Check ins and other randomness

[Monica]

Joining in on the black-eyed peas, collard greens and cornbread tradition for the New Year. It is said that eating Black-eyed peas at New Years brings good luck and prosperity in the coming year! Goodness knows we need it! I'm also hoping it brings peace, love, freedom and justice on Earth!!

[Hannah]

Whatever or however everybody is spending their time today I wish you all peace and joy xxx

[Ozsaur]

Have a joyous day!

[Carol]

Duck is in the oven. Spoon bread is out. We’re watching selected South Park reruns with our son (trust me, it’s a lovely holiday miracle). We’ve got peak procrastination because our daughter and her bf arrive around 7 pm, so that’s the real deadline for all dinner components and gift enjoyment.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and peace and joy to everyone.

[Lindsey]

Have a wonderful time with your family Carol! Hope everyone is having a wonderful day.

I've been reading most of the day while my 6 year olds play with their grandparents, so it's been quite relaxing!

[Melissa]

Saw this list on Electric Literature and have added quite a few titles to my ever-growing TBR. Thought some in this group would be interested, too.

75 Books by Women of Color to Read in 2024
https://electricliterature.com/75-boo...

[GailW]

Melissa wrote: "Saw this list on Electric Literature and have added quite a few titles..."

I don't know whether to thank you profusely or just scream. I had to stop at 14 new adds! But anyway, thanks for the list!

[Melissa]

Gail W wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Saw this list on Electric Literature and have added quite a few titles..."

I don't know whether to thank you profusely or just scream. I had to stop at 14 new adds! But anyway, tha..."

:) Same here!

[Carol]

Melissa wrote: "Saw this list on Electric Literature and have added quite a few titles to my ever-growing TBR. Thought some in this group would be interested, too.

75 Books by Women of Color to Read in 2024
http..."

Fantastic. Thank you!!

[Carol]

Happy Robert Burns Day to those who celebrate! If you do, share your supper plans and remind us why we should be jealous if this most wonderful literary tradition.

[Jen]

Yesterday I joined a friend thrift-shopping for her new place, in and around Dallas, and I scored for like 50cents each:

Circe by Madeline Miller
The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

All in excellent condition. Stoked!
But, oof. I've lost count how many books I have to fit in my suitcase. For sure more than 10, haha/cringe... Flying home to Germany this weekend...

[Carol]

Jen wrote: "Yesterday I joined a friend thrift-shopping for her new place, in and around Dallas, and I scored for like 50cents each:

Circe by Madeline Miller
[book:The Days of ..."

What an awesome score!! There’s always room for another 1…2..5.. books 🤣. Safe travels, Jen.

[Jen]

Carol wrote: "Jen wrote: "Yesterday I joined a friend thrift-shopping for her new place, in and around Dallas, and I scored for like 50cents each:

Circe by Madeline Miller
[book:..."

hahaha! thanks- for appeasing my guilt or dread or whatever it is, and for the travel wishes :)

[Carol]

Question: How do you balance the pressure to read in-person book club picks against all of your other reading priorities?

I try to avoid the emotion of shame with my reading. I don't commit to reading books I don't want to read, I frequently show up at in-person book clubs owning having not read the book but wanting to spend time with the other members, and still ... This week is a perfect example of having to prioritize a looooonnnnnnggggg in-person book club book for a meeting tomorrow, and I have 4 other books I'd rather be reading. I also though don't want to be that stodgy member that only reads the books that are squarely in their zone of preference. But now I'm around page 200 out of 452 with tomorrow's deadline looming. I belong to these groups because connecting with local women readers seems like the most fruitful way to make friends and books are my favorite on-ramp for conversations. But I feel like I get this specific reading-time-allocation issue wrong maybe 7 out of 12 months of the year.

How do you all approach this? Am I the only one with a time management problem? What has worked best for you?

[GailW]

Carol wrote: "Question: How do you balance the pressure to read in-person book club picks against all of your other reading priorities?
..."

You are not the only one with a time management problem. I had that for many years. I also have a mood management problem, as in this book just isn't fitting my mood right now. Early on I put a great deal of pressure on myself but two major happenstances in my life have made me realize - the world won't end if you don't get it read and if you lose friends over it, well, they weren't really friends anyway.

