Frequently Asked Questions

A lot of people tend to say “book w-y-r-m ing thoughts” with the “wyrm” spelled out, but it’s actually like saying “bookworming thoughts.”

I made this blog in my first year of high school when I was 15, so the only thing that mattered in coming up with the blog name was:

1. there had to be dragons involved in some way (even if it’s a different word)
2. it couldn’t have anything to do with my name (actual or pen)
3. no one is already using it

I’ve had a love-hate relationship over the years because I know it’s not a short and sweet name and not easily pronounceable, and there’s sometimes a discussion about rebranding the name.

But no matter what name came up, nothing else felt right or a better fit (and rebranding takes a lot of work), so the name stuck. Maybe this will change in the future, or maybe 15-year-old me just knew.

If you plan on copying any content, no. Should I discover you have copied any content without our explicit permission, we will kindly send you a message privately asking you to take the content down. A horde of angry bookwyrms will be sent after you with sharp pineapples should you refuse or repeat the offense.

(Seriously, though. Sending emails about this isn’t fun.)

If you would like to repost any of our content (outside of quoting), please contact us for permission. Content includes, but is not limited to: blog posts, graphics and banners, and photographs from the site and Instagram. Please note you will be required to include a canonical link to the original post if we give permission.

Inspiration is good, plagiarism is no good. If any of our content inspires you to write a post, please feel free to write your post and send us a message (or drop a comment on the post itself)! We also request that you link to the post(s) that inspired your post. We’d love to see what you’ve come up with.

I believe AI can be a helpful tool sometimes (like if it can one day tell me which of my groceries are low, that would be nice), but I also know in a capitalist society, AI steals the hard work of other artists to cut costs (they already don’t get paid enough), and I’m not okay with that. I also don’t believe AI can capture my voice as authentically as I can, so I don’t use AI in my content or plan to.

No.

Some Favorites:

• Shadow of the Fox trilogy by Julie Kagawa
• Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds
• The Guild Codex Universe by Annette Marie
• Gifted Clans trilogy by Graci Kim
• The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee

Please see our collaborations page for more information! However, I strongly suggest looking at my content prior to contacting to see if I’m the right fit for you. I think reading some of my latest posts is the best way to view my most up-to-date reading preferences and writing styles.

If you feel we are potentially a perfect fit, please reach out so we can talk further! Please note I’m not currently accepting review copies unless we’ve worked together before. I’m still open to sponsored posts.

While most of the content and requests received are book-related, I sometimes review games and movies/TV shows (especially Asian dramas).

None of my reviews are completely spoiler-free, but I try to avoid spoilers about the plot that will ruin the reading and viewing experience for others. In other words, there may be minor spoilers, but nothing major—anything major will be hidden by a spoiler button.

Please note sequel reviews will likely include spoilers from previous novels under the assumption you’ve read the previous books.

I try posting weekly on Tuesdays or Fridays! However, I don’t blog full time, so my schedule will vary depending on what’s going on outside of my blogging life. Sometimes this means I need to take a break for self-care because blogging takes a lot of time and energy that I don’t always have.

I don’t make an announcement because I feel like I’d end up quitting blogging (it feels final for me even if it isn’t — I know some people might feel different, and that’s okay!). Instead, I opt to dial back and just share recent updates in my life every few months until I’m ready to post again. I hope you understand!

While I’ve had contributors and cobloggers in the past, I’m not currently searching for anyone. Guest posts are accepted on a case-by-case basis depending on the post topic, and I’m very selective these days about what I accept.

Bookwyrming Thoughts is, first and foremost, a book blog. As such, I primarily post book-related content and will prioritize guest posts about books. I also frequently talk about movies/TV shows (typically Asian dramas or book adaptations). Occasionally, I’ll post about blogging, bullet-journalling, k-pop or gaming, but they’re not as frequent as books and movies/TV shows.

If you’d like to submit a guest post, you can contact me at sophia(at)bookwyrmingthoughts(dot)com.

I started blogging in February 2012 when I was 14 and still in middle school, so I’ve been blogging for pretty much most of my life! It’s wild to think about.

