If you think the bookworm life is just collecting rows of aesthetically pleasing colourful novels and petting them happily — THINK AGAIN.
Reading is a wonderful, magical even. But we need to talk about collecting these beastly little bookish creatures. Because one of the truest joys of bookworms is building themselves a library to live in. We are like little dragons who collect piles of gold to sit on and then roast anyone who tries to touch them. * Bless us. Bless our priorities. But dragons have it easy compared to the agonies a bookworm faces when collecting books. Hence I propose we all SHAPESHIFT into dragons immediately and live a happier life. **
Anyway.
Come closer, my fiendish pineapple frond, we need to talk openly and honestly about the fact that BOOK COLLECTING IS FRAUGHT WITH PERIL AND UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES.
As a book-collecting survivor (it has been 3 days since a book last tried to destroy my life) I am here to tell the REAL story about book collecting difficulties.
* Nobody can deny the reality of #BOOKDRAGONS, amirite?
** This post isn’t even about dragons?! IT’S ABOUT BOOKS I PROMISE. I don’t even know how I get to keep the title “book blogger” because I swear I spend more time discussing cake and dragons. But who’s complaining? I see no complainers.
LOOK AT THIS TRAVESTY.
1. THE NOTORIOUS EVIL OF GLOSSY COVERS.
If you’re obsessed with #bookstagram (spoiler: it me) then you will understand the SEVERE disenchantment of glossy and shiny covers. There is just no way this side of Noah’s flood that you can take a satisfying photo of a book when the cover is shining so brightly BECAUSE IT WANTS TO BLIND YOU FOR ALL ETERNITY.
I demand a swift and efficient ban on all GLOSSY COVERS effective immediately and any publisher who desists: fight me.
2. COVER CHANGES MID-SERIES.
There are probably only 0.4% of bookworms who don’t care about their series matching. The rest of us, however, will be more wrathful than those grapes John Steinbeck wrote about that one time. * And I KNOW, we all talk about cover-changes-mid-series a lot but someone’s gotta preach it, sister, and it might as well be me because I like yelling about things on the internet apparently. Look at my blog name: Paper FURY. Let no one say you weren’t warned.
The biggest issue with mid-series-cover-changes is the fact that I DON’T HAVE MONEY. I can’t just go rebuy a whole series so it matches. And maybe I don’t even want to??? Maybe I liked the original covers?? Maybe I don’t want to simply because I don’t like being told what to do. I have rights.
* Full disclaimer: I have not read this book but I assume it’s about a very angry fruitsalad. Also “The Grapes of Wrath” is totally the kind of title I’d use. My next book, by the way, is officially “The Pineapple of Malcontent”. I’ll be famous for this.
3. THE TRAUMA OF DIFFERENT SPINE HEIGHTS.
Actual conversation that happened:
Me: I like collecting hardcovers that can sit in gorgeous neat little pleasing rows.
Hardcovers: lol no
Publishers: lol no
BUT WHYYYYY. Why have so many sizes?! Paperbacks do this too, of course. But do you know much easier my shelves would stack if books were all the same height? Do you realise how many MORE BOOKS I COULD THEN BUY because I could fit them in my shelves?? Do you realise my Organised Soul is actually trembling and twitching right now and will need to sit down in a cool dark room to regroup and instigate coping strategies????
Also The Raven Boys is showing a bit of naked spine in this photo. Sheesh who is the photographer here. Learn how to cover up your subjects and be modest, seriously.
4. PHOTOGRAPHING EBOOKS IS LIKE BARGAINING WITH PURE EVIL.
Because either (A) it’s unfocused or (B) the light is wrong or (C) the screen goes dark JUST as you take the photo or (D) it’s blurry because ebooks just have bad attitudes due to their format not allowing petting like physical books are used to.
BUT IT’S HARD TO BE ON BOOKSTAGRAM AND HAVE EBOOKS. And my use of the word “hard” translates to “entirely disagreeably impossible you little ebooks of nonsense and general jerkishness.”
Also, Pro Cheater’s Tip: if you take photos of your empty kindle/iPod/iPad/tablet screen and just photoshop the covers on later using the layers in pixlr you will SAVE YOUR OWN LIFE. The colours will also be better. #yourewelcome (Let me know if anyone wants a detailed tutorial on this.)
YOU CAN’T SEE THE WEIGHT, OBVIOUSLY, BUT LOOK AT THE 2 ARCS ON THE LEFT COMPARED TO THE 1 NORMAL PAPERBACK ON THE RIGHT???? IT’S LIKE THEY’VE NEVER SUNTANNED.
5. ARCS THAT WEIGH MORE THAN THE USS ENTERPRISE ON STAR TREK
What are they made out of?!? And is this just an Australian thing? BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW. But you could blindfold me and me a book and ask “is this an ARC?” and I’d know instantly because if it was an ARC I’d be ON THE FLOOR STRUGGLING TO LIFT THE BRUTE.
I’m suspicious that they’re actually carved in stone using ink of their author’s black hearts coupled with the manic evil laughter of whoever formats books. #legit
And we won’t even get to the fact that the pages are different colours too. Get some sun, you little vampires.
6. PAPERBACKS WITH SPINES THAT DON’T LOVE YOU.
I like to have a good opinion of my own self worth (because I am awesome) but when these darn paperbacks waltz into my life and say “LOL NO” when I try to open them — I get shaken. Do I (A) force this little beast open so I can read the actual words but then break the spine? or (B) do I have the book open half a crack to try and avoid damage of the spine since my self-worth is already being damaged by this book refusing to OPEN UP TO ME AND BE MY FRIEND. #ExistentialCrisis
7. POINTY HARDCOVER CORNERS THAT WANT BLOOD
I love hardcovers. I do. I will happily always choose a hardcover (despite the fact it also makes me broke) because hardcovers are strong independent young books that don’t need no man. Bless them.
But have you tried curling up with a cup of tea and a hardcover?? BECAUSE IT’S IMPOSSIBLE. Those corners just want to gouge out an eye. I look at a hardcover and I see beauty and also the potential for death-by-stabbing. What made them so vicious??? Did they not receive enough affection in the printing press??? Did someone insult them when they were merely an unbound mound of paper? I don’t know. But my life is at risk.
8. STICKERS PRINTED ONTO BOOK COVERS
This is not only UGLY it’s just downright unfair to the book. For instance, I’m currently reading Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven, who is incredibly famous for her book All the Bright Places. Like so so famous that Holding Up the Universe has a whacking big stacker on it (PRINTED ON SO THERE IS NO REMOVING IT) to say “hello, I am the second child and my older sibling has done marvellous things and I’m sitting here doomed to fail in their shadow”. I mean, really. This poor wee book.
Plus there is the fact that there is no removing printed-on stickers. EXCUSE ME. I NEED A MOMENT OF PURE RAGE.
9. NASTY FANCY FONTS
Don’t you love when you’re reading along quite happily and then — BOOM — one character writes a letter to another. And hello incredibly swirly horrible eye-destroying font. This is a no-go, Susan. A NO-GO.
I’m pretty sure Sauron is behind this because he wants all the bookworms’ eyeballs to turn into bloodshot burning calamities like his own.
ACTUAL FOOTAGE OF MY EYES TRYING TO READ FANCY FONTS.
THIS IS THE TOP OF MY BOOKSHELF. I HAVE PROBLEMS.
10. NOT ENOUGH SPACE TO STACK ALL THESE DARN BUT BEAUTIFUL BOOKS.
At first it’s a small to-be-read pile on your side table….then a bookshelf. THEN TWENTY FOUR BOOKSHELVES. And next thing you know you’ve politely asked your family to move out of their rooms so you can fill them with books and you also are living in a small cardboard box in the back yard because you have books where your bed used to be.
And no no, you can’t solve this problem with ebooks. Because what about the apocalypse, okay?!?? NO BATTERIES IS A THING THAT IS COMING. You need to stockpile physical books before the zombies come. *
But it doesn’t change the fact that collecting is DOWNRIGHT PERILOUS TO EVERYONE! AND EVERYTHING! AND HELP! What if my TBR falls on me? What if books block my door? (Wait…this is not a problem.) What if I get a paper cut and bleed out?
And am I going to do something about it?
You can bet that’s a solid nope, my fiends. I will keep collecting and suffering and being a true survivor (and whining about it to be honest) because this book dragon will not be conquered by a paperback. AVAST YE, I AM HERE TO COLLECT ALL THE SOULS ** BOOKS.
* Plus the double as weapons. And disguises! Just put a book in front of your head and walk past a group of zombies and they’ll never know to stop you. #win)
** That was a total typo…I … I don’t know what happened.
You know JUST how to cheer me up, Cait- here’s my soul, TAKE IT!!!! I totally agree with you about EVERYTHING you’ve said here (and no, that’s not because I’m scared you’ll set your dragons on me, no way). Did you know that there are people who actually LIKE glossy covers? I miserably fail to understand them, like, howwww? Also, yes, fancy fonts are such an eye sore and I’m surprised publishers or authors don’t do something about it. Surely they don’t have some naturally inbuilt shields in their eyes against those horrible fonts? AND YES- I struggle with paperbacks too, and most of the time end up only opening them up a teeny tiny bit so as to not to break the spine, ugh the torture of it! And omg, I really thought it was only me that noticed the weight of ARCs (and some self-published novels too tbh), I have two dragons appointed especially to cater to hold up heavy books for me, and I suggest you do that too!
AARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- I’M THE FIRST TO COMMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU ARE MOST WELCOME. *takes soul and quietly adds it to collection* I AM HERE TO BE GLORIOUSLY AMUSING. And yes, ugh, those people who like glossy covers are CLEARLY not book photographers. They are abominable beasts instead. For sure. And fancy fonts are just…no. NO NO NO. I mean it’s a designer taboo, I don’t even know how it slips into books?!? I’m okay with swirly crazy fonts for titles but NOT for the actual writing that I must read. I end up getting distracted and not reading…because I’m crying.
Oh yes self-published books are hugely heavy too!! I’m guessing they don’t use the same paper?? BUT WHY. I REALLY WANT TO KNOW.😂
Layer tutorial? Yes, please! I’m a ignorant blob of something related to image editing – well, now not so much because of your guidance…
Shipping times is also a big thing to me. Living in tiny Portugal means 3 weeks to get my precious babies, if I’m lucky. Only exception was the latest purchase, because since it was a pre-order, it was shipped a week before release date and arrived on release week – I was so happy I almost danced the macarena.
Don’t get me started on cover change and different heights. It awakes my Igor’s evil twin side and has me on a bersek rhage.
One of my favorite series ever is Kate Daniels. Which I only had on ebooks – I need them on release date, okay. They started publishing them in hardcover format, and they are glorious. This summer I caved in, and bought the first one, since it was a special edition with plenty of bonus content – It’s paperback – okay, I can live with that… but the problem is… I got the last book on hardcover… and they don’t match. I would let it pass, if not for a little detail… books #2 to #6 are only available on MASS MARKET PAPERBACK *dies* So either I resign myself only to have 2 or 3 books… or the entire series mismatched… I’m still grieving about this… because the day I buy them all, is the day they’ll be reedited all books in hardcover. Since the end of the series is looming ahead (one book left) I’m a poodle of unhappy goo.
IT SHALL BE DONE! JUST FOR YOU! ;D
And omg I thoroughly agree on shipping!! I get so annoyed because there is NO WAY I can get books on release days. *wails* I live in a tiny town with no good bookstores and shipping in Australia is abominable at the moment. I can only imagine what’d it’d be like waiting for books to come overseas too. I FEEL FOR YOU, SONIA.
Agh, that quandary with your Kate Daniels series is the wooooorst. This is why I 100% support the idea of boxsets. AT LEAST THEY’LL MATCH OMG.
I can totally relate with the evil hardbacks. Whilst I love hardbacks, they can be dangerous and should not be given to little kids 😀
And I’ve given up on Paperbacks, seriously. They crack their spines before I’ve opened the book! And glossy covers are the worst. I don’t know if it’s my stupid camera’s fault or the books’. Please, publishers, give us NORMAL book covers and don’t change them mid-series!
AWESOME photography as always!!!
It’s so true!! They can totally be utilised as weapons! Any time I drop one I think I’m going to split a chasm in the earth. But omg paperbacks are WORSE because they always look used!! At least with hardcovers you can keep them pristine more easily.😂
I’m like 87% sure glossy covers are just awful to any camera ever. *howls* I have a DSLR and I struggle so much. *buries self*
Yes!!! I will choose hardbacks over paperbacks any day!
I actually like glossy covers because you can run your fingers over them so many times but when it comes to pictures, the books just FAIlS.
DEAR AUTHOR, how are people supposed to promote your book when you can;t even take decent pictures of it!
Well, OKAY FINE, I agree with that too, tbh.😂 Glossy covers are better in theory than in practise. hehe.
This is one of the few problems on earth that doesn’t bother me. When a book that I NEED comes out, I don’t care if it’s hardback and I have all of the others in paperback, I am buying that book. I’m totally cool with different spine heights – they make my shelves look more interesting. 😉
Well you are MUCh more relaxed than I am. hahhhaa. (Which isn’t a surprise, omg, just looking at this post I have a few
seriousmild hangups.😂I relate to these so much!!! I swear I still have scars from savage hardcovers and nightmares of the sickening crack of paperbacks. Great post! 😀
The scars of books are REAL. Emotionally and physically. *flails like an emotional penguin* 😂
Let’s not forget that eBooks are more problematic than being hard to photographs. They also tire the eyes and can make you hate a book because of those stupid LED lights that are peering into your soul and trying to end you…..
That got out of hand😂
We also despise cover changes mid series. We don’t mind it so much once the series is done because then we have the option to choose which cover we want🙌
Let’s not even talk about books being different sizes. We can’t. We won’t. WHY DO THEY EVEN EXIST!?
Great post. Really enjoyable. It ruined our life. Good job😄😄
I’ve never actually had problems reading ebooks…except for the fact that I read on my iPod so I’m literally turning pages EVERY 2 SECONDS OMG. Ahem.😂 But I feel for you with the LED light situation. *pats shoulder* There there, IT’LL NEVER BE OKAY. #Comforting
And YES! If the cover changes happen after the series it’s not so bad. Because FREEDOM OF CHOICE YAS.
YES YES YES! I can totally relate. I am a bit hit and miss when it comes to the size of paperbacks, I don’t exactly have a problem with them but if it’s one single small paperback book then I feel that I have to get another one to match with the others. I saw a photo on Instagram which had a security tag INSIDE the page, like in the corner of Chapter One, that is the worst for me. I don’t have a bookshelf in my room (because my bedroom is the smallest) but I have so many books that I keep most of them under my bed and in baskets :(. Great blog post xx
There is NEVER enough space for all the books, amirite?!? Like even when I get a new bookshelf, I seem to have overfilled it 2 days later…just by trying to display all the books I had in hiding.😂 #bookwormproblems And omg paperbacks that are teeny tiny are actually really hard to shelve because they don’t fit with the others!😩
Those teeny tiny paperbacks are alright (if you have a few of them that can be together) but the worst kind of paperback is the MAHOOSIVE one the sticks out like a sore thumb, that is the worst. I wish I had more space to display all my books, I have been trying to get rid of books in order to fill the space with new ones but I still end up with no room 🙁
I wish that books had all the same height!
It would be so much better…
IT WOULD SOLVE SO MANY PROBLEMS.😩
I feel ALL THESE THINGS! Brilliant post. I would add to the pain of shiny covers with the infuriating task of trying not to get finger prints on it. Pretty sure I’m not the only bookworm who has had to buff a paperback back to shine with my shirt sleeve before taking a photo…
Omg yes to that too! Smudging books and then trying to take those photos…IT’S JUST TOO HARD. *collapses in agony* 😩😂
Mismatched series are evil when it comes to heights and general format. And I recently had a trauma.
Two months ago… or a little more, well I bught and read “The Vagrant”, a really particular fantasy-scifi-dystopian novel and I fell in love.
So last month I ordered the secondo book and it was a giant, when the first book’s edition was a cute and little paperback ç_ç
OMG THAT IS TERRIBLE. MY HEART BLEEDS FOR YOU AND I ENTIRELY UNDERSTAND. There’s a series that I want to buy the sequel for…but I CANNOT find it in the same height as I have the first book in. Whaaaat is a bookworm to do?😩😭😩😭
OMG, this is your best post yet! I couldn’t stop giggling as I read it because I agreed with every single point. I love the bond we book lovers have!! And I love knowing that I’m not crazy like my hubby thinks – these are real issues/problems :).
*hi fives* We bookworms suffer SO MUCH it’s really quite a miracle we’re still alive. *sighs dramatically* 😂
I relate to this post on a spiritual level omg. I think the on problem that I relate to the most, however, is the one where you run out of space on your bookshelf. I have room for about 4 more books on my shelf, aND I’M GOING TO THE LIBRARY BOOK SALE AND I WON’T HAVE ROOM FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS I’M GOING TO BUY. ARGH.
Also printed on stickers are literally the WORST. Although stickers that you can actually peel off are even worse. They leave behind that nasty sticky-ness, sometimes they can even tear the cover. ahem.
THE STRUGGLE IS REAL AND PAINFUL. I FEEL FOR YOU. *pats shoulder* The top of my bookshelf probably has more books on it than inside my actual shelf. Thank goodness it’s screwed to the wall.😂 But like, why are families so opposed to being thrown out of their rooms so we can turn them into libraries??? IDEK. IT SEEMS A LOGICAL SOLUTION TO ME.
I totally wish all hardcovers were the same height. And because of this blog, I’m now subconsciously calling everyone a pineapple! 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving Cait!
Bahahhah, THAT MAKES MY DAY. The world is going to be overtaken with people calling each other pineapples AND IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF MEEEE. :’)😇😈😂
Aside from printed on stickers which are totally the worst, or hate it when a store slaps a regular sticker on the front cover and no matter what you do you can’t remove it or get all of that sticky residue off!
Agh, TOTALLY agree.😭 It’s just pure torture to us poor bookworms.
I relate SO MUCH to the cover change problem! I’ll admit, sometimes they’re for the better – like the new Delirium covers which are so good they make me want to actually finish the series 5 years later. But (unpopular opinion coming) the new Wrath & the Dawn covers? I REALLY don’t like them. And there’s apparently going to be no paperback 2nd book to match the first one, so I either invest a ridiculous amount of money in matching hardcovers or I resign myself to mismatching with worse covers.
Ugh I HATE the new Wrath and the Dawn covers. Whyyyyy did they change them?!? THEY’RE AWFUL. I’m so glad I’ve got two matching hardcovers in the NICE covers. (But omg that sucks about them not bringing out the 2nd book with the right cover. EVIL PUBLISHERS.😭)
So, I almost exclusively buy hardcovers…buuuuut right now I’m reading a 570 page monster that I can. not. hold. comfortably. Not to save my life. Either my wrist starts to hurt, or I can’t see it clearly, or…OMG WHY. It’s seriously slowing me down. 😛
Also, not that I’ve received a lot of ARCs yet, but of the something like 10 I have – they are all exceptionally LIGHT for books of their size, so maybe it’s an Australian thing? *must read through comments to see what other peeps say*
Hardcovers can be such beasts when they get into the huger sizes, right?!?😂 Like I LOVE THEM but also: help. (I would totally buy only hardcovers if I could though. ULTIMATE LIFE GOAL.)
