I really enjoy opening up PB and liking all my friends' updates! Even if I haven't even heard of that book before, I'll still like their post to show that I support them and they're doing a great job 🫡 and then I'll comment if I want to know more, or to congratulate them on badges. Often I'll do this with non-mutuals too!

Do others do the same? Do you mostly engage with books you've read / are interested in reading? Or do you have a "likes are free, give them away freely" mentality? Also, do you engage with posts from people who you aren't currently following?

When you were younger and reading, who was the character you fell for? Looking back, do you think they influenced the kind of characters (or people) you’re drawn to now?

Mine was puck from the sisters Grimm series and will from the infernal devices! There were most likely more but I can’t remember off the top of my head and yes it influenced me lol

I have a few triggers that, when they appear unprompted in books, can cause me to spiral a bit into an anxious or depressive episode- naturally making reading unappealing because, what if the next book upsets me too?

I have found YA/New Adult Romantasy and silly smutty books can pull me out of that mood - but what do you do when a book upsets you and makes you scared to read again?

Sooo I thought of this question because I've been wedding-cake tasting: if your current read were a cake, what flavor would that cake be?

You can also say the flavor of the icing or even include a filling flavor! And if anyone is curious, my husband and I decided to do a pumpkin flavored cake with a browned butter buttercream with a cream cheese filling. 😋

I would say my last read, The Girl that fell beneath the sea, could be a vanilla cake with a salted caramel icing or filling somewhere. 😁

I’ve been thinking about this for a while and just occurred to me I could ask here! how aware are you of the overarching plot when you read? what elements do you focus on the most?

for me, my brain totally shuts down and I kinda take on the role of an observer. as a kid/teen, I was so good at accurately predicting the plot but now I kinda absorb everything as it’s happening so it’s almost like I’m just as surprised by the plot as the characters are. (still thinking critically ofc but also not super tuned-in either if that makes sense?)

now that I’ve been engaging with forum posts on here this past year, I’ve noticed how some of y’all nail the plot twists early on and have such insightful takes that honestly make me a little jealous!!

anyway long story long: what do u focus the most on when u read? gotta stop before I start rambling about how cool it is to see so many perspectives on the same text and how much I would’ve loved to have access to a community like this growing up :)

What are your most-read authors?

I think the three authors from whom i've read the most books are Tahereh Mafi (9 Books), Leigh Bardugo and Jennifer L. Armentrout (both 7 Books). I've also read a lot by the German author Sebastian Fitzek, but i don't know how many of his books i've read. I think at least 9 or 10.

So I’m reading Empire of AI, by Karen Hao, which is fantastic and highly recommend, but is starting to make me feel a little hopeless about the state of the world.

What books do you turn to when you need to feel hopeful? I need to be reminded of human kindness once I’m done with this

Fiction and nonfiction welcome! Thanks in advance ❤️

EDIT: what a gorgeous community thank you so much, all books are in a list on my profile:

books for hope

Hiii

So I love reading queer books and wanted to know what everyone’s favourite ones are and why! I need to add more to my endless pile