I recently started using Libby and I adore it. That being said, dear lord the waiting periods are long. I'm not opposed to long wait lists as I would rather that than spending thousands of dollars on books I don't know I'll like + I get to support my library. However, I'm only allowed 10 holds (not sure if that's true across all libraries or if it's just mine) so I keep having to replace books with books I want to read more, which means I won't be able to read the first book for "several months" plus "several months".

Is there a method that you use to decide which books to put a hold on? Or is this a problem I'll find solved once more books start coming available and my holds become a little more spaced out? I'm just a bit frustrated as I read significantly faster than any of the holds come available. Again, I get it since it's basically an online library, but I feel like I'm going insane.

We had a tie between Carmilla and House of Hunger, so I added my own tiebreaking vote for Carmilla :) Carmilla is a quick 108 pages, and is the foundational Sapphic Vampire novel that most other stories in this quest draw inspiration from. Excited to read with everyone this fall!

Quick reminders:

• Readalong will happen during the Pagebound-wide Fall Seasonal Readalong (Sept-Nov)
• There is no additional badge for participating, but you will of course make progress towards the quest badge!
• Discussion will still be on the Carmilla book forum, not in the Quest forum

I made a post last night stating that, if you play video games that are extremely lore heavy and story-driven, it should count as reading.

EDIT: I stated that they should count towards your reading goal here and I feel I should've explained what I meant better (sorry about that). I don't mean that in the sense that it should count like a physical book does (I'm not going to put the FFVII game in my Pagebound reading list), but in the sense that it should count that you have indeed read something this year. You have actively read something that forms a story and a plot. Sorry if this doesn't make sense, I'm having a hard time trying to form the words to properly explain.

This got people in a tizzy, saying it's not reading because it's not an actual book, or that "if that's the case, the movie I'm watching should count as reading if I use subtitles" (which... I mean you do READ subtitles but that's not what I meant).

One person even went as far to say "reading only counts if it's words unhindered by pictures or motion and allows you to have analytical thoughts." How pretentious!! That's like saying reading comics or manga isn't reading (or that children don't actually read because their books have pictures).

I think lore, story heavy, READING HEAVY video games should count as reading. I read more while playing Final Fantasy and Assassin's Creed last year than I did reading physical books. There are some games that required over 45 hours of just reading (that isn't the dialogue in cutscenes or tutorials).

I believe it should count as reading. What do you all think?

EDIT (2): I'm not saying spaces like Pagebound or Goodreads or anything like that should have a space for people to mark these things as "read" like you would a physical book. I'm more so saying that when we discuss people reading, I think we should allow writing-heavy, story-heavy games that have you read a big chunk in them be a part of the discussion of reading. Video games are not books, I know that, but if you are actively reading in order to take in the story of the game, should it not be counted that you read something? (Some people don't like reading novels, but we shouldn't say they don't read just because it isn't the conventional way we think of reading).

I don't know if this is making any sense, it made better sense in my head, but it's hard for me to properly convey it in writing this way.

We had a tie between Carmilla and House of Hunger, so I added my own tiebreaking vote for Carmilla :) Carmilla is a quick 108 pages, and is the foundational Sapphic Vampire novel that most other stories in this quest draw inspiration from. Excited to read with everyone this fall!

Quick reminders:

• Readalong will happen during the Pagebound-wide Fall Seasonal Readalong (Sept-Nov)
• There is no additional badge for participating, but you will of course make progress towards the quest badge!
• Discussion will still be on the Carmilla book forum, not in the Quest forum

meenaslib asked the great question if you read one star reviews for your fav books, but what about books you haven't read? Because I absolutely do! When I first got back into reading as an adult, I took recommendations and marketing kind of at face value. If a book was marketed as cozy (cover, blurbs, synopsis), I thought it would be. If someone said it was a sapphic romance, I thought it would be...then I started reading and realized how bamboozled I often felt. My cozy books were violent and my sapphic books were heteronormative. It was so so bizarre, and now even if I get spoilers, I can't help but check the bad reviews for stuff that would turn me off in the book up front. Do you risk the spoilers to save yourself from heartache?

Hello hello! I need some help finding books that are 200 pages or less to read in between my big chonkers so I can still hit my reading goal! I don’t mind if they’re novellas as long as I can read them without having to read the series ! I love any fantasy/romantasy/sci-fi/dark academia !! Thank you so much ☺️

Hello! I'm curious about how others see readalongs here. I found myself really wanting to read all of the books, but then I know some of them are not my cup of tea, plus there's other books I want to read much more. My problem being that I'm a sort of a collectioner and I'm a sucker for limited and FREE stuff. 😭 Do you focus on them when choosing a book to read? Or maybe you prioritize your tbr and for how long a book has been waiting there? Or just your general mood? I definitely am more of a mood reader, but it makes my reading a little inconsistent 😅