Category: Opinion Pieces
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Finding Out Your Favorite Book or Series is Problematic
Recently, I’ve discovered readswithrachel on YouTube, which is a book commentary channel dedicated to reviewing books and discussing author drama. I love it. As I was binge watching readswithrachel videos last night, I came across a deep dive about an author I’ve discussed on this blog before: Jay Kristoff. In the video, Rachel discusses issues…
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The Ethics of Ghostwriting
Ah, ghostwriting. This is one of my favorite “hot topics” since it is much more nuanced than people typically consider. Ghostwriting is the act of writing a novel that someone else gets to take most of the credit for. Typically, a ghostwriter is hired to collaborate with a person who has some standing of celebrity.…
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Converting to Audiobooks: A Journey
I haven’t been reading. A few other things have been going on that have kept me from delving into the plethora of Kindle books I keep purchasing. First, I’ve been crocheting. I discovered I love crochet, I’m very good at it, and I can watch a million documentaries while crocheting. However, I can’t physically read…
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Why Do We Keep Using Minority Languages to Spice Up Fantasy Books?
By now, if you’re a fantasy-lover who’s on TikTok, you’ve probably seen this stitch. In the above link, a Scottish BookTocker named Muireann (username: ceartguleabhar) tears Fourth Wing author Rebecca Yarros a new one for her pronunciation of the Gaelic names used throughout her book. If you haven’t heard of Fourth Wing, it is a…
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The “Spicification” of YA Novels
If you’ve been on Goodreads lately (or any other book-reviewing website), you may have seen a lot of reviews mentioning a book’s “spice level.” Most commonly seen in YA or romance novel reviews, the “spice level” is the amount of sexy or erotic scenes in the book. Essentially, the spice level lets you know if…
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Publishing Work Posthumously: Yay or Nay?
I’ve been on this thought-train since I read Ariel, which is a collection of Sylvia Plath’s poetry that was published after she died. To publish something posthumously means to publish it after a person has passed away, and it is a pretty common concept for a lot of popular authors. Life is messy, and we…
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Do Book Reviews Matter, and How Much Should You Listen to Them?
Seeing as I write a blog where I review books, it feels appropriate (and slightly meta) to discuss book reviews and what purpose these reviews really serve. When I reach for a new book, I often look up the Goodreads page. I’ve done this ever since I found out about the website, and I find…
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My Personal Reading Soft Spots
After I wrote my second reading pet peeves post, I realized I should probably add some positive content about things that I really like to see when I’m reading a book. Sometimes when you’re reading, there are certain aspects or inclusions that will just make you enjoy a book a little bit more than if…
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My Biggest Reading Pet Peeves: Part 2
It’s time for some more complaining. I think anyone who reads extensively gathers a lot of pet peeves along the way. When you read a lot, you see that a lot of authors will commit the same faux paus or use the same tropes, and the more you read the more recognizable these patterns become.…
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Easily Accessible Nonfiction Books Everyone Should Read
As I progress as a reader, I try to challenge myself to read more and more nonfiction books each year. Nonfiction has always been a challenging genre for me due to the dryer nature of the books. I’ve always liked a great story, and many nonfiction books are just not story books. However, there are…