It doesn’t take a lot for me to cry, so when I saw this tag, I knew it was perfect for me. I will cry over anything and everything – I’m just very emotional okay! Lauren over at Narrative Paradise created a tag talking about all the books that made her cry, and I thought “hey, me too!” – so let’s see what books made me cry!
I don’t like posting rants on my blog. It makes me feel icky and like I’m complaining, which I guess I technically am, but that’s besides the point.
I’m making an exception for this though.Today, I want to talk about the newest blogging controversy and the disrespect bloggers experience in the book industry.
Have you ever picked up a book and thought “Yeah I’m never reading this”? Or a friend has tried to push you to read a book that you know you won’t like? Or heard about issues with an author or book and thought, “Good thing I found out so I can never read their stuff again”?
Well, same. And here’s that list of books I refuse to read!
Chanukah (Hanukkah) starts tonight (Thursday, December 10th) and Christmas is coming up soon, so I thought “what’s better than giving gift ideas for bookworms!” So here we are. Here are some gift ideas for bookworms this Holiday season!
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and this year is going to be a bit different. I know I’m probably going to end up reading while eating candy all day and maybe even watch a scary movie. So, to prep for my reading binge, here’s some spooky books to read for a haunting halloween!
I didn’t realize that I didn’t have a post scheduled for today so I’m kind of writing this last minute – SORRY!
I am having trouble finding posts other than reviews to write right now because I have been a reading machine. So far, I’ve been reading a new e-book every 1-3 days which means I’ve gotten through a lot of books so far this month. Which means a lot of reviews! I’m sorry if you’re looking for other content because I might have to post a lot of reviews, especially since a lot of them are upcoming August and September releases and I want to get them out near release date.
Any way – I wanted to talk about two different platforms that I use to review books: NetGalley and Edelweiss. If you don’t know what these are, they are a way for booksellers, librarians, authors, and reviewers to get their hands on upcoming book releases for purchase or review. And when I mean purchase, I mean for their library or their store. Bloggers can also receive books on these sites, but are not quite as lucky to get them as a librarian or bookseller would be.
Today, I’m going to be reviewing them and I have a lot to say – especially about Edelweiss!
First off, acceptance rate. NetGalley, by far, beats Edelweiss in this for me. While it’s hard to say how many books I’ve been denied on Edelweiss since once they archive them, they disappear from the site, the ratios can’t even compete.
For my primary NetGalley, I currently have 11 books to read and review and I have reviewed 39 so far. So far, I’ve been denied 63 books and I am currently pending and waiting on 16.
Meanwhile, on Edelweiss, I have been approved for 2, currently pending 9, and have been denied 24. Although, technically I have been approved for 4 because I was initially denied for The Boundless, then received it through a blog tour. And I was denied for Wench but then re-requested it and received it through the publisher.
Just from that alone, I have a better chance of getting approved through NetGalley than on Edelweiss any day! But I’ll put some (poorly done) math below! Approved / (Pending) + (Denied)
Chance of getting approved on NetGalley: 63%
Chance of getting approved on Edelweiss: 6%
Yeah, my math is probably flawed, but just looking at the percent difference makes me want to cry!
Moving on, website layout.
Personally, I like NetGalley’s look and request option more than Edelweiss.
NetGalley is pretty simple. In your bio, you include your stats and anything that the publisher should take into consideration when looking over your request. That’s your place to shine! Then you would find the title, click on it and it brings you to this page. Then you select all the things that made you want to select the book and hit request! Although in that case, it was read now since it was an excerpt, but you get the idea! There’s also books you can Wish For, and for those you just click Wish For It and hope that you’re one of the lucky people to get it!
Edelweiss on the other hand is more complicated.
At the top, the part I cropped out, it includes your saved profile and your profile strength.
In your profile you have a bio just like NetGalley that the publishers see, which should be as detailed and extensive as you can. You want to shine. But Edelweiss also wants you to write a whole thing on why you’re requesting the book. Which I feel is utterly pointless if our bios include the same information.
I’ve tried writing it very professionally (like my bio), very casual, included stats, didn’t include stats, any combination you can think of and it never gets me any closer to getting the book for review.
