This week’s Top 5 Wednesday, hosted by the Good Reads group, is: Bookish Things You’re a Grinch About. Since being a Grinch is a funny thing, try not to make this serious topics that make you angry (like lack of diversity or abusive relationships in fiction, etc.) as this is supposed to be more of a petty bookish things you hate. This can be stuff about covers, dumb tropes, etc. Have fun with it.
1. Not being approved for an ARC on NetGalley.
I know it’s very petty, since advanced copies can obviously not go to EVERYONE, as the purpose of publishers is to make money, but when I don’t get approved for an ARC on NetGalley I will almost NEVER buy the book. I’m not good enough for your ARC? You don’t get my money! (I’ll still go to the library, though.)
2. Surprise-You’re-a-Father romance trope.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it really is my least favorite trope. I don’t love when kids/babies are a big part of the plot and I HATE miscommunication being the main point of conflict in a story and this trope combines the two.
3. The Good Reads Choice Awards.
Every year I’ve only read a handful of the nominees – and I’m usually only a fan of one or two of the ones I’ve read. I always think I read books that are relatively popular, so I don’t understand why I don’t recognize so many of the books. And this year only one book I voted for won (Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham!).
4. Books not at my e-library.
As we all know by now, I’m super stingy when it comes to buying books (and pretty much everything else). The e-library site I use is one of my favorite things in life, but I hate when books I want to read aren’t there! There are so many books I see great reviews on that I go over to the library to put on hold and they’re just not there.
5. Harry Potter.
I’m just never going to read these books. I have no desire to watch the movies (though I was coerced into one once) either. I just missed the whole Harry Potter movement when they were in their prime and now I just don’t care.
Stephanie's Book Reviews 
This post is the best. I missed the Harry Potter movement, too. I keep hoping the mood will strike me, but it’s unlikely. This was the first year that I actually recognized and had read several of the books nominated for Goodreads awards. But only a few of them won that I voted for. I get really annoyed when I don’t get approved for an ARC. It’s usually always a book I’m dying to read and I will buy a copy, and it’s only those books I’m dying to read that I get declined! Just dumb.
It’s such a bummer that the eLibraries are limited. Like not being able to get Sarah Morgan’s books from the library – that’s sad. I love her books!
Maybe when Sunnie is old enough to read Harry Potter you’ll want to read them with her. I just don’t think I have anything that will ever motivate me to read it haha. I very rarely ever get a book on NetGalley that I’m dying for either. It is especially frustrating when I’ve been approved for that author before – when I had less followers and views. And the e-library our county libraries use don’t have Sarah Morgan at all. And they only have 3 Amy Harmon books, but 2 are audio books (which don’t really fit my lifestyle, unfortunately). It always seems like whatever I want they don’t have.
I thought I was the only one with the Harry Porter. Whilst thinking of my 5 points, Harry Porter made my list but not top 5. My petty issue with it, is that Harry Porter people bend every concept to fit it on everything book list, non book list and some fans go to the extent of making people who never read the books feel like crap. Same thing goes with Pride and Prejudice fans especially the 1995 film adaptation.
I agree that sometimes the book community can make you feel like a failure (and excluded) if you haven’t read HP. But lately I seem to find more and more people that feel like we do. We should start our own support group haha.
Lolol. I do not feel like starting a war 😉
I’ll admit I read the first HP and saw the movie, but that’s it! It was good, but not so great that I HAD to read on. My son on the other hand devoured them.
I love eBooks from the library!! At least you can recommend books now and hope they buy them 😊
I’ve heard other people say that their e-library lets them request books they want added, but I have looked all over my site and can’t find anything like that 😦
Are you in the US? I use Overdrive
Yeah that’s what I use too. You’re able to request books that aren’t there?
Yes! In the search bar enter the book you are looking for, if they don’t have it scroll all the way down to the bottom and look for the section that says – “Didn’t find what you’re looking for?”
If Overdrive has the book in the system it will show up there. Click on the book and you can recommend you library system to purchase it. You have 2 options, one of them will let you get on a hold list prior to them even purchasing it. It’s great!!
That’s awesome!!! Is that new? I’ve never seen it before. Thank you!
Oh good, I’m glad it worked!! It has been at least a year…I think. I request books that are coming out months ahead of time and I’m almost always the first one on the waitlist. It’s like a personal challenge lol
There’s really only one restriction and it may vary by area. I’m only allowed to recommend 10 books within a 30 day period.
Happy requesting!!
Great peeves! I always wondered why there weren’t more eBooks available at our library, until I started working there and discovered that eBook licenses are more expensive than print versions and some publishers refuse to sell eBook licenses to libraries. In addition, some publishers only let libraries keep the license for a year, after which they have to purchase them again. There are other download restrictions (some only allow 26) and limits I had never thought about! I always thought if there was an eBook available, an unlimited number of people could read the book at the same time, but everyone has to wait in line. Still, I love getting eBooks from the library. Such a cost saver for readers!
Thanks for the insight! I knew there were some restrictions with licenses – some ebooks I get from the library have a huge wait list with only 1 available copy and some books have like 50 copies (and still long wait lists). I didn’t know they were more expensive or that some publishers refused to sell! That’s crazy! I have noticed more often than not that self-published authors and small-press authors aren’t available at my library.
Same here – it’s a completely different market, but I think it is changing. There are so many talented self-published authors. The challenge is getting the word out, not just to libraries.
The library only ever seeming to have the second or third book in a series. It doesn’t matter which library I go, finding the first book is a nightmare. 😦
I seem to always have the opposite problem! It’ll have the first book, but not the rest. Or like the 1st and the third book, but not the second.
Libraries are great, but they can be irritating. 😐
HP is good, but I wasn’t into like everyone else. I didn’t read it until like 10 years ago.
I agree with all your others!
I know everyone that reads it enjoys it. I just don’t have any interest in it haha.
I didn’t either. It was something I read because everyone else was. I read it after I had my C-Section and was stuck sitting around the house with my baby for 6 weeks. LOL
Got to admit that the Goodreads Choice Awards don’t really mean much. It’s just a popularity contest at this point. And we all just vote for the books we’ve read anyways. I still find them fun cause they sometimes give me some nice recommendations through the top picks and all hahah I also haven’t read any of the HP books, although I did buy a couple of the books during the whole hype but never read them. Now I have the complete collection (not the Fantastic beast and stuff though) and tell myself that I’ll give that series a shot someday just to see why it’s so praised. Someday.. 😀 Awesome list, Stephanie!
Thanks! Yeah, the GR awards aren’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but they always end up making me question my reading choices for the year when I don’t recognize the books haha. If you ever decide to read all those HP books you have I hope you end up enjoying them. It is nice that you already have the whole series in case you get hooked.
Hahahaha Grinch ❤ Every time I look at the GR awards I think that there are much better books that aren't nominated lol
Definitely!!
Ugh, I hear you on the Goodreads Choice Awards. It doesn’t seem fair because a certain handful of authors ALWAYS wins, whereas there are more talented ones out there sometimes.
Agreed! It seems like the majority of the ones that are nominated that I have actually read I didn’t even really like.
I never would have watched/read HP on my own. I only did because of my kids. I really love the movies but it takes me forever to get through a book because they are so long. I tend to lose interest and stop reading. I don’t have much luck with the Goodreads Awards. The books I pick never win and most of the books nominated I haven’t read yet every year I look forward to them. Not sure why. I also don’t like surprise your a father trope. I don’t think it is ever right to keep that information from someone for any reason.
Yes, the length of those books are also a bit of a deterrent. I find long books intimidating. I always look forward to the Goodreads awards, too, even though they always end up disappointing me.
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