books

How To Fabulously Get Started On #Bookstagram

16th Jul 2016 by C.G. @ Paper Fury 308 Comments

One of my favourite parts of book blogging is definitely #bookstagram.

“What is #bookstagram?” you might ask if you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t seen its wildfire takeover across the blogosphere. WELL. I will explain all.

#Bookstagram = Instagram for books.

Most people with instagram accounts like to post pictures of their food, their children, their selfies, the poltergeist in their bathroom, their coffee, their engagement ring, or new car they just bought or…BASICALLY THEIR LIFE. When it comes to bookstagram…we bookworms are also posting about our lives. It just happens to be 100% books.

Today I shall guide you throw how to kick start your #bookstagram obsession.

Because you probably don’t have enough to do already. And it’s also super fun and you don’t want to miss out on how fun this is. Trust me. I know everything. But before we dive in, feel free to follow me @paperfury…just sayin’. I’m friendly and probably won’t eat you.

EDIT NOTE: This post has been updated November 2018.

SIGNING UP

This part is rather obvious. But hey I’ll say it anyway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The only tricky part here is that you must have a smartphone (or an iPod touch or iPad) to actually be able to use the app. It is not available on the computer. I AGREE THAT THIS SUCKS. Someone talk to instagram. Make them change their ways and threaten them a little with dragons and the promise of a life with no snacks if they don’t comply.

Moving forward.

PRO TIPS:

Pick a username that matches your blog. Or your name. IF YOU CAN. Obviously the user name you like might already be taken and you’ll have to be creative. But shortness is key. If your user name is Books-Are-My-Best-Friends-In-All-The-World-Of-Ever-I-Love-Them-So … I will 100% die. Try to keep your name to two or three words. Making it match your blog is super handy, too, because it makes you easier to find. FOR INSTANCE: I am @paperfury absolutely everywhere.
Writing bios is HARD. And don’t look at mine, it’s atrocious. But maybe put 4 or 5 words about yourself. Ideas include maybe your country, your age, your favourite cake, your favourite author, your hobbies. Make it brief. Mine also includes my book title since i’m an author.
Add a link to your blog. You only get to have one link, unless you use something like linktree, which I thoroughly recommend because then you can use a whole stack of links and truly live again.

USING THE RIGHT CAMERA

People assume you have to have DSLR. You do not! You can affably use an iPhone camera. But I will say — the better the quality, the more people are going to like your shots. If you take grainy photos…..eh.

However I do have DSLR and it’s a Nikon D3200 and I only ever use automatic BECAUSE I KNOW NOTHING, JON SNOW. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Yet I still get pretty far, so there you go.

Anyway. Feel free to use whatever camera you have on hand. If you have a relative/friend with a nice camera, steal from them too. I stole from my parents for about 6 months before buying my own camera.

THE AESTHETIC

“What the mangled monkey does that even mean anyway????” you grumble because now I’m just getting pretentiously complicated with this tutorial. BUT KEEP YOUR POLKA DOT SOCKS ON. I shall explain.

Actually I’m going to screenshot a dictionary. Ha.

Basically “aesthetic” on bookstagram relates to how you want your feed to look. Is your aesthetic consistent? Do you automatically know who’s photo that is when you see it? Does your feed match? Is your feed aesthetic black and white…super colourful…a consistent background???? Etc. Etc.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

(They’re totally not frequently asked…but they could be. I’m being organised just in case.)

DO YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CONSISTENT FEED? No you don’t. You can do whatever the heck you want because guess what….it’s your bookstagram.
WILL A CONSISTENT FEED GET ME MORE FOLLOWERS? I personally noticed a huge increase in my followers when I started trying to get a theme going.
HOW DO I GET A NICE BOOKSTAGRAM AESTHETIC? You take photos. They don’t have to be identical. But you work with patterns. For instance: my theme is cluttered and colourful. Someone else might be simplistic. Someone else might take 90% of their photos outside.
CAN I STILL POST PICTURES OF MY DOG ON THERE? Aren’t you listening, dangit? YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT. But. Be ye aware that often people follow accounts that look visually pleasing all the time. If you want to grow your account, make sure it’s like 98% books and 2% your dog. Or better yet, put a book on your dog’s head. That works.

