Book CommuniTEA: BFFR--Be F*ckin For Real, The Shenanigans Are Outta Hand [CC]

[@pumpkinschannel777]

The worship break during your rant about the Bookish Box thing KILLED me. 😭 Also, the puffs are SO cute on you!!

[@meghannpalmer7417]

Her rants are so worth it. Hits the nail right on the head. I live vicariously through her rants because this crap makes me want to rant but my fam and friends are tired of me. 😅

[@plutoh9958]

Haha! So true

[@bookishplantmom371]

I'm here for the puffs tbh so cuuute!

[@JessOwens]

💕💕💕

[@mglarson5936]

Came here to say this 😍

[@tinaodekunle8163]

They’re everythingg 🔥❤️

[@icelusthefish]

Third they're cuuuuuuuute!

[@icelusthefish]

Or fourthed lmao

[@dinishavogt87]

I teared up at hearing Nora Roberts donated to that library. I’m studying to become a librarian and it feels like every week I hear something negative, like book banning or defunding, but seeing how people rallied behind this library and seeing a big name like Nora Roberts contribute gives me a lot of hope and warms me heart.

[@brooke5258]

Everybody isn't meant to be a business owner! - a sermon

[@JessOwens]

AMEN

[@shashuhughes]

The way I almost spit my water. “Half of your message is in hashtags!!!”

[@JessOwens]

She can’t be serious 😵‍💫

[@angelaholmes8888]

That was nice what nora Roberts did she's right libraries are so important

[@JessOwens]

👏🏾👏🏾

[@icedcoffeeandbookss]

I don’t get why it would be a big deal about the stamp like HUH? SHE IS DISABLED.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Nora Roberts!!!! Not all heroes wear capes

[@JessOwens]

👸🏻

[@martham496]

Ok so first the hair is adorable! The Bookish Box thing is so ridiculous. The people getting mad over her using a stamp are probably the same who get so upset and “devastated” when Illumicrate or Fairyloot don’t have hand signed books one month. Signing thousands of books sounds exhausting. No author should have to take up that much of their time if they don’t want to. Also a stamp is a mark made by the author it’s the same thing. I can’t write for too long without my hand hurting for days and making it hard to do basic tasks. People being upset over someone not wanting to cause themselves pain for a hand written signature gets me heated.

[@amandaburke1335]

I totally agree with you. Signature stamps are so useful and also valid signatures legally. I would hate to sign thousands of books

[@RaetheSaint]

As someone who’s read a lot of Nic Stone’s work and has been following her on social media for a while, she’s been doing that hashtag thing for YEARS and I usually don’t read the hashtags. I think it’s her attempt at being “quirky.” I can see how people might see a picture from her, like it, then keep scrolling without understanding the context and those subtweets were so annoying because for the longest time I didn’t know what anyone was talking about. This has definitely changed my perspective on her and I don’t think I’ll personally read her work moving forward but I haven’t been reading much of her recent stuff anyway 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@MegaChadAnakin]

she was at the spa to take off all the dust from the bombed hospital 😇

[@JessOwens]

😣😣

[@BrittleyJ]

tbh when i first waded into nic stone's ig posts about this trip, i was confused and surprised more than anything. bc even though i never read any books of hers, i remembered hearing her books being about racism and antiblack violence and police violence, etc. and in many ways (that angela davis so eloquently outlined in "freedom is a constant struggle") antiblack state & vigilante violence in the us is *deeply* interconnected with state violence against palestinians. our collective liberation is bound up in one another's. a commitment to black liberation *is* a commitment to palestinian liberation. so it was truly wild and confusing to see the posts, and then to see the "both sides" double down. very weird lol

[@gameoftomes14]

Yeah I liked one of her vacay posts without reading the caption or realizing there was multiple pictures. I just saw Nic Stone and a goat and liked it. A bookstagram friend of mine messaged me, catching me up to speed, wanting to check if I knew what I had liked. Shocked. Did not expect that content from Nic Stone.

