Lady Whistlethreads April 28th

Did you miss me?

Dearest Gentle Bookthreader,

It’s time for our weekly wrap up of book drama, discourse, and terrible behavior!

1 A bookstagrammer posted a cutesy book haul post for World Book Day. The problem? One of the books was Mein Kampf. No explanation or critique, just the book. Her “apology” said that she did not agree with the author, but found him to be an “influential leader”. (Nothing about antisemitism, eugenics, or genocide.) Many Jewish bookstagrammers included that it was also Yom HaShoah, the Jewish Holocaust Remembrance Day. If you’re interested in the rise of fascism, might I suggest reading On Tyranny, instead of immersing yourself in hate.

2 A reader complained about an author’s word usage in their book. (Describing a bed as soft as “the foreskin of newborn babies”.) The author came into the thread to defend themselves. 😳 If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past month, it’s not to jump in and defend yourself when someone is critiquing and not tagging you. (Sorry to the people I did that to.)

3 I noticed several people posting critically about the influencers who were paid to post about the Amazon sale this past week, at the same time as Indie Bookstore Day. The weird thing I noticed is that those critiquing other influencers didn’t have any other posts about Indie Bookstore Day? They only posted to critique other influencers? Like, eggs are $8, your privilege and jealousy are showing. Would YOU have known not to take that deal because of Indie Bookstore day, when contacted weeks ago? Please judge Amazon for their continued attempt to create a book monopoly, and let people pay their bills.

4 One author shared that, when their book was picked for a SE book box, there were a ton of comments saying the book was just “another Asian fantasy” and there are “too many of those” which like, if you can’t even say it’s a Chinese underworld mythology, maybe you don’t know enough about Asia and the many cultures within it to judge, and should probably read more! Do you complain when it’s another Fae/Human romantasy book, or no?

5 Someone posted that they watched “a major NYT bestselling author unload on an indie press and indie authors in the most high handed, elitist, and rude manner.” But the comment the bestseller posted was explaining to the indie press that they were an indie press, not a traditional Big 5 publisher. Which is different than traditionally publishing vs independent publishing. Which our Threads poster apparently agreed with. So, if you happened to see a lot of authors talking up a particular author last week, and specifically saying that she is helpful and not elitist, that’s why. 😉

6 I’m still crashing out over Reese’s Book Club calling Great Big Beautiful Life a thriller. (I liked the book a lot! Julia Whelan’s narration is absolutely stunning. A thriller it was not.) (I listened to an ALC from PRH Audio.)

7 An author shared that they cancelled a book event because the bookstore chose to remove all LGBTQ books from their shelves, along with anything that might be considered “witchcraft”. When the author contacted the bookstore, the manager claimed they were pulling any books that might not be seen as “family friendly”. And the author asked how they would support LGBTQ families. Honestly, good for you.

8 Multiple authors shared that they use AI to help with their process (writing, editing, covers) because: “AI is just technology,” “nearly all image editing apps use some form of AI,” or “it’s just a tool”. Assistive technology, like apps that allow you to dictate while it types for you, are “just tools”. Generative AI is using a machine trained on other artist’s work that it stole to help you save money while hurting the environment. Use your own talents or hire someone. A basic cover is better than a stolen cover.

9 Someone got mad that they couldn’t monetize their YouTube channel. The channel was dedicated to uploading published audiobooks without permission. The world has rules, you can’t just make money off of other people’s work??

10 An author got really upset that a bookstagrammer asked them for a review copy of their book. Which is fine, don’t send people books if it’s not part of your marketing plan, there is nothing wrong with that. Shaming reviewers for asking is kinda weird though. I don’t shame authors for sliding into *my* dms. (Please don’t take this as a sign you should though, I am full on ARCs right now.)

11 An author posted their Temu version of “It Ends With Us” that had a nearly identical cover. Except the flower petals were weirdly in the shape of a pizza slice?

12 A developmental editor posted a 3 star review…for the book they helped edit. Yikes. In fact, SEVERAL people posted this week about editors disparaging each other’s work, and authors posting negative reviews of their peers. And look, we all have free will, so do what you want, but know that it may come at a cost to your career. People don’t tend to want to work with someone who publicly critiqued their work.

13 Some people have been posting about how “brave” Moldemort is for “standing up for women”, and as a reminder, transwomen are women. And I, a woman, do not need to be protected FROM them, and also wish I didn’t feel the need to protect other women from Moldemort and people who agree with her. I do not understand why people feel the need to police other people’s gender identity or expression, that’s super fascist behavior.

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Xoxo,

Lady Whistlethreads 🫶🏻🫖