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I hate the fact that there’s always a huge height difference with the cartoon covers. Super short girls and super tall guys. I’m 2 inches taller than my boyfriend and I wait for the day that that isn’t weird in mass media 😕

I hate these sort of cartoon covers, they aren't appealing at all in my opinion 😭 As a kid I always read Cornelia Funke books, and she designed the covers herself. They were so, so beautiful. Recently I wanted to buy a book of her that I used to read back then and had to see that all her old books have been cartoonified. It was such a disappointment.

Graphic Novels are either a great example of censorship or horrible, and there is no in-between. I'm 25 F and have read/enjoyed graphic novels since I was about 10/11 years old. In stores like Barnes and Noble, story arcs or plots with more advanced mature materials are generally plastic-wrapped, allowing parents to turn away more mature books presented by their children. This format, however, stops there as other public forums, including the library or 2nd hand, bookstores do not often plastic wrap their books or give warnings pertaining to the material presented inside. As a result, younger readers often stumble upon more advanced reading materials and have either awkward conversations with their parents or keep it a secret with the knowledge that they read something they probably weren't supposed to. As a kid, I ventured into the Teen section as most tweens do, and I stumbled across "The Killing Joke." Anyone who understands or has read Batman for years would know that this arc is not suitable for children yet it was placed in the respective teen literature and because it is was a Batman graphic novel no one thought to place any further censorship over the specific books left out for teens/children. Now, this didn't scar or scare me as a child. I may have been disturbed by some of the intense illustrations, but by the age of 10, I was able to understand that this imagery was not something that I desired to intake. As a result, I read the book, returned it, and then became more self-aware of the materials that I consumed. I was an honest kid but didn't feel the need to force my parents to censor my reading materials for me. Sure, now and then, they would check through my books, but they trusted me, and I reciprocate their trust by choosing books with meaning that were more age appropriate. The point is censorship, while good, isn't always required. Sometimes, we have to trust our children to make decisions for themselves, and other times, we need to steer them in the right direction, but the book shouldn't be at fault. We can all strive to do better to protect the innocents of our youth, but this is a shared effort and not exclusively the parent's or book industry's fault. In my case, I learned a valuable lesson through exposure, but that was my personal experience, and another may be different. Regardless, keeping things away from kids only works for so long. It's more important that we teach our kids about why some books are more or less appropriate for them and trust that they will come to us if a book they are reading is too advanced. It builds trust and teaches our kids to make their own decisions in their reading materials, two concepts that will follow them into adulthood. It's also important to note that 18+ could be for a variety of reasons like intense violence, explicit discussions/scenes, or just an oversaturation of swearing. I think a listing of warnings or described themes may be more appropriate for romance/YA books. I loved your video and agree with many of your key points. All the best ✨️.

Comic books often have ratings on the back by the barcode. That could totally work. That way you know what you're getting into, because some adults don't want that, either, and it is unobtrusive. It's like movie or TV ratings and it just allows for informed choice.

I don't know if Icebreaker added it later on, but it also has a content warning both on the back cover and on the first page like this. That's why I do not understand all those people being mad about the cartoon cover. Just look at it closely, not just read the title and judge the cover and go and buy it for your child/you. You can tell, based on the text on the back or front, that the book is spicy. I know that some authors don't do it and I feel like there always should be a warning on the first page, whether it is that it contains adult content or other triggering situations or words.

24:05 it’s actually quite hard to check the content. My son is a big reader and I’m constantly googling stuff not everything is easy to find online. It was much easier as a kid as libraries were much more split.