[@lachell257]

Black liberation is a commitment to black liberation ONLY! Other races and cultures don't take on the problems of blacks and fight with us. Black people need to stop standing up others when they never do the same for us.

[@sarahlopod]

i feel like the big deal about signatures is that they're supposed to be ~personalized~ and make you feel like it's coming directly from the author but imo if the author is stamping the books themselves, that's good enough. also, does Nic Stone think everyone has the money to just head on over to israel to stop... genocide???? and regardless of her opinion on zionism (lol), the fact that she can't even acknowledge that selfies in a war zone are a BAD look? i'm so excited to hear the news about Iron Widow!! as a polyamorous person, i rly appreciated the rep and i'm excited to see it on the big screen, i think it'll translate well. thank you as always for your service with these drama recaps!

[@kazh8639]

Nic Stone treated her Insta hashtags like tumblr tags lol

[@tony_starch]

I knew they sounded familiar!

[@stephaniecutting9223]

Omg yes that’s spot on 😂

[@audgexx]

literally laughing out loud while you read the hashtags. a whole novel in those hashtags lmaoo

[@isabellavalentine7268]

Truly, the disconnect between where’s shes tagging her post and what she’s saying is just mid blowing. I really love those puffs! Cute! (Also, preach it girl, give us more sermons)

[@bhsprinkle]

The library getting defunded is taking away a community resource and the gift of knowledge. They were really hurting themselves by hurting the library. They made no logic in their actions. The Bookish Box is becoming a big thing and I can see why customers are upset. Love your reaction to that message by The Bookish Box on Katie.

[@reginarainer9740]

Nic Stone sounds like she’s trying to justify her stance that Israel isn’t doing anything wrong and deflecting from the criticism. The hashtags are WEIRD though, she’s a grown, married, accomplished woman who’s acting like a teenager.

[@Robi-Chaud]

The tags look like she was trying to imitate the way tags are used on tumblr. But tumblr allows spaces in the tags, so it's at least easy to read, unlike that mess

[@bookslikewhoa]

Your energy in this video is amazing 😹 Also I cannot understand the hashtag thing. Even beyond all the deeper stuff involved in that story, the hashtags feel like a weird way to communicate in a non-joke message. It feels strange & like something a Facebook mom would do 😅

[@JessOwens]

It truly gives 50 year old on Facebook energy

[@NatalieJohansen]

I'm not bothered by the Penguin TikTok feature - it seems like an incredibly smart business move, and as a social media user I'd definitely take advantage. I don't see it as unfair because literally any other publisher can do the same thing. If other publishers feel that this feature will give Penguin a leg up in sales, they should just implement the exact same feature. If they were trying to block other publishers from doing the same thing, that would definitely be unfair, but this just means that other publishers need to step up if they want to stay competitive on social media sales!

[@NatalieJohansen]

Also, if I were an author and this feature would affect my book sales positively, I'd be thrilled!

[@sarawendt5841]

The hair. The ABBA shirt. Perfection. 👏👏👏

[@catherinebruno1689]

The Nic Stone thing makes me so angry! I'm still fucking heated because her follow up responses seemed condescending and patronizing to me. She completely dismissed people's feelings and made people who didn't agree with her seem in the wrong for being upset. There is no "both sides," there is the oppressor and the oppressed.

[@emilyb3875]

It boggles my mind how someone like her who’s written extensively about social issues in the US can turn around and go “lol I was at the spa, sorry if you were offended haterz” as soon as the conversation is about oppressed people in a different country. The cognitive dissonance is scary

[@FrockYeah]

The more you read of the hashtags, the funnier it got. WHO DOES THAT??? It's giving "I don't understand how Instagram works". Someone in the comments very eloquently pointed out that our struggle is linked to the Palestinians', so I won't rehash that. I agree with them and so seeing a post like this from Nic, given what she writes, is MIND BOGGLING. When you said she was friends with Angie Thomas, I cringed, wondering where this story would go because my main memory of *her* is when she joined in with a bunch of authors talking 💩 about a student who rejected Sarah Dessen's book from a freshman mandatory reading assignment. (Y'all remember that?)

