Hi friends! I hope you all are doing okay ?
A lot of people have been talking about trigger warnings (or content warnings, if you prefer) in books over the past few years, on the blogosphere and on social media.
I’ve been wondering whether or not to write this kind of post for many years, but after a conversation with my sister about content warnings, somehow she made me realize that I could also bring my own thoughts and experience to it all, so, I thought I would… so here goes.
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What are trigger warnings?
Trigger warnings, or content warnings in books, are statements to warn readers of distressing content their pages might contain. This content can potentially harm the reader mentally, triggering stressful episodes, panic attacks, depression, anxiety….
The way a person experiences a book’s content is, obviously, very personal and each and every reader has their own reaction to a book’s content. By including trigger or content warnings, in book reviews, in the book itself, we allow every person to experience the book on their own terms.
Why content warnings in books matter to me
Excuse me to be harsh, but people saying that old, goddamn sentence that “life has no triggers so why would books need them” is just a privileged, stupid take I am NOT on board with, at all. Yes, life doesn’t have any kind of trigger warnings, I agree. Does that mean that, if you can make someone’s life easier by mentioning triggers in a book, you shouldn’t?
Thanks to many of my considerate, incredible book blogging friends and goodreads users mentioning trigger warnings in their books, I can pick up my next read with the knowledge of what I’m going into.
I can’t even begin to explain how thankful I am to some friends telling me that a certain book has triggers, to my sister for reading a book and letting me know yes okay this might be a little stressful for you to read right now.
It doesn’t mean I personally won’t read the books, if I am interested in them. It just means that knowing content warnings beforehand allow me to approach a book while being in the right headspace and therefore, to have a completely different experience of it.
If no one mentioned any kind of trigger warnings, I would be screwed. If no one ever mentioned the heavy trigger warnings in Ninth House, from the synopsis alone, I might have picked this book up and… well, I wouldn’t have enjoyed the reading experience and would definitely have not been in a good headspace either because this is a very, very heavy read.
This is just one example from many, many, many examples I could take on. I’ve been pushing back some books on my TBR these past few months that have been dealing with some heavy topics, because I know personally I am not in the right headspace to experience these books. I’m thankful to have been able to do that thanks to the readers mindful enough to put trigger warnings in their reviews or tell me about content warnings before I headed into a book I was not ready for.
Okay, but how do we know what a trigger is?
Some people I’m not going to qualify here would tell you that “everything is triggering lately”. That even the slightest thing can be a potential trigger and therefore, mentioning these kind of warnings would never, ever end.
I agree that there are a lot of things that we, as a human, as ourselves, might miss. Our personal experiences, our lives, our surroundings, our education and so many other elements we might not know about, make us receptive to stories in different ways. Some things will be triggering to you, while they will not affect anyone else.
Some elements will be brushed off as nothing, while they might be a massive mountain that crushes someone with different experiences from you.
Therefore, some people choose to brush off content warnings, because why mention them when you might be missing a lot of them, anyway?
I say: like anything, in life, you learn about these kind of things from listening to others and just being a mindful human being. Some things that might not seem as “content warning” territory will be tomorrow, because you’ve learned from another book reviewer, another reader’s experience.
So keep your eyes open and listen and do your best, and do that every single day.
Yes, but aren’t content warnings spoilery?
If you ask me the question, for real, THEY DON’T. I hate that question with a passion. Mentioning content warnings isn’t spoiling the book.
It’s being mindful of other human experiences and feelings and
That. is. it.
I put trigger warnings in all of my book reviews.
I started implementing trigger warnings on my blog a couple years ago, but I know I still have work to do.
I have been blogging since 2014 and my older reviews don’t have these content warnings mentioned just yet. I’m very late on cross-posting on goodreads and need to update that on here, too.
But I’m doing the work, day by day. For myself and for others, for a better reading experience for everyone.
Resources on trigger / content warnings:
- Laura & Fadwa created an incredible Content Warning Database that you can find here. More information about it and how they both created it in this blog post.
- Lauren Hannah has a book trigger list on her blog.
- Annemieke has a list of trigger warnings you can use in your reviews.
- An oldie but a goodie, my friend Marta wrote about trigger warnings and their importance.
- Malka @ Paper Procrastinators gave her take on trigger warnings in a very interesting post as well!
☂️ You might also be interested in: 10 things I want to read more of in YA books
What do you think of content and trigger warnings being mentioned in book reviews?
Do they help you? Do you also wish publishers would implement trigger warnings in their books? Let me know in comments!
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It seems to me content warnings are in everyone’s interests. As an author, I don’t want anyone to suffer because they read one of my books! As a reader, I want reading to remain an enriching experience. I’ll be more mindful of this now.
