Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.

This week’s topic is:

March 27: Right Book, Right Time? Reading for the Season You’re In (suggested by Alli @ Alli the Book Giraffe)

Prompts: Do you prefer reading about characters who are in a similar life stage as you (age, career, relationships, etc.)? Has your preference changed as you’ve gotten older? Have you ever re-read a book and experienced it completely differently because you were in a different stage of life? Do you think books come into our lives at the ‘right time’ and are there any books you think you’d feel differently about if you were younger or older?

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Do you prefer reading about characters who are in a similar life stage as you (age, career, relationships, etc.)? Has your preference changed as you’ve gotten older?

When I was younger (teens), I loved reading books with adults in it – to imagine what my life could be. When I was in my twenties, I started reading young adult again maybe because college was such an impactful time of my life and I wanted to recapture all those feelings! Then in my 30’s, I wanted to read about older characters (older meaning 25 and up lol…but have you noticed a lot of books in fantasy have 20 year old heroines?). Now in my late-40’s…I read young adult, new adult, adult…whatever…but I now sometimes I’m craving more older FMCs 30+ but it’s hard to find in fantasy. It’s easier to find them in contemporary romance. So I don’t necessarily want them to be in the same stage of career or relationship as me.

Have you ever re-read a book and experienced it completely differently because you were in a different stage of life?

Last year I re-read a Sarah Dessen book (she writes young adult books), and I definitely was experiencing it differently. Maybe because I have kids and in a few years (at least my son) he will be a young adult! So…I see it through a mom’s perspective now. But when I read it in my 20’s, I related so hard to these young adult feelings. I kind of want to go back and re-read some books just to see how it makes me feel now so we’ll see if I do.

Do you think books come into our lives at the ‘right time’ and are there any books you think you’d feel differently about if you were younger or older?

I do think it does sometimes…one example since she just did her podcast is Sarah J. Maas books. Throne of Glass came out when dystopian was big but I did read it…and I thought it was okay. And I read the next book and next book, but when A Court of Thorns and Roses dropped I was in my mid 30’s – I was hooked right away I think because Feyre just felt older (even though she wasn’t). And I liked her complicated family dynamics, and eventually Nesta’s story will be the one that impacts me the most personally. I don’t know if I would have appreciated ACOTAR if I read it when I was younger.

March 2026 Topics:

March 6: Women Who’ve Shaped Your Reading Life

Prompts: March is Women’s History Month and March 8 is also International Women’s Day.  In honour of this month celebrating women, let’s talk about the women who’ve shaped our reading lives. Was there (or is there)  a woman in your life who sparked your love for reading? Who was the first woman author you remember loving? Do you tend to read more books by women authors and do you think that’s for a reason?

March 13: Immersive Reading (suggested by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black)

Prompts: Immersive reading is when you simultaneously listen to an audiobook while reading the physical or digital book. Do you do any immersive reading? Do you prefer it or is it not for you? Do you think it’s a good way to get everything from a book? Is there a genre that is better to do this with? What are your recommendations for immersive reading?

March 20: Portrayals of Women in Books

Prompts: We’ve previously talked about underrepresented women and women in STEM in books, but let’s take a look at portrayals of women in books. Do you think portrayals of women have changed over time? Are ambitious women portrayed differently than ambitious men? Are “unlikable” female characters judged more harshly? Are girls and women written more complexly in books today? Share some of your favourite books featuring complex empowered women being unapologetically themselves!

March 27: Right Book, Right Time? Reading for the Season You’re In (suggested by Alli @ Alli the Book Giraffe)

Prompts: Do you prefer reading about characters who are in a similar life stage as you (age, career, relationships, etc.)? Has your preference changed as you’ve gotten older? Have you ever re-read a book and experienced it completely differently because you were in a different stage of life? Do you think books come into our lives at the ‘right time’ and are there any books you think you’d feel differently about if you were younger or older?

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.

