Thoughts of a Bookworm #1: Why reading feels more trendy than it used to be.

We have all been there, seeing that one book that has been advertised everywhere. It’s been on the telly, on Twitter, Instagram and everywhere in between. So surely, this means that owning it means that we are part of the club? But somehow, no matter how hard we try, life seems to always get in front of our reading goals.

Recently, I was on social media and it seemed to me that there was some sort of favouritism to specific books. This doesn't take away how important or brilliant pieces of work they are, but maybe they have become too overrated in a short time frame? What if the people that are reviewing these types of books have become a little too biased? After all, they have all become well read in those types of genres and have probably read all the tropes that come with it.

However, I think that one of the reasons books are more on trend is Instagram (something which is a rabbit hole in itself and I'm not proud of falling into it so quickly). It seems like books are now getting the filter treatment like some of us do to our own faces because we don't feel confident in our own skins. How did we really get to this point? I don't think that I have ever seen an ugly book in all my life that it needs a primp. Whether it be tanned by the sun, crinkled by water, or has a smattering of notes inside them. These examples tell just as many tales about the books existence as well as the story within it. Why erase something that is profound at showing a human's own journey through literature?

I think that it is important to talk about how different a bookworm was before all social media and the focus of the story, rather than simply just a cover. As it seems like now more than ever there is a unspoken competition to see who has the best cover out of their competitors. Doesn't this just bring us back to the lesson that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. But I'm not sure if these days this lesson is used or ignored.

Don't get me wrong, I love books and I don't really care that much if people are picking up more books than ever since lockdown. In fact, I welcome it. It is lovely to see more people to talk about particular plot points that I wasn't able to talk about before. But maybe we should look at the whole picture of how the industry is changing how books are consumed because of this. Either way, these thoughts are not an attack on anyone, that be a reader, reviewer, author or publisher, it is just my way as a bookworm to try and make more sense of the book world and my thoughts.

Comments

Blog Tour: The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King

SYNOPSIS John Carver has three rules: Don't drink in the daytime, don't gamble when the luck has gone, and don't talk to the dead people who come to visit. It has been almost five years since the incident in Kabul. Since the magic stirred within him and the stories began. Fleeing the army, running from the whispers, the guilt, and the fear he was losing his mind, Carver fell into addiction, dragging himself through life one day at a time. Desperation has pulled him back to Afganistan, back to the heat, the dust, and the truth he worked so hard to avoid. But there are others, obsessed with power and forbidden magics, who will stop at nothing to learn the truth of his gifts. Abducted and chained, Carver must break more than his own rules if he is to harness this power and survive.

One Ordinary Day at a Time by Sarah J. Harris

SYNOPSIS Behind every ordinary day, behind every ordinary story, there's an extraordinary one just waiting to happen... Two people. Simon Sparks hides in plain sight - his astonishing gifts locked deep inside himself, as he dreams of lost potential and extraordinary tomorrows. Jodie Brook hides behind what you think of her - a single mum who can barely make ends meet. But her dreams are filled with the education she wanted and discovering a better life for her and her son. One life. When Simon and Jodie's lonely worlds collide, it upends everything. But as it becomes clear they have so much to learn from each other - Jodie can show Simon how to rejoin the world, and Simon can help Jodie prepare for her greatest challenge yet - they begin to realise that life could be so much more. One ordinary day at a time...

A Patchwork Family by Cathy Bramley

Gina is a woman who has had a lot of darkness in her life for the past few months, however, all is once again looking up as she starts a new chapter. Recently divorced, she now has the ticket to go out into the world and do something independent and follow her dreams as a childminder. However, as she begins to strive out into the world and become something for herself disaster strikes. The Evergreens, the place which she calls home has now been put up for sale. This is now Gina's fight for what is right for both her and friends. Does she have the confidence and tenacity to keep what is most important to her? Gina has been living on The Evergreens estate for a while now, while renting Welcome Cottage and running her childminding business from there with great success. However, when the divorce comes through, she finally decides that it is time to branch out and expand. But this is left in tatters after her landlord unexpectedly dies and leaves the estate to both her great-niece and ...

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

'Romancing Mister Bridgerton' is part of a serial of books, which this particular one is the fourth instalment. However, in my opinion, it can be read as a singular entity, as I have come to find that I accidentally started this series on the third book, 'An Offer From a Gentleman'. In the Bridgerton series, Quinn delves deep into high society of the ton and the peaks and troughs of being on the 'marriage mart'. The Bridgertons consist of eight siblings, each named after the next letter in the alphabet: Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory and Hyacinth. However, in the context of this book, the sibling which the story is based is on Colin. However, the other main protagonist in the book is Penelope. Penelope is someone who is considered to be one day a spinster, rather than married off to anyone of interest to the ton. In fact, it is assumed by her mother that she will grow old and look after her when she is much older. But this is not ...

Heiress Apparently (Daughters of the Dynasty) by Diana Ma

SYNOPSIS Gemma Huang is a recent transplant to Los Angeles from Illinois, having abandoned plans for college to pursue a career in acting, much to the dismay of her parents. Now she is living with three roommates in a two-bedroom hovel, auditioning for bit roles that hardly cover rent. Gemma's big break comes when she's asked to play a lead role in an update of M. Butterfly filming for the summer in Beijing. When she arrives, she's stopped by paparazzi at the airport. She quickly realises she may as well be the twin of one of the most notorious young socialites in Beijing. Thus kicks off a summer of revelations, in which Gemma uncovers a legacy her parents have spent their lives protecting her from - one her mother would conceal from her daughter at any cost.