[@JessOwens]

Ugh yesss I remember that Sarah Dessen disaster and I’ve had a distaste for Angie since then

[@kitty4407]

That apology by Bookish Box was after they said Katee is very sorry for the whole thing. 😂 after she had only apologized that maybe there was a miscommunication between bookish box and her (so bookish box may not have had the info to form a better response) but she never apologized for the difference in signatures or using a mobility aid. People, and Katee, were pissed about that email where they said she apologized for the whole thing when she most definitely did not. 😒 they need an experienced PR person, on top of so much else.

[@imjustaturtle641]

My partner is of Jewish descent, we celebrate Jewish traditions and we do not support Zion. You can be Jewish and be Pro-Palestine. She can throw out that her husband is Jewish all she wants, Palestine is going through a genocide. There is no both sides in this, at all. Her hashtags gave me such a headache.

[@RobinReads]

Living for the puffs! Also the preaching break during the bookish box. Me over here like “yessss preach, preacher!” 😂😂

[@RobinReads]

The effort it took to write all those hashtags just for those hashtags to not be it. Why did she think those were ok to write??

[@JessOwens]

I need to get me an old church fan for next time

[@annac9534]

“LET ME MOVE MY BAY-YANG AND READ IT AGAIN!” I’m dead 💀

[@CandyNunu]

This is all besides the point of your video, Jess, but I just wanted you to know that I love the mornings I get to have my moment of peace sipping my morning chai, catching up on my wordle and duolingo while you tell me the communi-tea. It doesn't always shake out that way, but it starts those days off well!

[@JessOwens]

Yayyyy glad you had that this morning 🥰

[@jessicaruiz9648]

Love these update videos! I like hearing what’s going on and how we can support authors and libraries!

[@missyroberts8197]

Your reaction to the spa comment is giving me life. Because wtf. I was at the spa sorry besties 🤡

[@JessOwens]

The nerve

[@aspiring_recluse]

I almost just threw up at the mention of "keeping the nuclear family intact as God designed". I hate everyone. Love the puffs though!

[@ag5495]

And that’s why…. some of these kids will become homophobic, grow up suppressing who they are, eventually marry women and cheat on them with men in secret.

[@stephaniecutting9223]

Honestly the signature stamp is a good idea, it allows for consistency which I imagine is hard to keep up when you’re physically signing thousands of pieces of paper on a deadline when you have other work to be doing. People need to be grateful for the opportunity they have to get these special edition books and have input from the authors when it comes to them taking time to sign them and not complain that they didn’t physically sign it. There’s a lot of entitlement in the book community, and while obviously the issues with the quality of the books is a whole different matter the signing thing is definitely not something to be mad about

[@JessOwens]

It’s so weird to be mad about that. I’d love a stamped book 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@stephaniecutting9223]

@@JessOwens me too! But honestly I’d rather just get books signed in person when getting the chance to meet the author rather than a pre signed book but that’s just me

[@ladyslibrarium]

Commenting on the signature business, I've seen both Patricia Cornwell and Laurell K Hamilton's signatures. It's a literal scribble since I know they're both signing hella-too-many-books. So yes, I'm with you on not being keen on signatures really. Also, side note, your puffs are adorbs, Jess.

[@icedcoffeeandbookss]

I think the hair is so cute. Thank you for making these videos.

[@eevanelson1335]

Your energy towards Bookish Box was both so valid and had me in stitches! Amazing, I need a gif of 'my sisters in christ what are we doing' to pull out at work meetings.

[@marid2891]

Ok so maybe everyone is not weird as me but when I start a book and I think I’m going to like it. I google! I go on Goodreads and without spoilers I can get the reactions people have on 99% of the books. So people, 10% is more then ok to get the vibe. Then again this new rule has zero effect on me because I have 100’s of purchase books I still haven’t read.. yes, I know I have a problem

[@brooke5258]

10% was always my personal rule anyway. If I can't figure out what's going on by then, or if it's not keeping my interest, DNF. I've also dumped books well past that mark, but never bothered about a return. I just ate the cost. And audiobooks are expensive! So I'm very particular about those. Narrators have ruined many a book.

