Questions for Book Bloggers

Where people discover and get their books

Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full disclosure about all the legal stuff here.

I decided to start a new series of posts to delve a bit more into the world of book bloggers and discuss topics related to book blogging.

Via my Twitter profile I'm asking daily questions to open the discussion about various topics related to book blogging and give members of the book blogging community an opportunity to connect and network more.

Where do people get books?

We all get copies of books from different places and for different reasons. Some people like to buy physical books to add to their home library. Others prefer to read ebooks on a kindle or tablet. Some get copies sent to them for review whilst others only review books they've bought. Others borrow books from their library.

Where I get most of my books from

I personally get most of the books I read from Net Galley. Seriously this site is a blessing to international book bloggers like me that don't have a lot of choice in our bookstores and/or struggle with getting sent copies in the post.

I also get a lot of ebooks from Amazon. As a book blogger on a limited budget, I often scroll the Amazon free section looking for books that catch my eye. I sometimes also purchase kindle copies of titles I particularly want to read from the site so I have them on my kindle app.

Recently I discovered a great book exchange not too far from where I live that often has titles in English language. You have no idea how happy this discovery made me 😀 I've already found some great additions for my book shelves.

Most of my other physical copies are second hand books. I love browsing the second hand stores for English language books. There's not usually much choice but I have found a few good titles this way. 

I don't tend to buy many books in bookstores because the selection of English language books is usually very limited and often too expensive. If there is a book I really want a physical copy of I'll usually get it from Book Depository as they have good pricing and free delivery.

Where do other book bloggers get most of their books from?

#QuestionOfTheDay

Where do you get most of your books from? (Could be purchased copies or review copies depending which you get the most of)#BookBlogging #BookBloggers #BookReviewers #BookTwitter

— Jo Linsdell (@jolinsdell) September 15, 2022

Mostly arcs now which I mostly get from tours, authors or publishers.

I do buy from Amazon for my Kindle and I get my middlegrade book club from there as I order last minute usually. 

I also have a subscription from Berts @cats_herding

Review copies sent personally by authors, or by a publisher/or company mostly. @Rebbie_Reviews

All of mine are purchased copies so Waterstones or my local bookshop.

@pageturner_92

Bookcrossing; a box of stories; Publishers/Netgalley; Ebay job lots; Amazon Freebies

@brumnordie

I buy all my books from Amazon and The Works @sambooka23

 

Net Galley is the clear winner when it comes to getting review copies. Amazon is also a popular choice especially the free downloads, and Waterstones also got several mentions.

I'm happy to see that libraries and an indie bookshop also got mentioned. 

Where do you get most of your books from? Do you use Net Galley to get review copies? Do you prefer to buy your own physical copies to add to your bookshelves? Do you prefer to borrow copies from the library or a book exchange to avoid cluttering your home? Join in the conversation in the comments section. 

Reading During Lockdown

How have our reading habits changed since COVID

Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full disclosure about all the legal stuff here.

I was thinking recently about how it's been around a year now since COVID became common knowledge and changed the world as we knew it. The effects of the pandemic have been felt across the globe over the past year in a variety of ways.

Here in Italy we were among the first to go into lockdown. From 4th March 2020 we didn't leave our apartment at all for over 3 months (only my husband went out to food shop). 

Back then we partied out on our balconies to keep up moral and hoped it would all be back to normal again soon. Now we have a new normal. Life has become a strange mix of those months in our bubble and our old, pre-Covid lives. It's hard to imagine it ever going back to how it was before all this started. 

Anyway, I digress. Whilst I was thinking back over this past year I realised that my reading habits have changed over the course of the year.

In the beginning life was hectic as I struggled to get my kids organised with online learning, and adjusted to lockdown. I suddenly had plenty of time at home, but not much free time to spend reading... my kids made sure of that.

Even when I did manage to find the time, I often found I just wasn't in the right frame of mind/mood to read. I had trouble concentrating and so often opted to binge Netflix instead of reading a book. I've probably watched more TV in the past year than in the past 10 years combined. 

