As someone living in a small town in northern Sweden, I totally relate! Finding books I want to read in English where I live isn't easy, so I rely on online stores. Great video ❤️✨
in spanish culture (atleast for where i live not speaking for anyone else) the topic of education is sensitive. reading is not a promoted hobby, everyone says "Go to school" but the larger conversation of what constitutes and education is lacking. This is such a good video to begin talking about larger topics!
Thanks! I totally understand this!! Here in México not everyone has the luxury to go to collage only about 20% has the chance to go, the rest has to work, some people being younger than others, so it’s not in their list of hobbies reading, not to mention how expensive it can be for them to get a book if they don’t have libraries available.
Thank you for sharing! I don’t know very much about accessibility to books in countries outside the US and Canada. I’m glad I got to hear more about it.
You did a great job diving into the nuances of this topic and explaining how the ability to easily obtain books is such a privilege. Even as someone from the US who has this privilege, I felt like I would never be able to do booktube well until I had a full bookshelf to film in front of, which is ridiculous, but it still seemed that way.
Thanks! There’s a lot of pressure, you feel no one will watch unless you have certain titles, I find that not to be true since everyone is pretty much reading whatever they want which is one of the best things about this community!!
This conversation is opening up more right now because some authors have been behaving badly, condemning people who pirate books and being very ignorant about the global south and access to books.
I guess I’d say everyone is looking for deals on purchases no matter where they live so don’t feel bad about that. I live in New York near numerous Barnes and Noble bookstores but if I find a book cheaper on Amazon I’ll buy it. If it’s the same price in the bookshop I’ll go there because I’d like to keep them around and give them business. I’m not near many used shops unless I go to NYC but I’d prefer them as well. It’s a fact you can get good deals on Amazon and most of us are watching our $$ so yeah it’s be nice to support smaller shops but if it’s not convenient and more $$ then Amazon it is. Don’t let the haters make you feel guilty over a simple pleasure like reading.
Super interesting video Aline. Sorry to hear that you struggle to buy your novels. I usually use Amazon and Ebay to get my books, but it depends on the price.
Frankly, complaining about accessibility of books in 2021 seems ridiculous to me compared to what I had to go through. There are just so many options if the local libraries or bookstores don't have a nice selection: Amazon and other online bookstores, Ebay, contacting and buying through the publisher directly, e-books which one can read on e-reader, phone or tablet and almost instant download (and most classics can be found for free!!!). When I was a young teenager my family and I moved from the US to France, in a small town. In those days, there was no internet. Going to an independent bookstore in France and ordering a book I wanted in English would have cost me at least $50 per book (paperback, for a hardback, count double, if I even could have had a choice) plus shipping. So the easiest way for me to get a book in English was to save up money, and every 2 years go to the capitol and select the books I truly wanted to buy in a specialised English bookstore with the money I had left, as this whole process was quite expensive. Thus, I was already doing (small) book hauls 20 years ago. Though expensive, I thought it was worth it, so as not to lose the practice and use of the English language. I wish I had had all of the conveniences we now experience. People who complain about Amazon have no idea how difficult it is to get books in another language from the country one lives in without Amazon. No independent bookstore could do what Amazon does. Do I like Amazon: heck yes, finally I didn't have to spend a fortune to get Shakespeare in English. Do I think Amazon is a good ethical company: heck no, and I wish there were better alternatives, but like stated in the video, it's complicated. So stop shaming people for using Amazon. Not everyone has a plethora of choices. Finding books, even in different languages, has never been so easy and cheap. I am very grateful for this. I am not ashamed of going through Amazon, and though the way they treat their employees is disgraceful, I also believe that if the US had better laws protecting their workforce, and/or finally decided to enforce some of the laws they do have in place, then there would be far less abuses.
I know that this is almost a year away, but in my library classes I have heard about the Guadalajara International Book Festival. I'm not sure where you live in Mexico and I know that Mexico is huge, but maybe this would be something you would be interested in doing. (www.fil.com.mx/ingles/i_info/i_info_fil.asp) I am in no way trying to tell you what to do. Your video just reminded me of this festival. And I really really want to be able to go to it one day.
