Category: discussion

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

MARCH 18: BUYING SECONDHAND BOOKS (HASINI @ BIBLIOSINI)

Prompts: Do you buy secondhand books? Why or why not? What are the benefits of buying secondhand? What are the cons of secondhand books? What do you recommend people do to better support secondhand bookstores?

Almost spring, everyone! Welcome to another LTB here at DTRH. Today’s topic is about secondhand books. It’s definitely something I wish I bought more of. I think I need to familiarize myself more with the nearby used books shops.

Do I buy secondhand books? Yes. Have I done it often? No. But I suppose that isn’t for want of trying. Whenever I go into a used bookstore, I definitely walk out with more books than I thought I would get. But honestly, I just don’t know where they all are! Or maybe they’re just getting more rare/I don’t bother to go. And ever since the pandemic…well, going just becomes even more rare.

There’s something appealing about secondhand books. I think it’s the lack of anxiety of keeping it in mint condition (can anyone relate to this?). Another benefit, according to one of my friends, is that sometimes you get to see what people have written in or have found thoughtful. While it is slightly blasphemous for me to write in my own book, it’s not as much of an issue when someone else has done it to their own book? It is nice to read through the eyes of someone else sometimes (unless it’s a textbook, haha), and although I haven’t personally bought a book like this, I know some others enjoy this feature!

There aren’t that many cons to buying secondhand books. They’re cheaper, and technically, the words are all the same as a brand new one. The only real con is that they will often be more worn or battered, and may not match the aesthetics of your bookshelf (totally understandable). There is some charm to an antique collection of books though, so they themselves have their own aesthetic, in my opinion.

I’m not sure I have any “suggestions” per se for supporting secondhand bookstores. But I certainly do suggest supporting them. It’s a nice way for people to share their books without formally having to form some kind of book exchange circle. And for people who like to read random books off the shelf, this can be a more cost-efficient way to do so. Even if the book isn’t that great, that’s okay! I have also found that sometimes books that I had always wanted to read in the past can show up at these shops too, which instantly inspires me to pick it up and finally give it a read.

What do you all think about secondhand bookstores and secondhand books? Too old for your liking? Or perfect cost-efficiency?

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Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

MARCH 11: UPDATING OLD CONTENT (NICOLE @ THOUGHTS STAINED WITH INK)

Prompts: Do you ever go back and update older content on your blog? For instance, after getting new graphics or going self-hosted? Why or why not? Do you sometimes curate/clear out old posts that you no longer want published, or rewrite/update them? Do you think people should periodically clean up their old content and update/delete things that don’t align with their current positions/beliefs?

Welcome to another week of LTB, everyone! While I continue to await the arrival of spring, let’s all settle in for another (hopefully) chill Friday and discuss a little bookish topic. Today’s topic is certainly one that I’ve thought about, but haven’t done much of. That being said, maybe there is a time and place for it.

I think older content rarely gets looked over unless it’s one of your main pages or if it’s something that a lot of people are encouraged to link back to. Thus, in the modern day of algorithms and all that, I think that time spent updating old content may not get as much “bang for your buck” as you’d might want, since no one may see it.

Continue reading “Let’s Talk Bookish – Updating Old Content” →

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

MARCH 4: MAINTAINING A BLOG AESTHETIC (HAYLEY @ ON THIS I PONDER)

Prompts:  How much time do you spend on making your blog look nice? Is it more about making it functional? Did it take a long time to set it up? Are you still changing it around? Do you ever feel like your blog design is not properly appreciated (for example, are most people reading your posts via the Reader and not actually visiting your blog)? What are the best tools you use to customize the look of your blog?

Welcome to the first Friday of March everyone! As spring is just peeking around the corner (I hope), hopefully everyone is waking from their winter hibernations. The topic today is actually something we’ve recently talked about behind the scenes here at DTRH, and I’d love to hear what you all think of blog aesthetics. And without further ado, let’s go!

In general, I don’t spend that much time trying to make the blog look nice. I think there’s a base level of efforts for maintaining a certain aesthetic. And of course I try to make everything look neat and orderly, and fit in with the rest of the blog. But I wouldn’t say that the aesthetic of each individual post is of paramount importance. Perhaps if I had the time though, I would put in the effort to really up our aesthetic game.

Functionality is definitely the most important, in my opinion. Although on the surface aesthetics are really important for catching the eye, if your site isn’t functional, it’s unlikely that people will come back or read through your articles. If you can manage the aesthetics though, of course I recommend it. No one says no to a beautiful blog!

For us here at DTRH, we had some help getting started with some of the illustrations (thank you talented artist friends!). But for the most part, the upkeep and new stuff is all on us! One serendipitous but convenient thing is that Andge mostly works off mobile, while I do my work on a laptop, so that tends to help cover the gamut of things when it comes to desktop vs. mobile view. If either of us notice anything wonky on each other’s views, we can immediately inform the other to fix it.

Lately we’ve been talking about fonts here at DTRH. Should we be using something more casual and inviting? Or perhaps something more professional looking. These are questions that we’ve been having, and I find it hard to predict which way would be better. I’m sure either way it’s a mix; some people will enjoy one type over the other, and in the end, we should probably just pick what looks nice to us so that we at least enjoy it.

What do you all think about blog aesthetics? How important is it on a scale of 1-10? Does it overpower any functionality/utility? Or is it negligible, or somewhere in between? Let me know in the comments below!

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