I couldn’t agree more about the extreme book genre shaming issue!!!!!!! It has always been an issue with people shaming other people for the types of books they read, but I feel with the rise of social media, especially booktok that it has been taken to an extreme. A trend that I would like to see the left behind FOREVER that relates to book shaming in general is liking or disliking a hyped book. I would consider it a form of shaming when somebody does not like or does not want to read a hyped social media book. I also feel that people who do really enjoy a book that has been hyped are not any less of a reader for enjoying what they like.
My critique to the audio debate: They count but context is important for how much someone physically read vs listened too. Some people are like I read 25 books this month and 15 were audio….. could you have gotten through that many without audiobooks??? That’s my problem when people say they “read” this many but then don’t specify how many were audio (because you can listen wherever you are vs having to carve out time to physically read a book). But they definitely count
@veronicarodriguez1697 yeah I understand what you mean. That's also something for Goodreads to add, the format of the book we read, that would be a cool addition too 😃
@ it also helps with unrealistic expectations for others (who read but are not booktubers or arc readers etc) when they feel they can’t keep up compared to others who read dozens of books a month but in actuality are only reading a handful of them and listening to the rest. I’ve started listening to more and it helps get through my never ending list of books and I have family who refuse to listen to books, they just read when they can. Funnily enough a booktuber I watch said she “had to save her eyeball time for the ones she was really invested in” and listened to the rest. 🤭🤭
I think a lot of the issues you bring up in the beginning of this video can come down to people realizing that they quite literally have free will to read whatever they want. There will always be opinions. You do not have to internalize or even acknowledge them. There’s no need to carry on this burden of shame for reading what you want and when people stop seeking validation and just READ, the realization of these opposing opinions holding absolutely no weight is freeing. I’m an adult and mainly read literary fiction and socialist theory nonfiction. I’m also obsessed with anything ATLA/TLOK and constantly read and reread the comics that are middle grade classified; absolutely no shame for me associated with that. And no one can shame me for it because I will simply not allow it but that’s just my mindset.
Love this video! All great points 😊Two things I'll add that annoy me personally: 1. Peoples' obsession that 'romance = spice'. You can have really beautiful, complex (or not!) love stories without needing multiple explicit on page s*x scenes. I've seen comments of people being nasty and disregarding entire books because they're marketed as 'romance/fantasy romance/romantasy' but have low spice and it really bothers me 😆 love =/= s*x in my opinion. l enjoy spice in my books as much as the next person but there's so much more to a romantic relationship than physical attraction/intimacy and I don't like it when people undervalue that or put down those kinds of relationships because there's not enough spice content for their tastes. They can absolutely choose not to read it (or dislike it), but don't make comments that shame other people for their reading and/or irl preferences. Likewise this is the same for those who shame people for only reading high spice books, but this particular comment is more directed at the perceived relationship between love & s*x, rather than a focus on spice level specifically. 2. Entitlement in the book community. Whether that's people thinking they have a right to signed, special editions as fans - this is more targeted at some of the comments I see on IG for huge releases e.g. TOG, FW, Powerless etc. Some of the behaviour around those releases towards artists, the company (mainly FL tbh), other fans etc. was appalling. This also applies to how they treat authors when it comes to new releases/series continuations. Just because a release got pushed back (no matter the reason), doesn't give anyone the right to harass, insult or demand anything from the author. You are not entitled to the next book - you can read it along with the rest of us when it's ready to be published.
@faerlain Thank you for adding to the conversation🤗! I totally agree that we don't need smut to have a GOOD romance. And about your 2nd point, absolutely, I, too, was shocked by some of the comments about the TOg SE by FL, i do not tolerate any disrespect to the artists involved in the customizations. And I also wholeheartedly agree that when a date gets pushed back, the author have their reasons, and people should be considerate and show empathy instead of harassing them, which is just unacceptable.
You brought up some great points! We can enjoy YA at any age! No spice in YA books is a no brainer. Also, not every book, whether YA, NA, or adult has to have spice to be a good book. I don’t understand that mindset or the bullying to have spice in every book!
I just left a similar comment but I completely agree! People seem to have this obsession that romance = spice and it really really doesn't. Not every good book needs romance, and not every good romance needs spice. I personally love reading a mix but I do feel like the big selling point at the moment (especially in the genres I read) is spice rating and I don't understand it either.