And then, if you get approved for a book, the actual review process is totally different.
NetGalley rates things on a 5 star system, you can copy that review over to your connected Goodreads, tweet that you reviewed this book, and provided tags/information to the publisher.
Edelweiss does their score out of 10 stars and includes multiple things you can rate. Writing, originality, overall, etc
Plus, there are icons to choose to shelve the book, write notes to the publisher, share your review and more.
While NetGalley’s is more user friendly and a bit simpler, I actually appreciate Edelweiss’ system. I like that I can provide an overall rating as well as more specific ratings to explain why that might be. Then you have other icons to choose to tag, shelve, and what not which makes it a lot more organized than NetGalley.
Another thing I really like about Edelweiss is that you don’t have to have been approved for the book to review it, unlike NetGalley where you can only write reviews for books you’ve been approved for. This makes it a lot easier to increase your stats if you end up getting the book before release another way (like NetGalley or a giveaway) or if it’s still up after release!
Overall, I like NetGalley WAYYY more than Edelweiss. Not only for the fact that I actually get approved for books on their site, but because it’s a cleaner, simpler site to use. Although, I wish NetGalley had the option to re-request the book, like Edelweiss. That would save me so much heartbreak.
Which site do you like to use more?
I really couldn’t figure out what to post for today, so I’m just going to do some ranting and give my unpopular book opinions! These opinions are solely my own and are not meant to hurt, insult, or offend anyone.
Okay – let’s go!
I’m gonna start off with something easy . . .
I have probably said this, like, a thousand times, but I really don’t like The Hunger Games. I tried to read it when I was younger and was absolutely bored to tears after almost 100 pages. Then I tried AGAIN a few years later at the request of one of my friends, and still couldn’t get past 100 pages. It was just boring and I didn’t like it. I know this is a huge favorite in YA, but I actually hate it. And no, I’ve never watched the movies either.
I am pretty active in the book community which means I do a lot of buying, selling, and trading and let me tell you, some people really over-value their ARCs. If you don’t know what an ARC is it stands for Advance Readers Copy, which is basically a bound manuscript sent to reviewers, book sellers, and librarians for early review. This helps boost sales before and after the book is published and generally helps the publisher.
But there is a whole thing, especially in YA and adult Fantasy/Science Fiction, where certain popular authors or certain books will be WAY over valued. People will only trade these books for other “unicorns”/rare books or really expensive items. Technically, trading is supposed to be a way for people to get receive ARCs for review from other people, but people turn it into a collecting nightmare.
On the topic of ARCs, here’s another opinion! ARCs are free books given for review and they are not meant to be sold. This brings into the ethical question of – if it can’t be sold, does trading it for an item that was purchased count as “buying” the ARC. AKA, if someone buys a book I want in exchange for me sending the ARC, does that mean they bought the ARC? In my opinion, yes.
Some people will ask for REALLY EXPENSIVE stuff for an ARC. I saw someone trading an ACOTAR by Sarah J Maas ARC asking for a copy of a book valued over $250. How is this any different from just selling it?
It’s not.
Before anyone comes for me, hear me out.
In the example of J.K. Rowling, some people may not have realized before how awful she is as a person. Once they found out, they feel pressured to denounce her and her work entirely which puts people in a dilemma. Do they continue to enjoy something that they have for years and risk being cancelled or shunned or do they denounce the work they have found a connection with and love, ultimately giving up a part of themselves?
I hate the idea that some people have to feel like they can’t love things because the author is awful. I agree that once it is known they’re awful, we shouldn’t continue to support them (ie. purchasing items, buying their books, movies, etc) but we can continue to enjoy the things we did before. If you love Harry Potter and reread the books or rewatch the movies you own every year, feel free to continue to do so. But don’t think I condone a continued support. Nor do I believe in overlooking a problematic author simply to enjoy their work. I.E. – If you are looking for a new book and found one you’re interested in, but the author is a known racist, don’t buy their book!
Why is this one even a debate? Books are books are books. If you listen to a book, you’re reading. If you’re using an e-reader, you’re reading. If you listen and read the book at the same time, you’re READING.
