Some authors have admitted they don't read their friends books even though they give recommendation blurbs for the book to use. It's probably why those blurbs almost never make sense.
It is the worse when it is the same blurb on a series. There is an Erica Ridley series I am reading and it has the same Julia Quinn blurb for it on each one.
I am over thirty and am embarrassed to say I only realized this a few months ago. Not only that, when it happened, I felt like a child who just found out Santa Clause wasn’t real. My sister took great pleasure in my misery. 😔
The thing that bugs me about romance covers is you can have illustrations of people without it being overly cartoonish. It doesn't have to be the same style as the old romance covers, it could just be a more elevated style of drawing than something so blatantly juvenile looking.
@@MishiBelley You know who used to have covers that were more serious, kind of floral and now her covers are so cartoonish that I've never been inspired to pick up. Katherine Center, the author of The ROM-commers. I did not know that the same author that wrote Things We Save In a Fire was the same one that wrote ROM comers. Just looking at the cover alone. It makes her books seem less intriguing and less serious. I don't mind a good romance, but I don't want it always to be a comedy. And some of these cartoon covers are placed on romances that are not even funny, but the cover makes it look like it's a funny romance. Another one I would like to note is the book They Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle. The cover doesn't do it justice. I have never reached for another one of her books again. Even though that was probably one of my favorite romances ever, probably one of my top favorite books. And the only reason why I even got to reading it was because I was given an arc of it. But if it wasn't for that I would have never picked it up. Even though that book talks so much about the Dynamics of long-term relationships and the adjusting and adapting Of later relationships/marriages.
@@MishiBelley I feel like there specifically needs to be a specific section labeled as new adult like with college romance and things like that. I’m only 20 and sometimes the adult romance books are a bit too mature in terms of parenting and marriage and all that where I’m just not at the point and can’t relate to them yet. I do like cartoon covers bc I didn’t like the ones w real people and word book covers don’t really appeal to me. I don’t typically have this problem as I read mainly sapphic books so straight romance probably deals with them more. My bookstore has a safe guarded ya section and adult section
@MishiBelley i agree! That’s what i’m struggling with designing the cover of my second chance romance because the cartoon cover doesn’t convey all of the complexities of my story.
As someone with auditory processing disorder, thank you for putting captions in your video. The yt cc isn't always accurate or available, depending on the video.
I totally agree about the cartoon covers. Recently, I was looking for something to read on Kindle and I was surprised, in a negative way, about how similar they were. I mean, I was confused because I thought they were written by the same author, but they weren't. So, every time I see covers like that, I think the stories will present the same old formula and I end up not giving the book a chance
@@millenasimplicioribeiro3560 I swear just look them up I usually read sapphic books and the others I read there’s like 1 or 2 spicy scenes but I know that in the straight romance books there’s usually a lot but I read Hannah bonan young recently and honestly I like her books there not too spicy or anything as even Emily Henry I would just look them up but there’s so many good ones that aren’t under that formula with the covers
I wholeheartedly agree with your first point. I recently had a friend mention this same thing because even on the hardback she was looking at there was no synopsis. Also I've read a book that I didn't really vibe with and then realized that it was endorsed by an author I really like. So I definitely try to take endorsements with a grain of salt.
About the tropes I agreed with with you. And for me personally it can be a bit of a spoiler thing. Unless ofc I look it up for myself what tropes a book has etc. I mean I do that at times too. And I know some people search specifically by tropes all the time also nothing wrong with that ofc but yeah. It can take away the surprises of enemies becoming lovers because, I already knew that before even starting the book.
I feel like some of the synopsis I’ve read this year included so much of the plot of the book that I didn’t feel the need to read it. There has to be a nice balance between saying enough without saying too much.
Plot means nothing to these readers. The book can have a good plot, wonderful characters, but that won't matter to these readers. If it doesn't have the tropes then it's not worth reading.
I want more illustrated covers and less cartoon covers. Illustrated covers are more detailed and look more for adults. The cartoon covers are less detailed and look more immature. I don’t mind the landscape covers, those look for adults.
I kinda miss highschool lit analysis where we'd unpack themes and their development(or their subversion), rather than just tropes. 🤔I don't mind tropes, I just want there to be more robust storytelling and worldbuilding. I agree with the hauls, it makes me wonder if people are reading all of their books or rereading them at all🤔 I've begun to ask myself questions like: Is there space for all the books? Is buying at that rate cost effective? Where do the books unhauled go? Do I really need to spend this money or can it be used for something else? Are multiple editions of the same book necessary? When does it become a spending addiction? If I don't buy/read that many books (or post about it) does that make me less of a reader? Its become a bit much now to be honest.
