Hello Bounders! I know what everyone loves about this site is being able to discuss their books with fellow readers! I don't read a lot of fantasy or horror, which seem to be the majority of readers here, so I've become used to being the first & only posts within a book's forum. So, I thought it would be fun for everyone to post here about the last book that they read that they were dying to have someone to talk about it with!

I have to for an assignment and my rating will reflect that, so don't take anything I say to heart. the circumstances are against this book.

Hi everyone, I wanted to respond to the big discussion around the new user experience in the forums and forum/list etiquette. First of all, I can speak for everyone in the PB community when I say we’re all so excited to have new readers here; the more lively Pagebound is, the more fun it is to be here. Pagebound is different from most social media sites; we’re focused on discussion and creating meaningful dialogue (leading to meaningful connections) which also means we operate a little differently than what you’re likely used to. Since the app’s launch we’ve had thousands of new users and Lucy and I are quickly realizing we have a lot of work to do to make new users feel welcome and provide the tools they need to interact on the site, while preserving the thoughtful and warm community that’s been fostered here.

Here’s our plan: Our Top Contributors are already working on an “etiquette” guide; Lucy and I will work with them to get this finalized and will pin it to the top of Pagebound Club. Lucy and I will work on the FAQ to make it more detailed and robust; we will also revisit the Posting Guide and see if we need to make tweaks there. We recently launched the “PageboundBot” which is an anonymous moderator account run by humans. PageboundBot may archive and leave a comment on your list or post if it doesn’t follow the guidelines set in the Posting Guide. This is intended to be purely a gentle reminder moment and not a slap on the wrist. Archiving ensures our forums remain high quality and relevant.

For those totally new here, here’s some context that might guide your posting: When you post in a book forum, your post lives there forever for future readers. It is also sent to the feeds of everyone with that book in their library. Our vision for book forums is a place to discuss books as you’re reading them, so you can see what others thought at the same place as you. We value discussion over memes and low effort “throwaway” posts (that does not mean we don’t value humor; I’ve genuinely laughed my ass off at some of your posts and memes, we love our comedians). It’s a tricky balance between fun and substance, but we find most of our users strike it well.

In the meantime while we work on the action items above, here are some quick and dirty guidelines. Historically, we’ve been lax with guidelines since we wanted to simply provide the tools for connection/discussion and see how the community used them. We’ve clearly outgrown that, so apologies if this list is still too vague, but this is truthfully the guidelines we have in place as of right now and we will work on getting them more formalized and less vague.

We are a site to talk about books, so your posts should be book related. Occasionally you will see a non-book related post, but since that doesn’t happen often, we let it slide (if this gets abused, we will be more strict about it). We do not want to become Fable or Tome where you see a mix of Instagram/personal blog type content alongside book content; if that’s what you’re looking for, the other book socials will be a better fit for you.

Forums are for timeless discussion. Good things to think about: Does this post spark discussion? Will someone else stumbling on this who doesn’t know me be interested? Personal updates do not belong in the book forum (posts like: “Read on the train today”, “Listening to the audiobook” etc). You can do this by commenting on your activity update in your feed. A no-context reaction post (like an emoji, or “WOW!“) will get archived; we definitely want you to post reactions, but without context its impossible to know what you’re reacting to (imagine you read a book 3 months ago and you see Thoughts from page 288: “WOW” - you’d have no idea what they’re talking about).

In general it is good practice to check the forums before posting. This applies to both Book forums, Quest forums, and the Pagebound Club. Repetitive posts compromise the quality of the forums and become a moderation headache (both in volume and in the dilemma of not wanting to punish someone for posting, but also wanting to preserve forum quality). In the book forum, you’re welcome to post a “repeat” if you have a different take than an existing post; but you also may want to consider jumping in on existing discussions.

Regarding Pagebound Club: we will revamp the club so its less overwhelming (example: having a separate place for book recommendations and PB-specific product questions) but in general, PB club posts should not be about a specific book or series. Those posts belong in the book forums. It’s worthwhile to scroll a bit or use the searchbar to see if your post is a repeat. Keep in mind: EVERY user on Pagebound will see your post. Ask yourself: is this something I want to blast to tens of thousands of people? Your post might be better in a Quest forum (example: looking for scifi recs - check out a scifi quest forum). PB club ideally is not a customer service platform; if you have a very specific question, see a bug, or need help with your account, submit a form or email Lucy and I directly at team@pagebound.co.

