How many paused books do you guys have? And will you get back to them? I use it as a soft DNF, knowing i'll eventually read it (it might be a year, oops) but sometimes I do DNF eventually. Would love to know your thoughts :)

I don’t know how many of you have seen it but apparently the author has posted something online about how nothing in his books are social commentary and he doesn’t want it to be social commentary and if you are seeing some sort of political underlying themes then it’s because you’re reading too much into it.

I think that’s very interesting when you consider how much of this book is a social commentary because even the climate change thing in the classroom where some people told their child that the climate change isn’t real is a good example and on top of that the way that Grace was used for the purpose of humanity despite him not wanting to is social commentary and ultimately the way that strap knew that because people are going to get restless in the coming years she was very likely going to go to jail or become a scape goat for the government that is social commentary and it’s a commentary of how political leaders treat the people who are trying to do good things because of their own self interest. All literature has an underlying message because literature is meant to portray a person’s character.

Everything exists in a political context - Aristotle

I've already read the master of djinn for the spring challenge and thought it was alright. I am reading goddess of the river rn and I think it's decent but not good, can't bring myself to care. I am 25% in rn and consider DNFing but then I won't get the pretty badge... 🤣 I don't know what to do now. I want the badge but I am not particularly eager to read books that are just alright.

What would you guys do? Also feel free to brag about your pretty badges.

If you had to pick one book to rate six out of six stars, what book would you choose? 👀

Bonus question: if all of Pagebound had to collectively decide on a singular book to rate six stars, what book do you think would have the best chance of collective agreement?

when i want to gift a book to someone (one they didn’t necessarily ask), i always get nervous because i don’t know if they’ll like what i picked for them or if i understood their taste pretty accurately.

i would say my last book-gift was pretty much a success because i bought the person Ariadne (their name is similar) and we both love greek mythology.

do you guys get nervous too or are you just good at gift giving? what’s the best book to give as a gift?

So, I dont particularly like to read in public public, but ill read at work. Like most of us, life gets busy and I try to sneak some reading in whenever I can, so I usually always bring my book or kindle to work with me. Most people ignore it and mind their own business, but every so often a customer will ask "Whatchya reading?". Now friends..here is where I always get my feelings hurt. Because without fail my mind goes strait to "Oh! Yay! A book person!" And Ill tell them what im reading......and 99.9% of the time the response is "Oh..cool....I dont really like to read".......... THEN WHY DID YOU ASK ME?!?! And what am I suposed to say next?!? I dont understand. Why even say something of you dont like books? You could have kept on going. Could have just left me alone.

So that brings me here to you lovely people. Do you read in public? Do people make comments? Good? Bad? What are your experiences?

I've seen a few posts about pet peeves regarding phrases, or trends, etc etc, and thought they were really fun. Seeing how different, or similar people think and feel. So, I'm taking inspiration again. What are you most ridiculous, irrational, maybe unfair, bookish pet peeves? As ridiculous as you can get!

To start the thread, I'll say an unfair, ridiculous pet peeve of mine is when someone won't read a book only because it has a high page count. Is that affecting me at all? No, no it isn't. Ultimately, I don't care what people read, I'm not sitting up at night in agony because someone won't read that 800-page novel; seeing it being said though, for some reason, irks me. Crazy-ness I know. I'm ashamed.

Remember: We're all friends here, and this is in lighthearted good fun! So, if someone comments a pet peeve that you might do, don't take it to heart, read how you enjoy reading. If someone does a pet peeve you may have, don't make them feel bad, they're reading how they enjoy reading and so are you. Either way reading should be celebrated!

Stay creepy lovies, Crow

I was wondering how everyone felt about references to things in our current world, such as brands and pop culture, in fictional worlds.

For me, unless its absolutely necessary for the plot/context, it will take me right out of the story, especially if it’s speculative fiction. For example, if it’s a contemporary fiction novel and you mention that a character has a Chanel handbag to display their wealth, I won’t typically have a problem with that. But a bit ago I was reading a sci-fi book that referenced TikTok (book was set like 50 years in the future) and it COMPLETELY took me out of the story. I also read a contemporary fantasy book semi-recently that mentioned someone using their iPhone. Just say cell phone! Specifying an iPhone is unnecessary! (Again, my opinion of course.)

I also saw that apparently the ebook version of Pretty Little Liars was edited a few years ago, it used to have a line that said “You guys want to come over and watch Fear Factor?” which now says “You guys want to come over and watch this cool Tik-Tok I found?” which just highlights another issue I have with references to real world companies/pop culture. It dates the book! The new line doesn’t even make sense! Who goes to someone’s house to watch a single TikTok?! Just use something generic!

How do y’all feel about that kind of thing?

Do you ever see an opinion in a book's forum or review that makes you so mad you have to close the app? I find that being on Pagebound makes me a LOT less angry than other social media apps (mostly thanks to how sweet everyone here is!), but sometimes it's tricky to see criticism of a book you love--or love for a book you despise. Do you see yourself as a book debater, or are you more likely to step away from a disagreement?