THE PROPS

Props are a scary thing because WHERE DO YOU GET GOOD ONES FROM IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SPEND $89093840 DOLLARS?

Calm down. I’ve got you covered.

You don’t have to spend money on your #bookstagram account if you don’t want to! After all those books are downright expensive by themselves. Another PRO TIP is to use what you already have about your house.

FREE OR CHEAP PROP IDEAS:

ORIGAMI. I am an origami lover. I frequently use lucky stars and kusudama balls and paper cranes in my photos. Which anyone can make! Better yet, get that old ARC you don’t want, cut it up, and turn it into art. VOILA. Genius. Or, to be even more of a genius, you can hop over to my Etsy store and I WILL MAKE THEM FOR YOU. (Support me. I’m poor.)
YOUR BOOKSHELF. It makes a grand backdrop. Especially if it’s organised. Go do that.
FAKE WOODEN PHOTOGRAPHY MATS. Okay, I have a love/hate relationship with mine. It was $7 off ebay…which is really not a lot. Mine is basically a sheet of material that looks like white floorboards. The problem is…it scrunches and looks like material. I assume you can get expensive, better quality, ones that don’t do this. But have we met? My name is Scrooge. (EDIT 2018: I actually ended up drawing my own rainbow mat! Not super cheap once I used up 50 million pens, but very pleasing to behold and helped keep my theme cohesive.)
PAGES OF THINGS. I use ripped out pages of a very old, browned book. I also use atlas pages and scrapbooking pages. (Remember how I run that etsy store? I have a lot of pretty paper lying around.) If you don’t have anything on hand, may I suggest a thrift-store? Or 2nd hand store? I buy atlases for around $3 each and often get my books free because they’re old and spotty and no one else wants them. (THANK YOU LIBRARY.)
MUGS. This is super easy. Every house has mugs.
ART SUPPLIES. Like me you might not be an artist at all. Also like me, maybe someone else in your family is. Steal from them. They’ll understand it’s books before bros. I also use old tins/cans that I’ve saved from cooking, let go a little rusty, and then fill with pencils. BECAUSE AESTHETIC. I also have a lot of Bic markers, which are fake sharpies. They look fabulous in photos.
RANDOM THINGS ABOUT YOUR HOUSE. Honestly just trawl your house and nab stuff. My mother keeps peacock feathers. I found a wooden little elephant in the cupboard. I found hessian sacking too. SCORE. Pretty plates? Knick-nacks? Buttons? Jewellery? Skull bones? Old photos? Food? Musical instruments? ALL CAN BE USED.
FLOWERS: Fake flowers are best, but also keep an eye out for other people’s abandoned bouquets. I tell you Valentine’s day is a fabulous time. You can also get wildflowers from florists that last a long time because they dry out instead of die. That’s what I have…although they shed like nothing else omg.
YOURSELF. Your face, your hands, your feet. Kidnap a child and make them pose too.
PLAIN WHITE BACKGROUND: I bought a small piece of white cardboard from a Newsagency. (What is that in American language? An art store? IDEK.) It was like $1.

THE PHOTOS

**Now how do you actually take the photos?**

This is an excellent and mysterious question, my fiends, and I will actually not give you many tips because, like I mentioned, I KNOW NOTHING.

But here are some general guidelines I’ve acquired during my short #bookstagram career. (I’ve been going for about 1.5 years, I believe.)

NATURAL LIGHTING. Everyone says this…but what does it mean??? Take your photos near a window. Don’t use flash. Don’t take your photos at 5pm in the afternoon.
FLAT-LAYS VS ANGLES. Why can’t we have both? I do a lot of flaylays (the camera is directly above the book arrangement) but angles are fun too.
FIGURE OUT YOUR STYLE. This will help you know how you want the photos to turn out. Do you want a messy throw-everything-in-there style? Will your photo just display the book? Are you using a backdrop or taking them on your bed or by a wall or with your bookshelf in the background?
BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS. What’s in the back of your photo? Your messy kitchen? Are you taking the photo on your kitchen table? IS IT CLEAN? Are you taking it with a window directly in the background? It’ll probably be too bright and washed-out-looking. Are you taking it outside? NOT IN FRONT OF THAT SCRAPPY BUSH. MOVE TO YOUR LEFT.
DON’T COPY OTHER’S STYLES TOO CLOSELY. I mean duh. But this needs to be said REPEATEDLY because it really sucks to have your style stolen! Trust me! Be inspired by other people, but don’t copy exactly.