Agree! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on the topic 🙂
Great post! As a blogger I started putting content warnings in my reviews recently. I already put a “maturity level” on my reviews because I hate being taken by surprise by on-the-page sex or language (I read around my students a lot), my reviews because I hate being taken by surprise by on-the-page sex or language (I read around my students a lot), and how much MORE do folks with PTSD or similar concerns need to not be taken by surprise? My only reservation with this is I see people over content-warning. Yesterday I saw someone include a trigger warning for something as innocuous as “dogs”. I don’t remember what it was exactly, but something equally ordinary. I understand that someone out there is probably triggered by dogs, but there’s also probably someone out there triggered by boiling water, and I can’t put a trigger warning on every book where someone makes tea/coffee. It’s impossible to cover everything, and I think that when we try it makes the CWs less effective because once the list starts getting too long we start skimming/skipping. But that’s just my opinion, it’s fine that people disagree.
That being said, I would LOVE to see publishers including this on the jacket flap or back cover of books. But if they’re going to do so I think we need to come up with a list of what content warnings should be included. Standardize that as much as possible in order to keep people from over/under warning.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on the topic! This is so interesting to hear. I agree with you that it can be complicated to keep track of every single trigger and there are things we can’t imagine can be triggering, but that are actually triggering for some people, too. It’s difficult to keep track of everything, I personally am doing my best to be inclusive, but I know there are things I’m missing. As long as we’re doing our best 🙂
I agree with you about this. I would love for publishers to include content warnings, standardized maybe, but at least something, to warn readers. This is so important!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! 😀
This is such an interesting topic! I was looking up whether or not to add a “trigger warning” to a review I’m about to post for a book. While I wasn’t particularly bothered by the content (it’s of a sexual nature), it is something that potentially may offend younger or older readers. And from the cover and other reviews of the book, it’s not been mentioned previously, as you wouldn’t assume this content appears in the book.
It’s a fine line, as it seems often we’re in danger of being over warned and over governed. However, people can always choose to ignore a “trigger warning” (as has been mentioned). It’s like the classifications of movies. Perhaps there should be something similar for books and other publications.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I think including trigger warnings in your reviews is something everyone should do their best to do. You never know who might pick up a book because of you and if you can make their reading experience better, you should 🙂
Nat I have been saying that FOREVER!!! I just want to know if a book is going to have swear words in it BEFORE I take it to school with me. Or if it’s going to have a sex scene before I read it in a public place. Is that so much to ask?
This is a fantastic post! Trigger warnings are so, so important for a lot of people.
Thank you, Kaya! So happy you agree 🙂
I don’t mind reading any book with or without trigger warning but I agree with you it helps us prepare to read that book. I point out difficult topics in my reviews ever since I started blogging. Great post!
I think it’s important to do this, if we can do something to make the readers’ experience better 🙂
Thank you so much!
I loved this post so much, Marie! I definitely relate in a lot of ways. Ever since January my OCD and anxiety has just gotten out of control, to the point where I cannot consume any media unless it is 100% positive, light, fluffy with nothing that could trigger me. I know so many people who can find triggers in anything, so it is super important that trigger warnings are specific. I would rather read through a page long list of trigger warnings before reading a book rather than just a few warnings. Then I could be unknowingly going into a book with some triggers hiding within.
I admittedly need to get into a larger habit of putting trigger warnings before each and every book review. Thank you for writing this post. I think it is so important.
Oh thank you, Emily, so happy to hear this! 🙂
I understand your point and I’m glad that you can get some warnings beforehand to get into a media 200% aware of what you’re getting into. I think it’s so important and it has helped me a lot, as well.
Thank you so much!
Every single thing you said, is absolutely true. Trigger warnings are really vital and I think I need to be more aware of this in my blog as well.
Thank you, Poulami! <3 I'm glad this post could help you and I hope you'll be mindful of this 🙂
Definitely.
I wholeheartedly agree with trigger warnings!
I’m so glad to hear this 🙂
I do agree with you. You never know what people went through and some things might really shock them or harm them psychologically. Plus as you said, you might not be in the mood for that kind of read at that moment and that would also do the book and the author a disservice.
I also don’t think they are spoilers IF you do it properly as not to be too “precise” but still give the gist of the trigger.
Also people might be mad because they haven’t been warned and end up paying for a book they won’t fisnish.
I’m so glad you agree! I think being in the right mindset is so important to have a great reading experience overall and content warnings help so much with that 🙂
Thank you, Sophie!
I was just talking about this the other day. There’s a discussion meme that I recently posted about what makes a book YA and basically I agree with you. Content warnings are very important and I’m going to start incorporating them in my future reviews as well!
