You should listen to aa about speaker stands. Contrary to the name bookshelf speakers rarely if ever sound good on bookshelves. Get some good stands that place the tweeters at ear height when seated. Place speakers and stands well away from room boundaries. Then experiment with small adjustments to get optimum sound.

Why bother buying good speakers if you're going to place them like they were "Bose" cubes.

What I or anyone else thinks about any speaker means nothing. Only you as the buyer user/listener can decide. What sounds good to me may not to you and vica versa. Trust your own ears. Don't buy any speakers unless you hear them first. Buy what you like, not what someone recommends.