Reacting to your controversial bookish opinions 🔥 spice, booktok, booktube dying, mean girl culture

My hot take: So I personally think the special edition industry is a scam, and the bookish community are addicts 🤣 all I see is people buying books that they haven’t read and then being disappointed by them but then signing up for even more book boxes, like WHY?? Like it used to be you fall in love with a book, have read it bunches of times, and decide to treat yourself with a special edition of it. Now they get released on the release date or soon-there-after for EVERY BOOK and people are buying them! It’s so weird to me 😅 but I kinda hate consumerism so 🤷🏼‍♀️

The thing that annoys me is people who buy loads of books just for views and not to read them as a couple of videos later they are unhauling them

discovering new books and authors is my second favorite hobby after reading lol. love my niche books.

I love showing off what I am reading! I remember at 6th form (16-18 years old) it was an hour free for study and reading time. I full on just pulled out Fifty Shades of Grey and got on with my reading :D I do love both inconspicuous and obvious covers but, I am not always a fan of cartoon ones x

Yes!!! The people on the covers! I will die on that hill. I will always choose a person on the cover over a discreet if I can. I say that all the time on my channel. Also, I am so sad about the Elsie cover because I wanted it soo bad!

I am not ashamed of reading romance! I also love the clinch covers! The old fashioned covers are the best! Give me the bodice-rippers covers! ❤😊

I agree with you about not being ashamed to read romance. Every time I talk to people about reading they tell me about all these genres they like to read - biography, business etc. And I'm always like "I love a romance" and most of the time, the other person is like "oh, me too"!!!! Those books are bestsellers because it's not just me reading them!

my hottake will forever and always be its not truly a special edition unless it has a RIBBON. this is my hill.

Quiet long time watcher here! HI! I couldn’t care less about people knowing I’m reading romance but I have 2 main reasons for not having people covers. 1 a lot of the time I don’t think that guy is hot. Don’t come at me! lol That goes hand in hand with its easier for me to tweak the image in my head without that pic on the cover. 2. I have kids and look this is so controversial and I don’t want to be that person but its not okay with me to show other peoples kids some of those covers (I’m not talking just a shirtless guy but some of the positions etc.). I’ve been the busy, overwhelmed mom in a public setting with a kid asking a question that just isn’t the right time or place for and I don’t want to do that to someone else. I’m not saying it’s not okay for other people to do this, that’s the opposite of what I mean. I just think this is a highly personal choice and I think every romance should come with physical choice of people or discreet no matter how unrealistic that is! 😂

TikTok is definitely a double-edged sword, but my local B&N used to carry Danielle Steele and Nora Roberts and thats it as far as a romance section. Now, since #BookTok has come along, they are selling Sierra Simone, Elle Kennedy, and Penelope Douglas IN THE STORE! It’s like the store finally realized that romance sells, so definitely a nice effect of BookTok!

When I watch a video of a U Tuber recommending books I usually write down the titles of that sound good the only problem I have is when their hand holding the book is covering the title or author’s name. You would be surprised how often that happens. Also, I would love if on a review of books that UTubers have read they mention a couple of surprise books written by lesser known authors. I would check their sites first.

The StoryGraph comment about not being able to see profiles... that's because the user set their account up that way. Privacy is super customisable on there.

When you were talking about people buying special editions and reselling them at high prices, I kept thinking... same for Taylor Swift tickets!

I love the take away of read what you want to read! I have been trying to do that more instead of reading whats new or popular and Im loving it.

I agree with you about people covers. I will buy the person cover over the discreet cover every time.

I work in a book store (in Australia) and often see in our department stores (Kmart, Target, Big W) the adult romance books in the kids section because the staff there just don't have a clue. And I have refused selling Icebreaker to some young girls, when it was obvious they were like under 10 asking for it (and I did ask them there age) - and sure they might get it elsewhere, but we have had instances at other stores where parents have called or come back into store and gone off at staff for selling their children a book that they clearly were way too young to be reading.

For me the book cover is everything, it’s what makes me interested in buying it. Not a fan of the newer covers.

I personally (most of the time) don't like people on my romance cover because it kind ruins the image of the characters for me. I don't know, if I don't find the guy on the cover hot, I most likely won't pick it up 🤣 I don't mind abs and couple covers though. 😘

This is a great video. Positive and candid. Thank you ❤.

omg I did have one book completely spoiled for me on TikTok AND insta!! I was midread and it popped up on my fyp by the author. I was pissed hahah. (it was From the Embers) haha.