Thursday, February 3, 2022

Observations on bookish things #1

Observations on bookish things

I quite often have observations of what's going on in the romance book space and the romance publishing industry. They are often small things that don't amount to a full post or anything particularly substantial so I tend not to talk about them. Then I thought, what about if I just pull a bunch of them together and see what comes of it? So here you go. My observation on bookish things. PS. Not sure how often I'll post these. It will depend on how much I see that is worth a comment on. Might be a lot. I have an opinion on a lot of things. 😛

Orc

Firstly, orcs are still a big thing. I talked about them here. I keep seeing more and more books releasing that feature orcs. I've tried reading a few and I don't think they are for me. So far, I haven't been able to finish any of them. Also, how in the world do you kiss an orc with those tusks sticking out of their lips like that? #thingsIwanttoknow.

Venemous Attraction by Salem Sinclair

Next, and this has been going on for a while, aliens that look like aliens. So there is this thing where more and more readers are wanting aliens that look like aliens. There is even a Facebook group about it. I thought I had joined it because I'm nosy like that and I want to know what is going on and what interests readers, but I can't for the life of me find the group. Maybe I dreamed it. But yeah, aliens that look like aliens is a thing. For the record, I like my aliens to look as human as possible.

Also monsters. There's also a Monsters Facebook group. I'm in that one. The readers in there are all about the monster love. They are all lovely, if a little nutty. There might even be a few aliens thrown in there for good measure. To each their own, but I enjoy seeing what readers like and monsters are all the rage. Orcs fit into this category too.

Return

One thing that bothered me was a reader who bought a book (hard copy) and wanted to return it because they did not like one of the tropes in the story. I honestly am not sure how I feel about this because, well hey, she bought the book and she's already read it. But she wants her money back. She even says there's nothing wrong with the book physically, it's just that she doesn't like it. People were telling her that she can return the book and cite the reason as inaccurate description. To me, reading a book and then returning it is akin to buying a meal, eating it and then deciding you don't like it so you want a refund. Let's see any restaurant or McDonald's doing that for the customer, eh? I've read books I've bought and not liked them before. Usually ebooks because that's all I read these days. Did I like the book? No. Did I return the book? Also no. Because I've already read it which means I've consumed the product. Anyway, I think I get where she's coming from, but I also don't think it's the right thing to do. My two cents.

Yellow pineapple

I saw a really nutty review. It's not for a book, I don't think, but imagine if it was a book? It was a one star review that read "YES I KNOW I SAID 1 STAR. I do not like the colour yellow so I always rate 1 star so that there is less of it on my screen. THIS IS A POSITIVE REVIEW. NOT A BAD REVIEW. I AM RATING ONE STAR TO PREVENT YELLOW. THANK YOU." Well, you've heard it. She does not like yellow. So if you're a banana, you're shit out of luck. And hey, if you have yellow on your book cover, author beware!! I didn't know it's possible for someone to be this nutty. My best friend reckons this person is a troll.

Lego girl reading

Reading apps continue to abound but I still am not going to drop lots of money to buy coins to read on it. Those "stories" seem to go on forever and I've seen some people claiming that they have read stories that have cost them upwards of $60 and are still unfinished. What a way to make money from readers. I'd rather buy a whole book from Amazon than pay chapter by chapter on a reading app. That said, I did give Kindle Vella a try which is Amazon's answer to the reading app phenomenon. Some authors do really well on it, others okay, etc. I guess it depends on the author. I'm reading one story chapter by chapter by a favorite author of mine and I'm really enjoying it. Only she stopped writing it just before Christimas saying she was busy for the holidays and with family, but so far she has not resumed putting up new chapters for the story so I guess that's a bust. I even bought tokens from Amazon to pay for them. So I hope she starts putting more chapters up again or I'd be out a few dollars.

Dad Bod Men Built For Comfort series

What else is going on? Hmmm... there's a multi author series about dad bods. Apparently, according to them, dad bods are in and there is a series out now called "Dad Bod - Men Built For Comfort". I tried one of the books but it didn't grab me so I'm not sure if I'm going to read more of them. They are only 99c each and are fairly short. They are also on Kindle Unlimited so they are a fairly safe investment of some time to check out if you have Kindle Unlimited. I do.

Be My Valentine series

Galantines Getaway series

Speaking of multi author series, this seems to be another huge thing I'm seeing. Lots of shorter books (50 to 100 pages) in multi author series that are themed. There are a bunch of Valentine themed ones coming out in or around February to take advantage of the holiday. These books are quick and easy to read since they are so short. They tend to be pretty fun, sexy, and more on the instalove end of things with some over the top-ness as well. I read a mountain man one about a year or so ago that I quite enjoyed but then, I love mountain men.

Right, I think that's it from me on my first foray into bookish thing observations. Let me know how you like this. I'll do more if I think of more things to "observe". Happy reading.


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8 comments:

  1. Great Post Deanna.
    Being kissed on the lips by an Orc wasn't the first place that would worry me. Lol
    Those reading apps remind me of those self help or encyclopedia type publications. End up spending 3 figures to get the full set. No thanks.
    That's so wrong to 1star a book for that. A recent book I read was 1starred because it was a reissue, yet the author had clearly stated in the blurb that it was, and its original title. Some folk just don't read properly, or are probably trolling.
    Gill

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    1. Ha ha ha. I hadn't even thought where else those orc tusks could make themselves felt. Thanks for the imagery!!

      I've seen a lot of people one star a book because it's a re-release even when the author clearly states it's a re-release. I think it happened to Cynthia Eden recently.

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    2. Yes, it was Cynthia Eden. I had read the original in paperback, but no longer had it, so I bought the new edition. I knew about it from her newsletter, but also, the blurb quite clearly says so!
      Gill

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    3. I think I saw Cynthia Eden posting about it on social media. That's what made me think of her. It was really recent.

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  2. So many things to think about, I for one am very against this return policy for books I really don't think that that is right at all, and I would be really annoyed if I purchased to read chapters of a book and the author stopped writing them, and one star reviews for silly reasons not good at all :)

    Great post

    have Fun

    Helen

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement, Helen. I'm glad you enjoyed this post and the variety in it. I thought it was fun.

      I have to agree with your take on all those things. Happy reading!!

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  3. In some of the groups I am in, people say they buy an e book, read it, then return it as they don't like it, or some such reason. I can honestly say I have never returned a book except when I pressed buy in error. And that's immediately. The thing is, amazon know its been read, they know how fast you read it, and they could close your account. Then you'd lose access to all your books. And anyway, it's fraud. It's as bad as downloading pirated copies IMHO.
    Gill

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    1. I've seen that being done and I know that is common practice for a lot of people since Amazon has a 7 day return policy for ebooks. I think that reading a book then returning it is wrong, for whatever reason. I've read a book and not liked it, but I've read the book, so I'm not returning it. Like you, the only time I've returned a purchased book is when I've accidentally bought it and I return it right away. Almost immediately when I realise my mistake. And yes, Amazon has been know to close accounts for doing this too often. I do not want my account closed and lose all my books. Almost a decade of books in that library.

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