Alright, so I can assume all us Boundlings like tracking our reading to some extent given our presence on this app. But I’m curious how many people have their own methods of journaling/tracking off of apps like this!

Last year I primarilly used a complex spreadsheet to track my reading, but this year I scored a dot grid journal from my secondhand craft store right in January so I could set up a bullet journal for my reading! It’s been fun, but I’m always nosy about what other people are doing 👀 digital tracking, bullet journal, guided reading journal, what are yalls thoughts and what matters most to you when tracking?

My journal:

• Bookshelf page for annual reads where I draw a bunch of books on a shelf & then write in the titles on the slimes as I finish books
• ARC tracking page (that is…dead on arrival. I have been really neglecting my arc reviews 😭)
• Bookclub Page for tracking our pick each month, if me vs my cohost ran it, my rating, groups avg rating, and attendance
• Physical TBR tracker, by genre, and I get to color in the dot by each book when I finish one (but have to add more if I buy more books 🙂‍↕️)
• Buzzwordathon Page (hosted by BooksandLala) to track what books fulfill the monthly prompts
• Year at a Glance where each month has a box where I put my total # read, breakdown by format, and the best & worst titles of each month

And that’s all I’m tracking rn for my first year! My reviews all get typed on here so I didn’t see a point in writing them by hand as well. But I’d love to hear if y’all have any other types of spreads you enjoy updating to get ideas 🤩

So, I was reading this book (it was written by a small author, so I won't give names) but it was basically a remix of the Hunger Games + Six of Crows. It felt chaotic in a bad way, dismantled. Just bestseller elements glued together. I am not talking about common fantasy topics like colonization or power wars (because fantasy is political, and there are a thousand ways to approach these topics) but really specific details that makes you think: yeah...i've already read this. And don't get me wrong, I know is a really good marketing strategy to say: for the Hunger Games fans. But it simply adds nothing (and no, it wasn't a FanFiction), and if it's not intended to be a retelling, there's no point in copying the plot or universe of another writer. Give me cool worlds. Give me intriguing magic systems (not just elemental magic, I am begging). Give me complex, unique characters. Give me a new interpretation of tropes. Add folklore, mythology, your grandmother tales, I don't know. You can approach fantasy from your intimate, personal and awesome perspective. We need that fresh air.

I often see a lot of talk in the book community, specifically fantasy and romantasy readers, about FMCs when they refuse to wear things the MMC gave them, and it kind of pains me to see people complaining about how "stubborn" the FMCs are.

I'm referring to books where the FMC has been captured, kidnapped, forced to do something, or is enemies with the MMC. This is not about books where the the main love interests are in a relationship or good friendship or something.

Some booktok and booksta readers (at least, that I've seen of) often complain, "why is the FMC whining and crying when the MMC is literally giving her a gorgeous gown/jewelery/whatever?" and I think they fail to see a point. It isn't just about the dress, it's about control.

Put yourself in your main character's perspective. You've been kidnapped by, say, an enemy. He gives you pretty dresses to wear, but you have to ONLY wear what he wants. You wouldn't do what he wants, right? Because that gives him control. The love interest has already kidnapped our main character and stripped her of her freedom, and now he also wants her to dress how he wants?

Maybe the MMC has good intentions, sure, but it still doesn't erase the fact he wants (or gives off) to control the FMC. A VERY popular example of this is Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi, the first book specifically (ahead may contain slight spoilers, but not extreme). Warner kidnaps Juliette, the FMC. He does tests on her, then proceeds to say weird stuff about them working together and what not, when he JUST kidnapped her. He gives her dresses to wear and fancy food to eat, which gives off one thing: he wants control. Of course, Juliette doesn't do anything he wants, or else that would mean giving him control over her, yet the (some of) fandom continuously say she was too whiny in the first book, and that she should've trusted Warner, blah blah blah. HOW is she supposed to trust a man who kidnapped her, tried to do tests on her, and is trying to control her?? 😃

I just think more people should really think of the FMC's situation or the actions of the MMC before blantly calling her whiny or ungrateful. What do you guys think of this?

ISO a contemporary/YA novel in which the protagonist has a budding crush on someone who turns out to be the antagonist/villain. CANNOT be fantasy. I swear this has to exist LOL

Check the book you’re reading right now. If you were transported there for 24 hours, are you having a lovely spring vacation or are you absolutely doomed?

I'm reading Papyrus, so I’ve been dropped right into Alexander the Great’s path through Thebes. If being 'absolutely doomed' counts as a vacation, then I’m having a blast. 🙄 My current survival strategy is to find a reed pen, and pray my handwriting is good enough to earn me 'Scribe' status instead of 'Casualty' status. But, honestly, I give myself maybe only a 10% survival chance. And that’s being generous.

Saw this on my facebook and intended to sent it privately to my best friend but I messed up and share it on my profile for all my FB friends to see. It became a happy accident because my book friends (whom haven't talked to in a while) engaged on the post and we had fun on roasting my chaotic evil friends.

I'm lawful evil. You?

Is it weird to be put off when a book on Amazon mentions TikTok in the page title? More so when it's 'Tiktok made me buy it!' (This seems to be one author on all three of their books).

I’m one of those people that can tackle a book on a Kindle or IPad in no time but won’t get through the physical copy of a book… out of curiosity has anyone noticed an e-book disappearing or no longer being on a service after purchasing? You know how you could buy something on iTunes but if the license is lost it’s gone? Is that possible with E-books?.. before I get too carried away with how I purchase books

sighhhhh i hate to admit this but... i do not care about these chapters telling the son's story 😬 i only want to hear from Ganga!!

Rank your top 5/10 (depending on how many you've read, or if you read less then 5 just tell your favourite so far) from 5th/10th place up. You can also do a top 3 or top 6 or anything between 1 and 10 depending on how many books you've read/how many books you really enjoyed so far. Only ONE book per rank on the scale. That is the hard part. Pick your favourite child.

I'll go first: 7th Tress of the emerald sea - Brandon Sanderson 6th Gallant - V E Schwab 5th A thousand perfect notes - C G Drews 4th Where the dark stands still - A B Poranek

3rd The decagon house murders - Yukito Atsuji

2nd Mistborn: The final empire - Brandon Sanderson

1st First love: essays on friendship - Lilly Dancyger

Loved all of these so much!