Respectfully I don't understand others views on the cartoon covers being "deceiving" for kids or adults. Many parents have talked about how it's their responsibility to look into the media their children consume. If they buy their kids movies, books, event tickets etc. that aren't age appropriate that's on them for not looking into it. We've had this conversation for years in pop music. Where some parents have blamed pop stars for being "inappropriate". Sabrina is the latest I can think of. Thankfully people have pointed out pop stars are not babysitters & that it's lazy parenting to not do research into the event & to blame popstars/event organisers for their kids behaviour & actions or for seeing things they maybe shouldn't. I also don't understand adults feeling tricked by the covers. When I see a book I'm interested in I immediately go to storygraph & scroll to content warnings. I love film. I watch about 100 films a year. Before I watch anything I go to "does the dog die" to look at warnings. If they don't have warnings on either site & I choose to watch/read something & then get triggered that's on me. I stop & go do something calming instead. Edit: if this conversation was happening 5 years ago I think I'd disagree with myself, but nowadays there's a lot of tools you can use to look into media & events for kids & yourself to make a smart decision about it
Books usually take longer to check out than a song and they don't have ratings like movies. A YA marketing doesn't guarantee that there's no spice as far as I'm aware. Yes, parents are the ones responsible for their kids' media access, but I don't see why their job should be made more difficult. A cartoon cover that looks like a cute high school romcom doesn't go well with explicit content anyway imo.
I feel this also goes into 2 debates. All animation is for kids. No it is not. That is all I want to say about that one. 2. Some of the adult animated covers do look like what you would see in a children’s section of the library so I sort of get it. Just remembered a third debate. Not putting the synopsis’s on the back of books. Yes, they put it on the flaps, but for some reason, I feel it is easier to read paragraphs on the back of the book versus the flaps that can be smaller and require smaller font. Not always, but sometimes. So some people may take a stab while picking it up thinking it is safe and regret it later. I hate seeing the stupid reviews on the back of the books. Just put it on the pages by the title page like the days of old. Aye! But do agree it is the parent’s responsibility to double check the age level for a book before letting them read it.
@@justwonder1404 Respectfully I think it's irresponsible of parents to not do their job of looking into the media themselves. I've seen & heard so many just see their kid want a book, look at the cover & say sure. It's their job to look up the book, or reviews, or even read it themselves before giving it to them depending on the age of the kid. If someone says that's too much work, well having kids is a lot of work & most chose to have them... It honestly just feels like some parents are blaming others for their lack of care or attention in regards to their kids
on the topic of cartoon book covers, I feel like there should just be a little place over the barcode that states things like "18+" instead of completely doing away with cartoon covers. Then, if parents end up letting their kids read inappropriate books, that's on them. I don't read romance but I don't think it's fair/necessary to deprive people of a certain type of cover if they like those covers more.
@@inscreamingcolour yes I agree just content warnings my book store has a safe guarded YA section and the adult section has all adult content books there
ive said this for awhile, but there needs to be age ranges like we have in video games/movies - like seriously, just put 16+ pg13, 17+ etc etc. its really not that hard???? idk why we havent implemented this more
@@Nari-7022because publishers consciously and purposefully market their romance p*rn to girls too young to read it. They have no interest to bring attention to that
100% agree. I got back into reading and picked up the love hypothesis as it looked wholesome (the cover) lol It was not… At least the characters where lovely and I’m an adult but I had no idea it would have smut.
Cartoon covers make me so mad. I get for us adults they look cute. The thing is, they also look cute to children. The cartoon covers are there to attract children. In stores they also conveniently sit at eye level for children so they see them. Then the kid asks for it and unfortunately not all parents are aware and buy them for their kids, exposing them to materials their minds aren't mature enough for. I had Done and Dusted on my shelves before getting rid of it because out of 200 books guess which one my 6 year old kept trying to grab? The only cartoon cover romance on the shelves. Since donating it she hasn't touched my books Also yes she would be able to read it if she grabbed it. She reads and comprehends dinosaur textbooks I bought donated from our middle schools and highschool, she reads better than me
exactly. looking back, idk why the book community had a whole fit about parents not checking what books their kids are getting when no one ever does that for anything else. like, i'm sure tons of people can relate to wanting to buy makeup as a kid and getting told no. there was never an investigation of whether the product was safe or age-appropriate, it was always just a no. if a parent can determine that makeup is inappropriate just by looking at it, why is it crazy for parents to assume a book with cartoons on the cover is child-friendly?
I think the first page should have any content/trigger warnings. And maybe have a symbol that goes on the cover somewhere to signal that it is explicit. Then people can still have the cover art they like.
