Hello everyone,
I hope all of you are well and keeping safe. Today I have a more informal discussion post, which I hope you’ll enjoy reading..
Since I began book blogging at the beginning of 2018, I have noticed that there are numerous topics that the community loves to talk about and share on a very regular basis, and that includes me. Although some of the same things arise quite frequently, it never gets boring to discuss books with others, especially avid readers!
With that in mind, here is a list of some of the things we just love to talk about:
Shelves
How do we arrange our bookshelves? Is it alphabetically by author, by genre, by colour, or any other way? That topic often comes along and I love how it leads to such a variety of answers.
It is also an ideal opportunity to share pictures of our bookshelves. I always enjoy looking at these; they are usually very beautiful and do give me a small amount of bookshelf envy. I am not sure if it is just the book lover in me, but there is just something so aesthetically pleasing about seeing a shelf full of books!
Formats
Hardbacks, paperbacks, ebooks, or audiobooks? I don’t know about anybody else, but I have come across this topic countless times since becoming a book blogger. :)
It is always an interesting discussion, as each format has an array of different advantages, sometimes depending on who you are and your reading habits. But we also love to talk about other aspects, such as the glossy feel of a paperback, or how ebooks are usually cheaper and easier to carry around. It is always fun to get the different perspectives on this!
Tropes
As book bloggers, we are always talking about tropes and which ones we like or dislike. They can play such a role in determining our overall feelings towards a book, and the great thing about them is that there are so many.
From what I have seen, the trope that people appear to like the most is enemies to lovers – it feels like book bloggers cannot get enough of that!
Endless TBR
I think just about every book lover can relate to having a never-ending TBR! It certainly feels to me as if for every book I read, there are five more that are newly added to my to-read list.
The fact of the matter is, there are just too many fantastic books out there, and not enough time to read them all. It is a limitless cycle, and I can say for sure that it would be quite an achievement if my TBR ever fell below 100. We may all wish for that to happen, but we also love discussing how many books we still need to read.
Lists
It is a fact that book bloggers love making lists. We see this most often in the weekly memes, but we always enjoy compiling a top five or a top 10, or any other list that pertains to a particular subject. This post is itself a list!
We make lists on several of the platforms we use. On Goodreads we have several different ones to categorise books, while many book bloggers create a thread on Twitter for the books they have read in a calendar year. Lists are one of our defining characteristics.
Covers
Just like a lot of other book bloggers, I can be completely taken in by a beautiful cover. We spend a lot of time admiring or even analysing covers, because they do – rightly or wrongly – often play some kind of role in whether we decide to read a particular book.
There are times when we might talk more about covers rather than the actual books themselves! And of course, bookstagram is a very big deal for a lot of people ;)
Rating Systems
Most book bloggers have a rating system, although some prefer not to. All the same, we like to tell each other why and explain what the difference is between a four-star and a five-star read, or ask whether a three-star rating is good, bad, or simply average.
As for me, I use every chance I have the bemoan the fact that Goodreads does not allow you the luxury of awarding half-star ratings. And I know that I am far from the only one who feels that way!
Accessories
Bookmarks, key rings, funko pops, bullet journals, stationery – have I missed any? Although I am not one for collecting bookish accessories myself, I do enjoy when other bloggers share the items that they own or have bought.
Diversity
One of the best things about he book blogging community is that it is extremely inclusive. We love promoting diversity in general, as well as seeing increasingly authentic, accurate representation in books.
There are several book bloggers who provide fantastic lists of books that contain excellent diversity representation, which is very helpful and informative. It is a very important thing for us, and I love that.
ARCs
I can barely relate to this one as I only read ARCs for the infrequent blog tours I take part in. However, many other bloggers read advanced copies on a very regular basis and use Netgalley.
I have seen enough to know that it is very easy to amass a huge number of ARCs, and getting approved for a book that you are desperate to read means everything, but I am totally not an expert on this!
Goodreads Challenge
Most of us take part in the Goodreads Challenge and we all take it very seriously! We love to chart our progress and feel the pressure when we fall slightly behind schedule.
But in the end, we are thrilled to let everyone know once we have successfully completed it for another year.
Let’s Chat
That’s all for this discussion post! Have I missed anything? Are there any other topics that come up regularly in the book blogging community? Let me know in the comments!
Happy reading :)
Stephen Reads Books 