I recently saw a carousel post from someone whom I don't follow that stopped me in my tracks. Essentially, it was about some of the issues found on Instagram; however, the slide that stood out most to me was the one stating, "I am not convinced Bookstagrammers actually read."
While I certainly don't need to take the time to defend my actions or activity, I'm saddened at this thought. I've written before about The Privileges of Reading and Aspirational Reading, but things seem to have taken a turn for the worse with the proliferation of generative AI (not agentic AI—see Stop the Slop for the distinction) since I first wrote these posts. I'm careful not to make blanket accusations or pronouncements as many of the people I follow are both genuine and impressive in what they share, but it seems to be a sentiment that is growing in popularity.
Whether people believe that I fall into the same category or not is something I cannot control. I can shout until I'm blue in the face that I am a reader, but if someone is convinced otherwise, it doesn't matter what I offer to counter that opinion. What's unfortunate is when it affects people who do put forth the effort and yet get lumped in with potentially disingenuous players in the same space.
All I can offer in response to this notion is that I have expended a lot of time and energy to avoid shortcuts when it comes to actual reading. I may have systems set up to be slightly more efficient with posting reviews (although it doesn't always feel that way!), but I'm hardly able to do more than that when I just want to read and also have a life outside of books.
When I share monthly wrap-ups of books I've read, those are the books I've read, whether in print, digital, or audio formats. It doesn't make sense to me to falsify this information; it's not as if I'm competing for anything. Since I receive zero compensation for book reviews, there is no reason for me to review books I haven't read or to outsource the writing of reviews when I am capable of doing so and find joy in writing.
As an aside, I'm the type of person that sits through film credits to the very end, so you can be assured that with books, I read all dedications, author's notes, discussion questions, acknowledgments, and even promotional pages. I don't skim books (I've never been able to gain that skill though it was encouraged in school to read headers, etc. to gain information quickly) and I can't jump from dialogue to dialogue and bypass the narrative information in between. I'm aware it may be redundant to state this so explicitly, but what a world we live in today.
Furthermore, I respect people's intellectual property and will not upload any visual or written information that does not belong to me onto any platforms, especially those involving generative AI. Before I shared my first book review, I ensured that I researched Fair Usage to the best of my ability as I wanted to use book covers and limited book quotes in the correct manner. I am devastated when authors and artists have their IP uploaded onto sites that are used for training purposes; sadly, this is one area I have seen many Bookstagrammers not fully understand.
Although there is so much more to be said on this topic, I know I can be a bit of a broken record when it comes to the topic of representing oneself accurately, notably online. It's a struggle for me where I want to maintain privacy; however, integrity means a lot to me and I want to be faithful in what I post. It's not likely that I'll ever share my face, but everything that flows from what I type reflects the heart I want to have before God. I'm a blogger and a Bookstagrammer who does read and who doesn't use generative AI in any form. Everything is imperfectly shared—including typos in reviews, blurry pictures, and layout design mistakes—and I'm careful to give credit where credit is due, hence why I link to as many sources as possible in my blogging.
I wish I didn't have to share this information, but I can understand the skepticism. As vigilant and discerning as I try to be, things have slipped past me, which is why I am clearly spelling these thoughts out. Shortcuts are tempting, but they rarely deliver value. I also don't mean the shortcuts like copying and pasting templates, but more so those that can have implications on others' livelihoods. I hope this means that readers, authors, and publishers can trust me as I do my best before God, but I also know that trust needs to be earned over time, which is what I aim to do. Thank you for the privilege of allowing me to be in the reader space where I am seeking to be a good steward of the Christian books that have come my way.
Addendum
I'm saving this until the end because it's not the focus of this piece, but inevitably, I receive a lot of questions on how I read as many books as I do. I'll share a few brief thoughts as I think some of the people who are asking are merely curious; however, I acknowledge that I can sometimes have a hard time telling if that's all it is 🙃
- I read fast. I've been reading almost every day since I was 5 years old and I find that if you really, really like doing something, you end up getting better at it.
- I listen to books fast. It's something I've developed an ear and mind for over time where I can no longer listen to things at 1x speed.
- I sometimes have more than one format of a book I'm reading. If I see that a print book I'm reading is also on Kindle Unlimited, I'll borrow it so that if I don't have the print book with me, I can still read it on the go. Plus, the author gets paid more than once!
- I listen to books when I am doing repetitive things, like household chores or other hobbies.
- I always read before bed and if I have insomnia, I will read to try to fall asleep.
- I seldom listen to podcasts and I rarely watch television. A lot of my life is reading, but I balance it out by not doing some of the other things, like being caught up on pop culture.
Comments
Post a Comment