Book Etiquette 101

 Are there common courtesies that should apply to everyone who reads? Absolutely. Class is in session. 

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Have you ever been constantly interrupted by someone attempting conversation - while your book is obviously open in your hand and your eyes are on the pages? Me too. That is why today's blog topic is immediately relevant to every reader. I will be going through all the reading etiquette that everyone on planet earth should know and understand.

Book Open - Mouth Shut

The cardinal rule of reading is that when the book is open no one should be trying to converse with you. Unless tea or dinner is ready, it is time to clock in, or the house is on fire all humans near you should respect your reading time. Do you know how hard it is to read in the work break room, or near a coworker who has decided your book doesn't have your attention? If so, you understand why this is at the top of our list. As much as I enjoy social time with others, we should all be aware that an open book means someone's time is already occupied. 

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I do know that some humans won't ever understand this, which is why I'm also devoting this section to avoiding such misunderstandings. If you can find a room alone (library, at home, coffee shop.....) that is an ideal place to read. Situations that don't allow this also have the option of noise-canceling headphones, earbuds with background music going, and any other type of headphones that communicate you are not open to conversation. Even then, kids won't understand that a book can hold your attention just as well as a toy holds theirs, so you may need to resort to reading during nap time or while the kids are not home (with grandparents, school, with aunts...). 

Another aspect to take into account is who is in the room with you. If you know for a verified fact that person A will be busy on their phone, you can likely pull out a book with no worries. However, if person B walks in and is obviously feeling chatty you might want to finish your page and bookmark, then find a new place to sit. Or wait until they leave. Either way, keep an eye on who seems to leave you to your book and who doesn't understand your book has your attention. It can help you know when spaces are safe to read in or not. Also, never read in unsafe spaces and never wear headphones in public places (unless you know you are safe).

Spoilers!

When you are experiencing a book and don't want to spoil any plot points you should avoid reading reviews that aren't labeled as spoiler-free. Etiquette here is to not blurt out who dies in the book (unless you are told it is okay). If you are discussing a book and don't know someone is in the middle of the plot you are forgiven. You cannot read the minds of your companions. However, seeing someone reading an Agatha Christie and blurting out the culprit ungracefully and loudly is never okay. Long story short, mystery and suspense endings are not what you discuss out loud until everyone has finished the book. 

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Plot spoilers are not wanted. Comic, graphic novel, book, novel, or novella matter not; we don't need to go ruining plot twists for readers reading a novel for the first time. If you want to discuss the endings and plot twists of books online it is wise to say from the get-go that your post includes spoilers (which most facebook groups police politely anyways). In person you should ask how far they are in the book, so you don't let loose the biggest plot twist of the series on accident. Book clubs are safe places to discuss such things, as your book club group should be on the same page literally and figuratively. If someone fails to read the novel it is their fault and most book clubs talk about the novel after everyone has read it. 

Return Library Books Undamaged

Is this one because my mom is a librarian? Yes, it is. In fact, this is also because lots of people bring back damaged anything to the library and sometimes can't get CDs and PC games to work on computers because of damage (cough cough, my childhood and why we bought Nancy Drew games, cough cough). Take care of the book you borrowed. Don't leave it where your sibling can get mud on it, drop it in a puddle without drying it out, or use it as a coaster. The best way to return your library book is in the state you borrowed it. 

There are book sleeves - physical fabric sleeves - that can assist you with this, especially if you are reading a book on the go or in a kitchen. They have a variety of sizes and you can make your own in whatever fabric you desire to use. I have two that can hold an average size book. One can button closed. This is also ideal for taking your e-readers with you. Try it sometime and see how it works out. A protected book will be more likely to return without water or other varieties of damage. 

Dog-earing pages is not right, either. Take a piece of scrap paper and put it in the book instead of bending corners back to mark your place. These book pages are not as forgiving as you think they are. You return the pages dog-eared and they are never the same again. Libraries put bookmarks out for you to take, so take them and use them. 

Don't Judge Us For Emotional Responses 

Avid readers know that a character dying in a book can cause physical tears. Coming upon a steamy scene in your Bridgerton novel may make you not want to look your male coworkers in the eye for a bit. One character's action may make us want to throw the book across the room and scream in anger. My point? Books cause an emotional response in many of us. Please understand that venting about a fictional character is normal for us. There are multiple characters, including Draco Malfoy, that I'd like to punch in the face through the book for being a serious jerk.

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I know some people don't get this. They think "it's just a book" or we have confused reality and fantasy. We have not. We connected with the fictional character, but we do know the difference. That doesn't mean reading a scene where someone committed suicide, died in battle, or got betrayed isn't going to cause us emotional damage. I can give you three characters - at least - that I cried over when they died. I can point out several characters that I wanted to reach into the book and hit in the face. I have wanted to reach into the book and shake the main character into using their common sense more than once. We know the difference between reality and fantasy, I promise, but that doesn't mean we aren't going to get emotional over our books like you get emotional over your movies. 

The concept is called the willing suspension of disbelief, which allows us to get into a fictional storyline in any form of media or theatre and be transported into another world mentally. For example, watching a play is something we know to be acting, just like we know movies are not reality. Books are no different. This is why fandoms (groups of fans who follow any series of books, movies, or games) exist. We all know saying Latin into the air will accomplish nothing while holding a plastic movie-replica wand. We know that the tardus is not going to show up at our front door and take us to other worlds. As much as we like our series of books, the majority of mentally healthy people learn and know the differences between reality and fantasy (except for very young children). By a certain age, we learn that entertainment is entertainment. 

Reviews Matter

Authors have an uphill climb when it comes to selling books and not being James Patterson or Stephen King. Why? We don't have a big name. Authors who are pretty much on their own need reviews to show up for their books. If you have the time and you liked it, one review more can mean more sales for authors who aren't large names and don't have an entire PR team behind them. Traditional publishing is hard and a lot of us end up on Amazon or Kobo instead due to higher royalties and an easier way to get our book (which does need professional editing in the long run) out to our audience. Reviews help people decide to buy it or decide not to buy it. 

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Do you have to write a whole paper on it? No, you can just choose the number of stars based on your opinion and say whether you enjoyed it or not. Oh, and try to keep the spoilers out of it or mark whether it has spoilers in the review. If you liked or loved it I'd highly suggest reviewing it. This can make a world of difference to many authors who lack a name to stand on. The majority of us don't have the big names that overshadow smaller authors. Think of us when you finish the novel and go review it. It takes five minutes and you don't need to do anything except be honest. Make sure you review the book based on the content, not the author. 

Don't Buy If You Aren't Sure You'll Like It

Apparently, authors can be impacted by returned books in many forms (including audible). Whenever possible, pass it on to a friend or donate it to a community box or a library. Someone else can enjoy that book you paid for. Better yet, don't buy it unless you know you'll be into it. The best way to find out if you like something is to hit up your local library or borrow it from a friend. The library is a way to figure out what you like so you don't waste money on a book you hate. Overdrive is a library online that you can use with either a phone number or a library card. It can even zip it to your mp3 player or device for your reading pleasure. Take a book for a test drive. Hate it? No harm done. Love it? Go back to the bookstore (after returning the book to the library) and get it for yourself. 

Rule of thumb, if you hate it halfway through or are bored to tears within five to ten chapters stop reading it. Take it back to the library or give it back to your friend. If you know you're not into it don't spend the money and return it. Whenever you do think you'll like it, then find out you were wrong, remember that donating books can help others. Some can't afford to have books of their own and depend entirely on libraries. 

Sources:

(7) Readers’ ETIQUETTE The do's and don’ts of reading. - YouTube