I agree, I hate them. I'm an early teen, and used too not check the content of my books online before reading them. My parents trust me enough that they didn't check either. Oneday, I was at the discount bookstore and bought this book that seemed intresting, (in the defense of the author, it was a romance book so maybe it's my fault) it had a cute cartoon cover and a good rating so I figured it would just be a hallmark type romance. I was wrong, very wrong and now I'm paranoid so I check parent rating of all my books online. The same thing has happened too a few of my friends. Once again, its probably my fault for being to naive about it but my point stands.
I felt word of mouth is what helped me check out or buy the books I read. Having conversations where people recommend their favorites makes me more intrigued about it. I do agree the reviews are annoying and the synopsis on the flaps deter me. It is a headache reading the synopsis on the flap due to how it is spaced, the type of font, and the size of font makes it harder for me versus it being on the back of the book. Reviews used to be the page after the title page and I liked it better that way.
I miss clinch covers on romance books! I don’t get why people nowadays don’t like them. Back in the day, you’d see sweet kindly grandmothers reading romance books on the bus with Fabio on the covers, and it was fine! We need those covers back! With that said, I don’t know if ratings are a good idea as it will make it easier for book-banners to target books. But I DO agree that we need more content rating IN the book. And I COMPLETELY agree about the excessive book haul thing!! I’m leaving behind so many book subscriptions and bringing in more library use, personally, as well.
I personally love cartoon covers. Not all cartoons are for kids or "wholesome" (Simpsons, Family Guy, Boondocks, etc.). I think the simplest solution is an explicit content warning on the front. Black circle or bar similar to music.
Yeah i think the first page of all books should have content/trigger warnings. That way people can have whatever cover art they want on their books, and it’s easier to identify what books are appropriate
Yes! I love that you added a positive bit to the topic. I'm removing negative creators from all social media in 2025! I don't mind negative reviews but I'm over the fault finding content. I understand that it gets views, but I like solutions. Yours, in particular, were good ones. I think I agreed with everything you mentioned! I'd add that we should leave trigger warnings behind. The research shows they are either not helpful or they make things worse. I would like to know if a book is mature or YA instead. I don't like to read either mature or YA and, once, I read a book that was both mature and YA... Never again.
What research shows trigger warnings don't work? What does it measure, where and how? Considering trigger warnings aren't really happening at least on printed books I'd be curious where they even found a sample size to create a hopefully scientifically based research project on.
@@EXOmakemeHorololo Sorry. I cannot answer all of these questions for you as I learned about this a very long time ago and don't remember the details. From what I recall, there are multiple peer-reviewed publications, TWs do not prevent vulnerable people from experiencing the content, and it may actually hurt trauma survivors by causing anticipatory anxiety. Most abstracts for academic journal publications are accessible via a search engine like Google. But there are also decent articles and youtube videos reporting on the studies if you care to find out more
Because of my own success with this I often recommend reading goals for people trying to get back into reading more regularly. But it isn’t these super high numbers game goals I recommend. In 2024 my New Year’s resolution was to get back into reading because I’d stopped because of serious mental health issues and burnout. And as part of preparing for that what I did was I set a very modest, very achievable goal (twelve books in 2024) as just something to strive for and get the ball rolling. It worked, because I finished 42 books in 2024.
25:00 I have a miniscule, basically non-existent bookstagram, and let me tell you it didn't help my book buying habits at all. I'd find a cute bookstore or visit a book fest and go 'ooh, I need to buy a few books to post them'. I had to check that thought pattern and am proud to declare I only buy books because of my poor impulse control now. That's to say, yes, excessive book hauls are a bit toxic type of content and I wish people didn't encourage it with their views. It's not even that interesting to listen to people talk about books they haven't even read yet. P.S. I hope it's ok to say that your eye patch looks pretty badass. Hope you get well soon.
I agree so much with your takes here. One thing that’s been really really annoying me lately is both GR and StoryGraph- erotica being labelled as just romance. I don’t want to read erotica, and so I have it as a hated genre on SG. But it’s all labelled as romance so it’s tough shit I gotta trawl through it regardless because I occasionally enjoy fantasy with romance and so I don’t wanna block romance. Can we just call it what it is and move on, it’s making finding anything to read unnecessarily difficult
I think the cartoon covers came about after the discussion of movie and show covers. Many hate seeing the movie couples or characters on the front of the books. They rather have an artistic attempt of making an original character or aesthetic so it sets itself apart. I sometimes like the movie or show covers, so it is not a big deal to me, but do get why others hate it. I feel cartoon characters are a way to keep people on the covers while appealing to people who want a more aesthetic way of showcasing the books. But like every other book out there, covers look the same. And that includes the cartoon ones.
