Mx M
banner
mxmreads.bsky.social
Mx M
@mxmreads.bsky.social
1.3K followers 430 following 4.2K posts
Bisexual. Queer. Bookworm. Survivor. Books are my comfort food. They/them. Spoonie. Chronic pain. Social worker. #booksky
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
I was also thinking about doing a thread with all the books I read this year, so maybe I can start that before going to bed.

Okay, let's see.

Books I've read in 2025
Anyways, I'm going to finish this and it's probably going to be a very solid and enjoyable holiday read for me. And I'll also continue to ignore every description of every trad pub book containing the label "romcom" bc time and time again they prove that it's bullshit and false advertisement.
And I see these readers enjoying this book for what it is.

But I also see the other end of the spectrum, filled with readers wanting romance and fun but getting trauma and women's fiction instead.

And I just think it's ugly and unfair, and most of all disrespectful towards authors and readers.
Selling this as a romcom is misleading & readers pick up on it & they rate the book according to their expectations that are not being met. I think there are readers like me who do not pay a lick of attention to the "romcom" label anymore bc we've resigned ourselves to the label being meaningless.
I think it's enjoyable, entertaining and well done so far off you're looking for a holiday story about two women in their late twenties finding their way, making new connections and exploring who they actually are.

If you're looking for a holiday romantic comedy this is not the book. It just isn't.
The romance with the woman we know she'll end up liking is non-existent unless you count a couple of interactions with some UST and one rescue mission.

The other woman's LI has had a few more interactions with the MC and it's been cute, but also not the main plot for this MC.
And while you know from the start who she's really attracted to, I'm now at 70% and she just felt devastated & for drunk in a bar bc her highschool sweetheart she kissed once as a teenager is now back together with her on-off partner.
What this book is definitely not is a romantic comedy. Even when you take into account that humor is subjective, neither the comedic elements nor core romance plots are the focus at any time. For one MC the romantic subplot is centered around coming to terms with her attraction to women.
It discusses topics like grief, religious trauma, drastic life changes and toxic family dynamics. It's really well written, the characters are flawed and three dimensional, and the focus should've been on these women's journeys to finding themselves.
I'm currently listening to a book that was marketed as a holiday romcom and I'm again saddened & angry on behalf of the book bc this is such a disservice to the story and it's reflected in the reviews.

This book is a lovely story about two women trying to find their way in life bc they're unhappy.
My first reaction was DO YOU FUCKERS KNOW HOW MANY SOCIAL WORKERS WE COULDN'T PAID FOR A YEAR WITH THAT?! I just... Yeah.
It is absolutely absurd, I can't even think about it without screaming at something bc I just... Can't. Yeah. JFC.
My city has been preparing for probably the biggest budget cut across the board regarding social services, social security & civic infrastructure of the last 15 yrs but also announced today that they spent over 700k on a new logo & a city specific font for all their websites & platforms.

I can't.
Reposted by Mx M
I know a lot of us are feeling the same stress and struggle. I just have to keep trying. Thank you for your kindness

$1695 needed to cover November necessities. I was laid off last week for the second time this year. I'm pretty scared.

Paypal: affirmationgin at gmail
Cashapp/venmo: showupforthis
I feel that too 😂 I always want to try though!
Yeah, I get that. For me it's more starting at all and suddenly forgetting how shadows work 😂😅
Thank you! ☺️ I'm having a lot of fun with it, although it felt a little overwhelming in the beginning bc of all the details 😅
I feel like after reading 40 books in October my brain is currently unwilling to focus on the written word, not even in audio. So I've been listening to people talk about things they're passionate about (mostly the Jaam and I started the new Shelflove episode earlier) & playing around with pencils.
Also why tf am I so nervous about the election of a major of a city on a different continent that I probably won't visit in the next ten years, my God
But that's just it. Those are general things that might also touch on how many unread books one actually needs in a personal library, but it is by far bigger than that & the core issues when imo do not lie in the book buying habits of a very small percentage of the population.
But overall, I don't think overconsumption of books in the sense that it is causing harm to planet and people... I don't see it.

Again, I'd love for publishing to get more eco friendly & conscious of environmental impact.

And we could all do with some eco friendly spending habits.
And the average person in my country does that about six times a year. Yes, we in bookish spaces do more than that and we go overboard sometimes and we can always argue about fucking special editions and destroying books that don't sell.

And that unhauling books should be done right, that too.
My eye twitches when ppl don't read but that's a whole other ballgame.

But especially looking at the practice of only seeking the licenses to read ebooks instead of actually selling and therefore buying the ebooks digitally, I think there are valid reasons for buying physical copies of things.
I didn't know the actual percentage of ppl on this planet who have 800 unread books on their shelves that they never plan on picking up, but I am very confident it's not a majority anywhere.

And I don't think there's an Internet issue with buying to own books you want to read.