EDITING YOUR PHOTOS

I’ve discovered that most bookstagrammers don’t edit their photos. WHICH IS COMPLETELY FINE. But I am a perfectionist and editing is where my photos actually turn out…nice. (Plus I use my DSLR and don’t have a phone, so I have to send the photos to my iPod anyway. I might as well edit them before that.)

I’ve done a tutorial on how I edit my photos here.

But the basic idea is (A) make it brighter, (B) sharpen it up so it’s really cripsy like a bacon sandwich, (C) crop out anything unsavoury…like my feet which always end up in there, and (D) add a watermark.

NOTE: Watermarks are, of course, very optional. I use them because my photos constantly get stolen. Or “reposted”…but the person reposting says NOTHING ABOUT THE FACT IT’S MY PHOTO IN THEIR CAPTION. They just tag me for goodness knows what reason. So I can see they’re using my photo like their own??? HELP ME CONTAIN MY DRAGONISH WRATH. Ahem. So use watermarks if you want. Or don’t.

THE HASHTAGS

What’s a hashtag? It’s a GLORIOUS way for people to find your photos. I just click on #bookstagram and thousands of photos and accounts will come up for me to browse. Do not underestimate these!! People browse them all the time, and if you want new followers — HASHTAG IT, FIENDS.

Here are some common hashtags you could use: #bookstagram #bookworm #bookphotography #bibliophile #booklover #bookaddict #instareads #book #bookblogger #instabook #reader #bookish #bookgram #beautifulbooks #reading #booktag #prettybooks #coverlove

Make sure you ONLY hashtag what’s in the photo though, okay? It’s super annoying to be looking at #bibliophile and be bombarded with selfies of humans outside admiring their toenails or whatever. I mean. C’mon.

2018 EDIT UPDATE: I’ve since learned that you can use 30 hashtags, but it’s better to use maybe 10? And many hashtags are shadowbanned. You can check and see if your photos/hashtags are being shadowbanned on this site. Which is helpful ya. But use a few big ones (like #bookstagram and #booksofig) and then a few specific ones depending on your photos (like the book’s title or #anticipatedTBR or #bookishfonts or something).

CHALLENGES

Up until a few months ago I had NO IDEA HOW TO DO CHALLENGES. But holy cake crumbs they’re fun. They’re also inspiring when you don’t know what to take photos of!

What the heck is a “challenge”? WELL. A blogger will host it and give you a list of prompts for every day in the month! You can interpret them as you like and join in the challenge’s hashtag. For example I’ve been doing the #RFABJuly16 hosted by my glorious friend Charnell @ Reviews From a Bookworm! I make sure to tag my photo so it shows up in the challenge list LIKE SO:

Honestly challenges are great for inspiration. When it’s Day 13 and it’s “book and snack”? I GOT THIS.

I like to hang out on @bookstagramchallenges to see what upcoming challenges are happening!

PRO TIPS

Just some more random #ProTips from your FAVOURITE PERSON IN THE WORLD. (Spoiler: that’s me.)

You’ll get more likes if people recognise the books in the photos.
I also notice I get more likes when there’s multiple books in my photos. So lines of books, stacks of books, towers of books — ALL THE BOOKS.
Build things with your books! Build towers, chevrons, windows, hearts, circles, squares, mazes, etc etc. SO MANY OPTIONS.
Like and comment on people’s photos. INTERACTION IS GRAND.
Don’t worry if you don’t know what your “style” is! Just keep taking photos and it’ll come to you. And you do not have to have a consistent theme if you don’t want.
If you don’t own many books, take photos of your ebooks with your ereader! Use your library! (Although those shiny library jackets are THE PAINEST OF PAINS.) And take photos of the same books. Pfft, have you seen my feed?!? It’s 87% Maggie Stiefvater and I have no regrets.
Write interesting or fun captions!
Post consistently! I post 1 to 2 times a day. You don’t have to post everyday, but I’ve noticed it definitely boosts the follower count if you do.
Instagram hates allowing paragraph gaps in your captions…WHICH IS JUST SO RUDE. But if you type your caption in your Notes App, this should help. I also put lots of dots (like so: ••• ) because that helps keep the paragraph gap too. DON’T ASK ME WHY.