Ooh, that’s interesting about the ARCs!! I wonder if it is an Aussie thing then?!? It’s so weird.
Geniously hilarious. Perfect, Cait. Perfect. 😂
I’M SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT! *flails happily*
Hail Dragon Overlord-er, Lady. Highness. Thing. Okay moving on!
This is possibly one of your BEST posts! I laughed at quite a few places, and had a smile on my face the whole time. (Except, of course when the hardcovers were trying to assasinate you, and the paperbacks were fiendishly daring you to break their spines, and your poor Majestic eyes were like Sauron.)
AAAAAAGHH!!!!! DIFFERENT SPINE HEIGHTS ARE THE WOOOOORST!!!!!! Esspecially if you’re like me, with a shelf the size of a grape, and your books are all like a hair too long to fit, and you have to either put it sideways (um no, leave your bookish rear end out if this, Book), or lean it sideways and then it messes up the whole symmetry of my bookshelf!!!!!!!!!
Paperbacks…. oh you dear, terribly unmannered, horribly flimsy, annoying things. I am traumatized by the thought of ruining a book, I want them to be BEAUTIFUL FOREVER!!!!! But alas, it is near impossible, and all things must end sometime or other…. *pretends to be okay, but then breaks down and sobs*
Ugh! Stickers printed on!!!!! I esspecially hate it when they are sticky up a little bit (wait, what is that called? I am so inane), and you THINK they are stickers at come off but noo they do NOT!!!!! *frantically scratching at the not-really-a-sticker* *realizes it won’t come off* *throws book in a wild fit* *rushes and picks up the book and pets it tenderly* ‘there there, I didn’t mean it! Booky, dear’
FAANCY FOOONTS!!!!!!! BLAGH!!! ADHFJHYEB!!!!! JUST STICK WITH ITALICS YOU EVIL FIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHY DID I NOT THINK OF THAAAT????????? I HAVE THE PERFECT DISGUISE AND NOW I CAN LIVE DURING A ZOMBIE APOCOLYPSE!!!!! CAIT, YOUR MAJESTIC HIGHNESS, YOU ARE ABSOLUTE BRILLIANT ITSELF!!! I just hope the zombies don’t like to read,… I’ll have to get a really boring book. Say, wherever did I put my school books?
~E
scribblingpencils.blogspot.com
WELL I DO APPRECIATE YOU USING MY FULL TITLE. *flips hair fabulously* What a delightful subject you are. I shall give YOU CAKE! Anyway, ahem. I’m so glad you liked the post and it made you smile!😂 MY WORK HERE IS DONE. WOOOO. Although, I mean, piteous crying at the reality of our plight is also accepted. I’m here to hand out tissues and pat shoulders. SO KIND, I KNOW.
Shelves the sizes of grapes are THE WORST. I have a really skinny bookshelf by my bed (not the one I usually photograph) and it’s like “hello let’s put TWO BOOKS ON A SHELF” and it just makes me mad. I need to squish more in. I NEED MORE SHELVES. I NEED AAAALL THE SHELVES. *hyperventilates*
Also you’re welcome for the zombie-apocalypse-survival-plan. We bookworms are going to be the ones that win. My current strategy will be to build a barricade of books, too, and live behind it, so (A) I’ll finally catch up on my TBR and (B) zombies won’t get int, and (C) even if they do, I’ll recommend them to read some good books and they’ll be SO BUSY DOING THAT they won’t eat me. My own genius is amazing. :’)
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!
Your Majesty, you are the ABSOLUTE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!
If you ever end up writing a memoir it will be an international bestseller. I mean, ALL your books will be, but ESSPECIALLY your memoir because then you don’t hve to stick to a plot. You can talk for however long you want on dragons and cake and books and it will be so full of pictures and loveliness…. I CAN’T WAIT!!!!!
~E
OMG, yes, we are such hearty beings, bookworms! 😀
It’s a miracle we’re even all still alive tbh. :’)
Most of my books came from used bookshops and are basically the ugliest things ever. Some of them are so ugly that they fell apart, and I put them back together with glue sticks and rubber bands. I don’t even try to take photos of them. They just sit on the shelves in all their ugly glory. 🙂
Hehee, but at least you’re rescuing them from used stores, right?!? I just bought a 2nd hand book I reeeeally wanted but OMG IT HAS THE WORST UGLIEST COVER OF THEM ALL. I’ll read it and then bury it in my shelves.😂
GLOSSY COVERS ARE THE ACTUAL WORST. I hate them so much it’s not even funny. Like how the heck are you supposed to take photos of them???
Mismatching covers and spine heights kill me. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO MAKE THE BOOKS LOOK PRETTY WHEN THEY DON’T MATCH UP??? And it’s so hard to stack them when the spine heights are different like what is wrong with you.
Oh my goodness THAT IS THE MOST BRILLIANT THING IN THE WORLD. I would LOVE a tutorial on how to photoshop the covers on because the struggle is so real.
“I’m suspicious that they’re actually carved in stone using ink of their author’s black hearts coupled with the manic evil laughter of whoever formats books. #legit” <- XD #dead.
I don't understand why they give paperbacks those evil spines. It's the most frustrating thing ever.
HARDCOVERS INJURE ME ALL THE TIME. Books have gotten so much of my blood at this point it's not even funny.
STICKERS ARE PURE EVIL. People who print stickers onto the cover just want to see the world burn.
I don't understand why people choose such awful fonts. Like, what's the point?????
I have way too many books (if that's even a thing) and I can't figure out where the heck to put them. I just need to build a barricade of them and then people can't come in and I get to be alone with my beautiful books.
This post was wonderful, Cait. XD
EXACTLY!! WHY DIDN’T THE PUBLISHERS THINK OF THIS?!! 😭 It’s not like I just READ my books. I photograph the, gosh dangit. Get your priorities in order, publishers, and begone with these glossy covers of evil.
And I will totally do that tutorial!! I know how to do like 2% of interesting things with photos…😂 BUT THIS I CAN DO!!
It’s so weird about the paperback spines right?! Like some just fall right open and are NICE and you can read them and they don’t look like they’ve been mangled afterwards. And some? They look like they rode a donkey through a warzone in the 18th century after ONE READ THROUGH. It’s terrible. My bookstagram suffers.
Now now, Grace. “Too many books” is NOT a thing. “Not enough bookshelves” is definitely a thing. *nods* My sister is maybe leaving home soon and I keep petitioning to turn her room into my own private library. Family is not supportive. Cruel monsters.
Those stickers they stick on books are my nemesis! They look so ugly, and they are so hard to take off, plus they leave all that sticky residue that looks horrible and feels horrible when you’re trying to read the book.
And printed on ones are even worse, because I would rather have the sticky residue than not be able to remove the sticker at all! 🙁
UGH TO ALL STICKERS, BASICALLY. The only okay stickers are ones that are 90 feet away from my book covers. I can deal with the annoy sticky ones because there are methods to destroy them. But printed? PRINTED?!?!??!?!! *cries for a thousand years*
I love glossy covers in person, but I can see how they’d be a pain to photograph…
I AGREE ABOUT CHANGING COVERS MID SERIES. SO SO SO NOT OKAY.
Interestingly, I’d know you wrote The Pineapple of Malcontent even if you used a penname and told no one you wrote it. XD
…Actually, you need to write a memoir about yourself and call it that. Or maybe call it Furious Pineapples, and ALL YOUR FOLLOWERS WOULD READ IT IN A HEARTBEAT OH MY GOSH.
Different spine heights are the woe of my life.
Yes I want a pixlr tutorial please and thank you! (I love pixlr. I wish I knew how to do ALL THE THINGS on pixlr.)
Not wanting to bend the spine of my paperback Raven Boys is a legit reason why I haven’t read it yet. I MEAN REALLY. IT WON’T BE PRETTY ANYMORE. :O
Stickers are bad enough, but printed stickers, JUST NO.
The top of my shelf looks like that too. XD
SERIOUSLY WE BOOKDRAGONS HAVE SO MANY PROBLEMS HALP.
Fun post! ^_^
YESSSSS. IT’S THE PHOTOGRAPHING THAT KILLS IT. Because, like, SHINY.😍 I do like shiny things. But not when I’m trying to photograph them…because then the pain is just intense. And I’m pretty sure there is literally not a bookworm on the PLANET who is okay with mid-series-cover-changes. We need to storm the publishing world and shake some sense into them. *nods*
Pfft, dude, NO.
IfWhen I write The Pineapple of Malcontent NO ONE WILL GUESS THAT IT’S ME. I’m so subtle about things, we all know that. 😉 My memoir should totally be Pineapple Fury though <--- Excellent ring to it also. OR MY PEN NAME?!?!? Maybe you'll never see a book from Cait, but you'll maybe one day see one from PINEAPPLE FURY. #WinningAtLife (I know how to do 2% things on pixlr haha, but this tutorial I WILL DO!) We bookdragons need so much cake to compensate for all the agonies we go through. Seriously.Ugh…YES the sizes! Oh, the sizes! I wish every book was the same size as the hardbacks of Throne of Glass. Whenever I hold books that size (which is seldom) it makes me so happy. I dance around and say “PERFECT SIZE!” The last book I read that was that size was The Crown’s Game. Oh, Oh, Oh, there is actually a trick to getting the stickers (heathens) off the front of books. It depends on how long that suckers been on though, if its been on for years since you’ve had it, yeah its not coming off. But if it is a new book you can get a hair dryer and blow it over the sticker, and when it is warm they peel off soooooo easily, with no residue (not all the time though, but mostly). I learned this trick and yelled “HALLELUJAH!” I don’t know how it works but it does. Try it! Try it! You don’t like special fonts in books?! I love them, its always something special. Except for Illuminae, that confused me so much and I could not get that book (I never finished it). Oh, and those glossy covers…WHY?! I hate how after I read one I feel like I need to clean it, because my finger prints get all over it. Oh, and I love the pictures you took for this post. So pretty! I especially like the one of the top of your bookshelf. My bookshelf has no books on the bottom shelf, because I upgraded to a bigger one.