It’s so silly how people get pressed over HOW people are reading. I have friends who are blind or have very bad vision that require e-readers to enlarge texts because large print books are expensive. Or they listen to audiobooks. I also have friends who just simply enjoy listening to audiobooks or prefer e-readers over physical books. That doesn’t make them any less of a reader. And it doesn’t make people a “better” reader simply because they only read hardcover books!
I may have to make a part two to this post another time, because I don’t want to rant forever. But you get the point!
If you don’t know what OTP stands for, it means One True Pairing – aka, couple goals! There are so many adorable couples in literature and they just continue to make me believe that love is real. At least, I hope.
So today, I wanted to talk about my favorite couples and my all time favorite OTPs! This is not ALL of them, but the ones I couldn’t leave off this list, so if you don’t see your favorite couple, I’m sorry!
***Warning – this post may contain spoilers!!! Read at your own risk! I also will be doing my best to track down the artist for all fan art featured in my post, but if I incorrectly name an artist, I would appreciate the correction. Thanks!
Is anyone surprised that I included Aelin and Rowan? I love their relationship and while it doesn’t start off well (Heir of Fire), as they grow together I fall in love with them as a couple. Aelin’s snark to Rowan’s cool exterior is a favorite of mine and it reminds me of my own relationship. Though that isn’t to say Rowan won’t stand up for Aelin and protect her when she needs it – if she needs it. They’re just so fun to read about and their love is so fierce.
The Lightning Thief was one of the first books I read that was a fantasy novel (and ultimately got me into reading) so I hold a special place in my heart for Percabeth. Their relationship, which grew from literally nothing, made me feel so happy as a kid! I read the entire series in middle school and haven’t had a chance to reread them since. I’ve heard their relationship develops more in the spin off series as well, so I may have to do a Lightening Thief reread and then read Heroes of Olympus. Either way – their relationship is so wholesome and wonderful and now I miss them!
Okay, if you thought I was going to mention Aelin and Rowan and NOT mention Feyre and Rhys – why? I love Sarah’s books and the relationship between Feyre and Rhys is literally so cute. Sure, he was really mean in the first book as an attempt to try and protect her, but he completely redeemed himself in ACOMAF and ACOWAR! He helped Feyre through her trauma and depression, allowed her to gain independence by teaching her to read and write, and allowed her to fall in love with him before letting her know they were mates. I mean – COME ON!!! Their relationship is so sweet and wild, I just love them.
The Infernal Devices is my favorite Shadowhunters series and oh man, did I root for Jessa. While I was happy that Tessa ended up with Will at the end, her relationship with Jem seemed more genuine and loving compared to Will. And (SPOILERS) – when she finally gets to be with him in the future books, it makes me so happy! The events that went on in the Infernal Devices trilogy still haunt me and in the end, I think she should have ended up with Jem.
Magnus and Alec were one of my first ships as a reader. I wanted them to be together so badly and when they finally confessed their feelings, and Alec was comfortable telling other people, I was so happy! They just have such a great dynamic and are the cutest couple! Every interaction between them, and with them, is so sweet and funny and just great. (SPOILERS) – when I found out they had kids together I was so happy for them! I knew they would be great parents and they seem so happy and UGH! My heart can’t take it, I just love their relationship.
When I first watched Avatar: The Last Airbender as a kid, I wasn’t a huge fan of Aang ending up with Katara. I wanted them to explore Katara’s relationship with Zuko and see how everything pans out. Now that I’m older, I’m all for Kataang! I love how their relationship is first based on friendship and they provide a good balance of personalities. Katara is caring, tough, sometimes hotheaded, and an overall good person which pairs nicely with Aangs calmness, rambunctiousness, and kindness. As we see in the comics, while a bit gross, they are a great couple together and genuinely love each other. It’s hard to find a match that not only brings out the best in you, but also compliments and helps your “weaknesses”. Overall, such a great couple and they’re kids are awesome too!