Hate the cartoon covers. Looks like you’re reading a kids book

I‘m from germany and one thing they regularly change here is they keep adding subtitles to all books, and I don‘t know why

children should have access to every type of book even the ones that american parents deem "explicit". the reason kids HATE reading today is Because theyre only allowed to read like 10 highly censored sheltered uninteresting books. studies show kids who read from a wide range of topics develop better reading skills, better social skills, better emotional regulation and a better understanding of the world.... i just truly despise the way Usamericans try to control every aspect of their kids lives, the other day i saw an article about a usamerican mom complaining that her teenage kid Was "exposed" to the statue of david in art class (nudity i guess). and you know damn well those same parents arent doing anything to ACTUALLY protect kids, like teaching them about consent etc

I'm kinda mixed in my cover preferences. I like the more flashy covers from my area, but I also think using photos of people is tacky as hell

it might be nice if we standardized having a "content warnings" page at the start, to show more detailed information that does more than just check if it's okay for children. you could also warn if your book handles sensitive topics like SA, abuse, or drugs, which would benefit folks of all ages

It’s actually a very good thing for the health of the publishing industry that the physical Amazon bookstores closed. The amount of business publishers do with Barnes and noble and other chain bookstores are crucial to keeping Amazon from monopolizing the publishing industry. Obviously Amazon is still a big problem for publishing, because they are able to control pricing in a way that can be harmful to the publishing house. The best thing a person can do to help the health of book publishing and stop the monopolization is by purchasing books exclusively at independent bookstores.

Finally. Cartoons have much more personality. I don't know why it was marketable to have vague, personalitiless styles before. Unless the author themself is a trained illustrator like Tove Jansson or Dr. Seuess, why wouldn't you want someone to give your book more personality?

The only books i need is from rick and Homer 😂😂😂

6:53 *Laughs in Lolita *

I wouldn't be opposed to some sort of adult content indicator but at the end of the day I think it's up to book stores to display books in the appropriate area and parents to vet any books their kids are getting from a non-child/YA section. The fact that the characters in Icebreaker are described as attending university should be enough to ping that children are not the target age group. But also, teens encountering slightly spicy content is not the end of the world. I started reading adult sci fi/fantasy starting around 13, including ASOIAF and encountered fanfic with 'lemons' (still hilarious that that's how that stuff was labeled) around the same age. Most of the sexual content would not be considered healthy or a good example but tbh I remember almost none of it compared to the dehumanizing misogyny that was so prevalent in adult sci fi/fantasy at the time, where women were weak damsels or evil manipulators or just plain didn't exist in the narrative.

adding to my watch later because i'm just about to go out but just popping in to say these comic style covers are the bane of my existence as a librarian. we do not have the authority to stop anyone taking anything out based on age inappropriateness, so if a kid wants to take one of these out (and there's no parent/guardian with them that i can explain to) and ignores our warnings, we just have to lend it to them. i hate it so much.

The vocal fry is unbearable, I'm so sorry.

If manga and non-visual novels require the 18+ or plastic wrap, I think its only fair for these romance novels geared towards NA and Adult to also have some form of disclaimer too. That disclaimer can come in the form of the traditional plastic wrap with the small 18+ on the barcode for all I care. And get those books out of the YA sections!

I hate this trend, but in my country, there's a quote on the front from another author/from the author themselves thats practically stating its 18+. F.e., Icebreaker has a "romance filled with chemistry and steamy banter" (loosely translated). As far as I know, theres no law to do this, they just do it. You showed Gothikana which has a "dark romance" tag on it and I've never read a DR without some kind of smut or inappropriate content. Not saying this is the answer, because as you said I kind of feel ashamed to be seen buying a book with this description on cover, but if I was a parent, I wouldnt buy these books for my child by mistake thanks to this. 😅

I picked up Icebreaker bc I thought the cover was cute and I thought it's a cute heartwarming romance and when I flipped through it at home I was horrified. I gave it to a friend who like spicy books and will from now on ALWAYS look the spice of a book up online before buying something.