INSPIRATION

Before I wrap up this gargantuanly mammoth post…I want to give a shout out to some of my favourite #bookstagram accounts!

Plus this’ll help you know who you should be following. AND will give you inspiration! AND LET’S JUST ADMIRE PRETTY BOOKISH PHOTOS, OKAY?!?! Okay.

@theloonytuney

@aenteereads

@myfriendsarefiction

@therusticwindow

@jenniferwindram

@thedarkestpartsofsnow

Aaand…I’d like to mention the other 147 accounts I follow, but I shall RESIST. (For now.) (You can always go stalk who I follow on my instagram page.) (It would be a good life decision FYI.)

ALSO SOME OTHER POSTS YOU MIGHT LIKE…

SO THERE YOU ARE! GO START YOUR #BOOKSTAGRAM ACCOUNT!

And hopefully you aren’t too entirely overwhelmed by all of this. But seriously — baby steps. It’s not hard! Just take photos of books and post them, basically, and enjoy yourself. Super easy.

If you’re really serious about your account and want to, like, become rich and famous (good luck with that, by the by) then utilise hashtags and network by commenting and liking other photos. Or else just have fun with this!

BECAUSE WHAT TRULY IS AS GLORIOUS AS THOUSANDS OF PHOTOS OF PRETTY BOOKS???? It’s honestly a dream come true. Oh, excuse me. I need to run away and marry bookish photos. Goodbye.

**do you have a bookstagram account?! do you have any beginner’s tips you can add to my list??? LET US HELP THE NEWBIES! if you haven’t started taking bookish photos…do you want to?!?**

10 Dreadful Things That Will Happen If You Read Too Much

21st May 2016 by C.G. @ Paper Fury

The bookworm life is fraught with peril. Anyone who denies this fact is either a) not deep enough into the dark jungle that is bookworm culture, or b) in denial, or c) trying not to scare you away. But will I cushion the hard, cold truth for you? NO, I SHALL NOT. I am here to give you FACTS and tell you how it IS and warn you of aaaall the dreadful things that are likely to happen if you read too much.

“What do you define as ‘too much’, Cait?” you ask.

Which is an excellent question so my lordliness will allow it. According to the internet, the average person (I think this is actually an American statistic, tbh) reads 6 books a year. So if you’re reading, like, even just 7 books a year — YOU ARE AT GRAVE RISK.

1. YOU DEVELOP A TERRIBLE HABIT OF THINKING.

The unfortunate part of submitting your little grey brain to tons of author’s ideas is — you’ll think about them. IT’S REALLY RATHER HORRID IF YOU COME TO CONSIDER THIS DASTARDLY PHENOMENON. People who think too much always die. They do. Look at history. Tons of marvellous, innovative thinkers who changed the world. And where are they now? DEAD.

Plus thinking too much is rather stressful because you notice people who don’t think and it bothers you a lot. You can’t stand people who don’t think for themselves. You end up throwing books at them and — GASP — risk damaging books. (Maybe risk damaging people? But let’s face it, that’s not a really worrisome issue.)

2. YOU ARE DEVELOP A HORRIBLE HABIT OF HAVING OPINIONS.

This is directly related to thinking too much. Don’t do it. No one is kind to those who have copious opinions on all the things. I mean, how dare you really.

3. BOOKS OFTEN CRUELLY TRICK YOU INTO BEING PASSIONATE ABOUT EVERYDAY ISSUES.

If you are a perceiving of bookworm, you’ll notice how books often subtle critique society in the form of an exciting fantasy story. So you might be reading along, enjoying a dragon eating a village or girl kissing a frog … and then suddenly — BOOM — you’ve been knocked in the teeth by real feelings about real issues. Discrimination. Sexism. Normalising violence. Wars and genocide. Slavery. Plagues. Illness.