Honestly, I love the idea of Korra and Asami together, but I’m really upset we didn’t get a single moment of them until the END OF THE FREAKING SHOW. I wanted more screen time with their relationship and less of this back and forth with Mako. (though, don’t get me wrong, I adore Mako!) I think this couple was cheated out of great on screen moments and now, all I’m left with is fan art. But seriously though, I think Korra and Asami make an adorable couple and, like with Aang and Katara, really balance each other out well.
This was a slow burn romance that I could not handle. Spin the Dawn took my heart, threw it against the wall, patched it up, and then sliced it in half with this relationship. Edan’s love for Maia isn’t obvious at first, but once they start to get to know each other, I’m done for. Edan is so sweet, Maia is so caring, and together they make an adorable couple. I love their interactions before they finally cave in and express themselves – sarcastic relationships are great sometimes! And don’t get me started on Unravel the Dusk!
Alucard is a snarky, SOB sometimes, but he’s a total softy for Rhy! Every moment between them had me laughing or smiling like an idiot because, while not perfect, their relationship is just so endearing. Reading A Darker Shade of Magic, I just wanted the moments between Kell + Lila, and Rhy + Alucard. Nothing else. Just a total love fest between these characters! I love the moments between these two characters and it’s so obvious they’re in love with each other, it’s tormenting.
If you haven’t read We Hunt the Flame, you absolutely need to. Not only is the sequel releasing March 2021, but the enemies to lovers romance is SO GOOD! Technically, they’re not a couple, but I have a feeling they will be and I will ship them until my dying breath. Zafira is so sassy and strong, I love the power behind her character. And Nasir? He’s an ass, but I know he has a good heart. Every interaction with them you see their chemistry and I’m tired of waiting – THEY NEED TO BE TOGETHER NOW!
I’m so happy the final book, A Sky Beyond the Storm, releases in December because I have been waiting FIVE YEARS for these two to be together! And I swear, if they don’t end up together, I will actually cry. Sabaa likes to torture her readers by giving them a great romance for characters that are destined never to be together and it is so frustrating!! I just love these characters and I want them to be in a relationship so bad! I guess we’ll have to see if that happens.
So, I read Girls of Paper and Fire, but I haven’t read Girls of Storm and Shadow yet (I KNOW, I KNOW!) so I’m just going off of the first book for these. But still! I was rooting for these two the moment they met and I love their relationship. These two are in a horrible situation, but the fact they found comfort and love with each other made me so happy. I was nervous for them the entire time though! I can’t wait to read the next book and see what happens to them. I hope nothing bad . . .
Here are all of my couple goals! Some are not technically couples, but I think they should be. I’m sure my list will change through the years to add more people, but here are the ones I could narrow down right now.
What are some of your favorite OTPs?
.
.
.
.
.
If you liked this post, please like this post, leave a comment, follow, share with your friends – anything is appreciated!
Anyone who blogs knows that there is a lot that goes on behind the screen. Posting often (especially multiple times a day) is exhausting and trying to write original content people wanna see? Even more exhausting. So, heres some of the problems I face as a book blogger.
When you take up blogging, it can take up a lot of your time. Not that it’s wasted time, it’s not, but if it’s between reading, writing, blogging, sleeping, eating, etc – it can be overwhelming. I find it easier to take a day or two out of the week and write reviews and posts just to make it easier. Usually I’ll do about 3-4 in one sitting because once I’ve committed the time it’s easy to just roll with it!
I have a hard time translating ideas to the page sometimes. I’ll think of a super fun blog post or try to write a review, but I can’t get the emotions or idea from my head to the page. It is so frustrating. I just want things to get on the page, in the exact way I thought it, and people understand what I’m going for. Is that so much to ask for?
One of the biggest things I struggle with is confidence. Confidence in my writing, my ideas, and in myself. I try to write as true to me as I can, but it’s hard sometimes because I just want to make fun content I like that other people will like. And when I see other people’s blogs with higher follower counts and high engagement, it sometimes cracks my shell. I’ve even questioned, does anyone even cares what I write about? The honest answer is most likely no, but I try to ignore it. In the end, I’m not those other people and I can only write what is true to me – but it’s hard to ignore sometimes.