For any book history nerds: after Gutenberg did his moveable letters thing (I don't know if right after, but... like... yeah) anyway, there was a looong period where the publishing industry was often split into printer/publisher and bookbinder/seller people... like obviously not exclusively and so on, but it was very common for publishers to also be printers and for bookbinders to also sell the stuff. Because for the longest time, the books came without cover binding, from the printers, so if you had the money, you would go to your local bookbinder, pick out your book and than have him bind it in your signature binding... that's how they acquired these Jane Austen-y "oops stumbled into your fancy library, with only moss green books with silver lettering and all the same height" libraries... yeah... and if you didn't have the money, you could get a pre-bound book or I think you could also just buy it unbound which might have been popular among students, if I remember correctly, but please don't pin me on that one... Also I f*cking love the direction cover design is taking... (not the special editions though...) Like... Tran Nguyens cover designs always undo me... I bought books with her art on it, knowing I didn't like them... -.-

I. HATE. COVERS. NOW.

I got traumatised bc of the family friendly covers 😭 when i was 11 i loved romance books (the innocent ones) and my mum bought me one for me that had a nice cover IT HAD 18+ THINGS and i had almost NO IDEA of that stuff and it's a pretty popular book (the deal from the campus series and it was the recent version with the cartoon cover) I don't blame my mum tho she just thought it was about chill romance and sport 😭

I’m glad the general population is starting to associate drawings less with children. 2D illustrations and animation are a medium, not a genre. The same way that Family Guy exists, adults can enjoy books or shows with cartoony designs and it doesn’t make something childish. Y’all are caught in stereotypes and just because something isn’t for you that doesn’t mean it’s trying to be childish. Adults shouldn’t limit their artistic choices for the sake of the ignorant public. It’s like buying a video game for a kid because you think all games are childish and then you’re surprised when the game involves shooting or horror elements because you were too lazy to do a real check on the contents. Labels are important.

The twilightification of The Vampire Chronicles books was the downfall of gothic literature covers

I avoid books that look like a Netflix poster like the plague, it's gonna be slop 90% of the time.

OH! And we have another common interest besides books!! Cute boys!! I definitely do the "cute boy walking by" alert while vlogging from my balcony LOL 😄Henry the VIII is the king who killed all his wives... like 7 of them... definitely British, yes (as is my time travel husband that I married in Durham UK on January 17 1880... the one and only Louis James Moriarty... Louis is the SWEETEST though ... he would never have 7 wives... or kill me!!❤) But joking aside, you really make me want to read this book!! Adding it to TBR (or LAL, livres à lire in French) now!! 👍

I just discovered your channel and am binging your videos now! It's refreshing to see vlogs about books. I'm a self-published bilingual fiction writer and zine editor (started my zine in 1998 LOL). I don't have a lot of videos about writing, zine-making or reading but you make me want to make some! I have been working too much and I have no free time to read anymore and I am craving it. Working on semi-retiring soon and having the time (LUXURY) to read again!!! You seem really interesting! 💜

I absolutely believe parents are the most responsible for their kids reading that content, but as a bookseller, it would sure make things easier for us if 18+ was added to the back cover so we can warn parents easier. It wouldn't take much effort. Just a bit of text right by the barcode, like they do with manga.

This feels like the "not all cartoons are for kids" debate in another font

Just letting everyone in the comment section know that UK publishing houses like Penguin and Simon & Schuster already put 18+ labels on the back of the books (below the synopsis). This isn’t a global issue, it’s isolated to the few countries that use American books (because most countries follow British English and will have UK books).

I made goodreads probably about 10 years ago to leave a comment for a book I loved and then never used it again. But last November I downloaded Fable and loved it so much. I literally use it very day. I didn't know it was this fun to use an app made for readers! I like to post reviews there which I never did before and be a part of so many good clubs that make me diversities my reading lists. It's just so cool

I personally don’t think it’s fair that animated images are assumed to be only appealing for children. The truth is that many adults like these covers and in my opinion books should be appealing to the intended consumer. If more adults buy one of these books because of the cover than it did its intended purpose. This reminds me of them banning flavored smoking products in NYC back in the day. Punishing the consumer. Putting an age restriction on the book could easily fix this problem.