This makes me so happy to hear, thank you for doing this. Content warnings are so important and really help in having the best possible reading experience 🙂
Trigger warnings and content warnings should be normalised in books and reviews. Like you said what triggers someone may not trigger another person, for me I learned from a young age I get triggered when animals get hurt/left behind/etc. Ahem I still remember a book I was reading for primary school and this family just left their dog behind because the dog had gotten lost and I was sobbing so hard and refused to finish the book. For me that’s likely because I grew up really close to our dog and I view our pets as more of a sibling than “just a dog”. However that’s unlikely to trigger everyone, which is why trigger warnings are so helpful AND are needed. Can I read books which involve animals being hurt/dying etc? Yes but ideally I like being forewarned so I can prepare myself.
I adore people who include content warnings, it’s something that can help a reader decide if they’re in the right head space to pick that book up right now, knowing it’s going to include that type of content. Love this post Marie <3
I so agree with you! I think they should be normalized in books themselves and that publishers should include them straight away before the story starts.
I understand what you mean, there are so many things that can be triggering for some people, and might not be for others. I think that’s why it’s so important to try to be as inclusive as possible, to offer the best reading experience to everyone 🙂
Thank you so, so much, Clo! 🙂
i think the idea that “life doesn’t have any triggers, so why should book have them?” is so??? because i read books because of comfort and enjoyment. i don’t want to be triggered and reading topics that are too heavy during the time of the day i want to be relaxing, in a comforting headspace. i know everyone perceives reading differently, but it’s a hobby to make me feel better, not worse, which doesn’t mean i avoid every single book with tough subjects, but just subjects that are triggering to me.
and, yes, we NEED to change the mindset that trigger warnings are spoilers. like just because you’re aware that this book will contain a certain topic, it doesn’t mean you know how will this topic be approached, when it shows up in the narrative, who are the characters involved, etc. and, again, as you perfectly put, it’s just about being mindful of people who have different experiences.
i am very thankful for the trigger warnings you put in your reviews, btw! it’s super important for me as i am quite sensitive to certain topics, and like i mentioned before, i want reading to be a comforting experience personally, so it’s truly helpful.
I so agree with you! Reading is, for me, a comfort hobby and I don’t want to stumble upon triggering content while doing so, that’s why content warnings matter so much.
I never felt like content warnings were spoilers and I’m glad you agree! I mean, we can’t guess the entire plot of a book upon knowing the content warnings in them, we can’t know how they will be approached and… I’d rather be warned than surprised, in a bad way!
Oh thank you so, so much, Lais, this means so much to know this. <3 <3
i love this post so much and trigger warnings are so important!! there are so many books i would like to read but knowing the trigger warnings make me feel more prepared to approach a book. i think the ninth house is a great example! i didn’t read the trigger warnings before diving in…and it was A LOT.
even if the trigger warnings aren’t important to you (*points vaguely at random person*), they could be life-saving and super important to someone else. i’m always super thankful that you include them in your reviews ❤️
Oh thank you so much Tiffany <3 I so agree wtih you, they always make me feel more prepared. I'm grateful for instance that my sister read a couple of books on our physical TBR before me, because she warned me of some triggering content and… I know now I need to wait before reading them ahah 🙂
Thank you so, so much Tiffany ah this means so much <3
I totally agree with you! Trigger warnings are NEEDED and I am so grateful that some people take the time to mention them. Sometimes (or just because of what you’ve been through) you’re just not in the right headspace to read a certain book and knowing that that book deals with a specific topic is HELPFUL!
Exactly! It really helps knowing what you’re getting into, that way you can really be prepared for it… or avoid it altogether 🙂
Thank you!! 🙂
This is such an important topic so I’m so happy you decided to post about it, Marie! I haven’t been putting content warnings in my book reviews but in my revamp/redesign, I really want to incorporate them because, like you said, they’re so crucial to readers. I hope that with all the new awareness that content warnings will be included in the beginnings of actual books more often. Along with, summaries of the previous books when it’s a series!
Laura @BlueEyeBooks
Thank you so much, Laura! I’m so happy you have decided to include them next, they’re so important. I hope that publishers will include them more often! 🙂
GAH I am going to cry because I wrote a big long comment and then it kicked me right out. Sigh. WELL I think that obviously content warnings and trigger warnings are helpful for many people. And like- I don’t personally like to read them (because I do find them a bit spoilery for my own tastes) but so I just don’t read them and move on! I think they’re absolutely worth having for people who need them. I also think that publishers should be better about including them, since they know more than the average reader the ins and outs of their books! I try, but I often forget, or maybe don’t even realize that something is potentially triggering. I have been trying to make notes on my Kindle, which helps! Wonderful and thoughtful post!
