Okay Boundlings, I fear this may get me kicked out of PB (jokes) but I have to know if anybody else here is a freak like me...

Does anybody else dog ear their books? Just your own physical copies, not a borrowed book! I have alwayssss just folded over the page I'm on for any book I own. When it's a borrowed book from a friend or library then I make sure I have bookmarks (even if it's just a receipt), but for my own.. down the corner goes. I find it really satisfying and I love to look back when I'm re-reading a book and see where I've paused previously. I find it comforting haha. I also believe that books should be loved and used, so I don't really care if I make a food stain (lol oops) or slightly rip a page or something. I also will break the spine of the book to make it easier to read. 😅 My cats growing up used to bite the side of my books, so a bunch of books I have from my youth have little teeth marks on them. When I look at them I just remember my little kitties and it makes me really happy!

To be clear I really value books! I've never been wealthy, so bought a lot of my books second hand or received them as gifts. When I lend them out I expect people to take care of them, but I also don't get mad if shit happens. Like once a friend left my book in her car with the window accidentally down and it got rained on and ruined, but I didn't mind. It was an accident!

I know most people are really really careful with their books, so I'm just curious if I'm alone in this.

Please other freaks, let yourselves be known (or not, nothing is gonna change me at this point haha) 💗

So something I noticed is that a lot of people whose careers are focused on book reviews and discussion don't end up getting high recognition for the books they've written themselves

The most recent example is Cindy Pham whose debut got a mostly negative response

Which I find really interesting considering Cindy's videos do a decent job at dissecting bad writing (even though to me at least Cindy focuses too much on line to line critiques than the full book overall, but I only watch their videos time to time)

And then I remembered book/writing creators like Jenna Moreci (I found one channel that dissed her book in like 6 seperate hour long videos) and others also get mostly mid receptions of their own books

In my opinion, I think that while the skill of dissecting someone's writing is still connected to the act of writing itself, it is still a seperate skill, and doesn't mean one is automatically good at both, but people think it does so they write a book regardless of their skill level

And I'm not trying to say that "content creators can't write books" because xjz wrote iron widow and is a youtuber and I've seen a lot of love for iron widow

I just think that people who percieve themselves as skilled in a thing don't always know how weak their skills are

What do you all think?

Hi all!

I’ve been thinking about the kind of books I like and what I tend to rate 5 stars, and the themes (or I suppose maybe tropes is a better word?) that seem to come up surprisingly often in the books I love. I’ve noticed some of them are very specific, and wondered if anyone else has very specific things you enjoy reading about in books.

My top specific topics are:

• Books about Tea
• Creepy Sentient Forests
• Female Rage or Revenge in a fantasy/academic setting
• Books Featuring Tarot Cards (or similar, but especially if magic is linked to them)

Also if you have any recommendations please let me know, especially if it fits more than one of the topics.

in honour of the Backrooms film being released this month, I’m looking for books with that weird, creepy, liminal space vibe. pretty much like Severance on Apple tv! or even Pan’s Labrinyth? something along the lines of characters finding a world that shouldn’t exist, that defies the logic of the normal world, becoming trapped, and it’s either empty or has monsters. i’m not fussed by either! if there aren’t any books exactly like this, then something close would be appreciated too. i love horror as a genre but i’m still quite new to it, other than classics like The Exorcist. 👻

New ick is the word “balls” when referring to male anatomy. Really took me out of the scene. Will be reporting back soon for a more detailed review. I have some things to say. edit: i had NO IDEA that this would blow up. thank you guys lol pls do not start a war. i didn’t mean to abandon you guys 🥺 i should been more detailed in my stance lol. i just dont think anything regarding draining, refilling, or slapping or like anything to do with balls should be in the scene 😭😭😭 cause i’m like 🤨 whenever im really into something and it’s like “yeah i can feel my balls slapping” LIKE EW NO BAD NO squirt bottle.

The other day I read this take on Twitter: 'If you care about spoilers in books you need to grow up. The only thing that should matter to you as a grown adult is form.'

Now, I did my undergrad in screenwriting. I still enjoy close-reading classics, reading essays on literature, and engaging in literary analysis. I also prefer to go into books knowing as little as possible and get annoyed when someone ruins what would've otherwise been a firsthand experience for me.

I got ragebaited into writing several paragraphs on how form and content aren't entirely separable concepts; how there are very few writers (mainly modernists) whose work is almost entirely concerned with form and thus cannot be spoiled in any capacity (e.g., Joyce or Woolf) and even those writers embed meaning in revelation; how 'spoiler' doesn't exclusively apply to shocking plot twists; and how some of us want to experience what we're reading firsthand and form our own opinions without pre-existing ideas coloring our experience.

I gave up mid-writing and was like 'whatever,' but I still think about it and wish I had gotten into an online argument and settled the case lol

What are some literary takes that ragebaited you recently? Let's hear them 🫵🏻 🫶🏻 💅🏻

Hello hoomans! Good morning from my side of the world. Can't believe we are halfway through May. I hope everyone's reading is going well.

Have you ever read a book where you paused and say: you know what that's a valid reason to be a villian? 😅😂

So tell me, if you were to be a villian in a story what will be your origin story? 😆 NOTE: It can only because of inconvenience/pettiness. Nothing too serious like someone died. For example: all your ex-boyfriends keep bringing you pads when you ask them to buy you tampons. 😂😂

For me it will be, my barista keeps making my iced coffee watered down with barely any ice and too much milk. 🤫😮‍💨 OR telling me my dog is just a "dog" and not my baby. 😒

PS. As they say, we're all villians on someone elses story. 😉

Do you have a book that you’ve been eyeing, but haven’t followed through on reading?

