Bookish post! Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, created and hosted by me, where we discuss chosen topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts.

Today’s topic is: What Is Your Favorite Way of Reading a Book? (Aria @ Book Nook Bits)

By now, you probably know what my favorite way of reading a book is, so today, I’ll share the why, and my thoughts on being a borrower.

My favorite way of reading a book is with an e-book. I can have several books on my phone, and carry it around with me and read wherever I am.

Physical books on the other hand can be a lot more cumbersome, anxiety inducing because I don’t want to ruin them, and not private enough for my liking.

What do I mean by it not being private enough? Well, I like to read books, without everyone around me peeking over my shoulder and reading it, or knowing what the book title is. Why? I don’t know. I just don’t like it.

With a physical book, it’s harder to achieve that because it’s bigger, more open, and the title is right. there. I can’t lay it flat because then it’s easy to read it over my shoulder and I can’t semi-close the book, because then the title is there for everyone to see.

And then there are those situations where I put the book down, go do something (like use the bathroom, or get food, or something) and somebody will come along, pick up the book, and start reading it.

I’m so embarrassed by having my family read the books I read?? Like, it’s just embarrassing and I try to avoid it as much as possible.

I know. I can be really ridiculous sometimes.

With an e-book, I can totally avoid all of these situations, because my phone’s smaller and I’ll be able to notice if someone’s hovering over my shoulder trying to read the tiny screen. And I have a password, so I don’t have to worry about someone picking it up behind me.

So those are the reasons why I love e-books. But why did I start reading them to start with? It’s because…*drum-roll*…I don’t go to the library often. i’m feeling a bit extra today 😂 Nor do I buy books, so the only way for me to read is by borrowing books online.

I’m really thankful that my library has such a vast collection of amazing books that I can read.

Why do I borrow instead of buy e-books, especially when the wait list could be something ridiculous like me being number 1,273 on 63 copies (Where the Crawdads Sing…apparently it was super popular at the time)?

Because I feel like it’s a waste of money to buy it, read it once, and then leave it sitting on my digital shelf for forever. I’m not much of a re-reader, so to me, it’s pretty wasteful.

Books also aren’t necessarily cheap guys. Especially new and hyped books. And I’m not making any money, so you know, I’m content with waiting a couple of years to get a copy of whatever wonderful book it is. Or I might just give up and move on. It depends on how patient or desperate I am.

And that’s it for today’s tea.

This Week’s Participants:

Evelyn @ Evelyn Reads | Elizabeth @ Complex Chaos | Jane @ Blogger Books

That’s it for today! I think we can officially agree that I’m pretty much on a hiatus right now. And that’s okay. I just need a moment to breathe 🙂 Also, with the coronavirus going around, I just want to say, be careful and stay safe 💖

What’s you favorite way of reading a book? Are you a buyer or a borrower? Am I the only one who just doesn’t want people to be reading the books I read? Chat with me in the comments below!

Let’s Talk Bookish – How many POVs is too many?

Good morning afternoon or evening and welcome to another Let’s Talk Bookish post! Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, created and hosted by me, where we discuss chosen topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts.

Today’s topic is: How many POVs is too many (suggested by Heran @ Be Frisky)

This is a really great question because I don’t think there is only one answer. It all depends on the kind of book that it is, how the characters fit into the story, and your personal preference.

First of all, POVs stands for point-of-views.

As a general rule, I think books shouldn’t have any more than 3 or 4 POVs. However, this can change, as long as each character has a distinct voice and it’s easy to tell who the character is.

One book that has several POVs that I loved, is Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom both by Leigh Bardugo. They both have 5 and 6 first-person POVs respectively, and that was fine. I loved each of the characters, and it’s easy to know who’s talking because it’s mentioned boldly at the start of the chapter. And anyways, each character has their own unique voice that differentiates them from the rest.

