responding to your bookish HOT TAKES🔥🔥 and sharing unpopular opinions 📚 

I dont know if its just me, but i enjoy reading physical books because of the interaction with paper, i feel like i dont focus when i read virtual

To me cracks on a spine are like lines on a face: inevitable over time and a sign of a lived in life.

My hot take would be this: Not everything you like has to be a masterpiece and you don't have to like every masterpiece. I feel like I see far too many people (both in the book sphere but also in the more general art(?) sphere) who feel the need to justify their enjoyment of something by saying it's perfect, that there are no flaws, and that it's way deeper than it actually is. I feel like there's far too much judgement nowadays about liking something that isn't flawless (and also pressure from fellow fans not to admit to any flaws) that people end up going a bit overboard trying to justify why they like something, why they are allowed to like something. It's okay to like trash people, trash can be fun, trash can be exciting, trash can even have person meaning even if it doesn't particularly have a deeper message. Embrace liking trash (or even just mediocre things) and stop worrying what other people will say about your tastes. Likewise with "classics" or books that have won literary prizes and acclaim. You can acknowledge that something is technically well executed/had a lot of impact without having to like it, in fact it's a health thing to do! Just because something is well done doesn't mean it's to your taste and there should be absolutely 0 shame in saying you didn't enjoy a literary darling. The fact that you didn't like it also doesn't have to mean that it's bad, it literally just doesn't have to be the book for you.

My hot take: a lot of more recent books (especially romance books) are just fanfics, just without the background information of pre-made characters and the characters end up feeling shallow.

sometimes being spoiled about a book makes me actually interested in it and leads to me reading something I wouldn't have otherwise!

Dr. Doofenshmirtz is one of the prime examples of morally gray characters and you cannot convince me otherwise-

“All reading positions are uncomfortable” YES. Truer words have never been spoken. I also move around a lot when I sit down or lie in bed. When I was still in school, everyone was sittning perfectly still and at the same time you could here my chair creak when I switched position😂😂 I like your bookish opinions! They feel healthy, somehow

One of my hot take is that I don’t really read to see myself in books. If I relate to a character or if the author puts into words something I’m very familiar with, that’s cool and great but I don’t seek it out. I mostly like to read about people that have have had experiences that I’ve never had and are very different from me, I want to go to new places. I find that much more interesting. The amazing thing about reading for me is the fact that I can get inside someone else’s head and understand them even if they’re the polar opposite of me. I thinks that also why I rarely find characters annoying. As long as the character is well fleshed out I feel like I understand them.

To add to the "morally gray characters" debate, I'm really tired of "neutral good" main characters killing people and feeling absolutely no remorse about it (usually in fantasy/sci-fi). Especially if the main character is a teen or in their 20s and has been living a pretty great and fulfilling life with no struggles. Like, they can kill a dozen of strangers and feel guilty only when their friends/family members are in trouble because of them.

Leonie out of context: "I just break spines sometimes"

a tip for everyone who misses going to the bookstore not knowing what books are popular: go to a library and pick books that seem interesting to you! most of the time (at least where i live) libraries have larger selections of less popular books/authors, and if you don’t like a book, you haven’t lost any money. some books i’ve found this way have been a frisian book about floods and ghost horses, a book of a ufo sighting in rural China, and a translated mongolian poetry collection. none of them i would’ve bought, but i am happy to have read them.

Can we take a minute to appreciate Leonie's shirt? Chef's kiss.

My hot take is that most romance books are extremely cringey 😭 but maybe i just havent read any good ones

I dislike rainbow shelves because it usually means that series, authors, genres, etc are all mixed together with no rhyme or reason beyond the color of the spine. I have to have certain things grouped together in a way that is logical. That being said, it would be totally awesome if an author (or even multiple authors) deliberately released their books in a way for rainbow shelves to work while maintaining some kind of logic. There's a romance author that occasionally shows up in my reels feed on instagram that has a covert edition of her books that are color coded based on the type of story it contains. Her shelves look so pretty like that.

