I do everything on social media. Tag them in posts about the book or comment on their posts. I go to a lot of book signings too.

5- perfection, wouldn’t change a word

4- liked it a lot

3- it was okay/just average

2- not good

1- a scourge on the face of the earth

I follow everyone I like on social media and try to go to readings and book signings.

Reading cosplay

If you’ve decided they are a waste of time in advance then you’ll definitely be tempted to quit reading. I read 24-7. I’m one of those people that has always had a book going since I was much younger than you. I only read things that are personally interesting to me and I don’t try to convince myself that they are supposed to be educational. Interesting, yes. Informational, maybe. But at it’s core it has to be a subject that I’m invested in. And you’ll never know where you’ll pick up some new knowledge. Sometimes current events and politics are in disguised in the pages of fantasy. I also alternate genres so I have a stream of concepts and ideas coming in and I don’t get stuck.

I use Goodreads and Storygraph.

Goodreads for the connection they have to Kindle ebooks (my preferred way to read) and Storygraph has the cool charts and pie graphs.

The short answer is: they are very angsty books with a lot of drama (domestic violence, death, missing kids, dead kids, assorted trauma) and people really like to go through all these feelings plus have a happy romantic ending.

It wasn’t my thing but it seems to get people into reading so that’s something I guess.

I have a Paperwhite with a fancy faux leather cover. It looks like I’m reading an epic tome.

I do the Popsugar Reading Challenge every year.

Maybe come up with a ratio that makes sense to you. Like 1 regular book per 5 fan fiction or something. At the end of the day you’ll move on when you are ready and tired of them. I read a very specific genre up until my 30’s and then one day I was just over it. I was ready for new authors, new stories, new locales…

I would put it in a Free little Library or donate to a thrift store. I found from being in a book club that one person’s trash is another’s treasure.

I do this exact same thing. I have a folder for “delete”and another called “read”. The “delete” are books I have no intention of looking at again. “Read” is for books I might read again, refer back to or part of a series that I might been to check back in with. None of these are technically taking up digital space because they aren’t downloaded to the device.

Just Google “libraries without residency requirements” there are a few blogs and articles about it. You usually pay a yearly fee instead. If you live in California they let you join every county so I have a bunch.

I’m usually getting my books from the library or as a free digital advanced copy so the cover isn’t THAT important. I typically choose based on author or buzz. Ironically, I did pre-order Babel from the UK (I’m in the U.S) which meant I had to pay extra for shipping and the conversion rate because I appreciated the black sprayed edges on Waterstones special edition.

It’s really dark and disturbing but I kind of dug it. I had an advanced copy so I hadn’t heard anything about it or expected much, to be honest.