Red Card! These Bookish Offenses Will Get You Sent Off 📚⚽

Apparently, the World Cup has reached the book world, and I am completely here for it.

I recently came across an article on Shelf Awareness about Brightside Bookshop in Flagstaff, Arizona, getting into the spirit of things with a Bookish FIFA World Cup. In an Instagram reel, the bookstore staff hand out yellow and red cards for various bookish offenses.

And some of these crimes are serious.

• Talking on speakerphone in the bookshop? 🟨 Yellow card.
• Putting books back in the wrong spot? 🟨 Yellow card.
• Watching the movie instead of reading the book? 🟨 Yellow card.
• Spilling a drink and damaging books? 🟥 Red card.
• Ripping out the back page of a book instead of using a bookmark? 🟥 Red card.

I have questions. Primarily: Who is doing this?!

And buying from Amazon while standing inside an indie bookstore?

🟥 Red card.

Naturally, this got me thinking about my own bookish yellow and red cards.

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My Bookish Yellow Cards

• Requesting another ARC when my review schedule is already full.
  • I feel personally attacked by my own rule.
• Staying up too late because “one more chapter.”
  • We all know “one more chapter” is reader code for “I have made a terrible decision about tomorrow morning.”
• Saying, “I’ll remember what happened,” and not rereading the previous book.
  • Narrator: She did not remember what happened.

My Bookish Red Cards

• Spoiling a twist without warning.
  • Immediate ejection. Especially if it’s a thriller.
• Telling someone they’re not a “real reader.”
  • Audiobooks count. Ebooks count. Graphic novels count. Romance counts. Reading one book a year counts. We’re not gatekeeping books here.
• Interrupting me during the last 10% of any book.
  • Unless something is on fire, please submit your request in writing and allow three to five business minutes for a response.
• Dog-earing someone else’s book.
  • Your book? Do what you want. My book? Step away from the page.
• Shaming someone for what they read.
  • Life is too short, and there are too many books. Let people enjoy things.
• Returning a borrowed book damaged and saying nothing.
  • The damage is bad. The silence is what earns the red card.

Honestly, I think Brightside Bookshop may be onto something. We need bookish referees.

Let’s Discuss

What bookish offense deserves an immediate red card? 🟥📚