[@greymyers4087]

I’m happy with the Amazon change, though I would have probably put it at 15 or 20%, because for very short books, the 10% can be eaten up by all the beginning stuff like dedication, title page, etc.

[@bethloubet4650]

"We are sorry she felt unsupported by us." WTH??? How about being sorry that she WAS unsupported by you? Dayum.

[@andeeharry]

20:00 it was going on before covid too...Instramspark was one of them.....sometimes they do it right the first time, or it takes several goes...but yeah, I have seen it lately, that peeps books are either backwards, upside down, or thier covers are not right. I know the professional books are badly done too. I know that the industry has fired people, gave more work to the existing staff and hired amatures.

[@t.a.summers]

I feel so bad for Katee being treated like that. Bookish Box has been problematic a while. Whole lotta nope. Preach. Love Nora Roberts. 🥰 I was glad to see her support though I'm still upset the town tried to shut down that library. Beyond upset at Nic Stone. Legit just reread Dear Martin for Banned Books week/month and then I recoiled seeing that story. *sighs* Thank you for this video, and love your puffs.

[@lawgal]

Dying at the fact that the captions changed 'Bookish box' to 'Boogers Box' 😂

[@JessOwens]

💀💀💀

[@keisha3169]

Okay miss Nora I’ma start reading your books what a QUEEN!! 👏🏾👏🏾

[@bookishnatie9614]

She always goes off so good and justice truly.

[@starzscarme]

Based on all the things I've read (as a heavily invested Michigan librarian), The Patmos Library in Jamestown can operate normally for a year on the money they raised via the GoFundMe. They've been working with EveryLibrary to get the word out about another millage measure on the November 2022 ballot to keep the library funded for the next 10 years.

[@JessOwens]

Thank you for this ! I hope they can get the funding 🤞🏾

[@jacobneale5844]

Really great conversations and points, amazing conversation about the Nic Stone posts

[@plutoh9958]

Your reaction over bookish box is giving me life😁😂

[@jacquelinelugo5518]

One thing that drives me crazy about groups trying to banned books is, majority of the time they don't even think about the library at all. So them doing all of this, just shows to their community is that they only care about themselves. But watch if it started to affect their lives then they would care 😒

[@mlibbym]

As we learned from the great Footloose, banning dancing doesn't make kids stop dancing, it just makes them dance in secret 🤷‍♀️ I will also say that BookTube did bring me in as a reader. I was already a reader, but almost only epic fantasy and I'm only in the mood to read those sometimes. I was reading 1-10 books a year or so. I found BookTube and it sparked my love of romance, and got me to read pretty much all other genres. I am an omnivore now and I've already read 375 books this year. It changed my life and I think its incredible

[@rileytuawai7241]

I just love your intro music. Every time I hear it makes me smile cos I know I'm about to get some TEA 😂🥰much love from New Zealand

[@JessOwens]

Thank you !! Hopefully I can make it to visit beautiful New Zealand 🖤

[@andeeharry]

25:25 The Bookish Box followed me on twitter the other day and after asking questions and finding about the thing, they said they are inexperienced as they are founded in 2019 and started in 2020 because of the pandemic. They have no email, no way to contract them, no idea who works for them, because they remain ''anonymous' . They just tell me they have clients who told them it is the best way forward and told me that they are all happy.

[@OctaviaAtlas]

Thanks for doing these videos. And those puffs are too cute!

[@candaceuncontained4455]

You talking about the library getting voted to close down literally had me tearing up.