I've been in the same local book group for about 20 years with a core group of 4 women, all work-outside-the-home, and the other 4 slipping in and out over the years. Of the core group we have very distinctive tastes in reading and few of them are the same! Many of us travelled often in our jobs, some still had kids at home. At first there were strict expectations, but as the group dynamics changed over time only a few "rules" have stuck with us: (1) If you didn't read the book for whatever reason, come anyway for the company; (2) if you started the book and didn't finish the book, don't ask us to not talk about the ending; (3) if you read it and didn't like it, say so and then why; (4) if you don't agree with the topic and don't want to read the book, well, see rule #1 because nobody gets to nix someone else's pick, just don't read it.

I have definitely overcommitted myself in the last year to reading books for various groups. And I found myself not enjoying many of them. I am now trying to prioritze those that I'm the lead on (whether local or GR) and then if the others fit, fine. If not, fine. And sometimes I just need to pick a book just for me for fun.

OMG is this too preachy? It sounded much better in my head than it might sound in yours!

[Carol]

Gail W wrote: "Carol wrote: "Question: How do you balance the pressure to read in-person book club picks against all of your other reading priorities?
..."

You are not the only one with a time management proble..."

Not at all preachy! It helps me to ruminate over it because I agree with all of your points and philosophy, but need to be more realistic I think about the ones I do start/commit to. I’m also a mood reader and then also some weeks just don’t offer the reading bandwidth. But somehow I believe if I don’t start until Wednesday, I’ll finish or get closer than I do. It helps that I care nothing about spoilers, so have zero desire to restrict conversations about endings or the like. But it feels like “failure” somewhere deep in my brain, too. That’s something for me to manage because objectively I know it’s nonsense.

[Carol]

Grief, as a book theme

I've been contemplating the ubiquitousness of grief as a theme in both fiction and nonfiction. It could well be my dirty lens, but it seems as if the last 2 - 3 years of new releases are quite heavy on exploring grief and depicting characters dealing with it, compared to, say, the prior decade. Maybe readers' appetite for grief and loss content accelerated with the pandemic. Maybe not. With that as a preface, I'm a reader that doesn't seek out either books or movies that will make me cry or sink into a pit of remembered despair. A book description that includes the phrase, "gut-wrenching" is one I'll avoid, because rule one of managing me is avoiding unnecessary despair. I'm in the minority of readers, though, based on what's got buzz, what's selling, volumes of reviews.

What are you favorite books about grief and loss? Do you find books with grief/loss as a theme have helped you move forward or process your own experiences? Do you avoid them, seek them out, or neither (e.g., as with any other theme, case-by-case judgment)? Does your age matter, e.g., has your appetite for this theme increased or decreased based on your life experience as measured in years on the planet?

[Anita]

I can see how the theme of grief may be on the rise since the pandemic. I don’t seek these books out and don’t intentionally avoid them either. However I will say I avoid memoirs or non-fiction about coping with grief or loss or illnesses unless we’re intentionally seeking it for a book read.

That being said! I do and have read some really sad books that I adore. I know you’ve heard me crow about A Little Life over the years, Carol, but I just love that heartbreaking story and it is such heavy reading. People have referred to it as misery porn. Haha.

I do think that as I’ve aged, my reading moods dictate what I read. I want to read what I want to read and if I don’t want to be miserable I will absolutely skip a sad story. No shame at all.

[Lindsey]

This is something I hadn't thought much about - although after reflecting, I could be guilty of seeking out sad stories! I don't gravitate towards loss or grief as a topic, but I do enjoy stories that make me feel deep emotion. Stories about war refugees or memoirs about those who've gone through some of our worlds' greatest challenges (ie the Syrian war) - I learn a lot and gain a perspective I wouldn't have otherwise.

Oddly enough, I just finished a story on death and grief that was quite good: Under the Whispering Door.
I'd avoided T.J. Klune's novels simply because so many friends have recommended them (& I tend to dislike modern literary fiction meets romance that *everyone* likes).

But this was a wonderful exception and I'll likely read another by Klune. It's about death and grief, but I wouldn't consider it misery porn. It's more of a reckoning with death, acceptance of life's decisions, recognizing what's important (& not), and more.

[Melissa]

I've definitely noticed the increase in grief books, even though I've long gravitated to this genre. (Is it a genre?) I think you're right about the pandemic driving the interest, as well as more...awareness? compassion? that we're all dealing with some type of loss, even if it's from a long time ago. Right now I have about 5 such grief memoirs out from the library. They help me process some things while providing the comfort that others have been through this too. I'm currently reading Intervals by Marianne Brooker (longlisted for the Women's Prize) which I'd highly recommend.