Ahhh no damn this is frustrating! :/
Right here with you on that one! If some people find them to be spoilery and don’t need them, all they need to do is skip them and that’s it 🙂
Thank you so much Shannon!
This is such an important topic – tysm for sharing! Content warnings are so so important – my uni was criticised as ‘too soft’ by the media for having them in lectures but it’s so necessary to know what you’re going into and avoid unnecessary stress. Great post, and ty for everything you’re doing w this!! <3
Thank you so, so much Liv! I’m so happy you feel the same way about this 🙂
I always try to mention trigger warnings in my reviews/recommendation posts. I say try, because when it’s an older title I’m recommending I might not remember it clearly and likely won’t find any reviews with trigger warnings. :/ That said, I don’t think there’s an excuse to not even try to include them.. It takes a few seconds to write them down, and no more than a couple of minutes to attempt to look them up in reviews on Goodreads. I don’t have triggers, but I have friends who do and I know many people who do, and it’s such a simple thing to include trigger warnings. Something that takes me a few minutes or less could super-significant for someone else. I swear to god, some people lack decency and empathy.
I was reading a chick-lit novel that threw in a hard topic (sexual assault) pretty late into the novel. Even though it was hinted at in the novel (NOT in the blurb or marketing, though), how detailed it was was shocking and incredibly difficult to read. I can’t even imagine how someone with sexual assault as their trigger would have felt. I don’t know what the hell the author and the publisher was thinking to market something as light and then throw that at the readers. :/ This is why us bloggers including TWs is important – they won’t do it for us in most cases, and there are many novels when the triggering content is not at all obvious from the blurb or (sadly) even from reading reviews. I agree with you; TWs are not spoilers. And if someone is so afraid of being spoiled by TWs (this always seems to be people who can’t grasp the important of TWs), they can simply skip reading them. When I saw them included in novels, they were clearly marked and the same is true for reviews.
I understand that! I am always trying my very best as well, but I know there are things I might be missing out and sometimes there aren’t many reviews mentioning other triggers to help me complete the things I’d miss, too. But we’re doing our best! <3
I 200% agree with you on that. It takes two minutes to scroll down goodreads and see if other people have mentioned triggers, even if you haven't noted them yourself and it's SO important. I'm so tired of people not caring about it, when it's SO easy to make someone's reading experience better 🙁
Oh my god, I'm so sorry that happened 🙁 heavy content like that should really be mentioned. I wish publishers would mention content warnings in the books themselves. And agree, people who feel like they're spoilers can just skip them, it's easy to do so 🙂
Thank you so much Veronika, I'm so happy we feel the same way about this topic!
I really appreciate the work of those bloggers and reviewers who put trigger warnings in their review. In my reviews though, there are no trigger warnings – a mistake as I have now learned thanks to you, Marie. I’ve always had problems with how to “label” those books, which words to use, etc. So, that’s why I loved reading this post!! Thank you for all the resource opportunities and info. In my future reviews I’ll implement trigger warnings too. 🙂
OH Linda thank you so much, this makes me so happy. ? I’m so glad this could be helpful to you and thank you for starting to do that, too. Content warnings are so important 🙂
I think that trigger warnings are very necessary. Even if something isn’t a big trigger for you, just knowing the book contains it helps you pick the book up when you are in the right mind-set. Also, reading should be fun for everyone and that should mean that people get warned about triggers that could potentially harm them. I think that books should have triggers written in them, just to warn the reader. I think reviewers who put trigger warnings in their reviews are doing a big service towards everyone. Also, I don’t consider them to be spoilers at all. If you know a book contains some triggering content, it doesn’t mean that you know the whole story of the book.
Amazing post as always Marie! <3
Exactly! I have been putting off some books because I know I haven’t been in the right mindset for it, and I am so grateful to KNOW that. I’m happy I can prepare to pick them up when I’m ready and have a better reading experience 🙂
Thank you so so much, so happy you enjoyed this!!
“Yes, life doesn’t have any kind of trigger warnings, I agree. Does that mean that, if you can make someone’s life easier by mentioning triggers in a book, you shouldn’t?” Yes, yes, yes!! This is always my response to the trigger warning debate, since it’s such little effort but can make a huge difference to someone else. Also, “trigger warnings” already exist in lots of other media, like age ratings in movies and video games, so I don’t understand what the pushback is when it comes to books.
I love your response to the question of spoilers. I’ve definitely made more of an effort to include trigger warnings in my reviews in the past year or so, but I definitely still have a ways to go! I absolutely love this post, Marie – wonderfully written as always! <3
I agree! It’s such little effort, I mean with a quick research you can find them even if you haven’t paid attention while reading the book itself. And it can be so useful for so many readers!