Personally, I think blogging has been rewarding for me, but I think everyone should make the decision that’s best for them. I grew up in a multilingual household primarily speaking Chinese, so English wasn’t my strong suit. In actuality, I really just wanted to carve out a small space for myself online, and seeing other bloggers in the Wizard101 community at the time inspired me to start a space for myself.

I think it’s a fantastic way to build a portfolio and develop writing skills. Blogging is very different and far less conforming than traditional academic papers, and you also don’t get graded on it, which is great if deadlines give you anxiety. This gives you that freedom to really explore your writing style and voice that you can’t really develop solely from just writing academic papers, and you develop a lot of other skills as well (SEO, social media, photography, etc.).

You might die of embarrassment when you look back on older posts or wish you could’ve written it differently (or even get hurtful comments, which I usually ignore), but I honestly think it’s turned me into a better writer. You might feel differently, and that’s okay! Make the decision that’s best for you.

Honestly, I’m sometimes surprised I’ve blogged as long as I did (over 10 years!), but I think part of that comes down to initially choosing a niche I’m interested in, along with the tendency to backlog a lot of my posts. I no longer do this though, because it no longer works for me.

Over the years, I learned to not beat myself over blogging consistently (the Tuesday/Friday alternating schedule isn’t a hard deadline), because I’m considered a chaotically organized person. Habits and consistency don’t work for me (sometimes it does), and beating myself up is a quick and great way to get me to quit blogging (or anything).

My rating system changes over time as I grow, but here’s a brief rundown of what each means currently:

• 1 Star: n o p e
• 2 Stars: not the greatest
• 3 Stars: okay, but liked it overall
• 4 Stars: enjoyed it a lot
• 5 Stars: absolutely loved it

I use a half-star rating system. But as a general rule of thumb:

• DNFs (Did Not Finish) and 1-2.5 Stars: will not recommend
• 3-3.5 Stars: maybe recommended, depending on the person’s taste
• 4-5 Stars: would recommend

Typically, anything 3 or higher is a book that’s liked. DNFs are rated on what was read, not the entire book. DNF reviews aren’t posted as much anymore on the blog, mostly because I better know my reading tastes now, but I may sometimes post them on Goodreads instead.

It’s been thought of to permanently remove ratings for book reviews plenty of times; the lack of a rating in movies/TV shows is a sort of experimentation with this. However, we do partake in blog tours, which require ratings on book reviews.

Ratings, like “Best of…” lists, are deeply subjective and differ on the person; reviews are very much the opinions of the reviewer, and simply rating something on a scale of 1-5 is too simple when there’s so much to a book, movie, TV show, etc. beyond that rating. Additionally, some people feel 3 stars mean the book is okay, but some folks (like myself) think anything 3 stars or higher means the reviewer liked it, even if they might think it’s okay. Complicated, no?

That being said, I do recognize the algorithm prefers 4-5 star ratings, but I will not change a 3 star to a 5 star because I don’t feel it’s right to do so. I’d like to keep my integrity as intact as possible.

Please don’t think I hate you or don’t like receiving comments — I genuinely appreciate everyone who leaves a comment even if I don’t have time to respond, and I’m happy someone wants to read my past content (even if I think it might be cringe sometimes). 🥺

Comments are set to automatically close approximately a year after the post goes live. The decision came with a lot in mind and this may change in the future! Most of my posts receive comments regularly for about a month after it goes live before I start receiving spam comments. I get a lot of those (especially on old content), which can get overwhelming if I don’t curb it, and sometimes I unintentionally delete a legitimate comment in spam. 😭

I try to keep track of posts that continuously receive comments, though, so the conversation can continue! But sometimes I don’t have the energy to go back and turn those on (and then I forget).

The best way to support me currently is using one of my affiliate links in my posts or dropping a tip via my Ko-Fi! However, I understand not everyone has the means to do so, and no one is obligated to support me with their hard-earned money.

You can support me for free by sharing any posts you’ve enjoyed (whether through socials or word of mouth), dropping a comment (I try my best to respond), following/visiting the blog or following me on social media. I know I don’t say it much, but I genuinely appreciate every support!