SAME!! Actually, wait, I haven’t ever held a Throne of Glass hardback…but I’m assuming that’s like the standard size one, right? Like The Raven Boys seems to be the “standard” hardcover size, and about 80% of my hardcover collection matches. The others…WE DON’T TALK ABOUT THEM. *cries*
Oh yes! I do work on stickers that are only stuck on there…but when they’re printed on the cover, like, part of the design? THERE IS NO HOPE.💔
Aww, thank you about the photos!! I realised I had to actually take some photos where the glare was bad and it BROKE MY PHOTOGRAPHER SOUL. bahaha. Ahem. But you upgraded to a bigger bookshelf? #GOALS 😍 My sister is moving out and I keep hinting we should turn her room into my personal library. So far…the family is not being very supportive. I don’t know what’s wrong with them.
THIS POST MAY WELL BE ONE OF MY FAVOURITES.
But you’ve made me miss my book collection that I’ve started boot selling and donating and will be saying goodbye to for the rest of my life in about a week. :'( SOB.
Astrid
http://www.astridkaniele.com
Whaaaaaa??!? You’re selling your book collection?! MY HEART IS ACTUALLY SHATTERING ON THE FLOOR ON YOUR BEHALF ASTRID. *gives you cake but knows this will not make it all better* 💔💔
Ha, I only really have a problem with two of these – pointy corners, and stacks of books trying to kill me.
The rest is just like, dude – chill. I mean, I know a lot of people like to have things just so but… meh.
I’m a very disorganised and eclectic person – I like different covers, different heights, having part of the series in paperback & half in hardback… s’all good.
Also I don’t bookstagram because I do not have the patience for that degree of faffing about with lighting and props. There are other things to do with my day – but if that’s your thing, then that’s your thing (plus you’re much better at taking pictures than me.)
Oh, and I thought you’d want to know that I was reading this while listening to MCR, and right in the middle of some full-blown rock-miming to Disenchanted (with swaying and facial expressions and everything,) I randomly chuckled… My mother is giving me the ‘I’ma call Arkham Asylum cos they’re gonna be worried and calling Batman as we speak’ look again.
DON’T TELL ME TO CHILL OMG. I AM CHILL. THIS IS ME BEING CHILL. *BREAKS A PLATE* 😂
Ahem. I suppose personalities do come into play with this? Like I like things in order and exact and I’m always straightening things hahah and it drives my sister NUTS who is a disorganised, eclectic person.
Omg that’s hilarious.😂😂 APOLOGISES FOR MY BLOG BEING THE REASON YOU’RE COMMITTED TO ARKHAM.😂
I completely agree about the spine sizes! It’s just so frustrating! I just want them to All. Be. Equal! Why can’t they be? They would all looks so much nicer on the shelves as well! This gives me so much angst! I look at my shelves and sometimes just beg them to all be the same height!
Whyyyy is the real question.😭 What did we DO TO DESERVE THIS AGONY?!? *shrieks from the rooftops*
I do not get the different-heights thing. I’ve looked into self-publishing, and while you do have a choice in sizes, it’s things like 6×9 inches or 5×8 inches… not 6.3278×8.7967 inches. Maybe the publishers just want to make their books feel “special” by making them ever-so-slightly unique. Never mind that they look ridiculous together on a shelf. (I have a series of paperbacks like this. The covers all match… but they’re different sizes!)
I actually don’t mind weird fonts if they’re easy enough to read. When I was a kid, I was into the Baby-Sitter’s Club series (yeah… I’m old). One of my favourite things in them was the occasional “handwritten” bit, because each of the girls had a different style of handwriting so you could tell at a glance whose entry it was. (This is one thing I’m not so fond of in e-books. You don’t get the cool fonts that you do in paper copies. You get boring italics instead.)
Who could know.😭 Publishers are alien creatures sometimes, omg. And UGH I have the matching-covers-but-different-sizes too thing happening on my shelves. And there are a ton of sequels I want to buy but I cannot find them in the same size as the first book so BUY THEM I DO NOT. (Don’t publishers think about this?! They’re losing sales from me, which is, obviously, terrible.)
I will let you have all the weird and whacky fonts then.😂 My eyes die EVERY TIME and I swear I mostly just skim them and hope nothing too important was in there omg. #shame
THE HEIGHTS DIFFERING IS THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE. My bookshelf is the pride and joy of my life. As soon as I get home after leaving the house (the outside *shudder*), I run to my bookshelf to make sure that no malicious thieves broke in while I was away and stole ONLY my books because they are the most valuable thing that I own, but when the spines of my books are out of line with each other, it crushes my fragile little heart.
Same same. *comes over to cry with you* There is nothing more monstrous than a bookshelf that is NOT IN THE ORDER WE WISH IT TO BE IN.😭💔
#1) WHAT IS THIS PIXLR MAGIC?!?!? I demand a tutorial!! (Or I could just, you know, Youtube it…)
#2) Thank you for using that Ever After GIF. Just….thank you.
#3) Cover changes….*wails uncontrollably*
Personally, different spine heights don’t drive me completely crazy IF THEY’RE HARDCOVER. In my mind I have the three main ones. Short, medium, and Illuminae. 😛 But the ones that KILL me are all the in-betweens!!! Like…when paperbacks are a quarter-inch different. Or sometimes less. And you organize them with the others, BUT IT’S THE RED-HEADED STEP-CHILD and will never truly join their ranks. And no other books match its height. -.-
A TUTORIAL SHALL BE DONE, JUST FOR YOU. Because, let’s face it, my tutorials are better anyway. #humble And also: every post is improved with an Ever After gif. EVERY TIME. Bless that movie. Bless that bee.
Short, medium and Illuminae. I’M DYING.😂 And omg yes it’s annoying when just ONE book is cantankerous. Like my copy of Lady Midnight is, no joke, about 1 centimetre taller than my Mortal Instruments set. IT’S DRIVING ME CRAZY. WHY DO THIS TO ME, PUBLISHERS, YOU FIENDS.😭
Arg, yes! The paperbacks that DON’T OPEN ALL THE WAY!!! What is even with that???
And pointy hardcovers! And WHY ARE arcs so heavy??? And those HORRIBLE stickers!!! Ohmygoodness, AGREED to aaaaallll of this!!! Nasty fonts are THE WORST. Can you people just NOT write your stupid letters. Epistolary is weird anyway.
In other news: I must mention for THE MILLIONTH time how much I love (and am fiercely jealous of) your bookshelf. It makes my book-loving soul happy and pleased just to look at it!
It’s just not faaaair. It’s either break the spine or DON’T READ THEM EVER.😭 Why must I make these terrible decisions, paperbacks?? Please be nicer.
And omg, I’m glad it’s not just Australian ARCs that are pure brutish monsters. WHY ARE THEY SO HEAVY?!? I’m all excited to read a pre-release book and then I end up dislocating my entire ARMS and getting wrist trauma and needing to take naps before reading just to prepare for the SHEER HEAVINESS. *collapses dramatically*
(Also: I actually hate letters in books anyway hahaha. So I would be entirely down to have them deleted. Forever. Amen.)
N’AWWWW. MY BOOKSHELF APPRECIATES YOUR LOVE. It appreciates my love too. And now you know the dark secrets about how it’s not all aesthetically pleasingly colour-coded. The top of it is a nightmare.😂
AAH I love this post! BUT SERIOUSLY THOUGH. Collecting books is the hardest thing ever (plus, since we’re bookDRAGONS, it’ll be awfully hard not to burn the precious paper with our fire-breath *pouts*).
THE PINEAPPLE OF MALCONTENT. THIS NEEDS TO BE A THING. And then I’ll write The Dragonfruit Of Enthusiasm XD.
#6! OH MY GOODNESS – so true. I do the exact same thing. Do I open the book and DESTROY IT?! Or give myself a horrible headache trying to open it just a teeny tiny bit and still read the words?! I DON’T KNOW!
OOH Holding Up The Universe would have the prettiest cover if it wasn’t for that STICKER! *cries*
BENT/CURLING COVERS. This is my addition to the list. They are terrible. Another reason I don’t want to open my paperback books *cringes*. THEY ARE JUST THE WORST. There is no question.
IT IS SO HARD OMG. *weeps for the pain we suffer* At least we get the title “Book Dragon” to help ease our suffering, so I suppose that is a win.
You just WAIT until my glorious book The Pineapple of Malcontent hits the shelves. I’M GONNA BE FAMOUS AND IT’LL BE A BESTSELLER INSTANTLY. And yes, you can write the sequel. Nothing can go wrong here.