Thank you so,so much, so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
In all honesty, I’ve seen the trigger warnings in other reviews and they’ve never been something I implemented in mine. It’s never been something that affected me personally so I didn’t think about it much. That’s something I’ll have to start working on 🙂
I’m glad to hear that. I think, even if you don’t personally have triggers, it’s important to do this for your reviews’ readers to have a good reading experience! 😀
I’ve seen many bloggers add warnings on their reviews and didn’t really think twice. I totally agree with you on why we need them – I mean we have it for TV shows and movies, so it makes sense to include books. This a great post and very thought provoking. Thanks for the resources on list of warnings to use as well, I need it 🙂
I agree, it only makes sense to have them for books, too! 🙂 Thank you so much Nicole 😀
i love this post so, so much, marie! i 100% agree that trigger warnings are so important and they need to be made more readily available. i think even if you don’t have many actual triggers — like me haha — knowing that book has certain content is always helpful no matter what!! i always include content warnings in my book reviews, but i definitely need to start listing them for every (or almost every) book i read, since i don’t always review them!
thank you so much may!! ? I agree, it’s always helpful no matter what your experience is, to have a warning before getting into a story. I’ve been trying to automatically add them to my goodreads reviews straight away so, if i don’t review the book on the blog, I know I have them someplace, at least 😀
Thank you for sharing Marie <3 I'm absolutely terrible at identifying triggers in books but it's definitely something I need to work on; I think it's a good idea to have trigger warnings (especially for fairly obvious/common triggers if that makes sense, because it's harder to pick out more specific ones?) and it's definitely a privileged viewpoint to say trigger warnings are irrelevant, they most certainly aren't. I think it's something publishers need to have; book bloggers are doing an amazing job of putting up trigger warnings but I don't feel like it should be their responsibility as it's the publishers that are marketing the book?
Thank you, so happy you enjoyed this! <3
I understand this, some content warnings are obvious and others a little trickier. I tend to check other goodreads reviews and do a quick research before publishing my reviews, to see if others have spotted something I've missed. It's not a flawless technique and I know I might be missing thinigs, but doing my best 🙂
I SO agree on that. I should be the publishers' responsibility to do that while marketing their books.
Trigger warning are very important and I really wish more authors and published included them in the start of a book and I’m the synopsis on goodreads and other platforms
Agree! I wish they were included in the books themselves! 🙂
This post is so important Marie!! They’re so important because even if they won’t be triggering to you, it helps others, but also as you mentioned, puts you in the right headspace.
I also have some books that deal with heavy topics that I’ve been scared of because I know they’ll have a toll on me mentally. Like Ninth House. And like The Astonishing Color of After. When characters (or literally anybody) talks about death I ALWAYS get emotional and incredibly sad.
Such a great post Marie xx
Thank you so much, Ruby! I agree, they can be helpful whether or not you have any personal triggers and I think this is so, so important.
I understand what you mean! I haven’t personally read Ninth House, but I’ve read the Astonishing Color and, while it’s an incredible read, it’s also a very heavy one, so take care <3
Thank you so much!! 😀
That is how I am with books I want to make sure they are okay to read. I usually use common sense media which gives you all the triggers in the book. All you have to do is put the title of your book into the search engine and then it tells everything you need to know. Great post I can totally relate. If you don’t mind following my blog https://whisperingbutterfly.blogspot.com/ it would make finding your blog much easier.
Thank you so much, so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hoohoo!
I so agree with you! Trigger warnings are so helpful. I can get so angry discussing this topic because so many people say “but this and that study says trigger warnings aren’t good and life doesn’t give you warnings either”. Yeah and life not giving me warnings is what gives me panic attacks and sends me to not-so-nice places. So when I can avoid these situations, I will. If I can avoid reading about those things so they don’t stress me even more, I will. I will read those trigger warnings to either prepare myself for it or not read a book at all.
That does not make a book bad or anything, but I just really, really can’t cope with some things and I’d rather avoid the bad situations if I can. Why is that so hard to understand for some people? Trigger warnings don’t hurt the people who don’t need them and they help the people needing them to not get hurt. It’s that simple.
So yeah, I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said in this post.
I so agree with you on that. I think they really are helpful and can prevent you from spiraling, too. I mean, yes, life doesn’t have triggers, but that’s why, if you can, you should be able to have warnings for media and books. It just makes it easier for us to prepare, or avoid something altogether. 🙂
I’m so happy you agree with this post. thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Kat! <3
yes to this entire post ahhh!!! i can’t agree more with what you said about wanting to know what you’re going into beforehand – i read books for enjoyment, not to feel stressed out or ruin my mood! :(( i recently read a book that included its trigger warnings at the beginning (the henna wars), which i was so grateful for, and i honestly hope that becomes normal soon.
i know i’ve probably said this before, but your discussion posts are always so well-written, marie!! you come up with the best ideas and i love reading them every time ??