BOOKS WILL MAKE YOU THINK ABOUT DEEP ISSUES WHETHER YOU ASKED FOR IT OR NOT. #rude

4. BOOKS COMPROMISE YOUR SAFETY AND GENERAL HEALTH.

This is a rather obvious one, but it bears saying copiously. Because you know that harmless looking to-be-read pile you have? HAHAHAH. NO. It’s most likely plotting your demise. And even if it’s not gotten to the animated state yet (it will), then you’re still at risk from the mountains of unread books just spontaneously falling on your head.

Bookshelves could topple in the night. You could get a papercut. You could drop a book on your foot. You could try to lie on your bed only to realise it’s covered in books and therefore get a backache.

Books are BAD for general health.

5. TBRS GROW WITHOUT PERMISSION.

Have you ever seen ONE book? No. Books do not live solo. They are pack creatures and they specifically go around hunting for more of their kind to join them. WORSE: they force us into helping this pack-mentality.

At first you’re like, “Well it’s a series, so I really ought to buy the entire set.” And it’s all fun and games. And then — BOOM — 2 years later you have 500 books and MORE BANGING AT YOUR DOOR SCREAMING TO BE LET IN.

6. YOU WILL WILL ALMOST ENTIRELY DEFINITELY LOSE SLEEP.

“One more chapter?” the book whispers deviously. You give in. You are in its clutches till 2am.

And even staying up late aside, what about those times the book just gets into your brain and you can’t stop thinking about it? And you end up thinking about it FOR DAYS AND NIGHTS AND YOU DON’T SLEEP ANYMORE BECAUSE YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT THIS LIFE DESTROYING BOOK.

7. ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS WILL DIE.

Your fictional friends, definitely. No bookworm can stand before me without battle wounds and emotional scars from losing a BFF (best fictional friend).

But also your actual-flesh-and-blood friends? They’ll probably die too. OF NEGLECT. Because of the 9383 times you said “You know, Marge, I’d really love to have coffee with you, but there’s this book I have to finish…” Whilst poor Marge withers and dies with no coffee. #PoorMarge

8. YOU WILL MAKE BAD LIFE DECISIONS WITH YOUR MONEY.

At first it’s simple things like “I don’t need that $30 shirt when I could by that $30 book…I mean, I already have one shirt? How many more do I need?”

Then suddenly it’s all “I DON’T NEED A HOUSE. I CAN JUST LIVE IN A BOOK IGLOO.”

Some people find themselves even sacrificing food money to use it for more books. I would like to inform you that I wouldn’t fall to this. You need cake to survive, people.

9. YOU WILL HAVE A LIFE CRISIS OVER SMALL BUT HIGHLY STRESSFUL THINGS.

For instance:

Whether your series are matching.
Should eat and read? Because food = yum. But potentially getting crumbs on your book = no.
Ebook vs physical?
Can you still socialise with people who dog-ear books or must you kill them and bury their body under the full moon of the autumn equinox?
Can you buy that bag? Is it big enough for books?
If you go to an author signing, how do you function? Do you take flashcards to remember WHAT WORDS ARE?
What do you do when your bookshelves are full?
How tall can you stack your TBR before you risk Eiffel Tower height?

The stress levels of the bookworm life are astronomically dreadful.

10. YOU WILL UNDOUBTEDLY FALL IN LOVE WITH PEOPLE AND PLACES THAT DON’T EXIST AND THIS THE MOST DREADFUL OF THEM ALL.

I mean, raise your hand if you TRULY have never wanted to go to Hogwarts? Or Narnia? Or Wonderland? Or Neverland? Or Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory?? BECAUSE I CAN SEE THE WANTING IN YOUR EYES.

And how about the terrible, horrible moment when you relate to a character so so much that you either want to be their best friend, marry them, or adopt them (or all three, like, simultaneously) only to be punched in the feels with the realisation that THEY’RE NOT REAL, KATNISS. NONE OF THIS IS REAL.

(Cue gross sobbing.)

However! No matter how AWFUL and DREADFUL these things are…you can definitely avoid them.