But spines can be the worst, right?! 😭 I like them looking new and pretty BUT HERE THEY ARE, BREAKING THEMSELVES JUST BECAUSE I WANT TO READ THE PAGES. #agony Also, tbh, I’m tempted to buy the hardcover of Holding Up the Universe just so I can avoid that horrid sticker.😭
YES, BUY THE HARDCOVER. DEATH TO THE PRINTED-ON STICKER! *shouts a battle cry and charges*
THE AMOUNT OF TIMES I’VE BEEN STABBED BY A POINTY HARDBACK IS UNCOUNTABLE. And ugh don’t even get me started on mid-series cover changes – they are the bane of my existence. Also, I kind of like glossy books?? THEY’RE SO PRETTY.
OMG BUT GLOSSY BOOKS ARE OUT TO BLIND US AND OUR CAMERAS, KYRA. I mean, taking photos of Splintered is just a nightmare. But of course I push through because I’m a brave soul and not a quitter. #Strong
And hardcovers should come with a warning to get out LIFE INSURANCE OMG.
Yes to ALL of these, but especially to the different sized books, covers that don’t match and shiny covers. For those of us who are already Bookstagram challenged, these things make it IMPOSSIBLE!!!
Books are just out to make our bookstagram experience seriously difficult omg. How dare they.
hahah omg that gif, that is EXACTLY how it feels when the font changes. Why must authors do this. Sheeshkababs.
I’ve started to notice little solitaire piles of books springing up here there and everywhere lately, which I keep giving a suspicious eye because I can’t really work out how and why it’s happening. Sigh. Such a difficult life.
YOU ARE GENIUS. Photoshopping the cover onto an e-book? HUZAHH. I love this idea. I bet I fail miserably (in which case, please do that tutorial) but I’m totally going to try that next time I’m faced with such a predicament. Also, I will never forgive publishers who change the sizes and covers ETC of the books before the series is finished. *angry breathing*. There’s nothing more satisfying than buying a boxed set of a completed series so your books are perfectly, EXACTLY the same. #problemaverted.
Don’t blame the authors, BLAME THOSE PUBLISHERS.😂 Actually, wait, let’s blame the authors for including letters in their novels in the first place. DOWN WITH LETTERS! I DO SO HATE THEM! (Gee, the fury is wild tonight?!?)
I will totally do that tutorial.😂 Trust me, it’s EASY, particularly if I can do it and I have about as much skill editing and photoshopping as a dead turnip trying to use a laptop. (Dude, that metaphor. I’m using that forever now.) But it totally saves the agony of trying to get the cover looking nice and not GLARING OUR EYEBALLS OFF.
Box sets are gorgeous. Petition for all series to come in boxsets and save our lives.
Oh my god, get OUT of my head. Mid-series cover changes and different spine heights are two of the (many) things that keep me awake at night. Why, oh why don’t the people in charge of these things realise how much they matter to the people forking out all the dollars – you know, the people keeping all the bigwig publishing honchos in a job!?!
NO. I MUST READ MINDS. IT IS MY SUPER POWER. *flails evilly* Also at least we’re awake at night together with this suffering. *pats shoulder* There there, IT’LL NEVER BE OKAY.😭😭
Preach it, sister! This is the story of my life! ESPECIALLY THE HARDCOVER CORNERS! Honestly, my fiance hopes I get rid of a bunch of books because he doesn’t understand collecting them. I mean, I’ve read them, therefore I’ll never read them again…right?
OMG THE PAIN AND SUFFERING IS REAL. But nooo. That is an emphatic NO to your fiance’s logic, omg. I think he’ll need educating, yes??
I relate so much to this post. D: Unfortunately. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. I have the entire Heroes of Olympus series except one problem…they made the first book tiny??? All the heights are different now. :’)
I hardly ever purchase hardcovers either. It’s like what you said about the poking-your-eye-out thing, but also I read and carry books with one hand and hardcovers are too heavy eheh. Wouldn’t that be an interesting post idea, book positions? Anyway, fun post as usual!
*cries with you for this pain* This is me and The Iron Trial series. But opposite because the first is HUGE and the sequels are tiny.😭 The family is BROKEN. What did we do to deserve this????
Hardcovers are kind of heavy.😂 And awkward. Especially when reading on the go, ah…BUT THEY’RE SO PRETTY. <3
Oh could I have some tips on MURDERING publishers who mix up covers? One of my favourite series (Indian) switched covers midway and I CANNOT EVEN! I cannot! I adored the old ones, yes they were shiny but they were shining bright like a diamond. This one….ugh. Just. No. I have no words.
The cover switches are just out to hurt our minds and souls.😭😭 I will NEVER RECOVER. And someone needs to come have a series talking to with these publishers. I VOLUNTEER YOU TO GO ON OUR BEHALF.
CAIT I RELATE TO EVERYTHING. Specially the not enough space. My books don’t have a heavenly abode, just lie around and sometimes come to rest in the bookshelf occasionally. Why aren’t books of the same height? Many hardcovers have the same height, but paperbacks don’t like to be part of a group. I am so grateful for box sets. Great post, as always!!❤️🎈🎉
THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH SHELF SPACE. *weeps* Paperbacks just like to be little hipster oddballs, I swear, omg. They just don’t want to conform. THEY NEED TO CONFORM!!
(Also tutorial will happen for sure!🎉
OH ALSO I DEMAND A TUTORIAL FOR THAT EBOOK BOOKSTAGRAM.
Ugh, all I can say to this is preach! I hate how books come in all different heights and sizes. I merrily tried to have a shelf for some of my favourite hardback books and it turns out there about ten different heights on them all so I can’t slot them all nicely together and balance a couple more on top without the ones on top being all skewiff and it is so frustrating. And then the paperbacks in different heights. There’s the normal sized ones, the little mass market paperback size, the small UK paperback size (which is bigger than a US mass market paperback annoying me and my shelf organisation) and then there is the really tall paperback which is the same size as a hardback and costs almost as much. What is with all these sizing inconsistencies?
And whilst on the topic of paperbacks, why are the good quality paperbacks so hard to open without having to break the spine and then why do the cheaper ones crease their spine from you simply touching a page in the book? And what is with the paperbacks that basically have a paper cover it’s so flimsy so your book is flopping about and impossible to read one handed? Just why?
I’ve already covered my hate of printed stickers on books (and stickers on books in general leave that nasty residue no matter what you try).
I just, books create a lot of problems. And then there is the library dilemma. You borrow the greatest book ever from the library only to have to return it as it is due back and finding the time to read all the books you borrow and you can never take a good picture of library books as they put they glossy protective cover on them. And then you end up buying these great books to go on your shelf because it was fantastic but you have no room for it which is why you decided to borrow it from the library instead of buying because your shelves are full and you can’t prop your bed up on books because you will need a ladder to get into it!
We’ve just got issues and non-readers will never understand.
WE ARE IN ENTIRE AGREEMENT TOGETHER, BECKY. *hi fives* And omg the favourites shelf struggle is REAL. I can’t even have my rainbow shelf looking perfect because of the so many different paperback sizes. And the other day I ordered a book online and forgot to check the sizing, so when it came it was A PURE BEASTLY MONSTER and I nearly cried because it wouldn’t fit in its designated area.😂 I tell you, the bookworm life is HARD.
Paperbacks are just disagreeable basically. Or how the covers NEVER CLOSE PROPERLY after you’ve read them once??! Omg.😭
ohh yes don’t get me started on returning books. WHY IS THAT SO HARD?😭 I just want to adopt them together. And those glossy protective covers are awful. Plus the barcode stickers??? Honestly someone please talk to librarians about THE THING THAT IS BOOKSTAGRAM. Because they’re destroying us.
I’ve tried to give up caring about cover changes and stuff. But it’s hard. My shelves look so… mismatched. Wah.
I don’t even bother trying not to care. IT IS MY LIFE TO HOWL OVER THESE THINGS APPARENTLY.😭😂
Oh, those glossy covers! I have the same problems with my pottery. It’s so shiny, and it’s so hard to make a good picture. I don’t like cover changes mid-series too. Thanks for your tips about taking photos of your empty screen and photoshoping the covers on later. I mostly read e-books, and it has never crossed my mind to do such thing. I feel the same way about stickers printed onto book covers, why do publishers do this to us? Great post, Cait! It’s good to finally be back to blogosphere.
Glossy-ness should be illegal from here on out. *nods sagely* THIS WILL SOLVE ALL OUR PHOTOGRAPHY PROBLEMS! And you’re most welcome about the photoshopping tip.😂 HERE TO HELP SAVE A BOOKWORM LIFE! I mean, sometimes it looks a bit….photoshopped, but it’s better to have the cover actually looking LIKE a cover instead of a washed out turnip.
Publishers need to be severely glared at sometimes for their terrible life decisions. WHEN I RULE THE WORLD….I’m gonna fix things. *nods*
Oh Cait, it’s great to know someone understands! Printed on stickers. Why? Why would you do this? It just doesn’t look good! Especially on Holding Up the Universe, that just looks awful! And I also hate breaking spines! I ten to read books with them open at a 90 degree (give or take, I don’t actually measure it) angle (give or take, I don’t actually measure it), and then just turn the book as I need to go to the left page. My dad, however, breaks books right open so he can hold them with one hand above his head while he’s reading in bed. I have leant him books in the past, got them back and almost died. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BOOK! YOU’VE RUINED IT!!!” Thankfully, he’ll only read ebooks now. So my books are safe.
One point about books in different sizes… what is with publishers publishing books in this HUGE format, only to release them in normal paperback size next year? IT IS UNFAIR! I don’t want to wait, but I don’t want to be holding such a heavy book and hurting my wrists! Case in point: The Glass Throne. I didn’t know they were going to release it in smaller scale! I got a review copy, and it’s massive! If I’d known, I’d have waited. Maybe. But ughhh.
