• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
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• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!
My Musings for the Week...
Multiple points of view can be a good thing. I personally like to see what's happening through the eyes of more than one character beyond the view of the MC. But, that can also present a bit of a problem especially when the voices sound so similar that the POVs start to blend together, making it difficult to distinguish which character is which. Sometimes the characters can even introduce more subplots and make the story start to feel a little cluttered, but that's not always the case. Personally, I prefer to to read multiple POVs in third person. Some great books/series that contain multiple points of view:
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. I do enjoy the various points of view throughout all of the current books. (Cinder, Scarlet, & Cress.)
Crystal Fire by Jordan Dane, with the different POVs from the crystal children and the slightly-insane-although-they-think-they're-sane scientist of the Believers. (I haven't reviewed this one yet.)
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, with the views from the different memebers of the crew, especially Vin herself.
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, Raven Boys, a girl named Blue, shenanigans...you get it.
Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. I especially like how this series was done, with points of view from the Clanker side of the war and the Darwinist side. The blatant differences between the beliefs of the two sides was interesting to watch unfold as the two main characters interacted with one another.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor...there's just so much to like about this series. But the varying points of view make the story that much wider, giving a look into the different sides of the war.
I'm sure there are plenty of other great books out there that I missed that have multiple points of view. I either haven't read them or just forgot about them. But what about you guys, how do you feel about multiple points of view? Or, what are some of your favorite reads with multiple POVs?
I enjoy reading novels with multiple viewpoints--IF the author can make it work! If it's done effectively, you should be able to tell which character is being represented without being told. If it's not done well, all the characters sound the same. I think it's a really effective narrative technique, but it's tough to pull off well.
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