Just don’t read too much! Simple! Be very careful about how many books you read and try not to be too emotional. Probably be a Vulcan. Take up another hobby too, like crocheting winter mittens for sharks. That’ll be best.

Safety first, fellow bookworms! Don’t let the books win this war or crush you flat!

care to add to my list? what are some other NASTY side effects of reading too much? have you ever experienced any on my list? do you need to cut back your reading habits, hmm?? stay safe, pineapples! don’t be a thinker!

Is It Possible To Read “Too Much”?

23rd Jan 2016 by C.G. @ Paper Fury 243 Comments

Once upon a time, I was sagely informed in that I “read too much”. I’ve been told this from humans I know and also from internet creatures. Cue outrage and horror on my part. HOW COULD I EVER READ TOO MUCH?! How dare that phrase even exist! Rise my dragons! Destroy this concept!

But since it’s a phrase that bothers me…I thought about it. I mean, once upon a time, I read less than 100 books a year. I recall giving mostly 4 and 5 star ratings. Is that because I was awesome at picking books back then? Or because I didn’t have a very high standard since I hadn’t read so much? Did reading less books make me nicer to books? And is that a good or a bad thing?!?

CUE EXISTENTIAL CRISIS.

I like to love books. It’s an amazing feeling to kersplat your face into a novel and just absorb the story like it’s the most delicious cheesecake the world has ever known. Books are friends. Books inspire. Books instigate thinking. Books are artistic. Books cause you to view the world from different angles. Books tell you secrets. Books…

I mean, need I go on?!

I am made of 70% books. (I think the rest is 20% cake and 10% paper cuts.) BOOKS. That is how much they mean to me! I EAT BOOKS AND I LOVE IT.

But I rate about 65% of what I read 3 stars or lower. (This is a rough statistic. Actually most of the statistics on my blog are pulled out of thin air. Trust them though. Because if I say it, it must be true.) So doesn’t that mean reading so much isn’t working for me?

All that’s left, obviously, is a PROs and CONs list! I know! I know! A LIST. I love lists.

P R O S

You get to live basically a thousand lives. And why would you knock that back, seriously?! WHY?!?
You can experience so. much. stuff. Like skydiving or being chased by Romanian crocodiles or eating cheesecake by a waterfall. The options are ENDLESS.
It helps you understand other people better. If you’re an unfeeling Vulcan like me…sometimes it’s nice to have humans laid out in black and white, with all their complexities explained.
Also, it gives you friends. REAL FRIENDS TOO. The fictional friends are awesome…but what about the bookworm community?!? Bookworms UNITE. When you’re a bookworm, it’s like being abducted by other dead-tree-reading-fiends. You can eat books and howl together. What is not to love?!
But I’m not going to underestimate the fictional friends too, because, daaaaang, what would I do without my fictional buddies?! Even if they pretty much ignore my existence even though I’m infatuated with theirs. Rude.
If it’s your passion, than that’s downright epic…because what could be better than simultaneously collecting ART and WORDS and STORIES?!? They are like the most important thing in existence! After cheesecake…oh gosh. Wait. Maybe even BEFORE CHEESECAKE. This is getting serious.
Your brain becomes like a library because you’ve read so. so. much.
Ergo you can recommend books very easily because you’ve read them all. This is helpful to slower reading bookworm friends. You can tell them where those Romanian crocodiles are lurking and whether they should skip or not.
Reading makes you smarter. It just does, okay? Ask me how to take care of a bee hive or how to do archery or how long it takes to travel the Oregon trail…AND I CAN TELL YOU THANKS TO BOOKS.
If you read a lot you’re equipped for any conversation. If a human says, “So this one time I was lost in Siberia –” and then you can jump in with “OH I READ THAT IN A BOOK ONCE” and — boom — you can have a great conversation! Because I’m positive this is how conversations work.