🗣️sometimes I like spoilers because I enjoy seeing how we get from point A to point B 🗣️

I truly love libraries because they give vibes of not knowing the books and just simply getting the books your eyes lead on (probably it's cause our library doesn't have a lot of popular or newly published books)

There is a german publishing house that puts the content warnings in the back of the book. The first page has a sentence that tells you that the book contains potentially triggering contents but if you want/need to go through that list you need to go to the back of the book. So people that don't need trigger warnings can go on reading without accidentally "spoiling" themselves

I annotate books on my second read because it means that I loved it so much that I reread it and so I just want to put my thoughts and feelings down and information now that I know the plot and lore behind it... its also just very satisfying to flick through a book and see little notes idk why

I love how you always discuss both sides of the argument. It reminds me of my English teacher who always says to think of a counter-argument 😊

I do think hardbacks can be overall prettier IF the cover is inlaid and there is no dust jacket. Dust jackets are my arch nemesis!! Overall paperbacks are more comfortable to hold, so I am a paperback girlie💜

(W : I'M NOT AN ENGLISH NATIVE SPEAKER) I noticed that the most unpopular opinions of people were about the big book community on the internet. I totally agree with them, I was overwhelmed by it and I took a break. Now, I'm just doing what I like, it's been more than 1 month that I'm reading 1 book and it's ok even if people on the internet said that it's "bad" or make you feel bad to read only one book in this time but idc anymore. I take my time and I read for myself only. Nice video 👍

The way i used social media as a reader is I would search for a certain book after I have read it, I would look for fanart, reviews, people gushing, etc. That way I dont feel overwhelmed by 1000 other books.

I never DNF books, like ever, and apparently that‘s a hot take 😅 I just can‘t stand the thought of leaving a book unfinished and even when I don‘t like the plot or the writing I just make it a study of why I don‘t like it. I genuinely feel like that helps me with my own writing 🙃

The thing about fanfiction is that the more you are into ff the better you are in finding the best stories that were ever written and there really are ffs that are so fucking good omg

A book is not poorly written if it's entertaining! The writing successfully entertained the reader!

I also miss the feeling of walking into a bookstore and not knowing anything about the new releases / popular books. I always love finding a book that I've never heard of ^^

Rainbow shelves are the epitome of looks over functionality

6:56 can we just take a moment for the nostalgia that is seeping into the readers who loved reading before booktok became a thing? i loved the feeling of going into the bookstore or maybe on amazon and find books that matched my interest by reading their synopsis or something :)

For the opinion in book shopping being more fun when it was about exploration and discovery, I think it is also impacted by the economy. At least in the US, book prices have increased a lot and wages have stayed stagnant amidst rising cost of living. Reading physical books as a hobby is a luxury. So going into the bookstore I want to know the limited funds I have are going towards a book that so know I have a high likelihood to enjoy. That’s why I have taken some of that joy of discovery out of my book shopping practices. At a used bookstore though…I feel more freedom to pick up things I wouldn’t have otherwise tried.

thank GOD you have that take on fanfiction. it drives me wild to see "Fanfic is better than published works" because it's NOT true. it's just familiarity. fanfic authors don't have to take the time to explain the world to you.

I love annotating my books in just silly, dumb, colourful ways, and then sending it off to one of my friends for them to read, and etc until I have a dumb romance book with margins filled with doodles comments like "ew" "this girl is so dumb" "can't believe this was Star Wars fan fiction" and "and OMG they were roommates" it makes me feel connected to the people I love, and if really wanted a pristine re-read, I could get the book out from the library or something. I also love highlighting/underlining in a different color every time I re-read a book, so I can see what was meaningful to me 2 years ago, five years ago, or to my sister when she read it. My copy of tsoa is so beat up with highlighter and pen ink and tears, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

I only annotate non-fiction books because there's usually no real "story" to be taken out of. And I do annotate quite a bit for those books, because I'm afraid I'll forget my first impressions & thoughts on the new information I'm reading. It's also fun to go back and just decorate what I've done.

Perfect reading position: on a Couch, back and neck supported by pillows. Legs forward, supported by a pillows under the knees. Another pillow on the lap. Book on top. 😂 I can stay in that position for Hours 😅

14:00 Completely agree, one great example imo is American Psycho, Bateman is like one of the worst people you could imagine to exist, but I think the book is amazing in almost every aspect. Sometimes a dislikable main character can enhance someone’s reading experience, the main thing I look for in characters is if they’re compelling/interesting more so than likeable.