I’m well aware that it’s very hard to be “original” as a book blogger. If it’s a tag, it’s most likely been done already. Reviews can all sound the same. And posts you think are gonna be a hit – something no one has ever seen – has been done and it flops.
So creating content that doesn’t feel overdone but is still fun and engaging? Really hard! It’s one of my biggest worries honestly. That I’m not only talking to myself, but that my content is so boring and unoriginal, no one cares about it.
I try to mix things up while also having some familiarity to my stuff, but no matter what I do, I’ll probably always worry about this.
And, the biggest problem of being a book blogger? The actual writing. Especially spoiler free reviews that you just want to go on a full on spoilery rant about but you shouldn’t. Sometimes I sit down to write and it’s like no ones home. I could barely start this post honestly. And don’t get me started on editing! You guys get the cleaned up version of my posts. The hot mess I have to edit and deal with? Agonizing!
Though there are a lot of things that are tough about blogging, I still love it. It gets me excited to read because I have a chance to sit down and write down all my thoughts and sometimes, people listen. I don’t have too many book friends, so getting to gush about stories I love, and rant about the ones I don’t, makes me so happy as a reader. And I love getting to interact with people through my blog and Twitter. I don’t know what I would do, or who I would be, if I didn’t have my blog. So thanks for sticking around with me!
.
.
.
.
.
If you liked this post, please like this post, leave a comment, follow, share with your friends – anything is appreciated!
The best stories have a good plot, diverse characters, and a villain you can’t help but love. The more interesting a villain, the more I enjoy a book, and sometimes it’s hard to get that perfect balance of evil and likable. So, here’s a list of some of my favorite villains!
The Darkling is such a charming, charismatic person you can’t help but love him. Every interaction Alina had with him had me anxiously waiting to see what happened next. He believed in his mission, he loved Alina, and he wanted to change the world. Those conditions and attributes combined created a villain I loved. I didn’t want to hate him, and I sort of understood his intentions, but we all knew they were skewed.
Maeve as a villain is someone I love to hate. She’s evil, vindictive, and had a lot of motivation for her actions. I still hated her though. By the end, I could see how she wasn’t the true villain of the story, but her actions in the series allowed for our true villain to appear. Man I hated that guy lol
Corien, who we get to learn more about in Kingsbane, is such an evil guy. And when I mean evil, I mean evil. But also such a good antagonist. I mean everything he does makes me want to smack him on the head and then we get to the kissy kissy scenes and I’m swooning. Damn him!
The premise of this book is that there are no heroes or villains. We just have anti-heroes really and that means I can love all my boys the same! Victor, our protagonist (I guess you could call him) doesn’t want to be a hero – he wants revenge. And Eli? Well, he wants to be seen as a hero, but I guess murder isn’t a good way of going about that as he eradicates everyone with a super ability. This pair of equally grey characters is such a fun read.
OOOOHHH LET ME TELL YOU. I hate Marcus, I hate the Commandant, and I HATE the Nightbringer. Oh my gosh I hate these characters with a passion. And it’s not even because they’re bad characters/villains, it’s because they’re so EVIL that I just want them out of the way so my cinnamon roll Elias and my baby Laia can FINALLY BE HAPPY. GOSH I GET SO UPSET.
I find myself loving books with morally grey villains, or at least charming villains, because they make things so much more interesting. Like how can I even be mad when your messed up plan actually makes sense? How can I hate you when you’re so lovable and charming?! It can be so frustrating.
What are some villains you love and love to hate? Let me know in the comments!
.
.
.
.
.
If you liked this post, please like this post, leave a comment, follow, share with your friends – anything is appreciated!
I am shamelessly copying my friend Alexa, Writing the Universe, on this post but I have permission, so it’s fine!
We all have those impulse buys – you know the ones – the cover you can’t resist or your friend told you to buy it. I have several of those and while I may not have those copies anymore (because I got rid of them), I’m going to cover what books I regret buying.
I did not read this book at all. I bought an entire hardcover series and The Tales of the Peculiar signed copy and never read them. I eventually ended up selling them. I had heard great things about the first book, but I never got around to reading it, so there was no point in holding onto it. If I decide to read them in the future, I have friends who will willingly give me a copy to borrow or the library. I don’t see a point in owning this series anymore.