Absolutely agree that there should be close to no endorsements on books. I remember a book where there was an endorsement in the middle of an otherwise beautiful cover. And it wasn‘t even about the book it was on but about the previous book the author had written. UUUh the rage this fills me with. Reviews should not be on books. One or two I can live with. But when a book needs two pages full of endorsements it‘s hard to believe it is an actually good book. The reviews seem shallow and I can only think of that scene in ‚Castle‘ when he gives his „endorsments“ to books. What some publishing houses do that I do like though is printing some synopses of books of their catalog with similar topics, genres or writing styles (or however those books are chosen) at the end of the book. I have bought a few books because of those.
I don't remember ever seeing content ratings on covers in the US, though I'm old, so maybe I missed it. Was there a rating system in the UK for books? What were the categorizations? I wonder which it's more similar to in the US, movies or video games, where the video game system has a bit more nuance built into the ratings than it seems our movie system does.
When I see cartoons or A.I. photo book covers, those are warning signs to me… I will not buy them. I hope the publishing companies encourage the writer to invest in an artist, especially if they are writing for adults… I love love your videos, I hope the publishers began to correct some of these things… Stay well and I hope you have successful healing… Peace and Blessings to you! ✨📚✨
I disagree with the cartoon covers, I love that they are like that and that I can see the characters for the person they are written as instead of just that they also enjoy being intimate. I do agree and simply think the solution to that is that books go back to having a synopsis and a rating for the content and that doing research to what their children are consuming.
Book tropes and the saying ”book girlie” and ”era”. I stop watching so many book tubers because it got to much with that in 2024. Just read the books you like to read and enjoy the process.
17:33 I don’t like tropes or the synopsis or someone describing the book but I prefer tropes over them all. (I know - make it make sense lol but I mostly go into books blind let me explain) This is because people give waaaaayyyyyy too much information when going over the synopsis or describing the book in their own words. I never trust going into a video reviewing the book because of this. Books have been spoiled for me so many times due to someone’s “non spoiler” review so I’ve settled with just going based off of tropes 😂
@@shelleys.corner do you find this to be more of a spoiler in the Romantasy/Fantasy Genre? Because I could definitely see that. I read mostly romance. So in my experience when someone describes a book as “enemies to lovers”, 1) I take it with a grain of salt because most of the time the enemies part doesn’t really exist lmao they just strongly dislike each other and 2) it never takes away from the characters story (for me at least). I read a lot of HEA romances (I have more books in different genres but these have just been the ones I’ve read so far). But I could definitely see a trope spoiling a fantasy book.
I think the cartoon covers became popular because the characters weren't buff or thin or white or whatever a lot of stock photos are, but I do agree that I've seen a lot of great adult romance books with real people like Kennedy Ryan's Skyland Series and Only for the Week (the OG cover). I think cartoon covers are still great for YA romance tho
I hate having to look up what a book is about bc I see that it has a bad rating and then I don't even want to anymore Also they need to add like a chili pepper for spicy books lol
I want to push back on the idea that parents deserve to moderate everything a kid reads. LGBTQ books for example, are not something kids deserve to be limited from. Limiting a kids ability to learn about serious issues tends to do more harm than good. Additionally, kids can self censor. I read a lot of serious content as a young person, but my sister was very shy and avoided more mature themes. I understand people’s concerns but this is the rhetoric that leads to book banning.
I simply will not read a romance book without a cartoon cover 😂, however in my experience, they don’t automatically mean they have smut. I read “clean” or closed door romance and still love the covers.
I HATEEEEE CARTOON COVERS they’re always ugly ALWAYS I’ve never come across a cartoon book cover that I wanted to read. They put me off the book completely.
Some authors have admitted they don't read their friends books even though they give recommendation blurbs for the book to use. It's probably why those blurbs almost never make sense.
It is the worse when it is the same blurb on a series.
There is an Erica Ridley series I am reading and it has the same Julia Quinn blurb for it on each one.
I also hate when they put praise on a book that is actually praising another book by the author, like that is not helpful at all😅
I am over thirty and am embarrassed to say I only realized this a few months ago. Not only that, when it happened, I felt like a child who just found out Santa Clause wasn’t real. My sister took great pleasure in my misery. 😔
The thing that bugs me about romance covers is you can have illustrations of people without it being overly cartoonish. It doesn't have to be the same style as the old romance covers, it could just be a more elevated style of drawing than something so blatantly juvenile looking.
@@MishiBelley yeah why is it either Fabio gropping a woman in the rain, or a super cartoonist character?!
