Unpopular Opinions on Books

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At first I thought this prompt for unpopular opinions would be difficult but once I started writing then down they just poured out. I have more opinions than I realised!

As with all “unpopular” opinions I’m sure a lot of these are pretty popular opinions, and none are original.. but they feel unpopular!

Ok. Let’s fucking go!

Standalone books are better than series. Duologies are better than series. There are exceptions, but it seems a lot authors don’t have the material to stretch their stories across multiple books and I hesitate before ever picking up a book I know is a series.

BookTok is making readers dumber (not just readers). It’s the short format and the way the algorithm works, it favours simplistic and strong language which provokes a reaction. Discussion is reduced down to tropes alone, and that doesn’t allow for nuance or analytical thought… The importance of character, plot and writing quality is left by the wayside. And that’s the only way I can explain the poor quality books that keep going viral!

Authors and Publishers, and in turn book sellers, all need to make money and observe these trends which are selling huge amounts of books and start pandering to them by producing books that are reduced to tropes alone with flat plots and characters that don’t challenge the reader.

I think this is going to make the literacy crisis worse! Firstly these books aren’t good and tropes alone are repetitive and boring, which will ultimately turn readers off if they think the BookTok slop is all that’s on offer. Secondly the lack of nuance in the contents, discussion and originality, they lack many of the elements that make reading so beneficial in encouraging empathy, and analytical thinking. Not everyone is plugged into book communities, and the average person (or parent) will just see these books pushed in shops and have no idea they’re such poor quality.

You should not post uncritical reviews in social spaces. Even if you loved the book if you recognise it has significant flaws – and is possible and totally fine to enjoy objectively bad books – just do not rate it 5 stars (or recommend it to others!) without acknowledging the flaws! Looking at Fourth Wing, Fifty Shades of Grey, Sarah J. Maas, Colleen Hoover etc etc! Uncritical praise of sloppy books is decreasing the quality of published books because those are the ones getting all the attention.

You shouldn’t exclusively read one genre. You’re limiting your exposure to different thoughts and experiences, and you’re likely missing out on unexpected new favourites! Plus, it’s boring when everyone is just reading the same stuff.

You shouldn’t read books you don’t enjoy! Not every book is for every reader. If you are not enjoying it Do No Finish it, just move on. Also, you shouldn’t start reading a book you know you won’t like, especially if it’s just for FOMO or because it’s the hyped thing right now and will get you views. Don’t waste your time!

Hardback books are the worst. They’re awkward, heavy and uncomfortable to hold, and dust jackets are very annoying! Plus, they take up so much more space.

eBooks are the best for reading. My eReader is light, I can hold it in one hand and turn the pages with my thumb so I can read in any position. It can be propped up so I can read while I eat, drink or brush my teeth too. I can change the font size for tired eyes days, and my Paperwhite has a backlight so I can read in low-light conditions. I can also full-text search the text!

Comic books and graphic novels count as reading! Some stories are more effectively told with pictures and words! And comic book issues are perfect to read when you’ve only got 15 mins to spare! And even your mainstream superhero comics are tackling complex issues, motives and relationships, it’s not just simplistic good guys and bad guys!

Bad writing in a published book is unforgivable. It’s hard to quantify what I mean by “bad writing” but usually it’s poor flow (can you read it out loud easily?), bad (or incorrect!) grammar, repetition, reliance on cliché and stereotyped characters. General laziness! Also, stupid plots with glaring holes! Basically, the kind of thing that a decent editor should have fixed before publication.

I actually love a bad movie or a bad cheesy TV show (hello, Mortal Instruments and Vampire Diaries!) but I have higher standards for reading because that takes more of my time and focus. I’m yet to find a “so bad it’s good” book.. usually I just find them painful (or boring) and the pendulum doesn’t swing to enjoyable. I can’t laugh at poorly written prose if it’s not being delivered as badly acted dialogue.

The barely edited fanfic-to-published-novel trend has to stop. Or at the very least they need to fucking label this shit clearly! The Romance genre is a minefield for this, I now carefully research whether a book started as fanfic (or a TikTok skit, looking at you Assistant To The Villain) because I’ve almost been caught so many times. They’re never good because they’re based on a different writers’ work so half the world is missing, and usually use some toxic tropes (like Reylo, looking at you Ali Hazelwood).

The word “bookish” is cringe. I haven’t been able to unpack exactly why I think this, but probably it’s because Bookstagram and BookTok have changed the meaning, and it’s now commercialised keyword used to mean anything to do with books. It used to mean a studious person, particularly someone who relies on learning from books, but now it’s a tag for algorithmic Content, performing being a reader in a way that feels shallow. I mean all the repetitive posts and reels of stacks of “aesthetic” book stacks, or flatlays with coffee cups and sweet treats, and bookshelves with multiple editions of the same books over and over again. It’s an Identity, a Brand, a sticker and not actually reading and enjoying books and learning. At least that’s what I felt like to me, and I prefer to refer to myself as “a reader” and not “bookish.”

I hate the “merchification” of books. This has come from “bookish” social media, and runs from tacky cringe slogans (“I like big books and I cannot lie”, “the book was better” etc) printed on stickers, tote bags, t-shirts etc to publishers releasing a new title with a box full of tangentially related crap for influencers to make videos about… Instead of, you know, the actual contents of th book.

Publishers rapidly releasing multiple special editions of books is tacky. I encourage Special Edition if a book means something to you. You’ve read it multiple times, and it’s stayed a favourite over the years. Beautiful special editions like these used to be reserved for classics of some quality, and so it feels like a scam for publishers such as Red Tower to put out shoddy, unedited first edition novels in this format because they can rely on people just buying a pretty looking book regardless of the content on the strength of “OMG sprayed edges.” I believe they’ve put out 3 or 4 special editions of Fourth Wing already and it came out less than 2 years ago!

I know a lot of these opinions are really BookTok/Bookstagram rants so really I think my opinion is that we should ignore social media trends and do what makes us happy as individuals! Think for yourself, pay attention to your own opinions and question where they might be coming from.. and for everything, not just as it relates to books!

Schools need to intentionally build a reading culture and incentivise reading for pleasure. Did you know in the UK, a school doesn’t have to have a library, and a lot of new build schools don’t have any library space?  I was a secondary school librarian for 4 years, and my school had no reading culture, and no interest in supporting building one (after I left, they didn’t replace me). Reading is a skill and a habit that doesn’t come naturally to a lot of children, especially if their parents don’t read, but it can help improve focus, empathy, and critical thinking as well as literacy… And it is enjoyable and relaxing! But, as I’ve mentioned above BookTok trends might be encouraging more readers but do have the potential to do more damage than good if nobody is guiding the children through the minefield! This is where professional children’s Librarians are a necessity! (But not me, that was not my calling!)

I hate cracked book spines. Most of my books look like they’ve not been read, unless it’s a thicker one, in which case, there will be some natural light creasing in the spine, but it is perfectly possible to read a book without damaging it! There is never any need to crack a book’s spine, I’m talking about the people who force the pages of a book flat or even bend the pages all the way back. This damages the book; it weakens the spine and makes it more likely the pages will fall out, especially if it’s an older paperback! I don’t like to lend people my books for this reason!

Each to their own! If we all liked the same things life would be pretty dull. I’ll respect your opinions and I just ask that you respect mine!