A friend gifted me Gemina without checking if I had read the first book, which I didn’t. So I purchased Illuminae and tried to read it. I really tried. The constant switch between formats actually made it harder for me to understand what was going on because I am a person who analyzes everything on a page, so on some pages I would take five minutes looking over anything before moving on. And then forget what happened. Maybe in the future I’ll try to read this monster of a series, especially since everyone raves about it and I loved their other series Aurora Rising, but at this moment, I regret having them. They’re taking up a lot of room on my shelf and collecting dust.
I never read The Hunger Games. My friends read it in middle school/high school and always recommended it to me since I was a fellow reader. And it didn’t seem that interesting to me. But with constant persistence, eventually, I caved, and got a cheap/almost free paperback copy to read. I read five chapters and stopped. I hated it. I was bored to tears and honestly didn’t care about the book. So I sold the copy and moved on.
I got two copies of this book, one from OwlCrate and the other I had preordered not realizing I was getting it in my OwlCrate. I have since sold the OwlCrate edition because I DNFed this book. I got over 100 pages in and I couldn’t get into it. I want to give this book another try because I love Roshani’s other series, The Star-Touched Queen, but this one was boring. I wanted a Six of Crows heist novel and I wasn’t getting that. It was frustrating. My friend Grace, who has a similar taste in books, loves this novel (and she’s the person I sold my OC copy to), so I feel like I need to give it another chance. But as of right now, I definitely regret buying this book.
Before anyone comes for me, I loved these books! So it is less of a, “oh my gosh, I’m so mad I bought these, I hated the books or I never read them!” and more of a, “I don’t have the complete series and part of me wants them as e-books”. I read the first book in college in a day. Like I took it to all of my lectures and read them in that day and LOVED it. Now I have the first two books signed and I don’t own the last two books. And I kinda regret buying the first two instead of just getting a box set or getting them on kindle. I don’t know what to do!
Because I loved Three Dark Crowns so much, when I saw a signed copy of this at BookCon I jumped on it! Only to realize I never purchased the first book and at this point, I probably won’t! Since I’m moving, I need to reduce the number of physical books I have so I most likely will be purchasing more kindle books than physical books for the time being. Except for special editions of course! But that leaves me with a signed copy of book 2 having never read book 1 . . . So that’s a bit frustrating.
I saw this book on BookOutlet and didn’t even think to check the synopsis. I bought it, it arrived, and it’s the third book in a series . . .
I need to be better about purchasing books out of order, cause clearly I can’t trust myself to do the proper research! Yes, I bought the third book in a series by accident and no, I have not purchased book 1 or 2 at this point. I think I still have this book sitting on my shelf and it needs to go. Maybe I’ll get the e-book of Under the Never Sky, but who knows when that’s going to happen?
All in all, I’m grateful I don’t have too many books sitting on my shelf that I’m not going to read. I have either re-homed them or sold them, so I’m not out too much. But I’m sure this won’t be the last experience I have regretting a book I bought. Maybe I can do a series on this if it continues to happen (let’s hope it doesn’t!)
.
.
.
If you liked this post, please like this post, leave a comment, follow, share with your friends – anything is appreciated!
Spoilers. A divided subject in the book community. On the one hand, they take away from the joy and excitement that a person may have for a mystery box, ruin the surprise in a book, or ruin the fun of finding out who the killer is. On the other hand, limiting someone’s freedom of speech is not okay, and telling people they can’t post spoilers is not something that can always be dictated by others. I’ve seen some interesting arguments regarding spoilers, but I think it’s important to look at them and determine what is a spoiler and what should classify as one.
A spoiler, in my own words, is information about a topic or item that is not obvious public information and effectively ruins the surprise of arriving at that moment. For example, someone posting about how sad they were a character died, when it is not common knowledge this character dies because the book has just been released. Typically spoiling occurs when an item or information is brand new and not many people have had the chance to view it yet. But this is where it can get a little less clear. When does a spoiler end?