Thank you so much for doing this video. Let people read books the way they want to like physical books, eBooks, or audiobooks. Let people read whichever genre they like; an adult should be able to read YA without judgement. I hate it when the publisher changes the book designs in a series.
You're so welcome 🤗. And I absolutely agree! We should just be happy that more people and getting back into reading 🥰. Changing the design in the middle of a series gives me anxiety 😬
4:53 I also feel that you’re kinda policing reviewers after opposing shaming others like two seconds ago LOL. numerical ratings are so arbitrary in the first place so truly what significance does a 1 star review hold? hurting the books and authors? well people should start thinking for themselves and not judging a book based off a goodreads (slop of a website) rating scale. reading any part of a book is a reading experience your logic is a bit of a fallacy. I’m truly trying to hear you out here but these points are not well developed.
@witchreads Star ratings can hurt authors. A low star rating means that the book was not well received and fewer people will end up reading it. And unfortunately, the majority of people will be influenced not to give it a chance. And to answer the first and last part of your comment, I am not policing reviews, I am stating that I am against giving a star rating if you just read some pages of an entire novel. And in my opinion, a few pages do not form an experience.
@ navigating the world based off of others opinions is truly a bleak life to live. star ratings hold no merit. let’s leave being unable to form our own critical thoughts in 2024 as well. happy holidays!
I definitely stay in my own lane when it comes to darker romance books, I would never look down upon anyone who does read them! I love the fact that people read period!
Jealousy! That’s what I believe is why there’s so many dislikes on those videos! I love seeing different special editions in content creators libraries! This is an ongoing issue! The changes in the middle of a series! 🤬🤬🤬
@nicolewimbley8653 Me too!! Even if I own the book, I love seeing people unbox it and watching their reaction and hear their thoughts about the art and everything 🥰. I also very much enjoy watching other people's bookshelves (tours and organizations) 😍. I have no words to express how much I hate when they change the design of ongoing series and not give us options to have matching books 💔
/s I see.. I understand... For next year I will set my reading goal to 100 books and if I don't reach it I will never read anything else again!! And!! I'll make sure to police your book hauls for next year!! Gotta make sure you know I don't like where you're spending your hard earned money!! /s I think some people when they ask for 🌶 is because they don't understand what an YA book is... it has to be. LET ME TELL YOU about the Kingdom of the Wicked series(paperback) they changed the logo for the 2nd book... randomly.. it's back to the same on the 3rd one. I checked - double checked and it was the same publisher it's so annoying! I don't like looking at it :(. I wish publishers would leave behind awful fake book stickers... if you wanna put it.. just put the one with glue.. I hate the ones printed on the cover T-T.
@Muxl The first part of your comment cracked me up 🤣🤣🤣. OMG YESSSS the stickers!!! How did I forget about them! Especially the printed ones, as you said😬 I don't care if it got a Netflix show or if it's a New York Times Best Seller😤
So many amazing points and I agree with every single one! Why can’t people just be kind and be happy that so many people get enjoyment from reading. Books are art and the enjoyment will be subjective by nature, it’s not a hard concept! 😂I will also probably be reading YA books for as long as I live, good stories have no age limit 💕
Just as you don't understand them, they don't understand you. There are many factors that influence the viewing of your videos. Often common sense disappears. Common sense clothes personality and without it personality and without it people are vulnerable. That's when those who watch you "attack you". Don't judge them... try to be empathetic even if they are not with you.
I couldn’t agree more about the extreme book genre shaming issue!!!!!!! It has always been an issue with people shaming other people for the types of books they read, but I feel with the rise of social media, especially booktok that it has been taken to an extreme. A trend that I would like to see the left behind FOREVER that relates to book shaming in general is liking or disliking a hyped book. I would consider it a form of shaming when somebody does not like or does not want to read a hyped social media book. I also feel that people who do really enjoy a book that has been hyped are not any less of a reader for enjoying what they like.
I’m 56 and some of my favourite books are YA. I’ve seen someone leave a 1 star review and say they didn’t read it.
@carollonergan1396 Good for you! I love YA 😍. And OMG, THE AUDACITY to leave a 1 🌟 without reading the book!!!???
