Have you ever read the blurb for a book and thought to yourself wow, this sounds pretty great then you get to the end and it says something like for fans of [insert author] or [insert book] meets [insert book], and it dampens your enthusiasm? Do you still read the book and hope for the best, or do you just not bother? Are there any comparisons that you absolutely will judge a book for having?

Obviously, I know problematic authors will probably be mentioned here, but I'd love to hear if anyone has any sillier reasons.

I just TBR'd Steelborn by Taylor J. LaRue -- I've never heard of them before, know nothing about them or the book beyond the blurb -- but the book is listed as 'perfect for fans of Callie Hart' aaaand... I've never read Callie Hart, I've never had any desire to (it's entirely a me thing, I just don't think I'd enjoy her work). I'll probably still read Steelborn, but I feel like I've been set up for disappointment. (Listen before anyone says it, I get that this is entirely irrational and silly, the book might be great, which is why I'll still give it a go.)

Alright so my last post was least favorite hype book but now what's your favorite?? Mine is lights out. Not alot of people like it but I do!!

At what point do y'all consider your physical TBRs too long? I feel like I never realize I'm getting overwhelmed by the amount of unread books I have until I actually sit down and count or go through my read vs unread stats. Right now I'm sitting at 59 unread books, which feels like a lot but also it was sitting at over 100 at the beginning of last year, so, you know, progress!!

When I feel like I have too many books I try to limit the amount of library books I read and put myself on a book buying ban, but doing that last year sent me into a year-long semi-slump.

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! ✨

Hello my big beautiful Boundling brains! It's that time of the week to show off what you learned through your books this week! Whether it's a quick trivia bite, personal insight, or deep dive - we wanna know!!

My tidbit this week - I learned that I might be a fan of sports romances as long as the couple is about 30+ as someone who notoriously hates sports this is a shocking revelation to me haha

What cha got this week, Boundlings??

What's the longest line you've ever encountered? I just remembered this banger from Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, lol:

'Once I'm an owl, what is the spell or antidote for turning me back into myself?' Mr Muhammad Sufyan, prop. Shaandaar Café and landlord of the rooming-house above, mentor to the variegated, transient and particoloured inhabitants of both, seen-it-all type, least doctrinaire of hajis and most unashamed of VCR addicts, ex-schoolteacher, self-taught in classical texts of many cultures, dismissed from post in Dhaka owing to cultural differences with certain generals in the old days when Bangladesh was merely an East Wing, and therefore, in his own words, 'not so much an immig as an emig runt' — this last a good-natured allusion to his lack of inches, for though he was a wide man, thick of arm and waist, he stood no more than sixty-one inches off the ground, blinked in his bedroom doorway, awakened by Jumpy Joshi's urgent midnight knock, polished his half-rimmed spectacles on the edge of Bengali-style kurta (drawstrings tied at the neck in a neat bow), squeezed lids tightly shut open shut over myopic eyes, replaced glasses, opened eyes, stroked moustacheless hennaed beard, sucked teeth, and responded to the now-indisputable horns on the brow of the shivering fellow whom Jumpy, like the cat, appeared to have dragged in, with the above impromptu quip, stolen, with commendable mental alacrity for one aroused from his slumbers, from Lucius Apuleius of Madaura, Moroccan priest, AD 120-180 approx., colonial of an earlier Empire, a person who denied the accusation of having bewitched a rich widow yet confessed, somewhat perversely, that at an early stage in his career he had been transformed, by witchcraft, into (not an owl, but) an ass.

During the Dark Ages (before PB), I used to get my recs from Reddit. And in moments of desperation, from insta. Criminal, I know.

But I didn’t have anywhere else to search for books I’d like.

PB has no recommendation algorithm. No way to get books recommended without making an effort to look. But most of the best books I’ve read, I’ve found them through PB.

I’ve never been consistently satisfied with what I read. If I’d managed to find a 5 stars, it would take eons to find another one. But here, I’m finding niches I didn’t even know had names. I’ve also been reading more and more due to this app but enough’s been said about that.

I’ve been liking most of what I find here and that inspired this post.

Special shoutout to the list feature on this app 🫡

when i was on the first book i was really thinking y’all were lying to me but now i am just losing my mind every 5 pages