Hot take: JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER. People say not to, but the cover of the book is basically a window to the book. If your cover isn't good, that's usually a sign the book may not be something you'd like. However, you should also pick up books with bad covers, since some of my favorite books haven't had the most oustanding Leonardo DaVinci book cover.

I remember reading 'the murder of roger ackroyd' by agatha christie when I accidently came across a spoiler revealing the murderer, but I didn't let that ruin the book for me and gaslit myself into pretending to be clueless the whole time. I did it so well that I was actually shocked when the murderer was revealed. idk what this says about me lmao

It’s so interesting because as a person who works in a library, the FoMo is huge and you learn to live with the fact that you will never read them all and take the pressure off your shoulders. To me the online book community, including your channel, actually helps me do my job . It offers me a good scope on the story line, tropes, genres, type of reader that enjoys or doesn’t enjoy. So thank you so much for not only providing entertainment and suggestions for my personal good, but for making my job that much easier ❤

Rainbow bookshelves look very very pretty, but like you said I wouldn't personally have one because of organization. But I do enjoy pictures of them, so to everyone with rainbow shelves: please never stop sharing them

Getting a kindle has helped me SO MUCH. I absolutely hate damaging books and get very real anxiety over any little scratch. That doesn't happen with the kindle and that small fact has increased my ability to immerse myself in the stories sooooo much!!! I used to think I'd never like ebooks because I love physical copies but I have 100% switched sides lol.

I often buy books at charity shops and I have come across some really amazing stories that I would not have tried otherwise. That being said, I ended picking two books from the charity shop that were super popular and I had no idea at the time. For example I bought spinning silver at the charity shop and it’s so well known!! I definitely like both worlds of surprise and also recommend books

i never knew how much booktube content i could consume before i found leonie’s channel

I get the ebook people because I’m a lawyer and a student, and I really prefer law e-books as opposed to the physical stuff - they’re usually too big, expensive and get out of date super quickly, becoming unreliable. however, that’s also the reason why I don’t like ebooks when I’m reading fiction for fun. I associate my physical books with me time, and I enjoy displaying them. there was a recent twitter spat about personal libraries and it being unnecessary, and to that I say, do what brings you joy in this short little life, cause if you really think about, hardly anything is necessary at all

I really don't get people that are bothered by content warnings, and you made such a fantastic point about it only being a spoiler if it's being used for shock value! Like TWs are literally there so people don't accidentally stumble onto something re-traumatizing, how can anyone be angry about that? Unless - it's a shocking thing that happens as a plot point! Such a brilliant observation.

I agree about ebooks, as much as I love physical copies, I read so much quicker on my kindle &’it’s so convenient 😩🥰

I really love these kind of videos and I absolutely love your reasoning for why listening to audiobooks equals reading the book because I'm the opposite. for me, "reading a book" is exactly what you described: taking my eyeballs over the pages 😂 I do think that someone who listens to audiobooks is also a reader in the sense of someone who enjoys consuming and loving stories, but grabbing the book, getting comfortable and physically reading the pages is such a big part of "reading" for me personally 🤓

You can stretch the spine without making it crease like that. If you open a few pages in the front then a handful in the back over and over until you reach the middle of the book you don’t get the spine cracks like that. (From my own experience idk if it works for every book I’m sure it depends how it was manufactured too).

as a person who has VERY big problems with keeping attention, even on something I love, like a really good book, annotating helps me a lot with getting immersed in the story and focusing on it!

For me, bookstagram (I don't have TikTok) has definitely make me lose my joy in reading. I think it goes together with the bookstore browsing argument. Yes, I discovered books (and through that even a whole genre) I wouldn't want to miss, but now I have this massive checklist in my head (and more than 7000 Screenshots on my phone) which is just overwhelming. Also, it makes me want to read a ton of books I probably wouldn't pick up normally, and that's not because I don't know about them Personally, since I stopped interacting with bookish content, I not only read more, but also enjoy it more Edit: I don't think you add to that too much, because of how you are recommending book. Yes, I do add books to my list because you recommend them, but the amount isn't to much and these are books I will probably enjoy Also, as a trauma surviver, I f*cking needed TWs at some points in my life. I actually stopped reading for a time because I just couldn't know whether a story had triggering elements

started "a little life" recently and i haven't annotated anything since high school. i didn't even annotate in college. but i tried with that one since i felt like "i should" and i'm about 25 pages in and i hate it. it's made the book messy looking and if i want to go back to re-read, my lines and markings look like a distracting mess. maybe others can annotate and do it well and it helps them take in what they read, but for me i just feel like i've ruined this book with my mess. if that makes sense.

