What makes a book a "good book" in your reading system?

Every time I read reviews of a book I just read, I am left conflicted. I could read a book and think it was the best thing I’ve read yet, then I go on Goodreads and everyone and their English teacher are calling it a waste of good wood and regretting the day they learned the English language.

I start to wonder, are my standards that low? Are there details I somehow missed while I was reading? So I reassess, what actually appealed to me while reading, so much so that I find myself disagreeing even with the most sound criticism of the book.

When I rate a book after finishing it, the first thing I care about is if I enjoyed the book. Believe it or not, I read books for the plot, for the story and I care much more about the story being told rather than the how. Whether it’s in first person or third, I couldn’t care less, a good story will always have me as a diligent reader.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love literary works that bewitch you with an exceptional style of writing and a vivacious vocabulary that even if the story is simple, at least I get to see grammar and punctuation used in ways I had never seen before.

However that is not to say I consider stories I did not enjoy bad, I am mature enough to realize the brilliance of a story even if it appalls me when I turn the last page. I have read books that left me morally conflicted, with characters so vile and endings most unfavorable because I found myself impressed and sometimes delightfully shocked that someone would even write something of this nature. (I have a list should anyone be interested.)

In the world we live in now, we are riddled with affiliations, beliefs and opinions on what we perceive as good, so much so that anything outside that, is not. Can other people’s opinions be trusted, when they stem from a biased psyche. This affects our ability to form an unbiased opinion on books with certain topics. That is not a slight, after all what is a person if not for their beliefs and convictions. The differences in our backgrounds and cultures, provide unique perspectives that are limitless in value.

It is imperative, however, to not automatically label a book bad just because it is against what you believe. It is not the same to having boundaries on what you will not read, but opening our minds to learn and enjoy themes that are different and expand our willingness to venture into unfamiliar varieties of writing.

It important to note that when reading, one must exercise their thinking ability and make use of their literacy. Make your own opinions and analysis before reading reviews and having an opinion formed for you before your brain has a chance to do for itself.

Your opinions are an extension of you, and it just goes to show that it’s not just you who reads when you flip those pages. In all the many deciding factors that mark a good book, I have all but landed on one. A good book must at the very least make you feel. Feel joy, anger, disgust, sadness or angst. If anything, let me be angry, shocked, disturbed even than be bored after reading a book.

I would love to know your thoughts.

Until the next book,

Paida

An Introduction

 

I think I was about 17 years when I first thought of this concept. It came to me in a progress of events, I was in my final year of high school and I had just finished reading The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang and it absolutely wrecked my shit. I was so distraught after that whole ordeal, so much so  decided to start posting about it on Tiktok. I then spent the next 8 months posting about the Poppy War and other books I was reading during that period.

I was inspired to start a YouTube, my thoughts went on for hours and long form content is not really something I wanted to share on TikTok. So I started to entertain the idea for a channel and what that channel should be called. I wanted something proper and tangible, I don't know why but it just felt right.

So how did I end up with The Official Support Group for Victim of Fiction? 

If you are a Poppy War fan and you see content about the trilogy on your fyp, you know how almost every post is rage bait and angst. Poppy War fans, myself included have a twisted sense of humor and making edits and memes that leaves you with your jaw on the floor seems to be an excellent way to cope. So you'll often see comments like:

 "R.F. Kuang, I'm sending you my therapy bills" or "what if I was suicidal" or "RFK, when I catch you" and my personal favorite " sleep with one eye open tonight"

These are all comments I have received under my posts and they are all in jest but it represents a togetherness that I cherish. To know that you read the same thing and it impacted you as much as the next person. It built a sense of community rooted in sadness. Sadness about the events in the book, the characters and much more. It was kind like a support group. The whole phrase came to me and it just fit so perfectly. I made a banner for the channel and then I proceeded to not do anything, until now. Almost five years later.

In those five years, I completed high school, rewrote some of my exams, got an internship. Worked for almost three years, read a lot of books and fanfiction. Finished my internship and now I am starting my tertiary studies. A lot of time has passed and a little has happened and I am realizing all the ideas of things I want to put out into the world are in my head and not in my life. So changes are being made. 

Starting with an introduction.

My name is Paida and I am 21 years old as of the 17th of April 2026. I love to read, to talk and write and I am riddled with many ideas and I will be making it your problem. Thank you and welcome to my blog.

Here are other platforms you can find me:

YouTube - https://youtube.com/@victimsoffiction_supportgroup?si=-ARSwPTUZy_zfu4b 

I post my monthly ready, tbr lists, and reviews on here. 

My tiktok page - tiktok.com/@paidagwex?_t=ZM-8tGr2qd2wTt&_r=1

Home to my Poppy War posts, and then some.

BENABLE - benable.com/i/SU1XF

this is an invite link, to my booklists.

Podcast - open.spotify.com/show/67C1NBzEIm80NCEZd13LlB?si=G5qTD27OQEWlYq6X2ozuYg 

Substake - substack.com/@paidagwex

Until the next book,

Paida

My September TBR

For my September TBR list, I decided to do it a little different. September is a very special month to me as it has the birthdays of most of my family and friends. 

So I asked each and one of them what they're favorite books were and decided that is what I would read in September.