Other books that have multiple POVs, but not in first person, are also easy to follow because the name of the person that we are following is there. (ex. “Anna walked across the street, looking anxiously towards the store. | Walter watched Anna walk up to him, and smiled.”) i know this is absolutely horrible, but it’s just an example

What doesn’t work though, is having several POVs, with similar characters, and different timelines. That’s just a mess. An example of this is Into the Water by Paula Hawkins. I had no idea what was going on in that book. There were way wayy waaaayyyyy too many POVs going on, and I had no idea who was talking. I would start reading the chapter, and then flip back to the beginning to see who the person was and when they were narrating.

Not cool.

It disrupts the flow of reading, and it’s also no fun trying to keep track of 6 or 7 seven different narrators from different years. The different years annoys me the most. It’s hard to keep track of so many at once. Now you’re going to jump back and forth between the years as well???

Personally, I prefer having one or two POVs and I don’t mind if one of them goes back in time. It’s easy to follow, and it helps me get more attached to the characters. And in mysteries/thrillers, I think having a handful of different non-first person POVs is okay, as long as it makes sense and it is done right. It can add a lot of mystery to the story, and it helps to see things from multiple perspectives.

And that’s my two cents for today.

This Week’s Participants:

Aimee @ My Addiction to Fiction | Aria @ Book Nook Bits | Jane @ Blogger Books | Dani @ Literary Lion

That’s it! I had a horrible migraine on Wednesday that left me useless all day, and then I had to catch up on work Thursday. So my wrap-up post didn’t come as planned. But hopefully you’ll be getting it this weekend, or next week Monday.

What do you think? How many POVs should a book have? What’s your favorite book with multiple POVs? Do you think the amount of POVs should differ based on the type of book it is? Chat with me in the comments below!

Let’s Talk Bookish – Required Reading

Hey there and welcome back to another Let’s Talk Bookish post! Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, created and hosted by me, where we discuss chosen topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts.

Today’s topic is: Required Reading: A punishment or a blessing in disguise?

Surprisingly, my feelings toward required reading have changed. It doesn’t seem so bad now, but maybe it’s because I’m taking American Literature this year, and the books we’ve had to read so far aren’t too bad.

A few months ago, if you’d asked me this question, I would have told you that required reading was more of a punishment.

I despised having to read centuries-old texts written by authors from long ago, when there were more current and interesting books being published everyday.

This semester in High School, I’m studying American Literature, and to my surprise, I actually don’t mind the books/poetry that we have been asked to read so far. Some of them were even interesting. We read parts of The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, the play Trifles, The Yellow Wallpaper and many other texts.

And maybe I don’t mind it because of what we have been asked to read this year. We haven’t read any Shakespeare or Jane Eyre or anything like that. It could also be because we don’t always finish the whole book, and only read certain parts of it. It’s easier to bear and even enjoy because I don’t have to worry about reading the whole book.

In a more general sense, required reading creates some resentment, because we don’t have a choice about what we’re reading. Most of the time, these books are old, and as part of the newer generation, we can’t always connect or relate to characters from the 15th century. Being forced to read these books might make some students hate reading which is so much worse.

Learning about the history of Literature is important, and reading books from history can help us see how it evolved and understand what was important to people in those times. I get that, and I appreciate learning about it. However, required reading should also include more recent books, or a study of contemporary novels from today.

Of course, there are some kids that love the books that they are required to read. And that’s okay! This semester has taught me that these books aren’t always bad, and I’m glad that some people enjoy reading them. But for those who don’t, maybe schools should include some contemporary books in their curriculum as well.

This Week’s Participants:

Jane @ Blogger Books | Heran @ Be Frisky | Dani @ Literary Lion | Aria @ Book Nook Bits

That’s it! Today is so dreary and this post seems very lackluster sorry!, so I’m going to blame the rainy weather. I hope you have sunny and dry weather wherever you are!!

What do you think? Is required reading important? Do you think they should be limited to classics or books that are pretty old? Did you like required reading in school? What’s your favorite classic? Chat with me in the comments below!