How do you feel about triggering books?

[evlove]

Hey guys, reading haunting adeline has made me think about triggering book themes being made okay for the characters. This one has themes of stalking that are being romanticized. Considering this and books like stephen king’s it, where there are literal child orgies, do you think these triggering themes are okay to write about? How do you guys feel about them? What are some of the most triggering books y’all have read?

[Michael]

Real life is full of triggers. It makes sense to me that real writing will have triggers, regardless of genre.

Not all triggers are equal.

Example: that weird scene from King's IT is problematic, but it doesn't ruin the entire book. Compare IT against something like The Turner Diaries or the Camp of the Saints and you can see the immediate difference. IT was written to entertain and it happens to have problem content. The problem content was the *point* of Turner Diaries and Camp of the Saints.

[emelie!!]

I think it's interesting to see the perspective on those kinds of topics. However, I don't agree with these controversial themes being romanticized.

[evlove]

@emily!! I feel like this is important for these books to have the age restrictions they do too. Like romanticizing stalker behavior for a young mind is terrible and has a bad effect. However i feel like if youre reading as an adult and recognize it’s bad behavior to actually exhibit, but still find it alluring and entertaining cuz youre weird, that’s where my gray area is lolll.

[evlove]

@Michael i agree not all triggers are made equal. I feel like when the behavior is true to the character even if it’s fucked up, that’s still being true to your character’s actions

[Tiffany]

depends on the trigger, mostly animal abuse for me

[Richaar]

In my opinion, writers should be able to write whatever they want. There are different kinds of readers. Some may not like it, and others do. I personally love dark romance, and Haunting Adeline is my favorite book. The most important thing about reading darkromance is realizing that it's not ok in real life. You may enjoy reading about it, but you don't agree with it in real life. You should also always read the trigger warnings before reading a book!

[Malissa]

Depends on the type of book and what it contains. Haunting Adeline and the series is not for me. Butcher & Blackbird is for me, I am loving it. I do like Stephen King as an author also. I read a lot of VC Andrews when I was much younger, but not in a very long time.

[Deborah]

I totally agree with @Richaar and @elise. I read just about everything, but my favorites are Regency romances and Dark romances. The authors usually provide the word “trigger” in their blurbs, and that should be a tip off for readers to read at your own peril or to avoid the book altogether. Unfortunately, there is evil in the real world, and that evil is being justified, romanticized and renamed by many people. And, just as unfortunately, we are not able to simply close that “book”.

[Maria]

there's always something for everyone. personally, I love it, give me the triggers, the more the merrier. but I just think that for those who don't like them just like keep it to yourself. I mean that I don't judge those who do like/prefer to read it. and if anything it shines light on what is scary and makes it a bit less scary..if that makes sense. and it doesn't mean one allows this behavior outside of fiction. also doesn't mean we are sadistic, or depraved, or evil!! fiction guys, FICTION.

[Sue]

For me, I have always felt that education leads to enlightenment and more understanding of things that people face that I haven't. I won't lie - some of these books are just too difficult to read and so I don't pick them up. As an example, while I made it through Tears of the Silenced, at times, it was a really tough read. Yet, I'm happy I read it because I understand that perhaps the Amish communities are not as idealistic as they sometimes appear from the outside. If I can walk away a little more worldly or knowledgeable after a book, then it's worth it to me. As long as the book is authentic and not romanticized.

[Henna_UwU]

I think one thing that's difficult to balance is the importance of marking triggers VS the way triggers can spoil the plot. If an element of a story that happens to be triggering is meant to be surprising or come out of nowhere, marking it with the specific trigger spoils it and leaves the reader just waiting for it to happen.

[Emma]

I think that those things, disturbing as they may be, are things that happen in life, and as such, I think there is a place for such material in books. Even if it's uncomfortable or shocking, if it is written and conveyed well, it can shed light on that issue.

I think the issue right now is that a lot of people can't seem to differentiate between portrayal and endorsement/romanticization. Books like Lolita, for example, are portrayals of very dark subject matter but are very obviously marking it as a bad thing, and yet many people can't seem to understand that Lolita is showcasing the horrors of its subject rather than trying to be some kind of love story. Yes, the method is unconventional, but it's pretty obvious what's going on.

I don't know how I feel about trigger warnings. I think they often end up spoiling the events of the book, which can hurt the experience of actually reading a book. I'd say for people who are prone to be upset by darker subject matter, it'd be better for those people to read reviews and find out if it's okay for them rather than for the book itself to mark it.

[CybercrrEDU]

Depends. If there is a warning ⚠️ ahead of time I don't have a problem. As a survivor of SA/CSA I want the ability to consent to read or not read something. I won't dnf a book per say bc of r*pe or certain topics, but if I have a heads up I can skip the pages, or if the book is bad enough choose not to read it.

[Nathaniel]

I read a book that made me really mad at the author. I enjoyed the book, but there is a very violent scene in the book, that has stuck with me, and upset me.

There were bad consequences for the characters who committed the violent act in the book. But the scene upset me.

Obviously I didn't know about the scene, and I don't know if I knew about the scene beforehand if it would have stopped me. I read John Grisham and Stephen King who do terrible stuff to their characters all the time. I've read science fiction recently filled with flat out gore and horrific violence.

The author wrote other books with the same characters, I read those and I found that I liked the writing, and the characters so much by the time I had finished I had forgiven or at least in my head made up with the author.

[Sonali]

I have spent copious amount of tears, had depression, anxiety, sleeplessness and the works. What can I say. Many books over the years have shaped my thinking as well.

[C. J.]

That's iffy. I really don't know and I myself have come across reading very 'triggering' concepts at least three times that I can think of at the moment.

[evlove]

Update: I just finished haunting adeline btw and now this topic is even more blurred for me. They really romanticized stalking and sexual assault, but i still enjoyed reading about it even tho i’d never condone it. Has anyone else read this book?

[Ethan]

One of the most valuable things that books can do is provide a window into the experience of other people. As long as painful things happen to people, writing about painful things will be a part of telling good stories. But that doesn't mean that every author does a good job in handling their subject.

It makes sense for you to know the kinds of things that might be triggering to you and make decisions on a book-by-book basis. Even if the book is good and handles a painful subject well, you may not always be in a place to read it, and that's okay.

I recently read Jeffery Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides. By the title, it's obvious that this book may be triggering for some. I took a risk with it and loved it. The book was sad, but I found the exploration of grief, loss, and childhood to be cathartic.

[Tanja]

Luckly, I don't feel triggered fast and I can read difficult books without overly bad emotions. I mean it is not wrong to engage in topics far away from the mainstream. At the end it is my decision to read a book and I can put it away if I need a break. In general, I'm nit affected by controversial topics.
Last year I read a little life and it didn't affect me.
But if someone is sensitive due to past experiences it is not a bad idea to be careful when reading difficult books

[Ineffable7980x]

Different people are triggered by different things. I personally hardly ever get triggered. Someone who is much more sensitive to these things should probably avoid books that will trigger them.