@@mcp0y3 exactly! Even to her points, like florals would work. Or just the title. A symbol of a prominent theme or item. the possibilities are endless
@@MishiBelley You know who used to have covers that were more serious, kind of floral and now her covers are so cartoonish that I've never been inspired to pick up. Katherine Center, the author of The ROM-commers. I did not know that the same author that wrote Things We Save In a Fire was the same one that wrote ROM comers. Just looking at the cover alone. It makes her books seem less intriguing and less serious. I don't mind a good romance, but I don't want it always to be a comedy. And some of these cartoon covers are placed on romances that are not even funny, but the cover makes it look like it's a funny romance.
Another one I would like to note is the book They Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle. The cover doesn't do it justice. I have never reached for another one of her books again. Even though that was probably one of my favorite romances ever, probably one of my top favorite books. And the only reason why I even got to reading it was because I was given an arc of it. But if it wasn't for that I would have never picked it up. Even though that book talks so much about the Dynamics of long-term relationships and the adjusting and adapting Of later relationships/marriages.
@@MishiBelley I feel like there specifically needs to be a specific section labeled as new adult like with college romance and things like that. I’m only 20 and sometimes the adult romance books are a bit too mature in terms of parenting and marriage and all that where I’m just not at the point and can’t relate to them yet. I do like cartoon covers bc I didn’t like the ones w real people and word book covers don’t really appeal to me. I don’t typically have this problem as I read mainly sapphic books so straight romance probably deals with them more. My bookstore has a safe guarded ya section and adult section
@MishiBelley i agree! That’s what i’m struggling with designing the cover of my second chance romance because the cartoon cover doesn’t convey all of the complexities of my story.
As someone with auditory processing disorder, thank you for putting captions in your video. The yt cc isn't always accurate or available, depending on the video.
Aw that's great to hear 🫶🏾
I totally agree about the cartoon covers. Recently, I was looking for something to read on Kindle and I was surprised, in a negative way, about how similar they were. I mean, I was confused because I thought they were written by the same author, but they weren't. So, every time I see covers like that, I think the stories will present the same old formula and I end up not giving the book a chance
@@millenasimplicioribeiro3560 I swear just look them up I usually read sapphic books and the others I read there’s like 1 or 2 spicy scenes but I know that in the straight romance books there’s usually a lot but I read Hannah bonan young recently and honestly I like her books there not too spicy or anything as even Emily Henry I would just look them up but there’s so many good ones that aren’t under that formula with the covers
I think the “discreet cover editions” within romance need to be more normalized. They’re discreet but not deceiving.
I am so glad you are doing ok. I wish you a fast recovery and I hope you accessorize that eyepatch while you can 😂
I wholeheartedly agree with your first point. I recently had a friend mention this same thing because even on the hardback she was looking at there was no synopsis. Also I've read a book that I didn't really vibe with and then realized that it was endorsed by an author I really like. So I definitely try to take endorsements with a grain of salt.
Just started the video but - I’m so glad you were able to get the care you needed for your eye, and best wishes for good healing! ❤
About the tropes I agreed with with you. And for me personally it can be a bit of a spoiler thing. Unless ofc I look it up for myself what tropes a book has etc. I mean I do that at times too. And I know some people search specifically by tropes all the time also nothing wrong with that ofc but yeah. It can take away the surprises of enemies becoming lovers because, I already knew that before even starting the book.
I feel like some of the synopsis I’ve read this year included so much of the plot of the book that I didn’t feel the need to read it. There has to be a nice balance between saying enough without saying too much.
Plot means nothing to these readers. The book can have a good plot, wonderful characters, but that won't matter to these readers. If it doesn't have the tropes then it's not worth reading.
and if it doesnt have smut scenes, people say its "boring" 😅😅😅😅😅 these people just sound like wattpad readers to me
@@Nari-7022there are better fanfic stories than some of trash that is getting published nowadays...
I want more illustrated covers and less cartoon covers. Illustrated covers are more detailed and look more for adults. The cartoon covers are less detailed and look more immature. I don’t mind the landscape covers, those look for adults.
Oooo this is a great idea!
Heavy on the reading intentionally and not for numbers 💯 👏🏻
I kinda miss highschool lit analysis where we'd unpack themes and their development(or their subversion), rather than just tropes. 🤔I don't mind tropes, I just want there to be more robust storytelling and worldbuilding.
I agree with the hauls, it makes me wonder if people are reading all of their books or rereading them at all🤔 I've begun to ask myself questions like: Is there space for all the books? Is buying at that rate cost effective? Where do the books unhauled go? Do I really need to spend this money or can it be used for something else? Are multiple editions of the same book necessary? When does it become a spending addiction? If I don't buy/read that many books (or post about it) does that make me less of a reader?
Its become a bit much now to be honest.
