REACTING TO YOUR UNPOPULAR BOOK OPINIONS!

Hey hi hello, welcome back! Today we're going over some of your unpopular book opinions! :)

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[eht]

YES to just letting people have *fun* with reading! We need to stop judging others and ourselves for the shallow reads and just celebrate the fact that books are being read and we're all having a good time

[shuwei]

I'm all for reading for fun, and normalising reading "shallow" books but my personal boundary is when people use that to negate discussions around problematic books. I'm irked when problematic themes or writing get brought up and the defense is "it ain't that deep", I'm just reading for fun. Other than that though, we all need light books as palate cleansers, and they're probably not even shallow! I just read an absurd and hilarious light novel and it did so much for my mental health, I think that's valuable 🥰

[naastyaaaaaaaaa]

I recently realized that the more I love a story, the more time I (usually) spend on it. And I don't mean highbrow literature. Took me half a month to read my favourite book of 2023 (and that included intentionally sitting down every day and spending time on it).
I love slowing down, rereading, soaking it all in, marveling at the beauty of the author's language or staring into space while clutching the book close to my heart because it just made me FEEL THINGS.
Cheers to slow, messy, emotional reading in 2024!🥂

[kriseaf]

My unpopular opinion is that most of these were not unpopular at all, lol. I've heard most of these on every booktuber's "unpopular" list... :/

The Hunger Games book covers, though. YIKES.

[wanderer]

Ooo to add to the random romance- it really does feel like the gentle beginning of a possible friendship, and then bam! They’re obsessed with each other, even though they hate each other, etc. Just do a normal friendship it feels way more natural

[wickerlibrary]

having my library catalogue bookmarked on my phone (as well as the apps libby and hoopla) make being on a book buying ban/restriction so much easier for me! i don’t dread going into bookstores because when i see something i really like, i can go on my library page to request it to pick it up in the next week or smth. gets the initial impulse out of the way, and then if i read and love it i can always go back to the bookshop!

[ximenaallessandrij.]

Yes! Yes to just read and not expecting a PERFECT book every time and just enjoy the process and fall in love with the cimple act of reading, not each has to be a five star read to be amazing and have fun, and every five star read has to be a PERFECT book for the critical opinion

[SarahHernandez-zsjv]

Heavy on you don't have to read a certain number of books to be a bookworm! I'm disabled, hate TV, and read stupidly fast, and have since I was a kid. Finishing 200+ books a year isn't uncommon for me. But you just have to love reading to be a bookworm. One, two, five, or several hundred books are great as long as you're enjoying it.

[jamiesbooksandstuff]

My hot take: it’s fine to read problematic books or books written by problematic authors as long as you’re aware and willing to discuss what’s problematic about them in a respectful manner. You can still like what you like!

[Beqeeangel]

Fave books: DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU ARE IN YOUR LIFE!!!! My first fave book in elementary school: Dragon Slippers. Middle school: HP 5. High school: Cress. Early 20s: Six of Crows. Late 20s: honestly?? Challenge of the Gods made me actually /cry/ from laughter, so Inma say that. I don’t care that it’s a “kids” book, it’s hysterical

Your “fave book” is the one that has the current biggest impact on you. I really needed to laugh this past year, so CotG is my current fave because it gave me what I /needed/. Who knows what my next fave will be! I’m excited to find out!

[fishbowlwoman]

"Variety is key in unlocking a beautiful reading life." Yessss I am right there with you! I don't even read series books or two books of the same genre/mood/time period/type back-to-back. I suppose that might mean I'm a book butterfly...? 🦋

[BrandontheBeldam]

I agree with the 1000 plus page comment. Books Can be so engaging and special the reader never wants the book or series to end. But the beautiful thing about a book or series if you love it so much, you can always go back to the start and read it all again. I’ve done this plenty of times when I read The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe.

[Maya-zxmh]

i agree with the “reading should be fun” statement however, recently it has been used to justify posting about problematic books and authors. its one thing to be reading those books but when youre an influencer you have the responsibility of knowing what you read and you should be reading ethically at least in public because people trust what you read. the amount of bookish content creators that are still promoting sarah j maas books is disappointing. i can maybe let some other authors pass because maybe they dont know but sjm has been called out over and over again for years.