As someone living in a small town in northern Sweden, I totally relate! Finding books I want to read in English where I live isn't easy, so I rely on online stores. Great video ❤️✨
in spanish culture (atleast for where i live not speaking for anyone else) the topic of education is sensitive. reading is not a promoted hobby, everyone says "Go to school" but the larger conversation of what constitutes and education is lacking. This is such a good video to begin talking about larger topics!
Thanks! I totally understand this!! Here in México not everyone has the luxury to go to collage only about 20% has the chance to go, the rest has to work, some people being younger than others, so it’s not in their list of hobbies reading, not to mention how expensive it can be for them to get a book if they don’t have libraries available.
Thank you for sharing! I don’t know very much about accessibility to books in countries outside the US and Canada. I’m glad I got to hear more about it.
You did a great job diving into the nuances of this topic and explaining how the ability to easily obtain books is such a privilege. Even as someone from the US who has this privilege, I felt like I would never be able to do booktube well until I had a full bookshelf to film in front of, which is ridiculous, but it still seemed that way.
Thanks! There’s a lot of pressure, you feel no one will watch unless you have certain titles, I find that not to be true since everyone is pretty much reading whatever they want which is one of the best things about this community!!
this is such an important conversation and i am glad you made this vide. don't feel bad about book hauls do what you have to do to get your books!
This conversation is opening up more right now because some authors have been behaving badly, condemning people who pirate books and being very ignorant about the global south and access to books.
I guess I’d say everyone is looking for deals on purchases no matter where they live so don’t feel bad about that. I live in New York near numerous Barnes and Noble bookstores but if I find a book cheaper on Amazon I’ll buy it. If it’s the same price in the bookshop I’ll go there because I’d like to keep them around and give them business. I’m not near many used shops unless I go to NYC but I’d prefer them as well. It’s a fact you can get good deals on Amazon and most of us are watching our $$ so yeah it’s be nice to support smaller shops but if it’s not convenient and more $$ then Amazon it is. Don’t let the haters make you feel guilty over a simple pleasure like reading.
Thanks! I would love to visit a Barnes and Noble they look huge and lovely!! I do definitely prefer to save some $ when buying my books, that’s true!
Great video!!
Thanks!! 🙏
Super interesting video Aline. Sorry to hear that you struggle to buy your novels. I usually use Amazon and Ebay to get my books, but it depends on the price.
Frankly, complaining about accessibility of books in 2021 seems ridiculous to me compared to what I had to go through. There are just so many options if the local libraries or bookstores don't have a nice selection: Amazon and other online bookstores, Ebay, contacting and buying through the publisher directly, e-books which one can read on e-reader, phone or tablet and almost instant download (and most classics can be found for free!!!).
When I was a young teenager my family and I moved from the US to France, in a small town. In those days, there was no internet. Going to an independent bookstore in France and ordering a book I wanted in English would have cost me at least $50 per book (paperback, for a hardback, count double, if I even could have had a choice) plus shipping. So the easiest way for me to get a book in English was to save up money, and every 2 years go to the capitol and select the books I truly wanted to buy in a specialised English bookstore with the money I had left, as this whole process was quite expensive. Thus, I was already doing (small) book hauls 20 years ago. Though expensive, I thought it was worth it, so as not to lose the practice and use of the English language.
I wish I had had all of the conveniences we now experience.
People who complain about Amazon have no idea how difficult it is to get books in another language from the country one lives in without Amazon. No independent bookstore could do what Amazon does. Do I like Amazon: heck yes, finally I didn't have to spend a fortune to get Shakespeare in English. Do I think Amazon is a good ethical company: heck no, and I wish there were better alternatives, but like stated in the video, it's complicated.
So stop shaming people for using Amazon. Not everyone has a plethora of choices.
Finding books, even in different languages, has never been so easy and cheap. I am very grateful for this. I am not ashamed of going through Amazon, and though the way they treat their employees is disgraceful, I also believe that if the US had better laws protecting their workforce, and/or finally decided to enforce some of the laws they do have in place, then there would be far less abuses.
I know that this is almost a year away, but in my library classes I have heard about the Guadalajara International Book Festival. I'm not sure where you live in Mexico and I know that Mexico is huge, but maybe this would be something you would be interested in doing. (www.fil.com.mx/ingles/i_info/i_info_fil.asp)
I am in no way trying to tell you what to do. Your video just reminded me of this festival. And I really really want to be able to go to it one day.