Respectfully I don't understand others views on the cartoon covers being "deceiving" for kids or adults. Many parents have talked about how it's their responsibility to look into the media their children consume. If they buy their kids movies, books, event tickets etc. that aren't age appropriate that's on them for not looking into it. We've had this conversation for years in pop music. Where some parents have blamed pop stars for being "inappropriate". Sabrina is the latest I can think of. Thankfully people have pointed out pop stars are not babysitters & that it's lazy parenting to not do research into the event & to blame popstars/event organisers for their kids behaviour & actions or for seeing things they maybe shouldn't. I also don't understand adults feeling tricked by the covers. When I see a book I'm interested in I immediately go to storygraph & scroll to content warnings. I love film. I watch about 100 films a year. Before I watch anything I go to "does the dog die" to look at warnings. If they don't have warnings on either site & I choose to watch/read something & then get triggered that's on me. I stop & go do something calming instead.
Edit: if this conversation was happening 5 years ago I think I'd disagree with myself, but nowadays there's a lot of tools you can use to look into media & events for kids & yourself to make a smart decision about it
It's not only the parents' responsibility to care for their children. It's also the responsibility of the community.
Books usually take longer to check out than a song and they don't have ratings like movies. A YA marketing doesn't guarantee that there's no spice as far as I'm aware. Yes, parents are the ones responsible for their kids' media access, but I don't see why their job should be made more difficult. A cartoon cover that looks like a cute high school romcom doesn't go well with explicit content anyway imo.
I feel this also goes into 2 debates.
All animation is for kids. No it is not. That is all I want to say about that one.
2. Some of the adult animated covers do look like what you would see in a children’s section of the library so I sort of get it.
Just remembered a third debate. Not putting the synopsis’s on the back of books. Yes, they put it on the flaps, but for some reason, I feel it is easier to read paragraphs on the back of the book versus the flaps that can be smaller and require smaller font. Not always, but sometimes. So some people may take a stab while picking it up thinking it is safe and regret it later.
I hate seeing the stupid reviews on the back of the books. Just put it on the pages by the title page like the days of old. Aye!
But do agree it is the parent’s responsibility to double check the age level for a book before letting them read it.
@@justwonder1404 Respectfully I think it's irresponsible of parents to not do their job of looking into the media themselves. I've seen & heard so many just see their kid want a book, look at the cover & say sure. It's their job to look up the book, or reviews, or even read it themselves before giving it to them depending on the age of the kid. If someone says that's too much work, well having kids is a lot of work & most chose to have them... It honestly just feels like some parents are blaming others for their lack of care or attention in regards to their kids
@@etherealfan Eh I feel like that's way too broad of a statement. Everyone is not responsible for other's children
The sinopsis take is so valid!
on the topic of cartoon book covers, I feel like there should just be a little place over the barcode that states things like "18+" instead of completely doing away with cartoon covers. Then, if parents end up letting their kids read inappropriate books, that's on them. I don't read romance but I don't think it's fair/necessary to deprive people of a certain type of cover if they like those covers more.
@@inscreamingcolour yes I agree just content warnings my book store has a safe guarded YA section and the adult section has all adult content books there
ive said this for awhile, but there needs to be age ranges like we have in video games/movies - like seriously, just put 16+ pg13, 17+ etc etc. its really not that hard???? idk why we havent implemented this more
@@Nari-7022because publishers consciously and purposefully market their romance p*rn to girls too young to read it. They have no interest to bring attention to that
100% agree. I got back into reading and picked up the love hypothesis as it looked wholesome (the cover) lol It was not… At least the characters where lovely and I’m an adult but I had no idea it would have smut.
Honestly I love the eye patch it grabs attention! Wishing you a healthy and fast recovery my love especially for 2025🎉🎉🎉
Cartoon covers make me so mad. I get for us adults they look cute. The thing is, they also look cute to children.
The cartoon covers are there to attract children. In stores they also conveniently sit at eye level for children so they see them. Then the kid asks for it and unfortunately not all parents are aware and buy them for their kids, exposing them to materials their minds aren't mature enough for.
I had Done and Dusted on my shelves before getting rid of it because out of 200 books guess which one my 6 year old kept trying to grab? The only cartoon cover romance on the shelves. Since donating it she hasn't touched my books
Also yes she would be able to read it if she grabbed it. She reads and comprehends dinosaur textbooks I bought donated from our middle schools and highschool, she reads better than me
exactly. looking back, idk why the book community had a whole fit about parents not checking what books their kids are getting when no one ever does that for anything else. like, i'm sure tons of people can relate to wanting to buy makeup as a kid and getting told no. there was never an investigation of whether the product was safe or age-appropriate, it was always just a no. if a parent can determine that makeup is inappropriate just by looking at it, why is it crazy for parents to assume a book with cartoons on the cover is child-friendly?