I have another gripe… that’s only a gripe when it suits me. When authors write books set in a world, and don’t stop. Sequels, companion series, prequel series, and on and on. I’m thinking Cassandra Clare. If you like the story, fine, but as a book collector… OH MY GOD! WHEN WILL IT END?! WILL IT END?! That space on the bookshelves could be used for other books! And yet… when it comes to Robin Hobb, OMG GIVE ME ALL THE BOOKS! I think my problem is that Clare’s books are just so huge. Another case of massive books when smaller books will come out later, probably – Lady Midnight. The books keep on getting written, and I’ve only read the first two in the Mortal Instruments series, and I just feel like I’m never going to catch up, but I also don’t have the room for them. Robin Hobb has… 15 books set in one world, but they all come out in massive hardbacks and normal sized paperbacks a little later that don’t take up as much room. I wait for the paperbacks, and my shelves aren’t completely overtaken (mostly because some of them are my dad’s and I just borrow them), so I’m happy. But I think I might give up on Clare.
Siiiigh! Why do books torture us so, Cait?! Don’t they know we just want to love them? 🙁 Brilliant post, as always!
With all due respect, you are an amateur. I have moved my library across the Atlantic Ocean – TWICE. Don’t talk to me about pain until you have experienced that.
I knooooow. It ruins the Holding Up the Universe cover SO BAD.😭 It’s like not even the right colour scheme?!? What were they THINKING. I got my copy for review but I’m like 78% thinking about buying the hardcover because at least it doesn’t have the sticker.😂 (WHEN I’M RICH AND FAMOUS I’M GONNA.)
And I have the same problem with different sized series. That’s me and The Iron Trial! First book is the size of Jupiter. 2nd book is the size of a grape. LIKE WHAT IS THIS LIFE. They can’t even be on the same shelf. HOW MANY TIMES MUST I USE THE CRYING EMOJI????? *howls*
Bahahah I’m laughing about you Cassandra Clare comment because on one hand: OMG GIVE ME ALL THE CLARE OF EVER PLEASE NEVER STOP WRITING, CASSANDRA CLARE. And on the other hand…I have legit run out of room on my Clare dedicated shelf.😂 I didn’t actually even think of that until you mentioned it?!?? But where the heck am I going to put Lady Midnight 2?!?? SOMEONE SAVE ME. Also, actually, while I’m whining about this…I just got the second Magnus Chase book. Do I have room for it next to my 394839 other Riordan books? NO. THIS IS A TRAGEDY AND I’M HAVING PROBLEMS.
Oh my word, number nine is HILARIOUS!!! Actually, all of them are…but seriously, the Sauron thing is just, like, the best, haha!
I know this is probably something that doesn’t affect most people, but I don’t like hardcover book sleeves… They’re just annoying… What purpose do they serve anyway? To slip and fall and make me drop the mammoth book on my pinky toe as I’m trying to read?
I’m glad you liked this post!!😂 MY DAY IS MADE BASICALLY, AHHHH!!!! And dude, I love hardcover sleeves for the, you know, pretty cover. But actually READING while they’re on?? No no no. I always ditch mine because there’s just NO WAY to read and not totally screw them up.
Oh my gosh yes to the heights. I hate this. Especially when they are within the same series, have the same cover editions but don’t have matching heights because they released two of them. Or because the second book doesn’t have the mass market paperback out (and doesn’t seem to ever get it). (I’m looking at you The Mime Order).
Ugh when the heights are all messed up within one series? THERE IS NO WORD FOR THAT PAIN. It’s like I can’t even put them on the same shelf or they just look ridiculous. And didn’t they change The Bone Season series covers too? MID SERIES. SO AGONISING.
THIS IS SUCH A STRUGGLE, I’M TELLING YOU! AND I JUST RAN OUT OF SHELF SPACE. WHY DOES THE UNIVERSE HATE ME??
All of these are so relatable except I don’t have a bookstagram because my photography skills are nonexistent. But please do a layer tutorial because I will make a bookstagram soon and will be totally confused. Fancy fonts annoy me so much though I have done it once or twice in my own books that I am currently writing. But of course, I would clear it all up before I publish it. Oh and when the covers don’t match. *Lets out exasperated scream* And different heights. Why? Especially when the heights change in the middle of a freaking series.
Sorry, this post just speaks to me on a spiritual level.
THE UNIVERSE IS JUST UNKIND TO US. WHAT DID WE EVER DO TO IT???? 😭
I will definitely do the layer tutorial! Because I know how to do like 2 clever things with editing hahahaha AND THAT’S IT, so I might as well share my (nearly nonexistent) knowledge, yes? And bahha, yes, I’ve actually used fancy fonts in the books I’m writing because we gotta do SOMETHING to make writing less painful right?! But I would literally stab myself with a spork before I let anyone see it but me.😂
Okay, who on earth is Susan? Do I know Susan? Are you now naming pieces of cake?
The height difference absolutely shits me. I stack my books by height and it pains me to have to separate an entire series on various shelves. But Oh my goodness, what IS IT with the Aussie ARCs being so bloody heavy? Especially Bloomsbury. The ARC editions (apart from the covers typically) the pages are so lovely and smooth and the quality is so much better than retail copies but they can easily snap off an arm. I think you and Susan should investigate this.
Susan is here because Bob was unavailable basically. (I’m actually going to be SEVERELY embarrassed if I actually meet a blogger with these names and they come to read my blog and leave feeling very attacked. #oops)
ARGH ARGH those Aussie ARCs are just out to punish us for wanting to read books early tbh. It’s like trying to hold a mammoth to read and you end up dislocating both arms and losing an elbow and having your wrists break off. No one can say the bookworm life isn’t horribly dangerous.
Susan and I are onto the investigation. WE WILL FIND ANSWERS AND SMITE NATIONS! (Idek how the second part of that comes into play?? But it will.)
Oh gosh, I hate the tags on books that you can’t take off. If they NEED to put it there, make a sticker at least so I can scrape it off. Even that looks kind of bad though, because some stickers are awful at coming off. Anyway…
I totally agree.😭 I just cry about it, tbh. and I’m SO furious about the Holding Up the Universe one because like it doesn’t even MATCH?!?!?? They could’ve at least colour-coordinated it, but it’s like YELLOW and the rest of the book is blue and cream. What is going on here, omg.
I seriously love your content!! THIS POST IS MY BOOKWORM LIFE IN ALL OF ITS ENTIRETY.
Like glossy covers? No. You make my life so hard. Not to mention I have the darkest room in the house(like my soul) and when it’s time for pictures, I have lamps and curtains open so I’m blinded for almost an hour because I take that long when taking photos.
COVER CHANGES ARE STABS TO THE SOUL. I loathe cover changes. It doesn’t help that the covers for paperback and hardcover are sometimes different and when you like the hardcovers better but too poor for them, you have to settle with the not so nice paperback covers WHICH ARE DIFFERENT. No, I’m not bitter at all…
I WOULD LOVE A TUTORIAL ON PHOTOSHOPPING THE COVERS ON IN THE EVENT OF EBOOKS. I’m helplessly clueless when it comes to photo editing. Please help.
Ohmygosh, the fancy fonts in books are the equivalent of finding the derivative in math. I cannot read swirly fonts for the life of me. Both cause me headaches.
(This comment is longer than life, I’m so sorry😂)
Other bookworm collector trials? How about walking into a bookstore and wanting to buy the whole shelf? I see books and my soul screams YES! And my wallet sobs in distress, but I must keep collecting books? It’s a hard life.
Great discussion!!
AHHH I’M SO GLAD. THIS MAKES ME VERY HAPPY, THANK YOU, MICHELLE. *flings confetti and shrieks*
Glossy covers should be outlawed. Someone get the publishing world on the phone for me, while I demand our bookstagram rights. It’s like covers are the most gorgeous part of a book and YET they still find ways to mess everything up with these glossy ones, or cover changes, or just different heights.😭 Excuse me, I’m having an emotion and need to cry. It’s pure torture trying to have a nicely organised and matching and organised bookshelf. IT’S NOT LIKE I’M ASKING FOR MUCH.
And I shall definitely do that tutorial!!
omg yes the bookstore struggle is real. Or the library. I have wanted to abscond with library books and nEVER RETURN THEM. Life is just so hard omg.
DUDE, the printed-stickers are THE. WORST. Actually THE WORST. Like, back in the day we all cried over how difficult it is to UNPEEL a SUPERGLUED-FREAKING-STICKER from a cover, and so publishers decided to… INCLUDE THEM IN THE DESIGN?! WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?!
I mean, I HATE that neither paperbacks nor hardcovers are the same height, and I haaaate cover changes and I’ve written on the subject of shiny/glossy covers conspiring against bookstagrammers, and OH, THE IMMENSE DIFFICULTY OF OPENING A STIFF PAPERBACK WITHOUT DAMAGING THE SPINE! But the printed-on sticker thing… THAT’S AN OFF-WITH-THEIR-HEADS SORT OF OFFENSE.
Also, the ARC thing? Might just be The Great Oz. Over here in Europe, I’m happy to report I’ve yet to have an instance of a weighty ARC murdering my arms. Some have tried murdering my BRAIN, but no arm-assault with their incomparable weight yet. Maybe I was just lucky? Or maybe Australia is angling for MOAR gold medals in future weightlifting Olympic events and it’s taking some radical approaches? Just thinking out loud here.
EXACTLY, I MEAN, WHAT DEVIL IS BEHIND THESE PRINTED-ON-STICKERS??!?! They need to stop. I swear Sauron is working in publishing sometimes. Removable stickers I can complain over nicely, but printed-on just means I want to burn something down. (Gee, when did I get so violent? Oh yeah. When I was born. Ahem.