Ahhh thank you Ash! <3 ohhh this is so lovely to hear, I really hope more books have trigger warnings beforehand, I'd love that. It's so helpful and necessary.
Oh thank you so, so much you're too sweet i'm ??
“people saying that old, goddamn sentence that “life has no triggers so why would books need them” is just a privileged, stupid take I am NOT on board with, at all.”
I agree. It’s ableist, full stop. I understand that one can’t have a comprehensive list of TW while writing their own reviews, because not everyone is triggered by the same things. But together we can build a database (like the one you linked up above). Also, while personally I don’t have real triggers, there are things I don’t like to read about/make me uncomfortable (from a certain type of body horror to creepy-crawlers to graphic sex), and I try to avoid books with them!
I do mention TW in my reviews, BTW – have done that since I started blogging.
Roberta R. @ Offbeat YA
200% agree with you here! I understand it can be tough to have ALL the triggers, but together we can work towards something like that and I think it’s so, so important. I’m so happy you’re doing this already <3 Thank you!!
This is a really amazing post, Marie! You put this together so eloquently.❤️ I completely agree with all that you said, and I think if it’s possible to make the reading experience better for someone, then it’s beyond worth it. I’ve been trying to be more aware of including trigger warnings in my reviews, though I definitely need more work on it, and I also hope publishers start implementing it as well, as it could help not only readers who might not have read a comprehensive list of the warnings, but also readers who aren’t a part of the book community online and hadn’t seen anything about the book before. Again, a really great post, thank you for writing this! xx
Oh Olivia thank you so, so very much, I’m so happy you enjoyed this. <3
I hope that publishers will, ultimately, work on that and do better because this is so important for any reader's experience, really <3
Thank you so, so much! 🙂
I adore this post so much, Marie!! You explained why trigger warnings are important so well! I don’t really understand why people insist that pieces of media shouldn’t have content warnings. If they dislike CWs so much, they could just… not read them and mind their business, instead of telling people who need them that they’re spoilers or “life has no trigger warnings” lmao. I also really need to do better at including CWs in my reviews! I include them all the time in full reviews on my blog, but I really suck at remembering to add them to my reviews on Goodreads. Those resources you shared at the end of the post are undoubtedly gonna help me add CWs to my reviews—thank you so much <3
Oh Caitlin thank you SO much, so happy you enjoyed this ❤️
I agree, if some people don’t need them, great, but they just shouldn’t look at them and that’s it. Some people do and it’s so important to respect that to make everyone’s reading experience better. I don’t understand WHY some people don’t even want that.
Thank you!! I’m so happy this could be useful! ❤️
Ah well you probably know how I feel about trigger/content warnings (and thank you for linking to my post.) It is so important to have them. Last year I once again had a discussion on Goodreads (with a mental health professional no less) about them not being necessary. I hate these kind of people. If you don’t need them, great, skip them. But a majority of us do need to know what we are getting into.
Of course, thank YOU for your resources on trigger warnings, this is so helpful and so important. <3
I completely agree with you, it's so important to know what we're getting into for most people!
I personally think that trigger warnings are incredibly important, and I think they need to be included in books more because every other kind of media either has databases listing them (like IMDb content guides for movies and TV shows) or they have warnings and ratings on the actual covers themselves. Even theme parks have trigger warnings for potentially frightening content, flashing lights, smoke effects, and other things that people with physical health issues need to be aware of, so why can’t books have those kinds of warnings too? It’s as if books are held to a different standard because they’re words on a page instead of images that you can actually see, but reading about something can be just as triggering as watching it happen or hearing about it.
I completely agree with you! A lot of media have trigger warnings ready and they’re so important, why can’t books have them, too? I think that they really help in getting the best out of reading, and YES! reading can be as triggering as seeing images on screen sometimes.
thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Louise <3
Excellent post, Marie. I think trigger warnings are very important and I’ve included them in my reviews for a long time now. They can help me and others decide whether to read a particular book or feel more prepared. I think the argument that trigger warnings can be spoilers doesn’t hold up.
Thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear that you agree with my post. These kind of warnings just guarantee a better reading experience for everyone 🙂
I love this post so very much! Some of the things you mentioned, like having your sister read a book for you, just so you know whether you’re in the right place to read it, resonated so much with me. I have a wonderful friend who will do this for me, or will research books for me if I’m worried about triggering content. Knowing that I have someone to screen my books for me knowing what my triggers are, so she can find even the most subtle mentions for me, is absolutely invaluable and I’m so lucky to have a friend like her.