What most people get wrong about trigger warnings is that they are not for "normal" people who just don't want to read heavy stories. They are for people who experienced such things and get TRIGGERED by reading about it. They re-experience their own trauma when accidentally being confronted with the subject. So if you have the privilege of not getting flashbacks while reading heavy content, just don't read the trigger warnings if you think they are spoilers.

Oh, my God. You're reading AFTG. I'm obsessed. Are they poorly written? Yes. Do I love them? Yep. They are soo good, like so freaking entertaining. And the fanfictions, are so much better. I need your video of the foxes now. Hope you enjoy them.

My hot take is that I think a longer book (over 400-00 pages) can be harmful towards it’s story. Most books I’ve found myself enjoying have been around 400-500 long or under, and as a writer myself I think it’s a good exercise to trim down the length and really prioritize what matters most in a story.

i dont know if its just me, but when i annotate a book im more motivated to read it for some reason? and when i say annotate i mean just underline some quotes, tab some scenes and write my reactions

90 percent of my reading is done using my Kindle. It's very convenient and I can have a lot of books with me and have them take up almost no space at all.

I love annotating my books because it helps me express my emotions at the moment while reading a book, but while I read I use a regular pencil to underline, note the music I was listening to or write my thoughts. After I'm done I go back and make them pretty with highlighters & colored pens . So I know it can take you out of the story for some, but it actually helps me get engaged with the sorry cuz I'm easily distracted.

I also used to be a “dont break the spine” kinda person until I looked at my bookcase one day and realised i really liked how you could visually see which books I had loved because the spines were so cracked and the pages didnt lie flat anymore. From then on, I didn’t care about breaking the spines anymore. I try not to break them on purpose but if it happens while im reading or if the book is really tightly bound and I have to break the spine to make it lie flat, I don’t mind. Sometimes I just break the spine for funsies.

I actually like the feeling of being overwhelmed by book recommendations a bit - it let's me know there's always more to read and to discover. And to me personally that's a good thing ❤

I agree with you about rainbow shelves. I find them so pretty, but I could never live in chaos of my series and genres not being together. I would never be able to find anything I need. I have over 2,000 books in my library and I can't bring this kind of chaos into my world. 🤣

As an expat living in the Netherlands I wholeheartedly agree about internet ruining book shopping. When I go to a store/library to check out their (usually very limited) English section my brain immediately focuses on the ones I've seen online. It's sad because I'm probably missing out on some good books.

My hot take is that "morally gray" is just a regular person. The only time it wouldn't be is if they were specifically wholly good/bad creatures like angels n demons or something. Like it's a very specific choice to have a character NOT be gray. And even then it's still YOUR idea of good and bad, which is subjective, so it's actually kinda impossible in a practical sense.

14:54 I have a mild trigger and so whenever I see that the author has included trigger warnings in the front of the book it makes me really happy and grateful, as I can then prepare myself. I love storygraph for this reason as I am able to check the content warnings of books and be able to prepare myself (as I only get triggered when it is something I wasn't expecting). I think these trigger warnings are important because they can help with the enjoyment of the book, I once got triggered by a scene which then rruined the entire book for me and made me dnf

I tried having book journals but was always unsuccessful so I turned each book I read into a little book journal for that book. Full of notes, highlights, quotes, etc.

I literally don't understand why people say The folk of the air books are so bad, I understand not liking it everyone has different tastes, but saying that it's the worst piece of literature... I guess me and those people read total different books.

Yes to ebooks. I kind of hate that I love them so much since I end up ignoring my local book stores, but ebooks are just so much nicer to read. They are always with you, no need for just the right light, font size is never an issue, and they're so much lighter.

