Tag: book discussion

Discussions, Let's Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: Lying About Reading Books

by wren @ wingsandfables11 Comments on Let’s Talk Bookish: Lying About Reading Books

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly and is Why Do People Lie About Reading Books?

Some people will say they have read books when they really haven’t; why do you think that is?

To be honest, I think it’s more likely for people to lie about not reading a book than to lie about reading one. By this I mean that I think some readers feel the need to hide what they read such as darker genres or “problematic” authors. The book community is a great place most of the time but many won’t hesitate to shun readers who like to read authors or genres they think are problematic or choose not to personally support, a consequence of “cancel culture.” Regardless, I think that those who do lie about reading a book that they actually haven’t is probably born out of insecurity. They want to fit in, they want to appear well-read or intelligent, they want to join a new fandom but haven’t caught up to stan level yet. Maybe they’re someone who has seen the film and therefore think that compares to reading the book so they say they have. Maybe they’re afraid of cancel culture coming for them so they say they’ve read something just to avoid conflict. I’ve definitely seen some NetGalley reviews that sound as if the person didn’t even read the book which I think can be chalked up to people wanting to either maintain their ratio on the site or want to maintain their auto-approval status with a publisher. I think there could be many reasons for someone to lie about reading a book.

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Let’s Talk Bookish: What Makes a Good Sequel

by wren @ wingsandfables6 Comments on Let’s Talk Bookish: What Makes a Good Sequel

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by M.T. Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left and is What Makes a Good Sequel.

What do you like to see in sequels?

A good amount of character development is always at the forefront for me. We got to meet the characters in the first book, I want to see them grow and become something more in the second book. I also like to see some actual plot for the second book and its own resolution or development. I want it to have a story arc of its own and not just be a part of the bigger picture of the series.

Are there any sequels you liked more than the first book?

Definitely! I have several sequels that I loved more than the first one. A few of them are:

  • Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass series)
  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Thorns and Roses series)
  • Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter (Gallagher Girls series)
  • The Wicked King by Holly Black (The Folk of the Air trilogy)
  • The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi (Shipbreaker trilogy)
  • The Runaway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Ascendance series)
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Let’s Talk Bookish: Creating Bookish Content

by wren @ wingsandfables18 Comments on Let’s Talk Bookish: Creating Bookish Content

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Rukky and is How Do You Create Bookish Content.

What’s your posting process?

My posting process is pretty simple. I utilize the draft and scheduling system of WordPress extensively, partly because I have a pretty bad memory sometimes and partly because I’m a Virgo moon and Thrive on Organization haha. I always title each draft so I know what it’s intended for and add my personal header for whichever type of post it is (review, book list, bookish talk, etc.) and add in my usual formatting if it applies such as the way I add a quote to the beginning of every review. I often will write notes to myself in the draft as well as a way to get my thoughts down. If it’s part of one of the weekly memes I participate in, I like to copy + paste the prompts for each week into the draft so I’m able to start working on them immediately when I have time. Nearly every post you see that appears on this blog was written weeks ago and then scheduled for the day that you see it, including my book reviews. For instance, I’m writing this post in the evening of April 24th when it doesn’t release until May 21st. This is also why I’m sometimes slower to respond to comments or appear active when I’m actually not. I get on WordPress a couple of times a week, depending on my schedule and mental health status, so some days I’m extremely active in liking and commenting on others’ posts and sometimes I’m a ghost for a few days at a time. And by “mental health status” I mean that I have a mood disorder which affects me certain parts of the month worse than others so I actively cater when I write my posts and reviews to my “good time” because I’m extremely unproductive during my low days and want to still be able to put out consistent content despite my health.

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Let’s Talk Bookish: Books Based on Games/Shows/Movies/Comics

by wren @ wingsandfables8 Comments on Let’s Talk Bookish: Books Based on Games/Shows/Movies/Comics

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly series hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Dani and is Books Based on Games/Movies/Shows/Comics.

“The book is better” is a common outcry amongst book worms, because the book came first…but what about when it didn’t? How do you feel about book adaptations of movies? Books based on video game worlds? Books that tell alternate stories from television worlds? Or even books featuring your favorite superheroes? Do you have any favorites in these genres? Is the book still better?

