I feel like pressing the follow button is not quite the focal point of the Pagebound experience (I'm newer to this space so keep that in mind) so much so that it feels secondary and honestly I forget sometimes that it's an option. That being said, when I do remember that following accounts is an option, I realize that I look for specific things to inspire me to press the follow button. The main things that draw me to an account include at least somewhat overlapping tastes, an absence of certain authors I don't trust 🫣, engaging bios that clue me into your personality/interests, and/or evidence that you engage with these forums because at the end of the day if I'm interested in your taste I'm also interested in what you have to say💁🏽‍♀️

What compels you to click follow?

Cathy Jr. = young Simba Nelly Dean = Zazu Thrushcross Grange = Pride Rock Wuthering Heights = the elephant graveyard Edgar Linton = (a much less hot) Mufasa Heathcliff = Scar

Quite literally founded in the text when Nelly Dean calls Heathcliff’s proposal they stay longer at WH as “entirely out of the question” - a direct Zazu quote from I Just Can’t Wait to be King

I was watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and I realized that most of the books I read have main characters with family problems and/or lots of trauma.😂

What are some books that you have read that you’ve noticed have a lot of things in common?

I loved reading everyone's answers yesterday about their book experiences. It's the first day of a month so I'm going to do a simple question.

What is the first book you want to read in March? Alternatively: is there a book you wanted to read in February that you didn't finish.

I didn't manage to finish Heated Rivalry in February, much to my own annoyance, so I'm trying to finish that. The first book I want to read for March is Enchanting the Fae Queen by Stephanie Burgis

We all have authors that we will read basically anything they write, and there has to be a least favorite in any group of books.

What is your least favorite book by a favorite author?

Did you still love the book, like it, or do you question how they wrote such a bad book?

Why do you think this book is different from the rest?

Ps- feel free to include one you think represents what the author does well for a starting point for other readers

With the use of emojis on our reviews, I wanted to kind of just ask a weird question, especially after seeing the theater masks being the featured emoji a minute ago. PB also kind of encourages emojis when we discover books / review books. When I read reviews on here I use my accessibility reader and my phones accessibility reader reads emojis as their proper name. Like take:

🎭 is spoken as “Theater masks representing the performance arts.” 👁️‍🗨️ is spoken as “Eye in a speech bubble representing the anti bullying campaign.”

But I’ve used 🎭 to represent masking, and 👁️‍🗨️ to represent a curse, because that’s how I interpret the emoji visually.

Like take 🎐 since its formal name is ‘wind chime’ people can take it as face value, but I interpret it as summer / windy days. And how 🙏🏼 is usually seen as praying hands but it’s most common use is two people high fiving.

So I just wanted to ask if anyone has used emojis that usually mean one thing, but because it reminds you of something else, you use it a different way? Or if you’ve used an emoji to find out later it has a different meaning? And if you’ve used seemingly simple emojis that actually have a deeper meaning than its emoji suggests.

What is a book or series you would recommend that you believe everyone should read in their lifetime? Even if they tell you it’s not their type of genre or style etc. You just really believe it’s worth giving a chance.

There’s a lot of discourse already on fanfic being published, but I’d like to focus on craft. I do believe that some fanfics are novel-worthy but I’m not sure if that means I’ll accept an adapted fanfic as a novel.

I recently finished a book and realised it started as a fanfic. As well-written and researched as it is, my first thought was, “Oh, that explains.” Which I find might be unfair because prior to finding out, I wasn’t judging it as much, but suddenly knowing that fact, the metrics changed. I value fanfics a lot and I do not think of them as lesser than published works, but I really can’t deny that my perception and opinions are changed once I discover fanfic roots. And I really don’t quite understand why.

And this also has me wondering about the way stories are structured. By all means, the rules for fanfic- and novel-writing are the same regardless of medium. Perhaps some rules or considerations are ignored in fanfic because the focus is different, but this can happen with novels as well. However, when manuscripts are put through the editing process, these considerations get brought up again to be discussed and maybe the manuscript gets changed. So why does published fanfic still feel at times like fanfic? With Red, White and Royal Blue (which iinm isn’t published fanfic but Casey McQuiston started as a fanfic writer? please lmk), I found the story very indulgent and somewhat removed from reality. Which is fine! But definitely something I’d expect more from a fanfic than a published novel.

At the same time, I also do wonder if my perceptions are coloured by what I read. There are a lot of “less serious” books out there that I generally don’t go for. Could it be that? But let’s be very real, a lot of books are wish fulfilment, fantasy power trips or what have you. What makes published fanfic different that I judge them differently?

Apologies for the directionless ruminations but I’d love to hear your thoughts! Especially for published fanfic that definitely do stand alone and aren’t just that bit confusing when divorced from the source material. Oh and happy Sunday!

Has anyone else won a giveaway? i never check my emails so i was pleasantly surprised to open a package that contained and ARC of Family Drama!