Drop a book you’re considering reading and let others reply with a gif that matches that book’s vibes/mood/theme - spoiler free though!

Maybe you’ll get some extra motivation to read it, or maybe you’ll get that sign that it’s not for you!

Happy reading, Boundlings! Wishing everyone a lovely upcoming weekend 🩷☀️🌿

Okay Boundlings, I fear this may get me kicked out of PB (jokes) but I have to know if anybody else here is a freak like me...

Does anybody else dog ear their books? Just your own physical copies, not a borrowed book! I have alwayssss just folded over the page I'm on for any book I own. When it's a borrowed book from a friend or library then I make sure I have bookmarks (even if it's just a receipt), but for my own.. down the corner goes. I find it really satisfying and I love to look back when I'm re-reading a book and see where I've paused previously. I find it comforting haha. I also believe that books should be loved and used, so I don't really care if I make a food stain (lol oops) or slightly rip a page or something. I also will break the spine of the book to make it easier to read. 😅 My cats growing up used to bite the side of my books, so a bunch of books I have from my youth have little teeth marks on them. When I look at them I just remember my little kitties and it makes me really happy!

To be clear I really value books! I've never been wealthy, so bought a lot of my books second hand or received them as gifts. When I lend them out I expect people to take care of them, but I also don't get mad if shit happens. Like once a friend left my book in her car with the window accidentally down and it got rained on and ruined, but I didn't mind. It was an accident!

I know most people are really really careful with their books, so I'm just curious if I'm alone in this.

Please other freaks, let yourselves be known (or not, nothing is gonna change me at this point haha) 💗

I’ve been a bit down recently and looking for a pick me up. I’m trying to avoid a sad/stressful read. Any recommendations for books that are genuinely just a fun and quick read? I read mostly general fiction but always down for a fantasy, romance or mystery book! ✨

I'm doing my bachelors in mechanical engineering and tomorrow will be my analytical geometry final (an oral exam😭😭) wish me luck plsss🫶🫶 to everyone in pb that is in uni/studying (especially my stem girlies) I'm sending big hug to all of you!!🫂🫂🫂We can do ittt💖💖💖✨️✨️ and remember that as soon as the exams are done we can read moreee

This is something that has bothered me since I was a kid, but I feel like I'm noticing it more and more: bookmarks made out of wood, leather, quilted fabric, crochet, 3D printed etc. all 2mm or more thick. Do people actually use these? If so, how/why?

I've always felt like they would mess up my books, and even if not, the extra bulk would drive me bonkers. I can't see myself ever using anything thicker than cardstock. I've always wondered who's making/using these. I've only ever gotten them as gifts from people who don't read lol

Just a bit of fun! I sometimes forget to select the user tab on phone, and on web sometimes I search for people to go and see what cool things they've been reading but I get a bit lazy

Because of this, I've accidentally landed on Jimmy Kimmels's The Serious Goose way too many times to count when going to check out what @SeriousGoose is up to. Or I decide to go see @daydreamday and end up staring at Daydream (Maple Hills, #3) by Hannah Grace wondering why I clicked on it without thinking 😆 There are other people like @yourartistfriend where I have never been lost though!

SO when you search your name (or username) under the book search, does a book come up? What is it?

Mine is Avalon by Anya Seton - which is one of many books with 'Avalon' in the title. But I still haven't read it.

P.S. If you haven't checked out @ayzrules's Pagebound User Book Cameo list, its fun and semi-related to this.

If I had a nickel for every Japanese novel I've read that has a bookshop, a cat, and a reference to The Little Prince, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

Meme format aside, the last Japanese novel I read, The Cat Who Saved Books, also referenced The Little Prince. This might not seem significant to most, but it's one of my all time favourite stories, so it makes me very happy.

And the included Spotify playlist?? Plus the whole list written out?? Incredible.

Based on the prologue alone, I have a feeling I'm gonna be in for an emotional ride. Especially with this playlist playing softly in the background.

BRING ON THE EMOTIONS.

ETA--Thanks for all of the comments; I've been preparing for a Board meeting, which I'll be in all day today, but I'll be reading through all of the responses. It is fun to get to know more about each of you in the community here!

I have a hypothesis that people who really like reading--enough to be in a community like this and to read a wide variety of books--were not only encouraged to read growing up but had a fair amount of latitude in what they read.

My mother didn't read very much but my father read all the time and the house was full of books. A little of everything, though mostly SF/F/H. We had everything from the Narnia books to LotR to very adult-oriented horror books. It was all open to me and my parents never policed my reading, so I read a bit of every type of book we had going back to at least 3rd or 4th grade.

I'm curious about the rest of you. Not necessarily a no-boundaries childhood when it came to reading, but whether you felt like books were encouraged and you were mostly given the freedom to explore them on your own.

What is your favourite book genre and why? Because personally my favorite is fantasy and romance because the worlds just whisk me away from then current state of the world! But I cannot read non-fiction as my mind physically zones out and I cannot keep focus on it. I also cannot read horror as it kind of freaks me out and makes me paranoid but I'm open to ready sci-fi but I have no idea what to read in that part of the genres... Any suggestion? Open to sci-fi and romance and fantasy recommendations!

Do you prefer shorter chapters but there are a lot more chapters in the book, or fewer long chapters?

I personally prefer my chapters to be shorter so then I feel like I'm making more progress faster. And because I like to stop at the end of a chapter it makes it easier for me to read in shorter bursts when the chapters are shorter.