[@icedcoffeeandbookss]

WE LOVE KATEE LMFAO

[@JessOwens]

They gotta be joking

[@dimerymichaels3539]

Hahahahahaha - shut it down 😂😂😂

[@danichiong6727]

Trying to make selfies outside a bombed hospital an artistic experience 🙄🙄

[@ninabee644]

omg I was halfway through the video and then noticed the winnowing flame books on the side! I'm about to start the poison song, such good books :) also I'm really not informed about the communitea so this was a nice way to catch up haha

[@s.y.k.a1912]

What's even worse is that when people were commenting, asking about what happened in that apology post by Bookish Box, they (Bookish Box) literally deleted and hide most of the comments from people who called them out (I was scrolling down the comment section to get the gist of the issue but most comments were deleted because of the amount of many replies to a few in those comments). If that ain't sus, I don't know what that is :/

[@aletheac3400]

Also, bookish box's ya box for October is Lightlark

[@JessOwens]

👀👀

[@JGVIllustrations]

I love the BUNS Ahh!!!! Thank you as always for covering the tea--your reaction to Bookishbox had me laughing so hard “Shut it dooooown” AMEN.

[@TheAvocadoToastBudget]

Looks like The Bookish Box had to cut back on their PR budget to make room for the lawyers they know they’re going to need in the future 😂😬

[@contrapasso5456]

I am continually surprised by people with established public platforms who display such ineptitude when it comes to social media etiquette. Regarding Stone’s hashtags… I have to agree w/others I’ve seen talking about this in that she was probably an avid tumblr user in its heyday. Tumblr is still very much a thing (it’s my primary social media) and it’s pretty common for people there to communicate in the tags of a post, but that type of thing really doesn’t translate well on any other platform. But then the way she was speaking in the tags felt very facebook mom so honestly idk 😭

[@BeautifullyBookishBethany]

Jess I am DYING!!! lol! Late watching this but so glad I did. Bookish Box is a whole mess and there's even more with them.

[@heyimsasa]

omfgggg your hair up like this is sooooo cuuuute!!!!! you look adorable!!!

[@finsfables]

I definitely agree with the tiktok thing. Because the feature itself is really cool but only limiting it to penguin random house is def weird

[@flipina]

Nora Roberts was one of the first authors I read becausei relied on what US-based relatives sent. Even before Harry Potter! Amazed to know how she supports local libraries!

[@joyahawkrose3984]

Your hair looks so pretty in that hairdo! I love it so much!

[@KrishanaDavis]

Hey fam! Loved the video. Can you share the deets for your standing desk?

[@JessOwens]

🥰🥰 I have a FlexiSpot standing desk: share.flexispot.com/x/k2KBYE?KOL&Jess_Owens_E7&

[@ashleyegli1886]

Literally everything you said about the bookish box made me LOL. Katee Robert deserves better, we deserve better and bookish box ain't it.

[@MandaTheBiblio]

I’m still watching this video but I had to pause and laugh because the captions changed “Bookish Box” to “boogers box” and I can’t stop laughing about it 😂

[@justpepper5126]

1) Your puffs are STUN-NING. 2) I didn't read all of Iron Widow, but I read enough to know that if they made it sort of like Pacific Rim, that'd be pretty dope.

[@raineen8236]

lmfaooo "but let me tell you what i'm not gonna do.. I'M NOT MOVING ON!" i'm in tears 😭😂

[@JessOwens]

But we for me ? Ima hold a grudge

[@spenx09]

"I was at the spa" ugh, ma'am, no! 🤢

[@iheartcats4life_]

I am loving the puffs!!

[@JessOwens]

💕💕

[@octaviaragland]

😂 I Literally just canceled my subscription with the bookish box while watching this video and doing some research on TikTok

[@JessOwens]

They don’t deserve your money!