Yes! These covers can be so deceiving
@ithoughtiwascishet1316That is exactly my thoughts about it. Especially since YA and children's books mainly have cartoonish covers
I think the first page should have any content/trigger warnings. And maybe have a symbol that goes on the cover somewhere to signal that it is explicit. Then people can still have the cover art they like.
I agree, I hate them. I'm an early teen, and used too not check the content of my books online before reading them. My parents trust me enough that they didn't check either. Oneday, I was at the discount bookstore and bought this book that seemed intresting, (in the defense of the author, it was a romance book so maybe it's my fault) it had a cute cartoon cover and a good rating so I figured it would just be a hallmark type romance. I was wrong, very wrong and now I'm paranoid so I check parent rating of all my books online. The same thing has happened too a few of my friends. Once again, its probably my fault for being to naive about it but my point stands.
I felt word of mouth is what helped me check out or buy the books I read. Having conversations where people recommend their favorites makes me more intrigued about it.
I do agree the reviews are annoying and the synopsis on the flaps deter me. It is a headache reading the synopsis on the flap due to how it is spaced, the type of font, and the size of font makes it harder for me versus it being on the back of the book.
Reviews used to be the page after the title page and I liked it better that way.
I miss clinch covers on romance books! I don’t get why people nowadays don’t like them. Back in the day, you’d see sweet kindly grandmothers reading romance books on the bus with Fabio on the covers, and it was fine! We need those covers back!
With that said, I don’t know if ratings are a good idea as it will make it easier for book-banners to target books. But I DO agree that we need more content rating IN the book.
And I COMPLETELY agree about the excessive book haul thing!!
I’m leaving behind so many book subscriptions and bringing in more library use, personally, as well.
I rocked the eyepatch for a while after my keratoconus surgery (corneal cross linking). I wish you a speedy recovery!
Great video, as usual ❤
I completely agree with the synopsis on the back of the book.
I personally love cartoon covers. Not all cartoons are for kids or "wholesome" (Simpsons, Family Guy, Boondocks, etc.). I think the simplest solution is an explicit content warning on the front. Black circle or bar similar to music.
Yeah i think the first page of all books should have content/trigger warnings. That way people can have whatever cover art they want on their books, and it’s easier to identify what books are appropriate
Yes! I love that you added a positive bit to the topic. I'm removing negative creators from all social media in 2025! I don't mind negative reviews but I'm over the fault finding content. I understand that it gets views, but I like solutions. Yours, in particular, were good ones. I think I agreed with everything you mentioned! I'd add that we should leave trigger warnings behind. The research shows they are either not helpful or they make things worse. I would like to know if a book is mature or YA instead. I don't like to read either mature or YA and, once, I read a book that was both mature and YA... Never again.
What research shows trigger warnings don't work? What does it measure, where and how? Considering trigger warnings aren't really happening at least on printed books I'd be curious where they even found a sample size to create a hopefully scientifically based research project on.
@@EXOmakemeHorololo Sorry. I cannot answer all of these questions for you as I learned about this a very long time ago and don't remember the details. From what I recall, there are multiple peer-reviewed publications, TWs do not prevent vulnerable people from experiencing the content, and it may actually hurt trauma survivors by causing anticipatory anxiety. Most abstracts for academic journal publications are accessible via a search engine like Google. But there are also decent articles and youtube videos reporting on the studies if you care to find out more
Because of my own success with this I often recommend reading goals for people trying to get back into reading more regularly. But it isn’t these super high numbers game goals I recommend.
In 2024 my New Year’s resolution was to get back into reading because I’d stopped because of serious mental health issues and burnout. And as part of preparing for that what I did was I set a very modest, very achievable goal (twelve books in 2024) as just something to strive for and get the ball rolling. It worked, because I finished 42 books in 2024.
25:00 I have a miniscule, basically non-existent bookstagram, and let me tell you it didn't help my book buying habits at all. I'd find a cute bookstore or visit a book fest and go 'ooh, I need to buy a few books to post them'. I had to check that thought pattern and am proud to declare I only buy books because of my poor impulse control now. That's to say, yes, excessive book hauls are a bit toxic type of content and I wish people didn't encourage it with their views. It's not even that interesting to listen to people talk about books they haven't even read yet.
P.S. I hope it's ok to say that your eye patch looks pretty badass. Hope you get well soon.