I love book hauls cause i love to see what books people are buying
@RebeccaMatthews-zt9ts Me too! Even if I own the same book, I would still watch a haul or an unboxing to see what they think of it 🥰
My critique to the audio debate: They count but context is important for how much someone physically read vs listened too.
Some people are like I read 25 books this month and 15 were audio….. could you have gotten through that many without audiobooks??? That’s my problem when people say they “read” this many but then don’t specify how many were audio (because you can listen wherever you are vs having to carve out time to physically read a book). But they definitely count
@veronicarodriguez1697 yeah I understand what you mean. That's also something for Goodreads to add, the format of the book we read, that would be a cool addition too 😃
@ it also helps with unrealistic expectations for others (who read but are not booktubers or arc readers etc) when they feel they can’t keep up compared to others who read dozens of books a month but in actuality are only reading a handful of them and listening to the rest.
I’ve started listening to more and it helps get through my never ending list of books and I have family who refuse to listen to books, they just read when they can.
Funnily enough a booktuber I watch said she “had to save her eyeball time for the ones she was really invested in” and listened to the rest. 🤭🤭
@veronicarodriguez1697 That's so funny 😁 she's right hahaha and as you said, it really does help get through your tbr and read more, definitely 😉
I think a lot of the issues you bring up in the beginning of this video can come down to people realizing that they quite literally have free will to read whatever they want. There will always be opinions. You do not have to internalize or even acknowledge them. There’s no need to carry on this burden of shame for reading what you want and when people stop seeking validation and just READ, the realization of these opposing opinions holding absolutely no weight is freeing. I’m an adult and mainly read literary fiction and socialist theory nonfiction. I’m also obsessed with anything ATLA/TLOK and constantly read and reread the comics that are middle grade classified; absolutely no shame for me associated with that. And no one can shame me for it because I will simply not allow it but that’s just my mindset.
@witchreads Absolutely, agree😊! I wish everyone had this mindset, but unfortunately, not all readers do.
Love this video! All great points 😊Two things I'll add that annoy me personally:
1. Peoples' obsession that 'romance = spice'. You can have really beautiful, complex (or not!) love stories without needing multiple explicit on page s*x scenes. I've seen comments of people being nasty and disregarding entire books because they're marketed as 'romance/fantasy romance/romantasy' but have low spice and it really bothers me 😆 love =/= s*x in my opinion. l enjoy spice in my books as much as the next person but there's so much more to a romantic relationship than physical attraction/intimacy and I don't like it when people undervalue that or put down those kinds of relationships because there's not enough spice content for their tastes. They can absolutely choose not to read it (or dislike it), but don't make comments that shame other people for their reading and/or irl preferences. Likewise this is the same for those who shame people for only reading high spice books, but this particular comment is more directed at the perceived relationship between love & s*x, rather than a focus on spice level specifically.
2. Entitlement in the book community. Whether that's people thinking they have a right to signed, special editions as fans - this is more targeted at some of the comments I see on IG for huge releases e.g. TOG, FW, Powerless etc. Some of the behaviour around those releases towards artists, the company (mainly FL tbh), other fans etc. was appalling. This also applies to how they treat authors when it comes to new releases/series continuations. Just because a release got pushed back (no matter the reason), doesn't give anyone the right to harass, insult or demand anything from the author. You are not entitled to the next book - you can read it along with the rest of us when it's ready to be published.
@faerlain Thank you for adding to the conversation🤗! I totally agree that we don't need smut to have a GOOD romance.
And about your 2nd point, absolutely, I, too, was shocked by some of the comments about the TOg SE by FL, i do not tolerate any disrespect to the artists involved in the customizations. And I also wholeheartedly agree that when a date gets pushed back, the author have their reasons, and people should be considerate and show empathy instead of harassing them, which is just unacceptable.
You brought up some great points! We can enjoy YA at any age! No spice in YA books is a no brainer. Also, not every book, whether YA, NA, or adult has to have spice to be a good book. I don’t understand that mindset or the bullying to have spice in every book!
@Vicky-xz1nu 100% Agree👏!! I also love diversifying my reads, and I don't want to have spice in each book I read.