[rachelnorthauthor]

Absolutely loved this video!
As someone currently pursuing a career as an author, I thought I would answer the question about why authors publish a book every year (or even several times a year). Note: I'm speaking to traditionally-published books, not the indie market.

There are two ways traditionally published authors make money: through advances paid by their publisher (a 4-6 figure amount given when a book contract is signed) and through royalties (which authors don't receive until they've made up their advance). So let's say an author signs a book contract for $10, 000. That's the money they make for a year unless they can sell $10, 000 worth of copies, and then they start earning royalties.

Most authors don't earn out their advances, so they're trying to make a living solely off book contracts. Those who do earn out their advances have some economic wiggle room to delay their next book. But why wait two or three years between book releases when you could consistently earn money every year through advances or royalties? There's an economic incentive (and necessity, if writing is your only career) to release a new book at least once a year.

So that answers *why* authors release books every year, but we still have the question of *quality*. In publishing, there's a term for this: "the sophomore slump." Think of it this way: an author has spent years honing their debut novel, making it the best it can possibly be. But then they get a contract for a second book releasing in 12 months or even sooner. Suddenly they have to match and hopefully exceed the quality of their first book in a much shorter time frame--and they're often writing their second book while they're editing and marketing their first book.

All that to say, I have a lot of sympathy for authors (I'm one myself, after all!), but I definitely understand the frustrations as a reader. <3

[bluesey-]

what makes a lot of the alternate cover editions "special editions" is how limited they are. like barnes and noble doing editions with different covers but no bonus content really is just an alternate edition, but things like fairyloot and owlcrate and illumicrate books, it's the fact that only so many are printed that makes them special editions

[abbywhitaker]

My reading slump lasted EIGHT years! Reading slumps for me are life changing

[amaliecoghlan]

I find it an interesting point on "romantsy" being a trend atm, as if its new for there to be a hyped genre at one point in time. I've always been hyper aware of the genre trends. In terms of YA, back in 2010-2012 the trend was very much paranormal, the days of Twilight and Vampire Academy, then from 2013-2015 it was dystopian, Hunger Games and Divergent, and then it moved onto fantasy before I grew out of the YA targeted age.
I guess what I'm saying, from my point of view, genres/themes constantly come and go in trends, and its up to us as readers if we want to join in and enjoy the current one, hold onto a previous one or patiently wait for the next one in the hopes we'll enjoy it more.

[yasminnn]

13:05 i actually really don’t like it when special editions have extra story material. Epilogues that are exclusive to certain editions frustrate me as a person who lives in a place where books are already expensive enough. But i understand that some people like it and it’s a good marketing strategy(?)

[AyceMcGee]

My hot take is that books that aren't classics, academic, literary masterpieces or whatever you want to call them can be just as intelligent and eye opening as books that are. A fluffy romance book can give you character depth. It can lead you to question your morals and thoughts on life. The issue isn't that the books themselves aren't as smart, it's that some readers don't care to look for the messages in them. They take those books at face value knowing they'd never do that for a book regarded as a classic masterpiece. They see the second act breakup as just a trope when it can be an examination into issues like unhealthy communication, building up trust after betrayal, and letting others in when you've guarded your heart as a trauma response. But they don't, and refuse to, see that because they don't examine those books the same way. They don't critique them the same way. They don't give them an equal chance because of how they're marketed and labeled. No disrespect to the author, but if Jane Austen released her books today some of them would be considered fluffy romances undeserving of literary merit. Part of the reason why people view her books with such high regard is because how they're sold to us as the best of the best in literature. Without that marketing, most people truly wouldn't give a shit about her books or read them with the intent of knowledge as they do now.

[shelbyallen]

I feel like books and reading has become too capitalized. I see proof of this with many of the points talked about here, lack of variety in books, the forced tropes put in books just to make them more marketable, and the decline in quality of published books. It just seems like publishers are trying to get books out as fast as possible to make more money. This could be passed off as a rise in demand for books but that doesnt explain why it feels like new books coming out are all very similar. Its like fast fashion but with books. And no hate to anyone who likes these its just not my vibe.