Parents are from a different generation, even millennials know smutty romance is “oil painting covers with the blonde man, or photos of real people posing with their shirt off.” The new cartoon covers break the rules we’ve agreed upon on a societal level. The new rule is that books covers that previously indicated being for a young reader now have a lot of explicit sex. I don’t blame parents for not knowing. About vetting: A lot of parents are fine with some sex in books - books are not movies and shows - young adult books might have some, or implied sexual content and some parents are fine with that. There is no need to vet a public library unless they’re coming back with something outside of young adult. Icebreaker is a book you see your kid bring back and you don’t think it’s even young adult, it looks like a middle school reader. Why vet? It’s not even about not having the time, at one point, this was consistent and accurate logic. I don’t think cartoon covers are evil trickery, but the confusion was definitely not a priority. Money was.

I think they’re kind of ugly, but I am 100% for artists getting paid the same to do less work. The danger is using Ai art generators, and paying someone pennies to clean up the generated art.

For me, idk about the cover. But they should AT LEAST have an age rating

I picked up Wildfire thinking it would be a safe introduction to adult romance. Imagine my shock when there was intense smut 40 pages in. Before plot even happened!

The trend of fantasy or romance books having a character typically the female lead wearing a generic modern prom dress and sad tiara in front of a wind machine and the book is supposed to be in medival or medieval like times is a trend i hate for book covers

You can see me yall abt icebreaker…. But it’s so…. I thought it was young adult so like it wouldn’t be THAT bad but um…

if we use manga as an example, the more explicit manga are wrapped in plastic specifically ones with sexualy graphic scenes. So that's an option that doesn't involve stickers

Even if the parents have the time to control the books, children may read a lot more. And at some point they will grab a book in the book shelf, without the parents noticing. And guess wich books they’ll pick? The colourfull cartoony ones

yes, more weird covers!

Honestly, as a bookseller I feel there’s not much we can do to stop younger people from reading inappropriate books for their age. We can direct them to age appropriate books and recommend them, but if parents are dead set on buying their 14-year-old Icebreaker it’ll be hard to talk them down. Most parents are so hands-off and detached that they just care their kid is reading something and don’t pay attention. They’re also really entitled so I can see it backfiring if a bookseller tried to intervene. We all hate that it happens but we feel pretty powerless most times. Personally I think the flat, cartoon covers are boring as hell. I don’t think they inherently make them look like children’s books but they do make them look same-y and just really bland. AI “art” is definitely more offensive though

My God you are gorgeous. Blue-eyed blondes are very nice to look at.

With your point about AI art, as an artist I also agree that it is very much stealing, but I'm sure you'll be happy to know there is currently a court case going on against AI art programs like Midjourney and several others based on the same data set. I also think it's very irresponsible of the publishers especially (considering your point about how they decide the covers 95% of the time) that they're being so greedy to want young readers to ruin their innocence just for more sales. Yeah, I was reading all sorts in my early teens, but I was also mentally mature enough to handle those topics, and most of the stuff I read was fantasy, especially with topics like war, death, and manipulation. These topics aren't overly child-friendly, but IMO they have the same problem. Why not just add a page at the start of a book with warnings? If fanfiction can do it in a digital platform, surely this is the way we can do something similar with physical books?

The block party was underwhelming 🤨

Princess Diaries vibes. Maybe it's partly nostalgia and a return to those styles of books

I wonder if they're so simple that it's also to try and make it seem more indie with vector style images, vs assuming big publishing power because of models or a more detailed cover.

I do think typographt trends of the 2000s and 2010s was slipped over quite a lot here especially YA or romance. There were a lot of text that had a big slash cut through the title, or swirling fonts like similar to the Twlight film fonts. The covers changed over that time, but the text was pretty standard. When it came to the covers the legs up or forest background and one of those types of fonts was a majority of YA books 😅