C O N S

Your brain gets so stuffed with books you forget other things. Like to how to bake bread or what your middle name is.
And also you can forget books because you’ve read so many. Guilty of that…no denying. Sometimes books blur together too so you aren’t really sure which character fits where or how that series ended.
Your standards get set MONSTROUSLY HIGH. And while it isn’t a bad thing to be in love with quality…it means you get more picky. Time is wasted on less-than-stellar books because you’ve seen it done better.
It can take up a lot of your time. Unless you like to swallow books hole and absorb the story through your stomach, then reading will take up most of your night. Or your day. I’m not picky. It’s just maybe you’ll miss out on other things if you read all the time. (Is this a con though? Wouldn’t you want to read versus going outside and risking being burnt to death by the savage sun? I mean — NATURE AIN’T SAFE, PEOPLES.)
Books can take over your house and you might have to live in a cardboard box outside. I’m on the verge of this happening to me. Of course this wouldn’t happen if you only libraried or kindled your books. But. Copious readers often lead to copious libraries. Which often leads to copious of despair over bookshelves.
Fictional life is better than real life?! Okay, I’m partially joking here! But sometimes you can get lost in fictional worlds and they are just so much more interesting than your world. Sometimes you can get jealous because fictional characters do so much more than you.
You become unsure if you’re YOU or if you’re actually Katniss. Or, you know, insert any fictional character there. I mean, is that habit or thought MINE or do I do it because I read it in a book somewhere?! (Again though…is this really a con? Surely it’s not a con that when someone says “frosting” I say “IT’S THE FINAL DEFENCE OF THE DYING, PEETA” rather dramatically.)

Why are all my pros and cons lists so evenly split? IT DOESN’T HELP ANYONE, CAIT.

I think the fact of the day, though is: read however much you possibly want. Because if it makes you happy, you should jolly well DO IT. (Unless serial killing makes you happy, or stealing avocados, or anything else morally wrong…then I don’t condone it, okay?) You can compensate for the negatives. For instance: I have a bad memory already, so I forget what I read fairly quickly…ergo I write reviews to remind myself of the book.

But ultimately, I’m in favour of happiness, okay?

I’m also guilty of wanting to know things. All the things? YES. ALL THE THINGS. And this is why I read, and I think that’s okay.

So can you read “too much”? The positives outweigh the negatives for me. But I won’t deny that reading copiously DOES have mildly bothersome drawbacks.

what do YOU say? can you read “too much”? do you suffer from any of the cons I listed about reading copiously?

YA Books Without Romance ~ I Promise You THEY DO TOTALLY EXIST

29th Dec 2015 by C.G. @ Paper Fury 267 Comments

I often hear fellow bookworms raise their voices in the agony of despair over how YA books focus on romance so much. We do have rights to whine because — YES, most YA books do feature a romance and a lot of time it is the focus.

But not “all YA books”. NEVER ALL OF THEM.

If anyone says “all YA books do [insert cliche/trope here]” then I honestly believe they have not read very many.

I am not a monstrously romantic person myself. Although I do like to ship* and I often find romances entertaining or squishily nice to read about. I also laugh at them a lot. I also yell at the book “YOU’RE 16 FREAKING YEARS OLD, CALM DOWN” because I’m an old hermit and have legal right to say these things now.

* The term “ship” unfortunately does not mean to captain a crew and become pirates. It means to root for two characters to have a “relationship“. See? SHIP.

So for those of us who are after a YA book that is devoid of the romance category — I AM HERE FOR YOU. I have a glorious list.

(There may be hints of romance. Attraction? But nothing develops into a full fledged googly eyes fest.)

THERE WILL BE LIES: This is about a…a lot of things. All of which are basically spoilers to say. BUT. There are illegal activities and a deaf protagonist and kidnappings and roadtrips. Zlich on the romance.

DEMON ROAD: Technically there is a secondary character who’s “in love” wiht the protagonist. But she a) doesn’t love him, b) NEVER loved him, c) in fact she detests him. Ergo, I don’t call it love. Demons and roadtrips and killer cars and friendship — and THAT IS ALL.

MAGNUS CHASE AND THE SWORD OF SUMMER: After the squishy cuteness that is Percabeth, I honestly expected Magnus and his sidekick, Samirah, to get together. BUT NO. Sam loves someone else! Magnus loves nobody! IT’S A MIRACLE.

IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY: The focus is basically depression and recovery and while there’s a girl in there alongside the narrator, Craig….it just isn’t a romance.