@ absolutely 💯
I just left a similar comment but I completely agree! People seem to have this obsession that romance = spice and it really really doesn't. Not every good book needs romance, and not every good romance needs spice. I personally love reading a mix but I do feel like the big selling point at the moment (especially in the genres I read) is spice rating and I don't understand it either.
I’m 39 and YA has been hit or miss genre for me.
@@Showtunediva I understand, I personally enjoy upper YA more 🤩
I'm very happy for you ❤bonne continuations
Manga publishers are some of the worst for misaligning spines and changing the logos during series
It's the worst! 😖
Thank you so much for doing this video. Let people read books the way they want to like physical books, eBooks, or audiobooks. Let people read whichever genre they like; an adult should be able to read YA without judgement. I hate it when the publisher changes the book designs in a series.
You're so welcome 🤗. And I absolutely agree! We should just be happy that more people and getting back into reading 🥰. Changing the design in the middle of a series gives me anxiety 😬
4:53 I also feel that you’re kinda policing reviewers after opposing shaming others like two seconds ago LOL. numerical ratings are so arbitrary in the first place so truly what significance does a 1 star review hold? hurting the books and authors? well people should start thinking for themselves and not judging a book based off a goodreads (slop of a website) rating scale. reading any part of a book is a reading experience your logic is a bit of a fallacy. I’m truly trying to hear you out here but these points are not well developed.
@witchreads Star ratings can hurt authors. A low star rating means that the book was not well received and fewer people will end up reading it. And unfortunately, the majority of people will be influenced not to give it a chance. And to answer the first and last part of your comment, I am not policing reviews, I am stating that I am against giving a star rating if you just read some pages of an entire novel. And in my opinion, a few pages do not form an experience.
@ navigating the world based off of others opinions is truly a bleak life to live. star ratings hold no merit. let’s leave being unable to form our own critical thoughts in 2024 as well. happy holidays!
I definitely stay in my own lane when it comes to darker romance books, I would never look down upon anyone who does read them! I love the fact that people read period!
@@nicolewimbley8653 Love that! Well said 👏🩷
Jealousy! That’s what I believe is why there’s so many dislikes on those videos! I love seeing different special editions in content creators libraries!
This is an ongoing issue! The changes in the middle of a series! 🤬🤬🤬
@nicolewimbley8653 Me too!! Even if I own the book, I love seeing people unbox it and watching their reaction and hear their thoughts about the art and everything 🥰. I also very much enjoy watching other people's bookshelves (tours and organizations) 😍. I have no words to express how much I hate when they change the design of ongoing series and not give us options to have matching books 💔
/s I see.. I understand... For next year I will set my reading goal to 100 books and if I don't reach it I will never read anything else again!! And!! I'll make sure to police your book hauls for next year!! Gotta make sure you know I don't like where you're spending your hard earned money!! /s I think some people when they ask for 🌶 is because they don't understand what an YA book is... it has to be. LET ME TELL YOU about the Kingdom of the Wicked series(paperback) they changed the logo for the 2nd book... randomly.. it's back to the same on the 3rd one. I checked - double checked and it was the same publisher it's so annoying! I don't like looking at it :(. I wish publishers would leave behind awful fake book stickers... if you wanna put it.. just put the one with glue.. I hate the ones printed on the cover T-T.
@Muxl The first part of your comment cracked me up 🤣🤣🤣. OMG YESSSS the stickers!!! How did I forget about them! Especially the printed ones, as you said😬 I don't care if it got a Netflix show or if it's a New York Times Best Seller😤
So many amazing points and I agree with every single one! Why can’t people just be kind and be happy that so many people get enjoyment from reading. Books are art and the enjoyment will be subjective by nature, it’s not a hard concept! 😂I will also probably be reading YA books for as long as I live, good stories have no age limit 💕
Exactly! Well said 👏 🥰
YA used to be called Teenage here which I think was probably more accurate a name as it covers 13-17 and I wouldn't call a 13 year old a young adult 😅
Me neither tbh 😄
Just as you don't understand them, they don't understand you. There are many factors that influence the viewing of your videos. Often common sense disappears. Common sense clothes personality and without it personality and without it people are vulnerable. That's when those who watch you "attack you". Don't judge them... try to be empathetic even if they are not with you.