11–20 of 53 posts
Carl Sagan made this fairly obvious in Cosmos[1] speaking to the number of books one could read in a lifetime relative to the number of books in the library.
I pretty much never read fiction and was at a book store some years ago when I thought "maybe I'll give it a go". I found a book that looked pretty cool called "The Binding" about "book binders" - people that could erase a person's memory by writing their stories in books. As I read on it seemed to turn into something less about book binding and more into a kind of homo erotic novel.. boy was I disappointed and felt…
I'd also advise against letting friends and family recommend books to you. They're generally going to recommend books they like or they're going to get what you like subtly wrong. A corollary of that is that you probably shouldn't buy books as gifts.
If you're looking to discover books, go to a bookstore and look around. Maybe read the descriptions on the dust jacket or back cover. If you do that a few times a year, you'll probably have more books than you can read.
Other great sources of books to read are the footnotes of books you liked or the Twitter feeds of authors that you liked. Either of these methods allows authors you already like to recommend other books.
For me, I want to be OK with putting down a book I’m not loving. I do put books down all the time, but I want to be OK with it. I lose interest and put books down, but they stay on my mental list of books I need to finish for YEARS, often long after I have forgotten the current context and would be unable to continue reading where I left off.
If you lose interest and put a book down just forget about it and move on. You will probably never ever finish it, and that's how it should be. You can always read a different book on the same subject or with a similar theme if when the time is right.
It's corny, but: read what you love until you love to read.
As a general presumption, avoiding anything on the non-fiction bestseller list is a good idea. Those books are generally aimed at the lowest common denominator that reads so you probably won't get anything of value out of them. There are rare exceptions that prove the rule and you'll generally know them when you see them. People who tried reading the non-fiction bestsellers and then equated them with "books" are pret…
I forget which book but a few years ago I ploughed ahead with a (to me) terrible Kim Stanley Robinson book (maybe Red Mars?) as I had enjoyed previous books and figured it would click eventually. I gave up at about 80%, sadly it was too late and it ruined my desire to read for about 2 to 3 years. Prior to that I would happily do 20 a year and enjoy my time reading. Now if a book isn’t vibing with me I give it one mor…
I only made it through the book because I ended up skipping the 75%(?) of the book that took place in the cloud, or whatever.
I forget which book but a few years ago I ploughed ahead with a (to me) terrible Kim Stanley Robinson book (maybe Red Mars?) as I had enjoyed previous books and figured it would click eventually. I gave up at about 80%, sadly it was too late and it ruined my desire to read for about 2 to 3 years. Prior to that I would happily do 20 a year and enjoy my time reading. Now if a book isn’t vibing with me I give it one mor…
I forget which book but a few years ago I ploughed ahead with a (to me) terrible Kim Stanley Robinson book (maybe Red Mars?) as I had enjoyed previous books and figured it would click eventually. I gave up at about 80%, sadly it was too late and it ruined my desire to read for about 2 to 3 years. Prior to that I would happily do 20 a year and enjoy my time reading. Now if a book isn’t vibing with me I give it one mor…
I had a similar experience with the interminably dull Neal Stephenson slog-a-thon "Fall" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall;_or,_Dodge_in_Hell ) I only made it through the book because I ended up skipping the 75%(?) of the book that took place in the cloud, or whatever.
What the man needs is a damn editor.
I pretty much never read fiction and was at a book store some years ago when I thought "maybe I'll give it a go". I found a book that looked pretty cool called "The Binding" about "book binders" - people that could erase a person's memory by writing their stories in books. As I read on it seemed to turn into something less about book binding and more into a kind of homo erotic novel.. boy was I disappointed and felt…
It's totally okay to read a full plot synopsis of any fiction worth reading. Honestly, if a story is ruined by knowing whats going to happen (baring murder mysteries, which are their own animal), it's probably not worth reading. Re-reading is one of the things I most look forward to. There are even some books I re-read at the same time every year (just started my annual re-read of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress)!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had a similar experience with the interminably dull Neal Stephenson slog-a-thon "Fall" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall;_or,_Dodge_in_Hell ) I only made it through the book because I ended up skipping the 75%(?) of the book that took place in the cloud, or whatever.
If ever there was an author who did one or two good things early on and has been coasting oon reputation ever since... What the man needs is a damn editor.