Different people have different opinions on when something is no longer a spoiler. Some people say a month, others say six months, some say a year, and some say never. This divide on when information is no longer a spoiler is tricky, and one of the biggest issue in the book community.
In most of the book groups I’m currently in on Facebook, moderators put a one month spoiler ban on new releases, meaning no reactions/reviews/memes/nothing can include information about the current book. After a month, the spoiler ban is lifted or modified. For some groups, spoilers can be shared freely now. In others, there is a warning that is required for others who may not have had a chance to finish what they are reading, informing them that the information shared is a spoiler.
One of my biggest pet peeves with spoilers is what I call the “I don’t give a fuck” or “idgaf” period. This is the period of time immediately after the release of a book where most people are currently reading it or have not read it yet, and others who have read it early or quickly suddenly spoil large moments with no regards for anyone else. This “idgaf” period is typically in the first two weeks range of a book releasing where most people haven’t even had a chance to receive the book yet. Seeing spoilers on a book or book box during this time is honestly irritating for me and many other people.
After a certain amount of time though, when does information stop being a spoiler? For me, I would say three months. That gives people a good amount of time to receive their book or subscription, crack it open, and see what’s going on. In three months, the people who are anticipating reading or seeing it will have a chance to actually do that, especially since not everyone has the free time to read whatever they want, whenever they want.
So if it’s common knowledge not to spoil information immediately after release, why do people do it? Well – I don’t know. It could be because they are excited to share their opinions, they don’t care that others have not read it yet, or they could be oblivious and not realize it’s a spoiler. Whatever the reason, these moments suck for many of the readers who haven’t had a chance to experience the moment for themselves, and taking away that moment is a crappy thing to do.
Now, here’s where the problem comes in: if there is no set timeline on when a spoiler is no longer a spoiler then confusion is bound to happen and so is aggression. This comes about in aggressive comments by people who are upset or personal messages sent that someone is upset they were spoiled. Now if a certain amount of time has passed, these remarks are no longer valid and the person who is upset is unnecessarily aggressive – and this is where the problem lies.
The spoiler band wagon can be overly aggressive, especially when a good amount of time has passed from the release and should no longer be a spoiler. If the book community sets a timeline, then we can avoid confusion and hostility about spoilers and promote a more positive reading experience for everyone.
Now lets talk etiquette.
When coming across a spoiler, especially in the “idgaf” period, it’s important to let the person know that what they’re doing is wrong, but in a non-aggressive way. Yelling at people, calling them names, or being utterly rude is not the way to go about the situation. Not only does that make the other person defensive, but it can create a mob mentality and others will join in. Being upset about a spoiler is okay though, but being abrasive or rude is not.
When it’s after the “idgaf” period, we enter the “beware” period. This period is the remaining two and a half months after a release when a person may encounter spoilers and can still justify being upset. In this period, it is still other people’s responsibility to be courteous to others about spoilers, whether by not sharing them or giving a warning. At the same time, the closer to the two and three month mark, the responsibility should shift onto the reader who wants to avoid them. If that means avoiding certain pages or groups who might share spoilers, then avoid them.
If it’s after the three month grace period then the spoiler worry is no longer on the sharer. People are allowed to post reactions, memes, jokes, photos, and more regarding to the books that are out and it is not their job to warn others or avoid spoiling others anymore. While some may still be upset at being spoiled, it is no longer their right to complain about them – except in certain situations.
Those are the only situations I would warrant upset regarding spoilers after this grace period. Besides that – it’s fair game.
Now, this is all my opinion. There are people who warrant longer or shorter grace periods, depending on their reading habits and consideration of other people. This is where the consistency should come in. The book community should come together and decide what is the “idgaf” period, the “beware” period, and the “free game” period. Without these time constraints, it is difficult to justify and end this debate.
Overall, spoilers suck and being malicious in sharing them immediately after release is a crappy thing to do. But being rude to other people, even when upset, is also a crappy thing to do. And getting spoiled after a certain amount of time no longer is the person posting’s worry, but the readers.
I think it’s important to open up the debate, so let me know what your opinions on spoilers are and the timeline and etiquette you think is far!
We Write At Dawn 