This got me wondering if others had seen a change in their reading habits since COVID started too. So, I did some research on Google. Turns out it wasn't just me.

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The Guardian did an article about research showing reading books surged in lockdown.

The Bestseller also did an article but this one was about research showing readers were not buying more books.

Both articles made a lot of sense and raised some good points but I wanted to dig deeper. 

Researching Reading Habits During Lockdown

I decided to do some research of my own into the subject and asked my Twitter followers a series questions about their reading habits since COVID using the onsite polls feature.

Firstly I wanted to know if they were reading more, less or unchanged since COVID began

OK my #BookBlogger buddies of #BookTwitter time for a #Poll about #Reading. Since COVID started are you...

— Jo Linsdell (@jolinsdell) February 5, 2021

Despite 50.8% of those that voted in the poll said they were reading more since COVID started not everyone agreed.

"

Others like @malleegirl57 found they were purchasing more books but not reading them stating "I bought a lot, far more than I normally do, but weirdly read less. April last year I didn't start a single book, still finishing a couple from March. But I am now setting more time aside to read."

Then there were people who have seen a difference between when COVID first started and now.

Who was reading less before but has gone back to normal now like @storywhispers "Last year I was reading less, but this year I'm back to normal. I'm also reading more physical copies than ever before."

and who was reading more during lockdown but has since gone back their normal amount as the pandemic has improved in their area like @BewareTheBkwyrm "While everything was locked down I read about 20 books per month. Now that everything is getting back to normal, just with masks, I find I'm back to my average 6-8 books/month."

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The article I mentioned earlier from The Guardian said that "Readers... revealed their tastes have changed since the outbreak of Covid-19, with their interest in crime and thrillers, and other popular fiction, increasing. There was “currently little appetite” for dystopian fiction". 

Naturally I wanted to find out if my followers agreed. 

Have your reading tastes changed since COVID? Different genres appeal more/less now?

— Jo Linsdell (@jolinsdell) February 5, 2021

Next I asked about their current favourite genre to read

Current favourite genre to read? For other please comment on thread with genre.

— Jo Linsdell (@jolinsdell) February 5, 2021

Unfortunately the poll feature on Twitter doesn't allow for many options so I choose dystopian (because the article had said "There was “currently little appetite” for dystopian fiction"), romance (the money maker genre), mystery/thriller (the genre that has supposedly grown considerably during COVID), and other (because I ran out of space and this was the easiest way to include other genres 😉) for the options. 

31.6% voted for mystery/thriller, although I'm not surprised as that is also my favourite genre to read and so seems fitting that my followers may share the same taste in books. 

In the replies I found that people were still reading the same genres as before COVID. @JPL_Reader for example said they "Still love fantasy and sci-fi".

Proactive Writer did an article about the current most popular genres where they list; the most popular fiction genres, most popular non fiction genres, best selling book genres, book genres that make the most money, best selling audiobook genres, and weigh in on the least and most competitive book genres on Kindle. 

The other question I asked in my Twitter poll was about the format of the books they were reading. In particular, I was curious to know if they were reading more ebooks/audiobooks since COVID started.

Are you reading more ebooks/audiobooks since COVID?

— Jo Linsdell (@jolinsdell) February 5, 2021

48.3% said yes they were reading more ebooks/audiobooks and 31.3% were experiencing no change to before. 

Mint stated in their article about ebooks and audiobooks amid the covid pandemic that "The prolonged unavailability of physical books due to covid-19 led lockdown has led to an uptake of ebooks and audiobooks. Sale of ebooks have doubled from its low base and audio books have seen a big jump from a base lower than ebooks during the post lockdown era".

Fortune also confirmed "The e-book market had been in decline for the past six years, but now that it’s one of the easiest ways to get new books during the pandemic, libraries and publishers report a surge of new interest" in their article about ebook reading booming during the coronavirus pandemic.

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How have your reading habits changed since COVID started? Are you reading more or less than before? Have your reading tastes changed during the pandemic? Are you reading more ebooks and audiobooks now?