I have gotten back into reading for fun and I love it! I have read a bunch of great books. The issue is, so many books have triggering content in them now adays. It is really triggering to read a book, to get invested in characters, then to read that. Is there a place I can check if the book includes something triggering?
by Dapper-Fix-4501
6 Comments
I actually check Good Reads reviews before I start a book for this very reason. It’s a crapshoot though so your mileage may vary.
Story Graph has a feature where readers can tag triggering content. It’s crowd sourced and may not always capture everything, but I’ve found them to be pretty thorough.
ETA I just double checked, and it’s split into graphic, moderate, and minor content warnings, with the number of people who added each one.
Storygraph has user submitted trigger warnings that I find helpful.
I’m not sure books are anymore trigger now than they once were, but if you know what your triggers are then you can just skim reviews, use doesthedogdie or storygraph, or just ask someone or someplace that might have an idea of what the contents of the book are.
There are ratings systems for children’s books but not so much for books aimed at adults. But I’ll bet if you ask on r/books, and it’s a fairly popular book, someone will be able to tell you.
Also, there are children’s classics that have crossover appeal to adults like *Alice in Wonderland*, *Peter Pan*, *The Wind in the Willows*, *Little Women*, *Treasure Island*, *Anne of Green Gables*, *The Once and Future King*, *The Lord of the Rings*, *A Wizard of Earthsea*, *Watership Down*, many more. I consider them my comfort books because, although the characters may undergo trials, I know it won’t be anything children can’t handle and there will be a happy ending.
Humans are not fragile. We are anti-fragile. We need to be challenged by the rigors of life. Maybe just start reading it and stop if you don’t like it.