Posts Tagged: Discussion

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Content Warnings: the What and the Why

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After getting into an argument on Twitter, I came to the realization that the purpose and definition of content warnings isn’t as widely known as I previously thought. I’ve always felt that content warnings are necessary and to have them be perceived as shameful was incredibly frustrating. I decided to channel my frustration into a (hopefully) helpful post that breaks down what they are, what they do and why they are so incredibly important. 

What Are Content Warnings

As the term implies, they are warnings that precede content. To be more specific, content that might be sensitive. These kind of warnings can be found on all sorts of media – tv shows, movies, games, books, etc. Keep in mind that a content warning isn’t necessarily the same as a trigger warning. Trigger warnings are related to content that can potentially trigger physical, mental or emotional symptoms in people with anxiety disorders or PTSD. These tend to be a lot more specific than content warnings.

What do Content Warnings Do

This is probably a bit redundant but it’s important so, here we are. Content warnings essentially provide someone who is reading, watching or playing something with… a warning. The warning could be for something you are totally okay with, but that doesn’t mean everyone is okay with that thing. If there is a content warning for something that you think needs to be talked about more (i.e. periods), it doesn’t mean that the content warning exists to shame people into not talking about that thing. The warning just warns. People can still discuss and talk all they want. It’s a courtesy heads-up for people who might be particularly sensitive to certain topics so they can decide, based on how they feel at the time, if they are up for engaging with that content.

Why Are Content Warnings Important

Content warnings are very important because they allow us to engage with each other & media as well as have important discussions while also ensuring that we don’t hurt people along the way. Is that such a bad thing??? If your answer is yes… I think you need to take a moment to reflect on why that is.

 

To sum up: try to use content warnings when you can and don’t shame anyone for using them. They serve an important purpose. If you want to do some further reading, I highly recommend THIS ARTICLE which I used to cross-check my info while writing this post!

 

A Guide on How to Determine the Audience of a Book: A Discussion

Posted by on 05/22/2018 • 2 Comments

How do we define the various demographics books are published for? Publishing is split into Adult publishing and Children’s publishing but what determines who a book is published for? This is something I’ve thought about for a long time (especially since my primary focus in undergrad was on Children’s lit) but it recently came up on Twitter and I thought it was worth talking about. 

I think the first answer that always comes at point is the age of the main character but a number of books that would be YA/MG based on the age of the character are often published as Adult. For example, The Girl With All the Gifts. A non-literary example of this is Stranger Things – a show with younger characters that is aimed at an older audience.

Religion in Books and Why I Am Not Always Okay With It

Posted by on 02/17/2016 • 18 Comments

Religion in books makes me uncomfortable. There, I said it. It’s not because I have anything against religion, it’s just that in a lot of my experiences, books that are based on some sort of religious myth tend to draw heavily from Christian mythology and that’s really where I start feeling uncomfortable. It’s not that these myths cannot be done well but in a lot of my experiences what ends up happening is that all other religions become excluded from this world found on one kind of myth and as a reader who isn’t Christian or really aware of many of these myths, I am excluded from the novel.

I realize this isn’t unintentionally done but this brings us back to the issue of diversity in literature. BECAUSE DIVERSITY. Religious…

Female Leads That Influenced Me When I Was Growing Up

Posted by on 02/04/2016 • 11 Comments

I am of the opinion that books are amazing (DUH.) Over the years, I have gained so much knowledge from books and learned so much about the world. Reading hasn’t just been a form of escapism but a way of filling all the gaps in my knowledge. Today, I wanted to dedicate a post to all the amazing female leads who inspired me growing up and who have helped define the person I want to be.

 

You might know Madeleine L’Engle as my no.1 hero because her books changed my life but it was Vicky in specific from the Austin Family series that really helped me out during my awkward pre-teen phase. In A Ring of Endless Lights (one of the best books I’ve ever read, FYI) Vicky is surrounded…

Book Girls Don’t Cry – Lending Books

Book Girls Don’t Cry – Lending Books

Posted by on 01/13/2014 • 35 Comments

Book Girls Don’t Cry is a feature where we will discuss/vent/advise on a bookish topic. This feature is co-hosted with the lovely Amy at Book Loving Mom. This week on for BGDC I am talking about lending books.  What my policies are when I do and my pet peeves about the habit.  Since my New Year’s resolution was to get back into vlogging this year I have recorded a vlog for the topic.  That being said, I realize that this post is going up on a Monday and that some readers will be at work and unable to watch the vlog so I will also be typing out a quick recap of the video at the bottom.  This quick recap is also for the people who just don’t want to…

I Moved, And You Can Too! (+ A Giveaway!)

I Moved, And You Can Too! (+ A Giveaway!)

Posted by on 07/12/2013 • 77 Comments

In case you didn’t hear me chat about it all week on Twitter – and since I kept my design the same like I wanted – I’m now on WordPress! Yay!

*Firstly, there will not be a Fresh Batch post this week – been too busy with the move – and FYI old posts may look weird until I can get to them! :)*

Why did I move? I don’t know if you heard but Blogger has been on a rampage lately in shutting down blogs. Though I’ve only confirmed 3 because they were blogs I knew, I’ve heard of 8-10 book blogs were shut down in 2 days this week. This finally pushed me to take the leap that I have been worried about making for a year, now….

Book Girls Don’t Cry: What I Look For In a Blog

Book Girls Don’t Cry: What I Look For In a Blog

Posted by on 07/11/2013 • 20 Comments

Inspired by Book Buzzers, Book Girls Don’t Cry is a weekly feature where we each discuss/vent/advise on the chosen weekly bookish topic. Don’t miss Jenni on Mondays, and Amy on Saturdays:  

 

Be attractive, baby! *winks*

Most people will start a blog because they want to share their opinion, so it’s important that your blog (design, content etc) attracts readers. What you should really aim for are regular visitors as they’re the ones who are your loyal blog supporters and readers. How do you get people to come back? After visiting tons of blogs in my 2 years of blogging – and even before – I’ve seen it all, and some things will attract me to come back, other things will make sure I never do.

How to attract…

Book Girls Don’t Cry: Where Are All the Parents?

Book Girls Don’t Cry: Where Are All the Parents?

Posted by on 07/05/2013 • 32 Comments

Inspired by Book Buzzers, Book Girls Don’t Cry is a weekly feature where we each discuss/vent/advise on the chosen weekly bookish topic. Don’t miss Jenni on Mondays, and Amy on Saturdays:  

So Many Orphans!

Seriously? Where are the parents in YA novels? I have noticed a common theme where the characters are either orphans, live away from home (like in a private school dorm or with an uncle), have parents who are always at work or otherwise clueless/uninvolved in the book at all, or gone on vacation for the duration of the story. I know that these “excuses” are things that can happen. A lot of parents are uninvolved, too busy with their careers or otherwise to be very… parenty, but it seems to be such a common occurrence…