[@nerdy_nurse]

Jess, this isn’t really about this video but I keep meaning to say this - I grew up in Baton Rouge so I totally get all your reticence about being there, but the state does have a lot to offer and I hope you get the best of it. Also, it could be worse. You could be in Mississippi. 😬❤️😘

[@JessOwens]

Help! Tell me the good things 😭

[@nerdy_nurse]

@@JessOwens Creole history/culture, Mardi Gras (not NOLA - find good smaller community celebrations, Essence Festival, Jazz Fest, jazz in general, and the FOOD!! Also, I don’t know you so I don’t mean to presume anything about you, but keep in mind New Orleans is a predominantly black city so there is lots of rich culture and history there that you may connect with. Stay safe and don’t let the rebel flag wavers get you down. They are loud, but they are also the minority in many areas. I think you will be an asset to the state. ❤️❤️

[@englishmajorloser]

The puffs look so good on you!!! Also we respect King Nigel getting his beauty rest.

[@JessOwens]

It takes a lot of rest to be a king

[@RuthieDR89]

Loving the hair!!!

[@timetoread1795]

I adore you so much. You rereading that statement, that got to me, lol. Your energy is much appreciated.

[@CarlyUTube]

Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think a STAMP is the same as a signature. It’s Not the author’s fault it’s the people that made the deal with bookish box. Plus if people would stop buying from a company that doesn’t really care about quality they would be shut down.

[@The_Open_Book]

This is so much tea ☕ never have I ever been so hydrated

[@QueenOfMoggies]

tbh, the kindle under 10% return policy feels a lot like the steam return policy of under 2 hours playtime, so I’m definitely all for it

[@Ladirette]

When i first saw a shot of those hashtags in the video i was like damn that's a lot, but then it started scrolling??

[@JessOwens]

An absurd amount of hashtags

[@anix670]

I ❤️the puffs, they're v cool tbh. Absolutely loving you and your content, thanks Jess!

[@catsandbats77]

I love your hair! So cute! Also, an Abba shirt. Amazing.

[@HazyPinkSky]

Just turned on my notifications cause I wanna be this early for every video! Love your channel, Jess!

[@JessOwens]

🥰🥰🥰 thank you

[@SloanePaoPow]

Dang! You almost have 40k subscribers! I remember when you had less than 2k. Congrats Jess!

[@JessOwens]

Thank you for sticking with me 🥰😘

[@elizavetasigova5030]

Your hair style was amazing in this video 😍

[@alexlemaire8513]

he framed the cease and desist too if you're talking about the same guy im thinking of lol

[@JessOwens]

YES 😂

[@valkyrie794]

Pleaseee keep these puffs they look amazing!

[@cifafs3]

I love the puffs!

[@ktxx22]

These gorgeous Space Buns!! Love them and Love this T-shirt!!

[@JessOwens]

🥰🥰

[@Emily-fh8en]

I love your puffs so so cute 😍. "Bear with me for these fu*king hashtags" omg what are those for real JFC 'I was at the spa'

[@touche5616]

Your hair is so cute, and you are so socially responsible. Love you.

[@HeathersHeroesAndHeroines]

We have the same computer and galaxy cover. I wanted the key covers but got the wrong size. Agree that even if she accepted their appology, you can still not support them. I ordered a boxs LAST August and it took three months to get to me. I was pissed they were labling it an August book when it didn't get their IN August. They should at minimum not call it a monthly box because it's false advertising. I quit them. aND THEY JUST KEEP GETTING MORE AND MORE PROBLEMATIC. sO NOT WORTH IT.

[@aviimax]

for the nic stone thing: how is fighting for the oppressed by giving money to the oppressor state?

[@tropicaltuna]

Your hair is so cute!!

[@annac9534]

The puffs, the glasses, the shirt. Girl, you’re looking so cute!!

[@JessOwens]

🥹🥰

[@ivonne58270]

Yes to Nora Roberts! Boo to Bookish Box! Boo to Nic Stone! Yay for Iron Widow! ( i probably missed one but these are the ones that stood out after watching the video 😂)

[@chava5074]

Pastor Owens makes an appearance. 💃🏽

[@ozsaur6655]

I always feel better informed after watching your CommuniTEA videos. Also, love your hair! 👏

[@andeeharry]

Welcome back Queen Jess....love your hair....thanks for posting,

[@JessOwens]

🥰😘

[@blackheartbooks]

Bookish box has officially won worse apology