I'm only just starting this, but I'm already not loving the narrator, and all the decidedly negative comments in the book forum are discouraging me quite a bit. 🥲

Hey guys. I've not been reading these past few days but a question has been nagging my mind. Because I watch a lot of youtube videos and bookstagram and I see people owning like 5-6 editions of the same book and I'm like... Why? Is one not enough? (Sounds rude but it's a genuine question 😭) I personally do think that owning 5-6 editions of the same book is over consumption because it's a marketing tactic to increase sales and we're falling right into it. Kind of like musicians releasing 12 different versions of the same album. Like I get it. You want to support the author but you can do that buying their book once too. But I'm sure people disagree and I'm genuinely curious to know why. Why would one have multiple editions of the same book? Do let me know! I'd like to broaden my perspective on this.

This book helped me understand why I feel so much joy and gratitude whenever I go to a clothing swap or trade baked goods with my friends. This is how we are meant to cultivate relationships, not through transactional interactions. Sometimes people get confused when I tell them that I would never venmo request a friend of mine for buying them a coffee, and it's because I care more about building bonds of love and gratitude in our relationship than five dollars.

With Christmas not too far off and me putting aside the books I'm planning to take with me when visiting family, I was reminded of last years holidays which were especially fun because one relative went on and on about how fantasy and sci-fi aren't real literature. This started when another relative gifted me some of Sally Rooney's books so I'd have "something real to read for a change" - they meant it jokingly but it nevertheless started a rant that continued over several days (the entire time we shared a house for the holidays).

I mostly ignored the ranting person, we don't really get along anyways, but we will be sharing a house again this year for a couple of days and I can already feel a continuation of the rant coming and I'm wondering if there's some way to convince them that books written by someone other than Kafka or Murakami can be impactful and that just because something is fantasy or sci-fi doesn't mean it's entirely divorced from reality.

Any of you ever deal with similar situations? How did you handle them? Did you ignore them or argue with them? What arguments did you use?

EDIT: Thanks to all you lovely people! All your kind (and petty) words have reminded me that this person just isn't worth my energy. So while I'll probably try to be nice, I'll most likely just go back to ignoring them and, if that doesn't work, I now have some very fun and petty ideas about what to do next 😄

Also thank you for wishing me nice holidays despite having to be around someone like that. Luckily, they will only be there for a few days and I'll have lots of time before and after to enjoy my holidays - with tons of "bad" books, good food and far better company. I hope you all also have lovely holidays 😘

My bookish hot take is that people informing you authors are terfs, Zionist, racist, etc. is not policing what you are reading. People are actively pointing out the harm these authors cause so you have that information and if you chose to continue to support the authors after receiving this information then you don’t get to say people are bullying you/being toxic when they are just pointing out the harm your favorite authors are causing. If you’re uncomfortable maybe do some self reflection and drop the problematic authors.