CHALLENGER DEEP: This one is about schizophrenia. There is absolutely NO romance in there…which I found really refreshing, because for once it focused on recovery and family and self — instead of smooching your problems away.

JACKABY: While the protagonist, Abigail, makes googly eyes at a local constable…their relationship never evolves past there. I would say zlich to the romance. Unless you count Jackaby, who is basically a Sherlock Holmes character, being romantically attracted to a duck.

SHE IS NOT INVISIBLE: This is about a blind girl who “kidnaps” her little brother to fly overseas and find their father. It’s an incredible book!! Also no romance! Because they’re finding their DAD.

MESSENGER OF FEAR: This book has no time for romance because it’s too busy creeping you out. No complaints, folks, noooo complaints.

THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO: There is a boy and a girl in this story and I see potential. But they’re like 14 and sort of trying to live. There is no romance. They’ve got priorities.

CHARM & STRANGE: It’s a confusing mess of a boy who has….eh, who even knows. He is definitely mentally ill. But there is no romance here. Just howling.

EON: Fantasy, dragons, girl-posing-as-a-guy…you know the drill. Plus Eona has no time for boys when she’s got DRAGONS.

THE GIRL FROM THE WELL: There are ghosts. GHOSTS. And they kill people and there’s blood everywhere and the protagonist has exactly no love interest. NOT EVEN WITH THE GHOST.

THE MAZE RUNNER: People might argue that there is a romance…but I honestly don’t think so. In later books — yes. In the first book? Nada. Thomas and Theresa have history but that doesn’t equal attraction.

ROSE UNDER FIRE: BECAUSE ALL YOU DO IS CRY WHILE YOU READ THIS BOOK. THERE IS NO TIME FOR ROMANCE. ONLY DROWNING IN TEARS. I highly recommend this book. Go read it. Feel pain. Hate me for my recommendation. But secretly be grateful.

Because we need to ask the important questions here. Why? WHYYYYYYY. As an unromantic bean I do ask myself this copiously. For every 30 YA books I read, maybe 1 will have no romance. And as I’m reading, I’m so much more likely to care more about a) Katniss saving Prim instead of whatever-she-feels-for-Peeta, b) for Cinder to rule the moon, c) for Saba to rescue her brother Lugh.

DON’T GET ME WRONG. I do like those romances (particularly Saba and Jack…squeak!) but I’m not sure that every book needs a romance on top of the adventure.

SO I MADE A LIST OF HYPOTHESIS TO WHY ROMANCE IS SO PROMINENT IN BOOKS:

The author really wishes they’d found a Nice Adorable Person when they were 16 so they’re writing in their own dreams. Total legit. Do you know how often I write about cake? A. lot.
It creates tension. Tension is good for books. It’s great that the protagonist is fighting zombie sand stuff physically…but how about giving them tension emotionally? Good writing tip, dudes.
A lot of teenagers think about romance. I mean…I THINK??? I’VE HEARD???? When I was 16 I wrote an epic fantasy with man-eating-horses and murder and torture and bleeding and fun stuff like that. I’m sure that’s…normal too.
Publishers want what will sell. Which makes sense because they’re earning a living too, right? And people have snabbled up romances since forever. THEY SELL.
People like to read about other humans’ lives working out. It’s like the most basic story telling! Protagonist defeats the bad guy! Saves the girl/guy! Rides into the sunset! Lives happily ever after with a small herd of babies to raise and name alphabetically! IT’S HAPPINESS. Storytelling has told us this since Eve met Adam, okay? Although they sucked at the whole “ride into the sunset happily” and instead cursed of all mankind. Plot twist.

I, personally, do not have a problem with YA books being romantic. Even if it’s not my favourite thing! I do think it’d be nice if non-romance-orientated books weren’t so blindingly hard to find. I do think it’d be nice if more books promoted the fact that you can be happy without a significant other.

BUT NOT “EVERY” YA BOOK HAS ROMANCE. HA! I just proved it.

how do you feel about romance in YA books? do you enjoy it? do you wish there were more non-romance focused books? ADD TO MY LIST OF NON-ROMANTIC BOOKS!!

Subscribe to get a little Fury in your inbox!