Editorial Policy

Who Creates This Content

SpinToRead is an independent site run by Ruben Montané. Every author guide, reading order, Books Like recommendation, review, and editorial piece on this site is written and edited by Ruben personally. There is no team of anonymous writers and no outsourced content production.

Ruben came to fiction late — after years as a nonfiction-first reader — which shapes how recommendations are framed here. The perspective is that of a reader who thinks carefully about why a book worked, not just what genre it belongs to. That distinction drives every recommendation on the site.

How Recommendations Are Made

Recommendations on SpinToRead are made based on a combination of reading experience, reader feedback, and deliberate editorial judgment about what actually serves a reader well. The guiding question is always: why did someone love the book they’re coming from, and what will give them that same thing?

Books and series are chosen for inclusion based on:

• Genuine reader demand (the book matters to real readers)
• Whether there is something useful and specific to say about it
• Fit within the discovery pathways on this site (reading order, genre, mood, comparison)
• Quality of the reading experience — not just sales rank or marketing budget

Books are not selected based on affiliate commission rates, publisher relationships, or promotional incentives. SpinToRead does not accept payment for placement in recommendation lists, author guides, or any editorial content.

Affiliate Links & Editorial Independence

SpinToRead uses affiliate links, primarily through the Amazon Associates programme. When a reader clicks a link on this site and makes a purchase, SpinToRead earns a small commission at no extra cost to the reader.

This is how the site pays for itself. It allows SpinToRead to remain free, independent, and without paywalls or subscription fees.

What affiliate links do not affect:

• Which books appear in any recommendation list
• The order in which books are presented
• The editorial tone or honesty of any review or guide
• Whether a book receives criticism alongside its praise

If a book has problems worth naming — a slow start, a weak ending, content that will put off certain readers — those things will be noted even when an affiliate link is present. The recommendation is only useful if it is honest.

Full details are available on the Affiliate Disclosure page.

AI & Automation Policy

SpinToRead uses AI tools (including large language models) as part of the production workflow, primarily for drafting structure, generating initial lists, and accelerating research. However, every page that appears on this site is reviewed, edited, and substantially rewritten by Ruben before publication.

The editorial judgment — the reading order rationale, the recommendation reasoning, the “who this is for” framing, the honest critical notes — is not generated by AI. It comes from a considered human perspective on what actually serves a reader.

This is not a promise of perfection. Some pages are better than others. But it is the standard SpinToRead works toward, and it is why feedback about pages that feel thin or generic is taken seriously and acted on.

Accuracy & Updates

Reading order guides, series status pages, and author bibliographies are updated when new books are published or when errors are identified. SpinToRead aims to keep series order information current — including noting when a series is complete, ongoing, or appears to be abandoned.

If you notice an error — a book in the wrong position, a series status that’s out of date, a factual mistake in a review — please report it. Corrections are made promptly and without defensiveness. Accuracy is more important than appearing to have been right.

Information about book release dates, series continuation, and author statements is sourced from publisher announcements, author websites, and established literary news sources. Where information is uncertain (e.g., an unannounced series continuation), this is stated explicitly rather than presented as fact.

Advertising

SpinToRead displays advertising through Google AdSense. Ads are served automatically based on page content and reader context; SpinToRead does not select individual advertisers or control which specific ads appear.

Ads are clearly distinguished from editorial content. No content on SpinToRead is written to serve advertising interests. Ad placement decisions are made based on reader experience, not revenue maximisation.

SpinToRead does not accept sponsored posts, paid reviews, or branded content in exchange for editorial coverage.

What SpinToRead Does Not Do

• Accept payment for placement in recommendation lists or author guides
• Publish reviews or guides without editorial review by Ruben
• Recommend books solely because they have high affiliate commissions
• Present AI-generated text as finished editorial content
• Hide or soften criticism of books that have affiliate links
• Fabricate reading experience or reader feedback
• Publish sponsored content without clear labelling