I annotate books I've already read and loved, or found interesting and want to study more. I can't do it the first time around cause it is pretty distracting for me. More power to the people that can or just don't like to at all :D

on the whole thing of enjoyment while book shopping: in my experience, thrifting books and going to second-hand shops really replicate that feeling of buying them only based on how much you like the synopsis and maybe the cover, since you probably won't find any "social media popular" titles there, at least in my area. it's pretty fun, especially because of the price, i feel way less guilty about just picking books at random to see if i will end up liking them or not!

It’s also ableist to exclude audiobook listeners from ‘readers’ as that’s how many people consume the books for example blind people and people with dyslexia.

Girl just what I needed, thanks for uploading!

I have become SUCH an audiobook girlie but as a sassy teenager I was guilty of claiming physical books are superior lol. to those who claim that listening to audiobooks isn't reading, I always make the point that it doesn't matter how you absorb the words (via your eyeballs or your ears) because your brain still has to process and make sense of them at the end of the day just like you said! I can read very fast but I find that I absorb the story better when listening, bc I can't skim if a part is kinda boring lol. I also like that it takes the guesswork out of crazy fantasy names 😅 a definite downside of audiobooks is the potential to get a bad narrator 😬 I'm listening to a full cast audiobook now with a narrator that cannot do a British accent to save their life. it is so tragic that I crank the speed up to 1.45x just to get through their sections LOL you win some, you lose some.

I read in all formats (audiobooks, digital and physical), imho they each have their own moment and purpose. Adulting used to keep me from reading and audiobooks ended that. I love reading the book i forgot at home on my phone, or that i purposely left there because it would not fit my bag, or i just cant carry any more weight. Hope haters were more understanding of other people’s circumstances!

I switched to a Kindle e-reader (a long time ago) when I opened a rented school textbook for the first time and discovered a smooshed insect in the middle close to the spine. Being mildly OCD I've gained a new apprehension towards physical books from that day on...

whenever you said poorly written but entertaining, i immediately thought of the foxhole court. i recently reread it and i'm aware of its faults but oh my god it is unreal. it is genuinely so enjoying and the fact the first book is only 250 pages yet it hooks you immediately and makes neil josten and exy feel so real; it is just so gripping and fun, definitely a comfort series

Sally roony is an amazing writer but for some reason i always find my self super mad abt the character that i forgot to enjoy the book

About fanfic being better than published books - for romance, I would agree that I am more likely to be satisfied with the story. Yes, there is terrible romance fanfic and tropetastic fanfic galore (love those accurate tags!), but there is a lot out there that doesn't fall into the traditional published romance trope traps I hate: tiny, weak MC with a big bruiser, hero/love interest is misogynistic but treats MC differently, MC is special, love interest is jealous and/or has uncontrollable drive to "mate", forced marriage, and love magically, instantly heals a rape victim. I just can't deal with YA romance as published currently. I find most romantic fantasy so problematic that I prefer the straight fantasy without any romance.

After being in a reading slump for 5 months I’m ready to come back! And this content is exactly what I need!!! Thank you!

I think both hardbacks and paperbacks are pretty, it depends on the design which I find more beautiful. paperbacks are definitely easier to read unless the book is very long, then I prefer a hardback even tho it's heavier

My hot take is that for me "paperback vs hardcover" depends on the language of the book. When I read in English I'm fine with paperback, but when I read in Russian I'd rather have a hardcover. Especially if it's fantasy. That said, MacMillan Collector's Library editions are wonderful. They're small and easy to carry around and they're hardcover as well.

Hey Leonie, love your videos. I’ve been in a huge reading slump for some time now, you should make a video in how to get over one, it would be really helpful.

I really appreciate the practicality of e-books, especially because they’re often the only option at my local library. But there is something sacred to paper-bound books- keeping them, using them, turning the pages, making them your own. + I have ADHD & Autism and have a whole stimming system tied to holding the physical book that I’ve employed since I learnt reading.

for me, spoilers is acceptable if its a fantasy, romance books. but if its thriller or mystery books, i just feel so bummed out if i get spoiled :'D

Booktube/bookstagram has helped me narrow down my reading tastes and exposed me to a lot of books I probably never would have found on my own! For most of my life I just knew I like fantasy, but ended up reading a lot that I didn't actually like because I didn't know about subgenres like political fantasy (which I don't like) and fairy tale feelings (which I do like)

omg i read ebooks on my ipad and I highly recommend buying the paperlike screen protectors! they’re matte so there’s no glare on the screen! It’s helped my eyes a lot!

