I really appreciate the reading list provided by the 🔗 Justice for All quest, but it's very USA centric (by design). I would love to expand my knowledge beyond the US—does anyone have recommendations for similar social justice-based books about other countries/regions? I'm particularly interested in France (or the EU more broadly), but I'm open to any suggestions! Thank you 🩷

I feel like it‘s the general understanding that books tend to be superiour to their adaptions, but sometimes I feel the exact opposite way.

The two most prevalent example for me are:

How To Train Your Dragon honestly I don‘t think the movies & series can be compared to the books they are fundamentally different stories and I just prefer the movie one (I still remember the disappointment when I got the books from the library and they were nothing like the story I was used to 🥲, though I do wonder where I‘d stand had I read the books before the movies)

AMC‘s Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat If I‘m being completely honest I haven‘t read the books, mostly because I know that I probably won‘t like them, I‘ve seen a lot of people make show/book comparisons and I always prefer the show version

Are there any adaptations you guys feel the same way about?

I’ve discovered a particular niche of books that I seem to really enjoy, but I struggle to find more in a similar vein. I’ve looked at the lists, but I can’t find any that are really what I’m looking for.

Here’s what I’m hoping to find:

Books that have religion as a heavy influence, maybe as a central plot point, but that aren’t religious in tone.

As examples, two that come to mind are The Handmaid’s Tale and The Flame Alphabet. Both of those happen to be dystopian, but recommendations certainly don’t have to be. I also enjoyed The Poisonwood Bible and The Incendiaries, which I think also fit the description.

Like I said, I think this is a rather niche ask, but I’m hoping someone out there has some idea of what I’m looking for! Also let me know if there’s a list about this that I overlooked.

As the title suggests, does anyone have any suggestions for romance/fantasy books written by bipoc authors? (Any genre besides the two mentioned are also welcome too!) I’ve noticed that I really am lacking books written by bipoc authors and would love for any recs to expand it even more 🌷

A question for all genres of romance readers (contemporary, romantasy, second chance alien romance murder mystery, whatever)....

Do you judge slow burn-ness based on when ATTRACTION forms, or when two characters admit feelings to each other/actually get together?

I'm writing a review for a book I recently read, and I started to describe it as slow burn but then second-guessed myself. In this book, the characters start to feel some begrudging attraction very soon after meeting (I wouldn't describe it as insta-lust, but more like an "I hate you and it pisses me off that you're kinda sexy so I'm trying not to think about it" kinda way), but they don't actually get together until, like, 80% through the book. It's not until a little bit before then that they slowly start to realize they have actual feelings for each other and it's not just physical attraction. As I was reading it, it felt like a slow burn (you may have seen me post something along the lines of "UGH WHEN ARE THEY GONNA BANG"), but now as I think back on that attraction at the beginning....I'm not so sure.

I know "slow burn" has kind of become one of those phrases bastardized by marketing to the point that it has hardly any meaning anymore, but I'm curious about how other people would judge the scenario I presented. How do you judge a slow burn? Are you one of those people that thinks a slow burn means they can't get together, like, at all in book 1? Do you think it depends on what genre of romance you're reading (e.g., contemporary vs. romantasy)?

I looked for any threads on this, but I didn't find any, so I figured I'd start one given I recently got two used hardbacks from E-bay I think might have mold. Maybe.

Basically the edges look thicker than they should and a little frayed and fuzzy, but the rest of the books are in prestine condition. No inactive mold (black spots), no green spots, no foxing or any kind of stain anywhere, even the slip covers are perfect. It's just the edges looking really weird to me, but I can't tell if it's active mold or not, like dents that look like mold or mold that looks like dents?