Paperbacks are just so hard not to murder while reading. I mean, either I break the spine or just stare at the cover and try to IMAGINE what’s inside because that spine sure doesn’t want to tell me.
Well lucky the rest of the world who doesn’t have to put up with seriously heavy ARCs.😭 That’s it, I’m coming to the UK to save my WRISTS from the agony of such heavy ARCs. (Maybe the trees are just heavier in Oz?? Or maybe we just like to print on stone? Who can know.)
I just found you and I’m laughing so hard tears are running down my face. Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly find someone who shares a infinite amount of sarcasm, bam, I find you. Wanna say thanks, today’s kinda been a crappy day and this put a smile back on my face and laughter back in my soul.
OKAY THIS MAKES MY DAY, LISA, YOU ARE OFFICIALLY THE BEST. *gives you welcome cake* (And I’m sorry about your crappy day but VERY PLEASED I might’ve made it microscopically better💕😊.)
OMG ALL of these call to me!! Nasty fancy fonts can cause me to drop a book like a hot potato and immediately reconsider if it’s worth the Sauron eyes. :/ Although stickers printed onto book covers and glossy covers RUIN PHOTOS — HOW CAN PUBLISHERS JUSTIFY THAT?? There is no justification. ˆ.ˆ Although parts of a cover being shiny aren’t as bad as the whole cover acting as a reflective light beacon that you could use to signal to rescue crews during the apocalypse. Probably shouldn’t use those ones to hide from zombies though. :p
There is NO WAY to justify printing stickers on books just…no way.😭 It is pure torture and SOMEONE NEEDS TO TALK TO THE PUBLISHERS ABOUT THIS IMMEDIATELY. *shrieks*
OH! You could also shine those glossy covers in the zombies eyes and blind them while you run away! #winning
Wowww I have never related to a post so much!! xD I totally get the height thing..like whyyyy….and the fancy fonts!!
In my bedroom there are three overflowing bookshelves and the floor is literally COVERED as is the corner (or maybe alll….) of my bed.
I’m not sure if you do this as well, but I spend way too much time rearranging my books! Certain spines look so good beside eachother! Another pain for collecting books is if you are getting a series, and some are paperback and others hardcover *cringe* this happened to me and Harry Potter. (granted, it was still my fault)
This was another awesome post Cait! And trust me, I’m positive 99.99% of everyone thinks you rambling about cake and dragons is awesomeness.
WE ARE TWINS IN THIS THEN, JAIMI. *hi fives* And I hear you on the floor/walls/ceiling covered in books. Like there are so many books in my life that I could probably be just squashed by them at ANY TIME. And will I stop collecting? No.
And yesss to rearranging books!! I take a lot of bookish photos (haha, I mean, obviously😂) so I’m always dismantling my bookshelf and then putting them back in. I REALLY wish I had more shelves though <-- plea of every bookworm ever N'AWWW. AREN'T YOU THE NICEST THING. :')
I’ve done the photoshop trick for taking pictures of ebooks. And I’m not even a book blogger. But I had to get a photo of my full set of the Ilyon books. (full as in all published books, mine as in a mixture of ARCs, ebooks and library copies.) Ishould probably take another picture now that I actually own that book in the series instead of just the ARC.
And I agree that having covers consistent is nice. Most of the series I own are completely consistent. But there is one that has four books from when my mother was a girl and three bought for recently and three different styles between them. And then I have so many random books that look terrible together.
Matching covers is probably an argument for waiting until the whole series is published to buy them.
Yay!! We are basically geniuses with our devious ways to photograph ebooks *hi fives*🎉😂
I mean, sometimes random, unmatching books can look aesthetically pleasing together…but mostly…NOOOOO. I need things to match and be the same height and FIT NICELY ON MY SHELVES. I don’t ask for much.😭
OMG YES TO ALL OF THESE. Publishers changing series covers midseries is absolutely traumatizing. And different spine heights make everything so uneven. LIKE PLEASE STOP. And ugly fonts just make my heart hurt honestly. Thanks for sharing Cait and, as always, fabulous post! <3
Obviously we need to ride our battle horses into the publishing world and talk to them VERY SERIOUSLY about our bookworm-aesthetic-complaints. IS IT SO MUCH TO ASK FOR OUR SPINES TO ALL BE EVEN? *stomps foot*
good gracious I would die a happy death if all the books on my bookshelf were the same height, because I’m kinda cringing right now as I look at all their uneven heights and PLEASEEE someone help me now I can’t stop thinking about them and they need to be fixed. (thanks, Cait.)
*had something else to comment on but obviously forgot because of my teensy brain so goes to read the post again* (gosh I need to start taking notes or something xD)
DANGIT so I read through it again and I have no idea what else I was gonna say so I’ll just end it here by shouting BOOKSWORMS LIVE HARD, TERRIBLE LIVES AND EVERYONE SHOULD BE TERRIBLY IMPRESSED WITH OUR SKILLS.
All we really need is to march our battle horses into the publishing world and DEMAND EVEN SPINE-HEIGHTS. It shouldn’t be too hard. ASSEMBLE THE RIOTING BOOKWORMS!
(Bahaha, sorry my posts are so long.😂)
I FEEL YOU, FELLOW BOOKWORM. Especially the spine thing. I end up breaking the spines of something like 90% of my books because HELLO DO PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTAND THAT BOOKS MUST BE OPENED TO BE READ?? And the thing where the books are different heights is the worst. And no matter how you arrange them, the different heights will mock you for all eternity. This is why I have a hidden bookshelf. One, to hide my preciouses from grimy hands of uncouth unbookworms, and two, to hide the nonstandard spines from my sight. Also I’m now slightly glad that most of my ARCs are in ebook format.
Broken spines = broken hearts. But like what else are we supposed to do?! It’s either spine-murder or we just stare at the book and IMAGINE WHAT’S INSIDE BECAUSE THE SPINE SURE DOESN’T WANT TO OPEN UP AND TELL US. *wails for 9000 years*
And I have a secondary bookshelf that I never photograph just for the reason that it’s not pretty enough.😂
OMG printed on stickers =WHYYYYYYYYYY. And stick on stickers are almost as bad because if you try to remove then you either a)fail or b) end up with a nasty sticky patch on your precious book that is like a dust magnet and *cries*. And movie stickers are even worse! It’s like telling the poor innocent book the only reason someone wants it is because they watched the movie version, which is quite probably not as good. (Seriously, our entire narnia series has ‘watch the lion the witch and the wardrobe’ stickers and it really sucks). Another peril of too many books is trying to decide what to read. It’s just too harrrrrrd and then you have to give up and read a library book with all your unread books sitting on the self and giving you an evil eye. *cries* The bookworm/dragon life is just sometimes too hard. There should be a ‘warning, you have reached the point of no return’ sign somewhere, honestly. And side note: That kind of tutorial sounds great, because I read a lot of ebooks. Other side note: I read 7 books in the last 7 days and I am a happy bookworm.
UGH TO MOVIE STICKERS. Or just a huge blazing font across the top of the book with “NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!” Like, no. I don’t want to feature that in my photos. Go away.
Oh deciding what to read is just the worst. Sometimes I feel I spend more time DECIDING on a book than actually reading it, omg. So much time spent staring at my bookshelf. Life is to hard, it just is.
YOU READING SPEEDY QUEEN!! GO YOU!!
I loved this post way too much – you made me laugh throughout the whole thing. I share all these book woes but it is so nice to have someone else voice them aloud!
Carmen.
Oh my giddy aunt, I have had near-death experiences with hardcovers. AND I have this one series where the first book is a sweet little paperback and then the second is AN ABSOLUTE COLOSSAL HARDBACK OF TREACHERY THAT HARDLY FITS ON MY BOOKSHELF. What has become of the world?
One of the things I really hate is pre-ordering books. I have had some bad experiences here, humans. This one book I pre-ordered a couple days before it came out. One week later, no sign. Two weeks later, I get an email saying “oh we’ll post it next week”. Next week, NOTHING. Week after that? Haha, nope. A month later, “oh sorry we couldn’t send it, want to buy the ebook instead?” I LITERALLY ALMOST ATE THEIR SOULS. I MEAN, GUYS, THIS IS THE LAST BOOK OF ONE OF MY FAVOURITE SERIES. HOW DARE YOU KEEP ME WAITING. Argh, evil children.
Simi
Oh, the woes of the mismatched covers! This has happened to me with so many series that I’ve given up on the first editions more than once. And though they might be hard to photograph (I too have tried) at least eBooks can all be crammed on my Kindle and don’t do the weird font stuff, thank God. But stickers…STICKERS. What kind of monster decides to slap a tattoo on these precious paper children?
Oh my gosh Cait, you spoke to me in my language when it comes to Ebooks. I can’t have a bookstagram because I live in the boondocks and there’s just no way to order the real books. It would be stupid. Or they would not be in English. I sometimes worry I can’t be a book blogger because I have no chance to bookstagram xD maybe I can do digital collages or something. Haven’t throught of this yet.
– @AvalinahsBooks
Amen . Why do they change the covers mid series. Why can’t publishers continue with the gorgeous design of the first book on the hardcovers and use the new designs on the paperback copies . Argh. Not enough space is a close second !!! cool post
I love glossy covers to look at but they really are impossible to photograph. It’s so annoying!! Cover changes are the worst because half the time they redo covers they should leave alone and leave us with ugly covers that should get a new look. But it should never be done in the MIDDLE OF THE SERIES. Whyyyyy do they do this to us? Esp multiple redesigns?! Bahahah I seriously love how you write, it always makes me giggle. Bookworms do have so many perils in book collecting! I hate when I have a shelf perfectly organized but know there is another book coming in a series which means the whole shelf will be thrown out of whack. I need more space. I think heavy arcs might be an Australian thing LOL! Which is interesting. Can’t think of any bricks that I have!