Lists: Lists are intended for the community; they are our way of providing human recommendations and helping you discover new reads that aren’t driven by an algorithm. If a list is mainly for yourself (“My Fall TBR”, “My Favorite books”) it should be a shelf instead. The best lists are specific and unique; “Good Thrillers” vs “Horror featuring Southern Gothic Mansions”. While making lists for series and authors is not explicitly “wrong”, it also doesn’t provide much value (series lists could be useful since we don’t have series data right now, but we often see repeats of these; we don't need 10 zodiac academy lists for example).

FIN

I hope this was more helpful than overwhelming; like I said, we’ll work on distilling this into a digestible and easy to reference format! And final note: many users who have been around for a while may comment on a post (especially in PB club) directing you to an existing post; this is not a slap on the wrist, but rather a part of the culture here as often other posts have more context, or Lucy and I have responded in depth to a platform question somewhere else.

Feel free to leave your thoughts below, and I'm especially curious to hear from new users what sort of guidance would be helpful as you learn your way around!

post has been deleted.

I'd just really love to see some happy things, so if you're up to it, can you share with me something that was great about this week, or something that made you smile today? I'd love to hear!

Hi guys, I’ve been dying to read some books with cozy fall vibes. I haven’t really read any seasonal themed books before, so I lowkey have no idea how to go about finding them. Romance and spice are welcome, but not necessary. I’ve been wanting to read The Pumpkin Spice Cafe based on the cover cuz it seems to fit the vibe I’m going for but I actually know nothing about the book itself 😅 I just want something cute and sweet that embodies cozy fall. I’ll also take any recommendations in advance for cozy winter/christmas/holiday books.

i’ve found that i gravitate to more gothic/moody/gory books in general, but wanted some lighter reads as we head into winter so that i don’t depress myself😭 any recs (of any genre) please lmk!! <3 double points for coziness

I am an extremely lucky (and temporary) position where I am able to get 4 library cards from 4 different libraries for free. I've become a bit spoiled with the selections and was hoping I could find a way to keep those library cards (even if I have to pay) after I am no longer eligible for some of them.

I heard that some libraries offer library cards to people out of their district for an annual fee, and I was wondering if anyone had experience with this type of system. I'm hoping to phase out of using Kindle Unlimited in the future, and was looking at multiple e-library cards as a solution. Honestly the total price may end up cheaper, but even if it doesn't I would gladly give my money to libraries instead of the oligarchs over at Amazon.

(P.S. I've tried Kobo+ but was not impressed by their catalog or UI, so I probably won't move to them for a while 🙃)

Hi so just wondering if everyone is seeing alias grace by Margaret Atwood under today’s featured clown emoji or if it’s just because it’s on my read it gets shown. If everyone sees it I have an explanation: I may be the person who gave it the lowest review and a clown emoji to represent the male main character. No actual clowns are present in the book and no one else has given it that emoji besides me 😆

Does anyone have any recommendations for romance novels where the main characters are in their 30s or 40s? Or maybe you know of a list already created on this app that covers this? (I don’t think there’s a way to search lists but please tell me if I’m wrong). I love romance, but I feel like I keep reading characters who are a decade younger than me and want the ability to relate better to what I’m reading. I thank you in advance!

My library only has 1 copy of the ebook and there’s 825 people waiting 🤪 didn’t realize everyone also had werewolf phases on Wattpad!

Recently a new library opened up close to me and I'm tempted to buy myself a membership card.

I have one thought keeping me from doing that however. I love annotating my books. I know a kindle is always an option as I can still annotate that way, but nothing beats holding a physical book for me.

Any advice on how I can annotate separately from the library books? I've thought about doing it online somehow where I can keep everything for the one book together, but I'm not sure how to exactly go about doing that and setting it up.

📚📚📚

post has been deleted.