A few recommendations:
Little Matches: A Memoir of Finding Light in the Dark by Maryanne O'Hara
In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom
Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir by Natasha Trethewey
A Living Remedy: A Memoir by Nicole Chung
All Things Edible, Random & Odd: Essays on Grief, Love & Food by Sheila Squillante

[Jen]

Carol wrote: "Grief, as a book theme

I've been contemplating the ubiquitousness of grief as a theme in both fiction and nonfiction. It could well be my dirty lens, but it seems as if the last 2 - 3 years of new..."

I have a similar instinct for "managing me" as you say. I definitely feel my guard come up when book descriptions or reviews suggest unrelenting gloom.
That said, I think I do feel my interest piqued when stories or nonfiction indicate the theme of grief. I don't typically seek them out especially, but if I come upon them I think they might appeal to me for their potential to impart some wisdom on navigating it, or shed light on its mysteries, or validate own experiences of grief or similar states.
I'm at an age where my parents are still with me but they're quite on in years and I foresee that intense grief coming not very far on the horizon, so perhaps I like to keep my eyes peeled for potential future supports.

Amy Bloom's In Love has been on my TBR since reading rave reviews for the audio.
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying has been a support through two losses in my life at very different ages.
I found the way Kazuo Ishiguro touched on end of life in The Buried Giant heartwarming and memorable.

Not to pull the subject away totally, but I had wondered similarly about the theme of new motherhood and birth in literature. Or perhaps it's just me that's newly noticing this topic in book descriptions. I'm inclined to assume it's new in general that it is seen as a worthwhile topic to publish but dunno really...

[Claire]

Carol wrote: "Grief, as a book theme

I've been contemplating the ubiquitousness of grief as a theme in both fiction and nonfiction. It could well be my dirty lens, but it seems as if the last 2 - 3 years of new..."

I have noticed that there are more books that confront grief or perhaps it is just that I have become more conscious of them since becoming more intimately acquainted with the subject. Prior to the death of my daughter nearly 5 years ago now, I would notice people who had lost a parent, when contemplating a book where grief is present say they didn't think they could read it.

I don't seek these books out, but I also don't shy away from them. I find them a kind of barometer and I want the short life of my daughter to be something that is present, not buried, so if a song or a book or an observation reminds me of her and I experience an emotion, I want that to have expression.

I had one book about grief on my bookshelf that I bought for research into grief as part of understanding loss experienced as an adoptee. I had read that the trauma of separation is a form of grief; so I intended to read The Grief Recovery Handbook, 20th Anniversary Expanded Edition: The Action Program for Moving Beyond Death, Divorce, and Other Losses including Health, Career, and Faith as an intellectual exercise. It sat on the shelf unread. Until the day I remembered it was there. Some months after the death of my daughter. In that surreal time, when seeing death represented and fictionalized on TV was so weird, because it was so wrong. To me, it was so false, so unlike the reality. So over dramatized.

But that book got it right. In there I read things that felt like they were written by someone who had experienced what it felt like. Even if I could not articulate that myself.

I think we are moving beyond suppression and denial but that there is a place between that and the over dramatic screaming rage, where we can begin to learn to process and accept and learn about death that is life, no matter how it transpires. There is some magic in it, in the conscious raising that occurs, in the heightened awareness, how it changes us. How that person can become a source of strength rather than a cause of sorrow.

One book I did seek out, because I needed to understand was Angelic Attendants: What Really Happens As We Transition From This Life Into The Next, it won't be for everyone, but it filled in some gaps for me, or enabled me to adjust my own narrative perspective on what had happened to us.

[Hannah]

Hi everyone, I just wanted to say hello as it's been a few months since I have logged on to Goodreads. I haven't been able to pick up a book in quite a while as we are having an awful year. Earlier this year we lost our beautiful dog and my best friend who we adopted 14 years ago. Shortly afterwards we had another death in the family, very unexpected. I have been struggling with my health, as always. We have another family member in palliative care, expected to go any day now, and two more unwell dogs. Even though things are nowhere near settled I have started to read again and am hoping to stick with it, although who knows. I hope you're all having a better 2024.

[Crazytourists_books]

Hi Hannah! I'm sorry you are having such a hard time! i send you my love and best wishes..

