The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Crazy-For-Books and is currently being hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every Friday, a new question is posted for book bloggers to answer in the coming week. The purpose of the hop is connection and community. You can discover new blogs to follow, new books to read, and you may end up with some new followers, as well!

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Hello, reader!

It’s been… a loooong time since I’ve done a Book Blogger Hop! I’ve always enjoyed the bookish discussions this prompts, so I thought I would jump back into it. And the first question back is a great one!

This Week’s Question

Are you more willing to read traditionally published books than self-published (Indie) books? Or do you not have a preference?

Submitted by Julie @ Stepping Stones Book Reviews.

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The answer to this question is vastly different from what it would have been before I joined the online bookish community. Because, before that, I was woefully under-exposed to indie published books! I only knew about traditional publishing until embarrassingly recently, but I’m so happy that I’ve discovered the indie published crowd. Some of the best books I’ve read in the past few years have been indies!

But the way this question is worded made me pause. Am I more willing to pick up a traditionally published book? Yes and no. I feel like I’m exposed more to traditionally published books, especially outside the realm of book-Twitter and bookstagram. And that makes me more willing to pick them up because I will get carried away by the hype a traditional publisher can generate. But, at the same time, if an indie book finds it way onto my radar, I’m just as willing to give it a read if it captures my interest! I would never snub a book just because it’s not traditionally published.

As for having a preference or not, I do think that the vast majority of my reading is still traditionally published books, but I don’t have a real preference either way. Indie published books can be just as good (if not better) than traditionally published ones. I think there’s something for everyone in both categories! I’m so glad that I’ve gotten more exposure to indie books now that I’ve become of the bookish community. These authors work just as hard as trad published ones and I admire the hell out of all of them. I just think that the weird stigma around indie published books is unfounded and comes from people not willing to give a book a chance if it’s not from one of the Big Five (Big Four? Who knows these days.)

Might I suggest, if that is a stigma you struggle with yourself, that you do a search and find an indie published book that speaks to you. Give it a shot. You might be surprised how much you love it! And, if you’re a SFF lover, like myself, I have some suggestions for you!

• Voice of War by Zack Argyle (though I must admit to being partial to the sequel, Stones Of Light!)
• The Blood of the Spear by Mark Timmony
• The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey
• Fid’s Crusade by David H. Reiss
• Marrow Charm by Kristin Jacques

And those are just SFF books! There are a ton of incredible stories in the entire gambit of genres that are waiting to be enjoyed by readers like you.

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Do you prefer traditionally published books to self-published/indie published ones? Do you have no preference? Do you have any suggestions for more indie published books that you’ve personally loved? Let me know in the comments!

And, as always, happy reading!