Books #40

[StephenTJackson]

same. i’m almost positive most of them are reviews paid for by the publisher too - so are never unbiased. i’ve been burnt way too many times and am still angry they keep pushing the boys of tommen as a romance.

the amount i’ve seen about them only reading dialogue and stuff too. like you say, completely a numbers game (look how much i’ve read this week! look at my book haul! etc)

I call them "sugar books", books that are perfectly good books, easy to read, but not special books.

You read them, quickly because they are easy reads, you enjoy it, but you put it down after you've read it and you move on, you wouldn't slag it off, but you wouldn't also particularly recommend it to anyone.

There is nothing wrong with these books in general, I read plenty myself, the sort of thing you pick up in The Works, supermarkets, train station etc. They don't tend to be special. But they fill a need. It's a little hit of sugar to satisfy you, but you get a sugar crush after it because it doesn't stay with you at all.

But you need books that give you more. Things that make you fall in love with reading and make reading truly worth your time.

 

[veronica71]

Can I say that as lovely as it is to have a reading goal….please don’t be hard on yourself if you’ve not met it. It’s all a bit of fun and life has a habit of getting in the way of our books! And if you’ve read one book this year it’s more than a lot of people!

(Steps off my I’m not sure quantifying everything is good for us soap box)

 

[Tofino]

My reading numbers aren’t as big as many here but I’ve just finished my 21st book of the year, which is a major milestone for me as it’s the most books I’ve ever read in a calendar year. Ever! my target is 24 books and have a few easy Xmas reads lined up so I’m confident I’ll reach it.

Here’s my history to show how little I used to read even though i knew I enjoyed it once I got started.

 

[daisynoon]

Question on Reddit about the works of Jane Austen...

 

[daisynoon]

Spotify Wrapped sent me a message from Lucy Jane Wood, thanking me for listening to the Uncharmed audiobook... if they allowed ratings, this wouldn't have happened.

 

[veronica71]

 

[Hannahebee]

It has just been revealed in the last 2 minutes that Sophie Kinsella has died

 

[veronica71]

 

[ordinaryjelly]

I reached my Goodreads target at the beginning of November. 261/260.

Stand out books of the year -

Martyr by Kaveh Akbar
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Foster by Claire Keegan
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

Now at 273 books. Perks of being bed bound I guess. Little holidays in my head.

 

[Tofino]

My book finally arrived from America!

It’s an ex-library book, from Concord Public Library in Massachusetts. Quite fun knowing its history.

I purchased it from Better World Books through AbeBooks. Can recommend if anyone is after something specific. AbeBooks has different sellers so check reviews like any marketplace. I could have ordered directly from Better World Books but it was cheaper through AbeBooks (which I think is owned by Amazon!).

 

[veronica71]

I bought some more books I didn't really need I gave a charity a donation today

 

[ordinaryjelly]

Happy Christmas to the best book enablers on the internet.

I hope you can all find time to read a few pages today and have lovely days.

Looking forward to hearing about any book gifts!

 

[StephenTJackson]

I’ve not read any Freida McFadden yet, I know she’s a tiktok favourite but also controversial, and I saw earlier today that she has four books in the Sunday Times Top 10 this week.

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I refuse to read Freida McFadden on principle because there seems to be a new one every 5 minutes.

Either AI, or a team of ghostwriters. I just can't believe the are well written books. And it just feels like it leans in to the BookTok chasing numbers thing again

 

[LaBlonde]

How do you guys rate books (I wish goodreads had ten stars instead of five). I used to rate most things 4 or 5 if I thought it was alright, but then sometimes I’ll see a book I rated five a few years ago and not remember a single thing about it!

mine are usually:

1 star - hated it, will either immediately donate it and feel sorry for who pics it up or let it fall into the where the crawdads sing book graveyard behind my bookshelf. don’t want to look at it or see it ever again.

2 stars - not as much hate as above but usually something about it really annoyed me will also donate.

3 stars - fine, enjoyed it, won’t keep it and will have no lasting impact. if it’s the first of a series i likely won’t read the rest.

4 stars - liked very much, will probably keep, might seek out other books by the author. would recommend to others.

5 stars - perfection no notes. will keep forever, won’t recommend in case someone doesn’t like it and i feel sad, give a fond look whenever i pass it on one of my bookcases

 

[Harlot O'Scara]

Yay!

I know reading goals aren't everything but it helps me keep motivated even if I'm not sure I'll hit the target. Good luck to anybody else still working towards a goal

 

[wishiniwasskinny]

CJ Meade (@cjfmeade) on Threads

Dear Goodreads, I do not want to see my Year in Books until 12:00am on Jan. 1. Until then, I STILL HAVE TIME, DAMN IT.

www.threads.com

How we all feel about Year of Books

 

[nbt]

Christmas book haul! I’m going to try and make physical books a bedtime reading thing. Phone down as soon as I get into bed and then pick up a book instead.

 

[SaintLeo]

I refuse to read Freida McFadden on principle because there seems to be a new one every 5 minutes.

Either AI, or a team of ghostwriters. I just can't believe the are well written books. And it just feels like it leans in to the BookTok chasing numbers thing again

I refuse to believe she’s a real person! Let’s not forget Freida McFadden is a pseudonym because she is also allegedly a practicing doctor specialising in brain injuries. A medical career and the time to churn out as many books as she does? Not buying it!

 

[StrawberryBanana90]

My November reads! I’ve just finished Thunderhead tonight and I’m loving the Scythe series! I have the next one from the library ready to go as well so that’s my plan for the rest of the evening

 

[Tofino]

This bookish joke was in my christmas cracker:

A book just fell on my head…

I’ve only got my shelf to blame