The way my world stopped when you said you're reading the AFTG series!! It has early 2010's fanfiction vibes and yet I adore it! I don't think I've reread a series as much as this one haha. I first binged the series when I was at the peak of my teenage angst having just left foster care myself so AFTG was such a cathartic experience and I'm not even ashamed to say that it is my comfort series! I read it any time I'm transitioning to something new in life and it seriously helps me not stress as much XD

The big thing I think with the disparity between hate on male/female romance authors is that women tend to read more romance in general than men, and typically, I think, modern romance is written more by women than by men. As such, with vastly more romance literature out there from women, most of the visible hate will be directed towards them.

Hmm, I don't know. Audiobooks DO mean you have experienced the STORY, but I disagree that they qualify as having had the READING experience of the book. It's almost more akin to an adaptation than pure reading. Being confronted with the words on the page, the structure of them, the formatting decisions made for them, hearing the distinctive voices in your head and creating your own soundscape for the world of the book, are all things which the audiobook version takes away from you or takes over from you and those are gems which only exist in reading the text version of the book. Authors often put a lot of thought into the textual presentation and formatting for a reason and all of that is lost when it's only audio. The above obviously does not apply to anyone who has a difficulty with reading text and needs audio instead. This is for when it's a choice/comparison.

It's almost scary how much our opinions are the same. Especially the audio book part. I love to read and to listen to audio books and I call both "reading the book" because I know about the story. Btw I love your outfit

Leonie, I've been spending a lot of time alone at home during the very empty summer semester in my college town and feeling very down, but your videos have honestly really helped me to feel a little less alone :) i love listening to your opinions and reactions, thank you for being you!

I agree with being influenced what to buy by recognizing 'popular books'. What helps me is going to free little library's. I have read so many books I would never have come across otherwise by visiting them. It's a fun way of reading more diverse books!

I do think that listening to audiobooks isn’t the same thing as reading. I get your argument but why not just say that you listened to it? I don’t think that it is a lesser experience but it is something different even though the plot is the same. I think people feel kind of ashamed to listen to audiobooks and they really don’t have to be. I hate rainbow shelves because they are so ugly. I never seen a room that actually looks better with a rainbow shelf. It‘s just such an eyesore. I know this is completely subjective but I don’t really have a better explanation. :D

Sometimes, I can overcome pressure to read tons of books by simply reading a few manga volumes. It usually takes up to 1 hour, but you can increase the number of read book significantly

Regarding audiobooks, I get how reading a book and listening to an audiobook are two different experiences. I feel like when I read I have more time to contemplate on the word choices and messages than I do when I listen. But some of us just can't read (either because of eyesight issues, lack of time or any other limitations). Consuming literature via audiobooks is awesome and doesn't make one "less of a reader".

I'm doing computer work 8hrs per day so when I read I don't want to look at a screen, it reminds me of work.

I love ebooks more than traditional books cuz traditional books are so heavy in my opinion.

Leo: I just break spines. Me: out of context, that sounds terrifying 😂

oh im surprised you havent got a kindle or kobo yet, life changers

I love my physical books. But i will never deny how amazing ebooks are. Especially for LDs with font style and size

14:17 This touches on one of my big problems with how some people perceive stories. A lot of people seem to think that a character or story has to be likable for it to be good and that anything uncomfy automatically makes it bad. This isn't saying that morally grey characters or stories are automatically more interesting, thats not true either, but we need more nuance in how we discuss stories.

That's so true, ebooks are easier and in my opinion faster to read than physical books!

I have a bit of a theory on why some people dislike spoilers more than others. I've noticed among my friends that those of us who have a really good long term memory also hate spoilers the most, and I think it's because it sorta breaks the immersion and suspension of disbelief that you just remember all of these little facts about future events that'll happen in the storyline

I found that annotating helped me connect more to the story! It actually pulls me more into the book. Also. Writing stuff down helps me remember stuff a little better :)