Books #36

[veronica71]

Not at all i love hearing how other people do things! I tend to buy the first in a series then put the 2nd on my wish list if I enjoy it and keep an eye on the charity shops for the next ones, or on the 99p deals. If I really like the series and can't find them cheap, I will buy them one at a time.

this!! I love reading all about how people choose books etc! One day I’ll tell you all about my ten category organised Amazon wish lists

 

[SaintLeo]

The meme thread is slagging us off....

View attachment 3529517

 

[ordinaryjelly]

@ordinaryjelly you are the book version of someone with a capsule wardrobe with your very small tbr. Something I aspire to but I’m not sure it’s ever going to happen!

It is my goal and one I am going to try really hard to stick to. I am a sucker for special editions, sprayed edges, clothbound classics. So I don't know if I can make exceptions for those and that is where the pile begins again.

I asked my husband approx. how many books do I have at home and he said probably just over 1,500. I have bookcases everywhere. I have all my child hood books (Famous Five, Mallory Towers and there are many of those etc.) They are all before books. I have read about 600 of them - including my actual tbr that I had with me here. The others are not on my tbr and while keeping then makes the place look pretty if (and it is unlikely to happen ) I get to go home I will either just keep them on the book cases that are out of the way or filter through and donate.

But 8 is the goal. We will see how it goes. I hope I don't break it with in the first few weeks I want to only choose books that fit me then so I will read them there and then. They either file them to the bookcase or donate pile.

 

[wishiniwasskinny]

I’ve just collected the new Emily Henry, Great Big Beautiful Life from the library. Brand new book, hard back. I’ve just started The Great Alone and will have to whip through that this week so I can start this as I imagine it will be on hold for other readers!

 

[Chocolategoggler]

My April reads/listens:

 

[ordinaryjelly]

I am just starting book 5 of the five remaining ones on my tbr. When I have less than 20% remaining in my last Kindle book I am going to order my four paperback books, to start my new reading.

- The Profiler by Helen Fields
- Keep Her Secret by Mark Edwards
- All Good People by Ashley Flowers
- A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

Unless anyone has crime, detective, psychological thriller books to recommend?!

 

[ToxicPony]

No. Books and book shops should be temples of critical thinking. The patronising tiptoe approach to difficult subjects does us all a disservice. We're all alive today because our ancestors suffered unimaginable difficulties so we can definitely handle uncomfortable texts that agitate against our values. Humans are wonderfully resilient. Trigger warnings spilled over from academia, they shouldn't be adopted by publishing. Just avoid a book if you're not up to a particular subject.

Of course you're entitled to your own opinion here, but I'm curious as to what you think trigger warnings ARE, if not a way to help people avoid the book like you say?

For full disclosure, my personal interest in trigger warnings relates to my own OCD. OCD is one of many mental health conditions, in this case incurable, that can be severely triggered and leave someone spiralling for months in a pit of debilitating mental health issues. For example, I spent months barely able to sleep or eat because I came across an episode of television relating to rabies, one of my personal triggers. Now I'm not suggesting books should have trigger warnings for rabies - it's far too specific and we can't set up the whole world for one person to never come across it. But broad and known to be very commonly upsetting topics like suicide or child loss? I just don't see why not to do that.

 

[StephenTJackson]

Reese Witherspoon has written a book with Harlan Coben

They are all at it. Writing books with prolific writers. At least it's very clear they aren't solo writing the book. Unlike all the ones that are ghostwritten and not made clear. Even if I don't think they write much more than an idea and some subject specific knowledge.

The one Dolly Parton did with James Patterson was turgid mediocre shite.

 

[Viewfinder]

I don't need new books, but I couldn't resist double points. So, I've pre-ordered paperbacks of The Will of the Many, The Wedding People and The Two Loves of Sophie Strom.

 

[anniemouse]

I have this from the library. I love her books.