THIS POST IS PERFECTION. After nearly a four month hiatus coming back into the blogoshpere to a post like this makes me so happy to be back and reminded me why I ADORE reading your blog.
I don’t even know where to start, you hit every point, every struggle a bookworm has. I can relate to every single one of them, and OMG I AM JEALOUS CAIT. YOU HAVE SO MANY BOOKS. I am actually a very broke teen who wants every S6 thing and every book she sees BUT CAN’T AFFORD IT BECAUSE LIKE I SAID I DONT HAVE MONEY TO BUY PRETTY COVERS AND FABULOUS MUGS.
Currently, I only have about 50 books AND THATS BASICALLY YOUR WHOLE TOP OF YOUR BOOKSHELF. So. IF YOUR BOOKS /DO/ FALL ON YOU, think of it as love. Or a hug. Yes, yes, a hug THAT DOES HURT A LOT but a hug nonetheless. Ahh yes, I wish books would fall on me.
I don’t even know where this comment is going anymore. But I digress. I’ll stop now and just SAY GREAT POST AS ALWAYS. *claps for all of ever*
(i think i talk in CAPS to much.)
Oh my word, numbers 6 and on — SO MUCH YES. ESPECIALLY THE SPINES. I got a paperback copy of The Way of Kings and I want to open it fully and GET A WONDERFUL READING EXPERIENCE but the masterpiece that is the cover, I can’t ruin it. D= I really enjoyed this post. Your stuff always brings a smile to my face.
Great list! I haven’t really experienced that mid-series cover change but I’m part of that 0.04% of not minding (if the new cover looks better than the first) (sorry!) – also because my bookstore doesn’t tend to keep lots of copies of not-so-popular books, so it’s a take them or leave them situation. I also don’t mind the spine height unless it’s the same series; it’s annoying if the books are in various heights.
This post had me laughing out loud like a mad woman! Luckily I didn’t read it at work and instead waited until I got home lol! Your use of gifs is the best things since sliced gluten-free bread!
~Sara
Love this topic!! <3 glossy covers are THE HARDEST to photograph! Like every time I try to do a flatlay, they either shine so bright or become shadowed by my camera 🙁 but they're so pretty to look at? Cover changes mid series are the most evil thing publishers could do, especially when the new covers are not better than the first! AND YES TO DIFFERENT HEIGHT! I hate this so much but this happens A LOT to me especially with online shopping. Like… there's never a way to know the height of the book before it arrives on my door.
AND OMG I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO CHEAT AND PHOTOSHOP A BOOK COVER ON BLANK PHONE SCREEN!! But YOU… you even have a detailed tutorials, Cait! 😛 I feel a lot better lol. Stickers on covers are POINTLESS! I really don't know why publishers keep doing this! My copy of Holding Up the Universe doesn't have any sticker on it, but it happens with my other books and I utterly disliked them 🙁 and omg what's with the fancy fonts on letters? I've had a hard times trying to decipher a letter before. It's just stupid.
As usual, great post Cait! <3
These struggles are REAL. Also, I had NO IDEA about the awesome ebook tip, I LOVE YOU for that. The stupid glossiness of the screen makes it damn near impossible, and if I DO get a picture, it has this awkward grainy thing happening to the point where I think that the ebook is possessed by the devil? That’s probably accurate.
ALSO. The HEIGHT THING. Can we outlaw this? HOW am I supposed to STACK books when none of them are the same size?! My shelves end up looking like they belong in Pisa for goodness sake! (You know, with the leaning tower? I hope that was clear.) I DO like shiny books too. Good thing I am absolute rubbish at Bookstagram and no longer care 😉
I AGREE WITH IT ALL. But first, get me that tutorial on the empty kindle/photoshop in the cover deal, PLS. It is SUCH a faff to download the cover & take a picture, honestly. The easy life is for meeeee.
Also, cover changes mid-series give me serious rage. SERIOUS RAGE. Even when an author has a gorgeous book cover style for stand-alones and the publishers change it gives me rage, too. Paige Toon had some absolutely stunning original UK covers and while her covers now are okay, they’re not exactly as exciting as the old ones. Publishers seriously need to think abut us bookworms when designing covers, they’re so SELFISH!!!!!!
Stickers, printed and actual ones, drive me nuts. If you’re putting a sticker on a book, a real sticker, MAKE IT EASY TO PEEL OFF. I have books with horrible sticker remains on and it makes me bloody sad.
YES to the heavy ARCS. Most aren’t, but I’ve definitely had a few that are insanely, ridiculously heavy. They’re nearly heavier than me. Ok, that’s a BIT dramatic, but YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
YES also to the fancy fonts. Some are unreadable, it’s insane! I understand they want to show it’s a letter or something, but just use italics for God’s sake. That’ll do the job nicely.
We really seem to be in sync XD. You say everything I feel. It’s why you’re by far my favourite blogger, so thank you for all your amazing, funny posts.
PS: Will you be releasing your books, ever? I need to read your written word and I strongly wish you would self-publish all your amazing books you’ve been writing! 😀
Its really interesting to see how someone else’s thinking on books differs from mine. I don’t really mind the difference between hard back books and paper back (though i find i’m usually more partial to paper backs, much easier to hold) and it doesn’t matter what size books are, my solution, I just got a book shelve with tall shelves (it’s also made of steel because the last wooden book shelf i had broke because of the weight of all my books). Now fancy, writing, I have to agree with you on, how do you think it was for me as a little kid trying to read what the main character wrote in cursive, my poor child brain was confused. I love your blog, #neverstop
typing!
Be happy you cannot stack too many books on top of your shelves because… there be blackeyes and bloody noses awaiting you! 😂
I will be linking this on my The Sunday Post. Hilarious!.
All of this is actually so true and the pictures of all the different heights makes me nervous.
However you’ve reinforced my desire to never read e-books because Instagram has become my life now.
This post is brilliant and I am officially your fangirl now. I know that it is awkward but just go with it.
YES. ALL THE YES. The size/cover thing kills me every time. Especially when somehow I end up with a series of two paperbacks the same size, another paperback slightly taller, and then a random hardback??? Clearly I need to get my act together.
Oh, yes! Yes to everything!
Especially the printed stickers on books. WHY DO THEY DO THIS TO US?! I hate the ones that say “Now a Major Motion Picture!” No! I will not have my book defaced by its, its movie! No. And who uses the term “motion picture”? What is going on here?!
I’ve never read an arc, but I do know what you mean about. . . paper being heavy. The printer on the college campus has heavy paper. It’s nice paper; it doesn’t flop around and get soggy when it’s extra humid outside. But it’s so HEAVY! I print out a five page essay and I feel like my backpack has gained a pound! And my backpack around has other heavy books in it. This is detrimental to students’ health, and backs. We can’t all be body-builders [although if we’re trying to be, then books are totally the way to go; they’re good for your brain and your strength!] Whoever buys the paper needs to rethink their choices.
Hey 🙂
Just discoverd your blog (actually I’ve just discoverd book blogging) and I can’t wait to read more articles. So that is exacttly what I’m going to do today.
I love the way you write and the photos are magnificent!!
I admit that I belong to that kind of people who go to libraries (Shame on me, your dragons will come and eat me) but I also have some (compared with you) books at home and I really understand your problems. Stickers are awful, even if they’re not printed. There stays always a bit of the glue. Grr. And I won’t say about about paperbacks… I feel with you!
Have a nice day (or night or whatever) whereever you are :))
Greetings from France!
(As you may guess or know after reading my text I’m not a native English speaker and hope I didn’t make to many mistakes :D)
Oh hello!! Thank you for your super nice comment! I love meeting new bookworm friends. 😊 And oh don’t even worry…I’m a huge fan of libraries! I go every week and I think at least 50% of my reading comes from libraries. 😉 But ugh I hear you with the stickers that you can peel off too. Those sticky residues? Not fun. At all. 😩😂
For me it’s all the people who complain about my book hoard. My mom made me watch Hoarders, because she is concerned that it’s going to be a problem. XD
OH MY GOSH SO MANY OF THEEEEEESE. Also…. To elaborate on the different covers one- When you buy a book online and you can’t tell from the picture that the cover DOES NOT MATCH YOUR SET.
I knew books collecting books was perilous but I had not appreciated the vastness of the problem. I appreciate being enlightened. Yeah, ebooks only solve the “I need to travel with my ENTIRE library” they will not save us in the apocalypse. But also, how do I CARRY all my books when we have to migrate to warmer climates where we can grow our own food?
Also just stickers on books! Because either you leave them and they mess up the look of your cover. Or you try to peel them off and they leave a sticky mess that not only messes with *that* cover but also can’t be put on the shelf like normal because the stickiness will come off on the book next to it.
yes – the peril of photographing glossy covers! I love your book photography!! You’ve got a great, unique style and a really good eye for composition. just, by the way 🙂
The trick I read to hard copy spines is to lay it on it’s spine – lay one cover on the table – then the next – then let a few pages fall on one side – then a few on the other – then just gradually let pages lay on each side until it’s open to the middle of the book. It relaxes the spine so it doesn’t crack. Not sure if it would work on pesky paperbacks.
Everyone ( meaning mostly friends and family) complain about me collecting books. It comes up every holiday and family gathering and I am held to rationalize my book collecting. The most annoying complaint is why do you do it? You surely haven’t read all those books. ( No, I haven’t)
Anyway, for whatever reason, I love being surrounded by my books ( it is mostly contained on the second floor of my home)