Chapter 159

Book Recommendation

**Book Review Highlights***By Jingcheng Langzi*

Over the past two weeks, Banana (the author) has stumbled forward from a pool of covert battles, amidst cheers and curses, finally reaching today, standing before the curtain of the last stage, gently lifting a corner of the curtain. Looking back, this journey has been filled with both praise and criticism, with commendations and reprimands equally abundant. As the saying goes, it's hard to please everyone. This situation is quite normal and occurs with most books. However, the level of chaos seen in Banana's review section over the past half month, though not unprecedented, is quite unusual.

So, what caused the chaos that has persisted for nearly half a month? In summary, it boils down to two main points: opinions regarding Banana's writing style and opinions regarding his update schedule.

Regarding the update time (or speed), any feedback is futile. Veteran readers who have followed him know that Banana's pace is simply slow; three to four thousand characters a day is his limit. No matter how many hours he writes in a day, the final product will only be around three to four thousand characters (with occasional bursts being as rare as winning the lottery) or even less. The current update frequency, in comparison to Banana's other novels, is an unprecedented speed, even describable as miraculous. I believe long-time readers would not disagree with this statement. Therefore, for this book, the update speed is an inherent limitation that cannot be changed.

Having set aside the unchangeable aspect of update speed, what remains is the 'software' aspect concerning Banana's writing method. This has been the most debated topic in the review section over the past half month, and we can now examine it. (P.S. If you feel the following discussion might offend your sensibilities, please close this page directly.)

Before discussing Banana, let's first discuss ourselves. As Confucius said, "I reflect on myself three times a day." Let's follow suit and consider: What is our purpose for reading on Qidian (the platform)? Just as one type of grain feeds a hundred types of people, everyone's purpose is surely different. However, I doubt anyone comes to Qidian to read with the aim of picking fights or venting anger, do they? If so, please close this post. I'm not interested in picking fights or stirring up trouble; I'm simply analyzing the problem. If you want to argue, find someone else. So, aside from those intentionally causing disruption, for the rest of us readers, while our individual purposes for reading a book may vary, the underlying answer is unified: 'appreciation.' We appreciate (or observe) a book, and then use this 'appreciation' to fulfill our specific objectives, whether it's to vent dissatisfaction, pass time, fill a void, express emotions, learn, enrich our minds, or satisfy a craving. Regardless of the purpose, our first task is to 'appreciate' a book — to calm down and truly appreciate it, rather than 'speed-reading' through it impulsively or superficially. Otherwise, it would be better to just read an outline (or outline-like summaries), wouldn't it?

Alright, self-reflection done. Let's continue the discussion. The book's review section has been very interesting over the past half month. If you have time, you can look through it starting from late July or early August; it's quite fascinating. Let's set aside the 'Current Affairs' phase for a few days; that was purely mutual disputes over the discussion of current events and holds no reference value. Roughly starting from the chapter 'Su Tan'er's Day,' some people began to attack Banana, criticizing his content as messy and unsubstantial, empty and vague. By the chapters 'Just Do It,' the attacks gradually quieted down, and people slowly understood that Banana's seemingly chaotic and scattered 'scribbles' were actually just him fleshing out character portrayals through small details. Then, after the chapter 'The Beginning,' the attacks intensified again. The direction of criticism remained the same: the content was messy and disorganized, rambling and unclear, making it impossible to understand what Banana was trying to write, with severe instances of filler content. This series of attacks lasted for a long time, roughly until the chapter 'Turbulence.' After 'Turbulence,' the offensive paused and quickly shifted focus. The attacks then moved to the handling of the 'Imperial Merchant' plotline, with various criticisms of Ning Yi for being unconcerned and heartless about the Imperial Merchant, feigning composure, pretending to be a pig (or truly being like a pig), or how he couldn't possibly win over the Imperial Merchant, or what would happen even if he did. These comments gradually replaced the previous lines of attack, a phenomenon that continued until 'The Final Black Tide Appears.' After the chapter 'The New Era' was released, the tide turned again. The direction of attack shifted to how naive the plot ideas were, how predictable they were long beforehand, how illogical they were, and how they failed to provide a 'satisfying' sense of achievement.

Heh, comparing the before and after, isn't it laughable? Are we truly here to 'read' the book? Or are we actually here to dictate to the author how to write a book that 'we' would find enjoyable? I don't think it's the latter.

In reality, it's quite simple: there are several main conflicts in the current review section.

1. Banana aims to present a vivid and detailed painting, but a small group of readers only wants a simple sketch. This is the conflict between the 'outline faction' and the 'detail faction.'2. Banana wants to draw a lifelike dragon that has been meticulously revised, but a small group of readers believes they only need to see a basic sketch.3. Banana wants to describe the scenery around a countryside villa, meticulously detailing its surroundings and their interactions with the villa from a distance to up close. However, some readers believe, "We only want to see the house," while another small group believes, "We are more concerned with the villa itself; the scenery can be present but should be less emphasized."4. Banana wants to describe the internal structure of the villa, but some readers say, "What you've built isn't a villa at all; a true villa should be constructed differently."5. ...

Looking at these conflicts, we can reflect: Which type do we belong to? Which viewpoint do we align with? Are we the majority or the minority? What should we say? Or what should we do? Beyond venting, do our words or actions hold any meaning?

In fact, Banana's writing style has never changed. Neither has his writing rhythm nor his quirky sense of humor. Perhaps, what has changed is only you and I.

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