[Sophie]

Hannah wrote: "Hi everyone, I just wanted to say hello as it's been a few months since I have logged on to Goodreads. I haven't been able to pick up a book in quite a while as we are having an awful year. Earlier..."

Hello Hannah, It is good to hear from you! I am sorry that you are experiencing such loss and are struggling.
I recently finished a book and when I saw your comment on it, I realized it had been quite a while since you had posted on GR.
I wish you well and also send loving thoughts.

[Ozsaur]

Welcome back, Hannah! I'm so sorry you've been struggling lately. Sending you good luck vibes!

[Jen]

Hannah wrote: "Hi everyone, I just wanted to say hello as it's been a few months since I have logged on to Goodreads. I haven't been able to pick up a book in quite a while as we are having an awful year. Earlier..."

Damn, I am sorry to hear all that, Hannah. 2024 has been none too good for some folks :( It is nice to hear from you again though

[Hannah]

Thanks everyone, I love how caring and supportive this group is. I always feel welcome 😊

[Carol]

Claire wrote: "Carol wrote: "Grief, as a book theme

I've been contemplating the ubiquitousness of grief as a theme in both fiction and nonfiction. It could well be my dirty lens, but it seems as if the last 2 - ..."

I've been thinking about your comment since the day you uploaded it, and haven't liked any responses I've drafted in my head. But leaving it unacknowledged - while a lifelong problem I've not solved when a friend expresses something difficult - is not okay. I'm so sorry for your loss and also awed by your grace in sharing it. I'm also pushing myself to read the books you flagged because my reluctance to engage meaningfully on the topic is unhealthy and not helpful either. Thank you for your suggestions.

[Carol]

Hannah wrote: "Thanks everyone, I love how caring and supportive this group is. I always feel welcome 😊"

Hannah - you are most welcome and I'm glad you know that time away doesn't change it. I think of this group as a bunch of Golden Retrievers. Every day is a new day and time isn't a particularly relevant metric. The thing I find most difficult about GR, candidly, is that I worry about people whom I don't see for awhile, helpless to follow-up independently and check in. But that's my anxiety to manage.

[Carol]

BookTok and Bookstagram and Podcasts: Who do you follow and like? Have you found any new podcasts or social accounts this year that you are enjoying? Are you a fan of the democratization of book promotion? Do you miss having the loudest voices in book promotion be trained book critics?

BookTok I hate-finished my first Freida McFadden novel last week, The Teacher, unaware that she's an author that has used BookTok to her sales advantage. She'd been on my radar as a woman author in the mystery/suspense genre that had sold millions of copies over 5-10 novels and appeared (my perception) to have come out of nowhere in the last 24 months, and I thought I might want to suggest one of her novels for an IRL book club in which I'm active. I rarely finish poorly written, poorly plotted books with female characters who aren't even slightly authentic any more, but it was an audiobook I could finish without taking away from my "real" reading time. And so I did. In the back of my mind the entire time, I kept thinking, I know my fellow genre readers and, although there are millions of people who read suspense/thrillers without judgment and solely for The Twist, there are millions more of us who are accustomed to sophisticated genre fiction and can't abide plot holes the size of a Tesla Cybertruck. Then I Googled Mcfadden and booktok and learned that she's mastered the Colleen Hoover plan for book sales. If I'd known, I'd have never tried her and my brain would have been better off for that choice. tl;dr I"m glad BookTok is helping to sell lots and lots of books to someone, because Yay! book sales! but it's not my tribe at this time.

Bookstagram: I follow a dozen or so accounts focused on Black women authors. Mostly bookstore owners and employees. A few individuals. They remind me of books I already know about, so keep authors I want to be top of mind, top of mind. I'm open to following additional accounts other members (here) recommend, but am not on a passionate search.

Podcasts: Still not my thing. I've tried probably 50 podcasts - 20 or so in 2024 - and I find them to be the least efficient way to consume content. Time wasted on ads. The style of speaking is so long-winded and casually inefficient. Change my mind : )

Reviews/critics Aside from my GR friends, I'm a book criticism snob and prefer to read reviews written by professional, trained book reviewers. I don't want to hear how any book makes someone feel, or the equivalent of, "I loved this book" without more. I want facts, history, context, comparisons to other books in the same genre or on the same topic. I want to read reviews written by someone who understands structure and doesn't think it's "mean" to conclude that a novel was flawed or less than successful. And I read print so rapidly compared to audio or video that it's my preferred medium for book reviews. But that's me. I also understand, philosophically, that the democratization of social has allowed many writers who were shut out of the Official White Male (NY-oriented) Promotional Exchange System to reach an audience, and many readers to find authors they love who didn't get the support of material marketing budgets under the pre-social regime.