The books are as follows:

1.  Leki - my best friend 

For as long as I have known her, she has always, always talked about how much she loved the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. I had never read PJO before, being a Potterhead throughout my childhood. Our friendship was founded on our love for books. We talk and discuss about the books we read, talk about the movies made from books we have read. So I thought let's add PJO to the mix. The first series has 5 books in total and 

2. Micky - best friend's twin/also my twin, in a way

For Micky our reading tastes align more times than not. Her favorite book/s are by R.F.Kuang, the author behind The Poppy War Trilogy. This also happens to be my favorite books. So we had to go with her second favorite which is he Vicious duology by V.E.Schwab. Vicious had been on TBR for a while and I was glad I now had a god reason to start reading it.

3. My Dad

My dad is not much of a reader, he is more practical and hands on. He is a wood machinist and his days are spent with him obsessing with his tools and organising his screws and making furniture for mother and fixing things around the house. His hobbies include things he can do with his hands. Like nursing a glass of liquor while watching the Premier League or actually making something like the oak stool I am currently sitting on as I write this. So for his book of choice, I had to think back a little to all the conversations that consisted of me trying to get him to read my books and him telling me that there's no need because he has already read the greatest piece of literature. That book being The House of Hunger by Dambudzo Marechera. He read this books as a school assignment and years later, it's the only book he talks about in such a high regard.

4. My dad's brother

My uncle's books of choice are simple classics that he remember doing while he was in school. He chose The Animal Farm by George Orwell and The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka.

5. My Grandmother

My grandmother, has always been religious woman. So it wasn't much of a surprise when her book of choice was from the bible. She recommended I read the book of Deuteronomy. She described it as a vital stepping stone in her journey of faith.

6. My cousin 

Her first selection was a self help/religious non-fiction called The Power of Your Dreams: A Guide to Hearing and Understanding How God Speaks While You Sleep by Stephanie Ike Okafor. Unfortunately I was unable to find a copy at my local library. Her second choice was an independently published work and that was even harder to find. So her third and final choice was Train to Edinburgh by Felix Hunter.

So in total my September TBR comes down to 12 books. I have had such an exciting month reading these books and discovering the reasons why they happen to be the favorites of my friends and family made it even more special.

I will do a monthly wrap up of what I thought of these books on my YouTube channel, make sure you don't miss it.

Thank you for reading!

Until the next book,

Paida

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes - A thought-out rant

SYNOPSIS:

“A breakneck race against time...and an implacable enemy.

An anonymous young woman murdered in a run-down hotel, all identifying characteristics dissolved by acid.

A father publicly beheaded in the blistering heat of a Saudi Arabian public square.

A notorious Syrian biotech expert found eyeless in a Damascus junkyard.

Smoldering human remains on a remote mountainside in Afghanistan.

A flawless plot to commit an appalling crime against humanity. One path links them all, and only one man can make the journey. Pilgrim.”

                                       -------------------------------------------------------------------- 

I have never read a book like this, ever. And at first, I was confused and lost, but caught on to the ten stories being told all at the same time. It was the best thing ever to understand a book like this. The plot alone was nothing short of a masterpiece. The writing and the characters were simply intriguingly complex. From the protagonist to the antagonist, you are given a chance to understand both and presented with their actions to resent, despise, fear and be horrified by.

Pilgrim is one of the most unique characters I have ever come across. He is not ambitious or has a big dream to be rich or take over the world. He just wants to rest, to be left alone. I don’t know why he thought joining a government secret service agency would be a good start for isolation, but whatever works at the time works, right?

I sometimes feel like I attach myself too much to books and their characters, but I am glad for the ability to do so. Especially when it came to reading I Am Pilgrim, but now I think it might have been because I was fifteen when I read this and understanding it felt like the best thing ever, especially for an validation seeking academic. Regardless of that, I truly enjoyed this book and I don’t ever want to forget the feeling I had when I read this book. I was taken once I started to understand the which the story was going. I couldn’t put it down, and if I did, I would be shaking with anticipation, writhing with suspense until I held it in my hand and I was reading it again. And to make matters worse, I read it while writing my finals, I remember choosing between this book and my school books and then deciding to just finish it, just to get it over with so I could study.

That being said, there are very consistent themes in this book that I found myself disagreeing with. As much as this is an excellent thriller/mystery executed in a very unique and domino-esque fashion, I would not in good faith recommend this book without pointing those out.

It contains some very heavy and graphic themes regarding terrorism, murder, fraud, war and war crimes, mentions of the Holocaust and very specific details about the horrors that occurred during that time period, body mutilation and Islamophobic comments and ideologies expressed by the main character and it is very obvious the author does not hold Muslims in the highest regard either. The author’s bias is evident at every mention of Islam. Sometimes it was not quite clear whether the character was doing something bad because he's a bad person who happens to be Muslim or he's a bad person because he is Muslim. 

It is not an easy read because of the way it was written, but once you understand what’s going on, it’s a ride from there on.

I will try to read this book again in a year or two to just realign my thoughts of what I think with the perspective of an older mind. And to make sure it still lives up to being one of the most interesting books I have ever read.

If you have read this book, I would love to know your thoughts.

Until the next book,

Paida