I think that trigger warnings can be very personal though, and that’s why I haven’t been great at including trigger warnings despite benefiting from them immensely and understanding their importance. I feel like as I read I’d only be seeing the triggers specific to me, and that constantly ONLY mentioning those triggers would be too revealing for me. What I have been doing in my last review or two is using other people’s content warnings to get around this, but I still haven’t worked out a perfect system.
Honestly I’m still of the belief that publishers should be the ones that are including these warnings. In fact I’ve started emailing and DMing publishers to try to start a conversation about their stance on trigger warnings and why they don’t include them. I want to also reach out to authors that take the time to include them in their books and talk to them as well.
Right now I haven’t gotten any responses, and I don’t know if that’s because I’m just one person, because I don’t have the biggest platform, or because of some other reason. But I really want to start this conversation and bring trigger warnings and their importance to the attention of as many people as possible! I know at the moment you’re very busy with the Blogger Awards, but if you’d ever want to brainstorm with me, or work on some ideas to try to make some sort of change in this area, please reach out to me over on Instagram! It’s a project that I’m very passionate about, and very hopeful that it can make an actual difference on at least some level!
I’m so happy you have a friend helping you with spotting trigger warnings and allowing you to have the best reading experience possible. This is precious and so, so, wonderful. <3
I get what you mean. I feel like it can be so hard to be 200% right with all the triggers you mention, because we all have different experiences and, despite our researches, we might miss some of them for sure. I think all we can do is our very best to research and pay attention and just, do our best <3
Oh that's so wonderful, I admire your engagement so, so much. I hope that publishers really will end up listening and including them more, because so many readers NEED them more than ever.
I'm sorry yes, I've been busy with my hiatus and the book bloggers awards that take a huge amount of my free time, just as well, but YES definitely, I'd love to brainstorm with you to try and find more ideas to make more of an impact in that area. I'd love that! Please feel free to come back to me mid-august if I haven't before (
This is so important!! You were so thorough with your words here, and I think they will do the world of good in opening up minds to how valuable trigger warnings are. I have friends who have been placed under some terrible traumas, and the last thing in the world that I would wish for them is to be reminded of that trauma when they least expect it. Love, love, love this <3
Oh thank you so, so much Macey <3 I'm so happy you enjoyed this post and I hope it reminds others to think about trigger warnings and to do better. <3
Thank you for sharing with us those great resources on trigger warnings! I’ve started to implement them in my reviews this year so I have lots to learn and be mindful of when reading something.
Yay! thank you so much, so happy to hear that and that you’ve started including them, too. Thank you for that 🙂
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!! Trigger/content warnings are super important to include in book reviews and no one can convince me otherwise. I also have implemented including these in all my book reviews going forward but I’m slowly getting through my previous reviews which don’t have them. Personally, I am very lucky that my current headspace allows me to read more heavy books and although I might miss some warnings, I try my best to research from others’ reviews or from databases for some tw that I might be missing. I want to provide a safe space to those visiting my blog. Thank you for this post! I hope everyone in the book community would read and take this to heart ?
I’m so, so grateful for all of your work and I’m certain others are, too ? I think it’s so, so important to, yes, like you perfectly said it, provide a safe space for readers!
Thank you so much!! ?
I agree that trigger warning aren’t spoilers, but I’ll admit that I’m not great about keeping track of them. I put general notes about sex or violence content in a book and I’ll usually mention something like sexual assault, but I don’t typically get all that specific. I definitely don’t mind when others do, though, and I can see how this is very helpful for people.
I understand, sometimes it can be hard to keep track of everything and we can overlook some things that don’t seem triggering to us, but can be to others, too. That’s why it’s so important to pay attention and why I try my best to seek out others’ reviews to see what I might have missed 🙂
Thank you, Nicole!! <3
i love this so much, and agree with you on all points with my whole heart. also, wordpress is mean and said i wasn’t following you after this hiatus i took? so, brb while i enjoy alll your blog posts i’ve been missing out on! ❤️
Aww thank you so, so, so much Mel, I’m so happy you enjoyed this ❤️❤️❤️
I’m new to book reviewing and I haven’t used trigger warnings yet. I wouldn’t know where to start, honestly, although I guess my own triggers would be a good place. So thank you for the resources you added to this blog post, they’re going to help!
Lia
Thank you, Lia, I’m so happy this could help you <3
Hallo, Hallo Marie,
I do this as well – however, one of the worst experiences I had was when I was called out for mentioning I wish there had been a warning about the contents of a poem which I felt went a bit too far visually for me. It was a bad experience and made worse when the author posted a note about it on her blog and then, I felt like I was being roasted for sharing my honest thoughts about a part in a poem which was graphically disturbing to me. I wanted to warn others in case the same would be true for them but this gave me a lot of emotional stress to be outed about a) talking openly about my experience and b) feeling like my thoughts and views were invalided because they were not the consensus.