I agree so much with your takes here. One thing that’s been really really annoying me lately is both GR and StoryGraph- erotica being labelled as just romance. I don’t want to read erotica, and so I have it as a hated genre on SG. But it’s all labelled as romance so it’s tough shit I gotta trawl through it regardless because I occasionally enjoy fantasy with romance and so I don’t wanna block romance. Can we just call it what it is and move on, it’s making finding anything to read unnecessarily difficult
I think the cartoon covers came about after the discussion of movie and show covers. Many hate seeing the movie couples or characters on the front of the books.
They rather have an artistic attempt of making an original character or aesthetic so it sets itself apart.
I sometimes like the movie or show covers, so it is not a big deal to me, but do get why others hate it.
I feel cartoon characters are a way to keep people on the covers while appealing to people who want a more aesthetic way of showcasing the books.
But like every other book out there, covers look the same. And that includes the cartoon ones.
Absolutely agree that there should be close to no endorsements on books. I remember a book where there was an endorsement in the middle of an otherwise beautiful cover. And it wasn‘t even about the book it was on but about the previous book the author had written. UUUh the rage this fills me with.
Reviews should not be on books. One or two I can live with. But when a book needs two pages full of endorsements it‘s hard to believe it is an actually good book. The reviews seem shallow and I can only think of that scene in ‚Castle‘ when he gives his „endorsments“ to books.
What some publishing houses do that I do like though is printing some synopses of books of their catalog with similar topics, genres or writing styles (or however those books are chosen) at the end of the book. I have bought a few books because of those.
I don't remember ever seeing content ratings on covers in the US, though I'm old, so maybe I missed it. Was there a rating system in the UK for books? What were the categorizations? I wonder which it's more similar to in the US, movies or video games, where the video game system has a bit more nuance built into the ratings than it seems our movie system does.
When I see cartoons or A.I. photo book covers, those are warning signs to me… I will not buy them. I hope the publishing companies encourage the writer to invest in an artist, especially if they are writing for adults…
I love love your videos, I hope the publishers began to correct some of these things…
Stay well and I hope you have successful healing… Peace and Blessings to you! ✨📚✨
I disagree with the cartoon covers, I love that they are like that and that I can see the characters for the person they are written as instead of just that they also enjoy being intimate. I do agree and simply think the solution to that is that books go back to having a synopsis and a rating for the content and that doing research to what their children are consuming.
Book tropes and the saying ”book girlie” and ”era”. I stop watching so many book tubers because it got to much with that in 2024. Just read the books you like to read and enjoy the process.
17:33 I don’t like tropes or the synopsis or someone describing the book but I prefer tropes over them all. (I know - make it make sense lol but I mostly go into books blind let me explain) This is because people give waaaaayyyyyy too much information when going over the synopsis or describing the book in their own words. I never trust going into a video reviewing the book because of this. Books have been spoiled for me so many times due to someone’s “non spoiler” review so I’ve settled with just going based off of tropes 😂
I completely get you! But I see tropes as spoilers as well 😭 'enemies to lovers' basically tells me they'll be married at the end 😭😭
@@shelleys.corner do you find this to be more of a spoiler in the Romantasy/Fantasy Genre? Because I could definitely see that. I read mostly romance. So in my experience when someone describes a book as “enemies to lovers”, 1) I take it with a grain of salt because most of the time the enemies part doesn’t really exist lmao they just strongly dislike each other and 2) it never takes away from the characters story (for me at least). I read a lot of HEA romances (I have more books in different genres but these have just been the ones I’ve read so far). But I could definitely see a trope spoiling a fantasy book.
I think the cartoon covers became popular because the characters weren't buff or thin or white or whatever a lot of stock photos are, but I do agree that I've seen a lot of great adult romance books with real people like Kennedy Ryan's Skyland Series and Only for the Week (the OG cover). I think cartoon covers are still great for YA romance tho
I hate having to look up what a book is about bc I see that it has a bad rating and then I don't even want to anymore
Also they need to add like a chili pepper for spicy books lol
The chilli would be so cute 🤣
I want to push back on the idea that parents deserve to moderate everything a kid reads. LGBTQ books for example, are not something kids deserve to be limited from. Limiting a kids ability to learn about serious issues tends to do more harm than good. Additionally, kids can self censor. I read a lot of serious content as a young person, but my sister was very shy and avoided more mature themes. I understand people’s concerns but this is the rhetoric that leads to book banning.
I simply will not read a romance book without a cartoon cover 😂, however in my experience, they don’t automatically mean they have smut. I read “clean” or closed door romance and still love the covers.
Sameeee. Like u could say better than the movies had a cartoon cover but there was zero smut
I HATEEEEE CARTOON COVERS they’re always ugly ALWAYS I’ve never come across a cartoon book cover that I wanted to read. They put me off the book completely.
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This was the most pointless video I've seen
That's great for you 👏🏾