What's your experience and preference?

[Hannah]

Claire wrote: "Carol wrote: "Grief, as a book theme

I've been contemplating the ubiquitousness of grief as a theme in both fiction and nonfiction. It could well be my dirty lens, but it seems as if the last 2 - ..."

Claire, I'm sorry I didn't see your comment when you first posted it. Thank you for sharing your experience, I think your words are very wise.

I agree that there is a strong cultural tendency in the "Western' world , especially here in the UK, to shy away from difficult feelings. Grief perhaps being the biggest of all. I understand and share that impulse whilst in the thick of grief but I think that in the long term it is unhelpful. After a certain amount of time has passed and the overwhelm of grief has become less I think that reading about others going through similar experiences to ours, although it may be triggering, is validating and reassuring. I find this especially so with other difficult topics such as mental health and struggles with disability, although I'm perhaps less brave with grief. I like to read about experiences such as these whether in fiction or memoirs and find it helps me to feel less alone and my feelings to be, like you said "present, not buried" (I like that)

I've had Thich Nhat Hanh's How to Live When a Loved One Dies: Healing Meditations for Grief and Loss sat on my bookshelf for a couple of years and you've inspired me to pick it up after I've finished the book of his that I'm currently reading.

[Hannah]

Carol wrote: "BookTok and Bookstagram and Podcasts: Who do you follow and like? Have you found any new podcasts or social accounts this year that you are enjoying? Are you a fan of the democratization of book pr..."

I don't do any of these! I agree with Carol about podcasts. I don't do social media other than GR which I don't really count because nobody from my 'real life' is on here and I quite like that my GR friends are a separate community. I don't understand the deal with Instagram or tiktok themselves so I don't think their book versions (which I didn't even know existed!) would be for me.
I used to follow the guardian's book review page but I got frustrated with the white male focus and gave up. Instead I just wait for you guys to share the articles and lists from the book review sites that are relevant to my interests. Lazy I know!

[Jen]

Hannah wrote: "Carol wrote: "BookTok and Bookstagram and Podcasts: Who do you follow and like? Have you found any new podcasts or social accounts this year that you are enjoying? Are you a fan of the democratizat..."

Hey, a person has only so much time and energy and ya like what ya like.
I been enjoying a long IG break (my only social media) and have had no temptation to return for months now...
I like finding professional type reviews and other writing on books/authors I'm reading and sometimes I also seek out random podcast episodes that may relate to a book or author I'm reading but I don't have particular podcasts I follow.
There's alot of hit and miss in all this but I like finding other perspectives I think especially when I really like a book and when I have very mixed feelings about a book.

[Jassmine]

I don't really follow much of anything, because my tbr is already endless and my friends recs are keeping it comfortably fat. I just thought that I would mention a podcast that I thought might be to some interest to people here? It's called Women's History or New Books in Women's History and it covers a new non-fic books in the field. It's always structured as a dialogue/interview with the author of the new book. The episode usually covers a bit chunk of the subject so it's a good educational listen even if you don't decide to read the book (the topics are often pretty obscure and niche), but they absolutely sold me on some pieces.

I'm listening to it through Apple podcasts but it should be available through other ways too, like their website: https://newbooksnetwork.com/category/...

[Carol]

Jassmine wrote: "I don't really follow much of anything, because my tbr is already endless and my friends recs are keeping it comfortably fat. I just thought that I would mention a podcast that I thought might be t..."

Jassmine, you temptress. This podcast sounds 200% up my alley. thanks very much for sharing it.

[Jassmine]

Carol wrote: "Jassmine, you temptress. This podcast sounds 200% up my alley. thanks very much for sharing it."

I'm glad it's found it's audience! I'm always happy to cause bookish problems to other people 🤭


Now that I'm thinking about it the podcasts I would ocasionaly listen to are usually interviews with the authors or podcasts that analyse a specific subject in a book. Podcasts of people recommending books don't appeal that much to me.

[Carol]

Do you read and enjoy self-help books? If so, do you have any recommendations for favorites with a general theme of health - whether about mental health or physical - pain management or mitigation, exercise, menus, habits and routines, bipolar and ADHD understanding, holistic medicine, other?

