TTT | Unpopular Bookish Opinions

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly topic hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week she provides a topic, and you are free to use that topic and/or variations of that topic to make your top ten list. A full list of the weekly themes can be found here.

I love talking about things I love but sometimes talking about something you don’t like (and finding others who agree with you) is a special little treat! Here are some of my unpopular bookish opinions.

1. Not every book needs a special edition: Not every book needs to have sprayed edges or pretty stuff on the cover/dust jacket. Do I buy some of the special editions? Yes! But I don’t buy them for every book nor do I think every book needs it, especially when the original print run is automatically a special/exclusive edition. Part of this is just the commercialization and price gouging they can do, but also I do like annotating my books and when every book has something special I just don’t feel like I can. Also, if all books come like this than they’re no longer “special” or “exclusive.” Special editions used to be limited run, usually around 100-500 copies, nowadays with every book getting something, it no longer remains special.
2. Different editions for every store: I was enraged when I found out that House of Flame and Shadow was getting a multiple editions (Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Target, Walmart, and select indie bookstores), where each receives a different edition of the book with unique bonus chapters. So, readers will have to buy all the editions to read each chapter…and that’s what many did. Of course, people are allowed to spend there money however they want, I’m not here to gate keep that. I just don’t want this to become the norm where I have to buy multiple editions just to enjoy the entire book. This is not the MCU please! I feel like this is a disgusting practice that publishers are doing to blatantly target the pockets of readers (which goes to my first point too). I’m always here for a pretty cover (I do choose my books by their covers), but I’m not here for these money grabs.
3. More editors please: This is more for trad publishers because I do understand Indie author’s have a difficult time finding (and paying) for editing services. But something I’ve noticed in the past few years (with the rise of not only AI but also all the special/pretty editions of books) that there’s less editing going into books. This may be my own hang ups, and I’ll fully cop to that, but it just feels like the quality of editing has gone way down. I don’t know if it’s because of AI or because of focusing on the outside of the book and not the content or something completely unrelated to anything I’ve mentioned. I don’t work in this industry and have no insights. It’s just interesting that this is all coming together at the same time.
4. Online book communities: I got into online book communities a little late. I was mainly on Tumblr in my middle and high school years and that covered most of my fandom life. Once I did join book spaces on Instagram and TikTok, it was not something I really wanted to participate in. (I actually found myself on BlackBookTik and IndigenousBookTok all the time, and I was so thankful for my algorithm that it did that). All the drama on book spaces is annoying and the unwillingness to accept the differing opinions or constructive criticisms is ridiculous.
5. I’m not a fan of prequels: Maybe you could’ve figured this out from my reviews of the two Hunger Games prequels. Prequels feel like a fun and creative way to explore the world before the original series takes place, but I’ve noticed that so many of them fall into creating more plot holes or retconning the plot in the original.
6. Shaming people for their opinions: This is across the board and for everyone! No one should be shamed for liking or not liking something. No two people are going to like the exact same things in books, and that’s good. Leave people alone and let them enjoy (or not) what they read.
7. People not understanding (or blatantly ignoring) constructive criticism: There is a difference between someone saying “this book overdid it on the tropes and had a predictable plot” and “I hated this book because a woman wrote it.” The first one is constructive criticism and the second is NOT! Can you still be upset that someone didn’t like a book you loved? Yes, I am all the time but sending threats (including ones about unaliving someone) is not okay and needs to stop!
8. Audiobooks count as reading: I will take no notes or comments at this time.
9. New Adult is dumb: I had to say it. I know how and why it took off, I just still don’t agree with it. I have no explanation for why I don’t like it, I just don’t.
10. Content warnings should become more normalized: I also want this in the book, before the first chapter, actually listed on the page in black and white text. Please don’t make me get my phone out to go search your author website to find the list of warnings. Make this easy to access! I’d happily pay a couple extra cents to have them printed in the book so as to not accidentally pick up a master/slave book again, thank you very much!!

Darcy