I had to really think about this week’s topic and consider if I’ve ever actually read a book based off of something else already created in the media. I have read a few and all of them are books based off of movies. In my limited experience so far, I’ve found that these books often follow very closely to their original basis compared to their counterparts. We’re all very familiar with movies and television shows taking creative liberties for various reasons whether it be to make them more appealing to the general population, to make them more relevant to the gen pop, or to make them more “interesting” and more marketable, but it’s rare that we ever see a movie/television show that actually follows closely to its book basis. But when it’s a book based off of a movie, it’s nearly identical to its source material which is interesting.

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Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading YA/Middle Grade as an Adult

by wren @ wingsandfables8 Comments on Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading YA/Middle Grade as an Adult

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Sam @ River Moose Books and is What Makes You Continue Picking Up YA/Middle Grade? Or Why Don’t You?

As adults some of us leave YA/Middle Grade behind and some of us continue to revel in it…but what separates us as readers? If you still pick up YA/Middle Grade, what draws you to them instead of Adult Fiction?

I am in the camp of someone in their 20s who still reads both young adult and middle grade. I think I still prefer to read them for multiple reasons. Although I read far more young adult than middle grade, I still find myself picking up middle grade from time to time. They’re often series that I loved as a child and want to go back to read more installments that have since been published or just to reread my favorites. I’m always amazed at how much development middle grade has, especially since they tend to be shorter books. I also don’t think books have an age limit. As long as you enjoy it, that’s all that matters!

Firstly, I think I’m drawn to young adult because I relate to the characters more. Although I’m old enough to live on my own, I’ve chosen to remain with my parents and sibling for the time being so I can’t relate to some of the struggles that adult fiction portrays such as dealing with relationship issues with a spouse, taking care of a family or raising a child, running a household, and so on. When I do read adult fiction, I tend to avoid contemporary novels because of the aforementioned themes and prefer to read historical fiction, fantasy, or cozy mysteries.

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Let’s Talk Bookish: Toxic Relationships in Literature

by wren @ wingsandfables14 Comments on Let’s Talk Bookish: Toxic Relationships in Literature

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Mikaela @ Mikaela Reads and is Tackling Toxic Relationships in Literature.

When it comes to fiction how should toxic relationships be handled? Is it okay to portray toxic relationships?

This is a really complex topic and I’m really interested to see what others opinions are for this subject. Personally, I think it’s okay to portray toxic relationships in literature. Books mimic real life and unfortunately there’s probably not a single person who hasn’t experienced a toxic relationship themselves. Comfort can be found in characters and plots that a reader can relate to and sometimes all we really need is to know we’re not alone in things we’ve dealt with. I know many people who choose to read their traumatic experiences in fiction as a coping mechanism and a way to heal. I also think portraying them could be helpful for readers who have been gaslighted so much that they don’t realize something they’re experiencing is wrong until they see it happening to someone else. It’s incredibly common for us to accept toxic behavior from people ourselves but when we see the same thing happen to our friend or loved one, we immediately seek to protect them and stop it from happening.

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Let’s Talk Bookish: How Reading Affects Mental Health

by wren @ wingsandfables4 Comments on Let’s Talk Bookish: How Reading Affects Mental Health

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Kristin @ Lukten Av Trykksverte and is How Reading Affects Mental Health.

In what ways does reading affect your mental health? Does it affect your mental health positively or negatively at certain times, and why?

For me, reading positively affects my mental health. It gives me a place to escape to when I need a break from the world and I love being able to make connections with characters. It can be so powerful to find pieces of yourself in a character and to be able to relate to their struggles. It helps you feel like you’re not so alone in the darkness sometimes. And watching your favorite character grow through the book or series can be an encouragement to work on yourself too in your own struggles or give you the courage to speak out about things you need to or things you know need more attention by the public. I also love being able to lose myself in characters’ romances. Living vicariously through them can bring such a huge smile to my face or even make me cry. The only time reading affects my mental health negatively is when I have too many review books to read. I’ve definitely gotten myself into trouble on NetGalley before and over-requested only to be granted more books than I had anticipated. The deadlines got to be very stressful for me and I had terrible FOMO (fear of missing out) when I saw friends reading new releases and I had commitments I needed to fulfill before being able to join them. I’m much more careful now about requesting books!

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