In case your curious, you can view the review in question. I contemplated removing it but then felt that would be saying those negative reactions to my review were right and that being openly honest about how stories or poems affect us personally aren’t meant to be shared. I can never agree to that because like you said – it is important to know what is inclusive of a story or poem as sometimes we find ourselves overwhelmed by the content.
Thanks for blogging about this topic because I’ve had a lot of grief for doing this over the years. This by far was one example of how hard it is to be vulnerable and honest about your opinions whilst online.
I’m sorry you had a bad experience like that, Jorie! 🙁 I think on the contrary, that it’s good and so, so important that you shared your honest opinion and what has triggered you, too. You never know who this might help! By just stating things that unsettled you, you can warn others and really allow them to have a better reading experience, or avoid potentially triggering things, too. There’s no price on that.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the topic <3
i once saw someone say “it takes 5 seconds to insert trigger/content warnings but takes a lot longer for someone to get over a panic attack/depressive episode etc” and that really stuck with me. i mostly don’t included tws in my reviews (unless it’s an ARC) because loads of my blogger friends do it which honestly sounds terrible now that i think about it and i think i’m going to star including them now!! thank you so much for this post, it’s incredibly important <3
Oh yes I saw that, too and it really stayed with me, too. I think it’s so important to do that little gesture then, because you never know just how helpful it can be <3
Thank you so much!! <3
Love this! I honestly didn’t really start to learn about trigger warnings properly until I started my Creative Writing MA in 2014, when our group decided to use them in our work. Shockingly, the one student who most needed to put trigger warnings in his work was the one student who scoffed at them most.
I wrote a post about it years ago that I’d probably cringe at now, because today I’d say that yes of course publishers should use trigger warnings if they think the content of the book could be particularly harmful to someone, but I’ll admit I was initially wary of them–not because I didn’t think people shouldn’t have access to them if they needed them, but because I’ve met an awful lot of people who’s reading was controlled by their parents growing up. I’ve known people who weren’t allowed to read Harry Potter thanks to their devoutly Christian family, so a part of me worried for the people who might never be able to read a story they’d love, or maybe even need, because their parents picked up the book first and happened upon a trigger warning.
The more I read and learned, though, the more I realised that those are two different discussions. Plus, even if publishers decide not to use triggers, we as bloggers definitely can. It’s something I’m still learning to implement, too, but I always make sure I leave trigger warnings for anything associated with sexual assault, self-harm or suicide. Ultimately, just like you said, while life might not have trigger warnings, that doesn’t mean we can’t try and help other people if we can.
(Besides, life definitely has trigger warnings–they’re called friends! I have a friend, for example, who is triggered by any harm coming to animals, so if I watch a show or film that I know she’s interested in and I notice something that would trigger her, I let her know. This idea that life has no trigger warnings clearly comes from people who need a better support system…)
Great post, Marie!
I love love love that you’re mentioning friends, yes! honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without my sister and friends reading and warning me beforehand so I can have the best reading experience and I am so thankful for that. We all need that 🙂
Thank you so, so, so much for sharing your thoughts!! <3
Great discussion you have here. I definitely agree about trigger warnings. I think its important to have them. I don’t get triggered easily but I know other readers that do. And help them avoid it or at least know before hand what is in the content of the story to prepare for it. It only is smart and being kind and aware of others and just being responsible to do it. I don’t hate on an author for not doing it but I do respect authors MORE if they do place them in.
Thank you so much! I agree, I appreciate it so, so much when authors take some time to mention the triggers in their books. I wish publishers would implement that in all books 🙂
Hell yes! Trigger warnings are so important. I really don’t get people being against them, bc how can one element of a story ruin all of it? Even then, they don’t need to read the TW’s if they don’t want to. I’ve even seen people argue against TWs by quoting some sort of quasi scientific article that said that it wasn’t ‘good’ for people with triggers to constantly avoid said triggers, because they’d never deal with their trauma or some stuff. It’s basically that ‘tough love’ idea of exposure therapy, forgetting that ACTUAL exposure therapy is based on having control over when/where/for how long you’re exposed to your trigger. Control is the key in this therapy. Exposure without control just makes the trauma worse. People just don’t THINK, raah!! Sorry but it makes me so angry :’) anyway, great post, more people need to understand the value of trigger warnings.
Ohh no need to apologize, I’m right here with you. It makes me so angry that people can be so against trigger warnings, when they can be so, so helpful to so many people.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! <3
As someone that has fought cancer, I’m finding it difficult to be blindsided by characters dying of cancer. Wish there wa Sa trigger warning for that so I was more prepared when that comes up.