This week’s topic is:

March 20: Portrayals of Women in Books

Prompts: We’ve previously talked about underrepresented women and women in STEM in books, but let’s take a look at portrayals of women in books. Do you think portrayals of women have changed over time? Are ambitious women portrayed differently than ambitious men? Are “unlikable” female characters judged more harshly? Are girls and women written more complexly in books today? Share some of your favourite books featuring complex empowered women being unapologetically themselves!

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Do you think portrayals of women have changed over time?

Definitely YES. A lot of the historical romances I read back in the 90’s was all about a woman needing to find a husband (which is true of the time period they were writing in), but I noticed after decades of reading, the women have just become stronger, more independent – they still want love which is fine but now the women can love women in books (that was hard to find for years in books).

Are ambitious women portrayed differently than ambitious men?

I still think in the books I’ve read, ambitious women are portrayed as cut-throat but evil? 😅

Are “unlikable” female characters judged more harshly?

Yes…still! Maybe we are conditioned to think of them as bad because they are unlikable? I don’t know! I just read a book where the FMC started off funny but then her actions throughout the book drove me crazy because it was immature though she’s an adult. 😅 But that’s how the character is – I guess we can’t like them all. I will say though I love an unlikable character who has a good backstory, something that shaped her character into what is unlikable.

Are girls and women written more complexly in books today?

I think they are written more complex, which is refreshing! Because women are complex.

Share some of your favourite books featuring complex empowered women being unapologetically themselves!

Here are some of the latest books I read featuring complex, empowered women:

• The Library of Amorlin by. Kalyn Josephson – Kasira is a con-artist who has to make hard choices but she’s motivated by self-preservation. She’s very morally grey to the point I didn’t trust her. But she uses her new powerful role to eventually do the right thing.
• The Poet Empress by. Shen Tao – Wei is a peasant who becomes Empress by enduring abuse.
• Keeper of Lost Children by. Sadeqa Johnson – Ethel, a Black woman who helps mixed-raced children find homes; and Sophia who endures a lot at a young age, but is determined to figure out who she is.
• Wicked Onyx – Anamaya’s family is exiled from the magic community and she wants to clear her family name.
• The Sun and the Starmaker by. Rachel Griffin – a young lady is chosen to be the next Starmaker but she learns that she has to sacrifice a lot.

March 2026 Topics:

March 6: Women Who’ve Shaped Your Reading Life

Prompts: March is Women’s History Month and March 8 is also International Women’s Day.  In honour of this month celebrating women, let’s talk about the women who’ve shaped our reading lives. Was there (or is there)  a woman in your life who sparked your love for reading? Who was the first woman author you remember loving? Do you tend to read more books by women authors and do you think that’s for a reason?

March 13: Immersive Reading (suggested by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black)

Prompts: Immersive reading is when you simultaneously listen to an audiobook while reading the physical or digital book. Do you do any immersive reading? Do you prefer it or is it not for you? Do you think it’s a good way to get everything from a book? Is there a genre that is better to do this with? What are your recommendations for immersive reading?

March 20: Portrayals of Women in Books

Prompts: We’ve previously talked about underrepresented women and women in STEM in books, but let’s take a look at portrayals of women in books. Do you think portrayals of women have changed over time? Are ambitious women portrayed differently than ambitious men? Are “unlikable” female characters judged more harshly? Are girls and women written more complexly in books today? Share some of your favourite books featuring complex empowered women being unapologetically themselves!

March 27: Right Book, Right Time? Reading for the Season You’re In (suggested by Alli @ Alli the Book Giraffe)

Prompts: Do you prefer reading about characters who are in a similar life stage as you (age, career, relationships, etc.)? Has your preference changed as you’ve gotten older? Have you ever re-read a book and experienced it completely differently because you were in a different stage of life? Do you think books come into our lives at the ‘right time’ and are there any books you think you’d feel differently about if you were younger or older?