 

[LaBlonde]

I was going to add to my tbr but apparently it causes amnesia?

and now we have @ToxicPony on the list too?!

does this book contain some kind of memory wiping spell the next person here who reads it needs to put a full synopsis in the thread while there’s still time

 

[Libbylulu]

It’s taken me weeks to read something beyond the first couple of chapters. My reading mojo has been in the pits for months BUT ….. today I struck gold with Miss Benson’s Beetle. It’s exactly what I needed and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It’s heading towards a 5. I’ve not been able to put it down. A perfect read to lift someone from the doldrums.

 

[wishiniwasskinny]

I’m still reading The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. I’m really enjoying it, I read The nightingale a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed it. Read The Women earlier this year and thought it was ok. But I really like the story and main character of The Great Alone

 

[StephenTJackson]

Had an ad hoc counselling session in the bookshop about my tbr list........
Picked up some books and then spent ages on my phone trying to see if I had them already in my tbr list or on hold from the library. This attracted the attention of an assistant who came over to see if I was ok/needed any help, so I had to explain.
She then told me about her tbr list and bookcases, so I left with one book feeling less like a nutter - knowing there's other people out there who are just as bad as me.

Waterstones staff are such enablers in my experience. I know it's partly their job, but you can tell it's also their passion as well for many of them.

 

[StephenTJackson]

So, no double points, but £10 gift card if you spend £75, excluding preorders? I don't know if I can justify it, I could probably make it happen including preorders but I went for a recent Harper Collins 50% off, so I'm very well-stocked at the moment

Even though it was my payday on Tuesday, and I deserve a treat after doing 47hours overtime last month. I'm gonna be a good boy, I'm not even gonna look. I'm trying to have some low spend months.

And I still have mountains on the shelves to work my way through.

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Of course you're entitled to your own opinion here, but I'm curious as to what you think trigger warnings ARE, if not a way to help people avoid the book like you say?

For full disclosure, my personal interest in trigger warnings relates to my own OCD. OCD is one of many mental health conditions, in this case incurable, that can be severely triggered and leave someone spiralling for months in a pit of debilitating mental health issues. For example, I spent months barely able to sleep or eat because I came across an episode of television relating to rabies, one of my personal triggers. Now I'm not suggesting books should have trigger warnings for rabies - it's far too specific and we can't set up the whole world for one person to never come across it. But broad and known to be very commonly upsetting topics like suicide or child loss? I just don't see why not to do that.

I agree with you. It can be cause for a mental health spiral for me. So Ive not to read ever because I should just be resilient?

People can be recovering from eating disorders, suicide attempts or anything. The same way
recovering alcoholics often cant enter a pub I think it makes sense to know if a book is going to cover a triggering topic for you.

Of course not everything can be covered and I don't think anyone is pretend or insinuating it could be.

Edit - its not about pain, its about self harm and the consequences of a trigger. If you dont need a trigger warning, ignore it. I cannot see why you'd begrudge someone else it.

It also does not correlate to a reader being unable to do any sort of critical thinking. They are two separate paths.

 

[HoGi]

Hope you’re doing as well as you can and have a fly and flop holiday on the horizon (followed by your own book filled home).

Feeling alright at the moment. No holidays booked as of yet, but tempted to book a few days at an all inclusive on my own just to see how I feel about holidaying alone.

 

[Blueblue123]

I was going to add to my tbr but apparently it causes amnesia?

And me!

Same

According to goodreads I read A flicker in the dark and rated it 4 but cannot for the life me remember anything about it

 

[ordinaryjelly]

Oh and I enjoyed A Flicker In The Dark, so twisty! 4*. I thought for a debut novel it was brilliant.

I will give it a while then revisit and see if the amnesia has set in.

 

[Phil Anne Throw Pee]

Oh now there’s a question…should books have trigger warnings ?

No. You get the gist of a plot from the summary and if it's obvious it's about something personally triggering - i.e. suicide, infertility, etc then you should have the intelligence to avoid it.