i did a very brief search of the club to see if this had been a topic discussed before, but i didn't seem to see something that satisfied my curiosity, so i'm posing the question now: how do you determine the difference between a "final thoughts" forum post, and a review? i see so many "final thoughts" in my feed that seem better suited to a review, but i'm just not sure if it's my own personal preference or what. i do wonder if it's because reviews from people you don't follow aren't pushed into the feed, so maybe it's about widening the reach of your thoughts? but i'm not someone who frequently posts in the forum, so maybe i'm just not fully seeing the picture here.

i'm really interested on what people think!

Me when I'm a giant bug but also a businessman.

I know that technically “The Yellow Wallpaper” may not classify under gothic literature, but I do find it follows similar themes to gothic lit classics. Could we add that here?

Okay, so back in September, I started scheduling my reading, and for that first month, it went perfectly. I read my allotted pages every day and kept on track, and I've been scheduling my reading the same way ever since, but I haven't been able to keep up. So, for anyone who plans or schedules their reading to try and fit it in during the day, please help me. How do you keep on track?

For context, I'm good at staying on track with my ebook in bed since I always go to bed at 9 and read until around 10 or however long it takes me to read around 5 chapters but I can't seem to keep on track with my audiobook listening during the day. And you can find my schedules here on Canva, if you want to see how I typically plan out my reading.

I really want to push myself for 2026 to plan out my reading every month, so that 1. I'm reading every day and 2. I'm able to read at a steady pace. I've found this year that some days I will turn the audiobook on and then feel pressured to finish it by the end of the day, which is why I decided to plan my reading out, but now I'm worried I might be scheduling too many books per month?? I'd love to get other people's opinions on this because I'm not sure what to change.

(Let me preface this by saying I mostly rate based on vibes, so I’m not judging how anyone rates their reads!)

I was recently watching a few videos on booktube about star rating systems. One creator (Life on Books) mentioned that he doesn’t rate his reads because star rating systems are so different for everyone that they aren’t effective for what people try and use them for. Another creator (Ian Gubeli) mentioned that he is trying to adjust his rating system to include more literary criticism, which I thought was interesting. My current rating system is based on how much I liked it and if I’d recommend it to others, but I find that it is pretty 4-5 star heavy. Ian’s updated rating system informally averages use of literary themes, character depth, artistic prose, and if they provoke discussion. I’m trying to figure out if I could combine that in some way with my current system, and if that would be meaningful or useful.

What are your thoughts on book star ratings? What criteria do you use to come to a decision about a book’s rating? (Also I’d highly recommend both of these videos!)

never in my life have i heard the work “nuking” be used to mean microwaving 😭

Hi everyone! A friend and I are going to do PowerPoint presentations to talk about books we read this year, that we're going to present to each other for New Year's Eve. We want to add some categories like "saddest book", "funniest book", "most insufferable character", "worst line",... Do you have any ideas for some other categories?

Here is the scene: Your very good friend purchase a book that they believe both of you will enjoy. The friend then reads said book & annotates it for you. Upon finishing the book, they then send it to you as a gift.

Here is the question: While you are reading said gift-book, would it be rude to annotate alongside your friends original annotations? Responding to their notes or adding onto their theories? Are there “proper” mannerisms or etiquettes for reading an annotates book?

🤔 xoxo

Does anyone else find a book they like so much that they’re hesitant to read anything else from that author? this is me with the metamorphosis by Kafka. i feel like it’s such a one of off, wacky, existential, novella that i almost can’t read anything else by him. what ifs not as good? or completely lacks what made me love the first book i read by that author?