I've made a lot of headway into reading more nonfiction in the last 5 - 6 years, but there are big categories that I still don't read and know little about. Self-help is one of them. On the other hand, we have many members who are well-read in this area and whose recommendations are reviewer gold. Bring it.

p.s. please be respectful - one person's treasure trove is another's "that's not scientifically based" - hold the judgment, bring the favorites

[Jen]

Anyone following EuroCup? Spain and England in the finale this Sunday! Anyone rooting for a particular team?

Actually, I'm gonna be in Berlin this weekend where the finale takes place. Fingers crossed the crowds and traffic are not too crazy...

It was exciting to see Austria, Switzerland, and Turkey get as far as they did :)

[Carol]

Jen wrote: "Anyone following EuroCup? Spain and England in the finale this Sunday! Anyone rooting for a particular team?

Actually, I'm gonna be in Berlin this weekend where the finale takes place. Fingers cro..."

oh, wow! That's very cool, Jen. I can't imagine you having any less than a wonderful time regardless of the crowds, etc. Report back : )

[Jen]

@Carol, oh yea. I always love visiting Berlin (father-in-law lives here)… This trip wasn’t actually planned around the game, it’s coincidental. Friends are arriving here from the US, so yea, definitely gonna be having fun :)

[Liesl]

Jen wrote: "Anyone following EuroCup? Spain and England in the finale this Sunday! Anyone rooting for a particular team?

Actually, I'm gonna be in Berlin this weekend where the finale takes place. Fingers cro..."

I'm not a huge Football fan but as the wife and mother of Spaniards, supporting Spain will be required this weekend.

Enjoy the atmosphere in Berlin. Find the saxophone guy because that looks like the place to be if you want to have fun.

[Carol]

@Jen - did you have a great weekend? How is Berlin treating you?

@Liesl - congratulations on a most satisfying sports weekend! I missed the football game but enjoyed every set of the Wimbledon final and am so happy to see Alcaraz take this trophy home.

We are enduring multiple days of 100 degree heat but I am thankful daily for a good a/c unit.

[Jen]

Berlin was excellent- lucked out with lovely weather- not too hot or rainy. And that was a fun game! We got to watch it at two very chill, low-key screenings which was perfect for my group.

Liesl, ah so you're a half Spanish household- cool :)

Honestly, I was rooting, not especially strongly, for England as the underdog since Spain has apparently won EC plenty times already, but Spain totally deserved the win. They seemed to play great the whole tournament and they seem to have good sportsmanship, so I'm happy for them.

Carol, sounds fun, glad you're able to stay cool in those temps- oof.

[Jen]

What should I do if I find quite some plagiarism in a review on GR? Someone has taken so much from a review I read online at stingingfly.org that I thought I found the original author on GR.
I flagged it but now the conversation with GR is becoming an annoying amount of back and forth. I informed stingingfly.org and the writer. But I am bothered that this user may be doing this in their other reviews.

[Sonia]

Jen wrote: "What should I do if I find quite some plagiarism in a review on GR? Someone has taken so much from a review I read online at stingingfly.org that I thought I found the original author on GR.
I flag..."

Interesting. I think you have done all you can politely do.

[Carol]

Jen wrote: "What should I do if I find quite some plagiarism in a review on GR? Someone has taken so much from a review I read online at stingingfly.org that I thought I found the original author on GR.
I flag..."

No doubt this user is doing just that, but I agree with Sonia - you've notified who you can notify and it's up to them to use the DMCA process with GR and otherwise chase the outcome they want. My guess is that GR is set up to respond to requests/demands from copyright holders but not other users who flag copyright issues. Of all the things they understaff or staff with bots, I kinda get this one, practically speaking. But I see nothing but frustration for you in trying to engage with them, based on what I've seen of their recent responses to mods and other users trying to get action on standard garden-variety platform topics.

[Jen]

Ah yea, sorry delayed response- thanks for your input, Sonia and Carol

[Anna]

I wasn't sure where to put this but I wanted to share - Target has some really great deals on books right now! (I'm in the US, and I don't think their deals are international, but I would check if you're interested)
Most books are 30% off, and there's a buy 2 get 1 free deal, that can be combined! (Some of the deals are online only so keep an eye out) I just ordered a lot of new exciting books!

[Carol]

Anna - no worries. thanks for sharing this info and here is fine. If you find other great deals in the future, we've got a thread in the Reading Women Chat folder on point:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

take care.