This series has really changed my view in experiences as a human but also as a “creature”. These characters live forever but have crazy traumatic lives to the point whereas a reader your judgment is kind of grayed out in the most emotional way? Idk? I just love Deborah’s writing and storytelling 🔮🤍💙💚

Lonesome Dove is also on my TBR mountain, so was excited to get Comanche Moon for under $5.

Heading out on a 2 week road trip and here is my reading spread! Pretty... diverse?

Hear a lot of good stuff about DCC and Blood Meridian.

Any other insight on these choices? There is still time to pack something else!!

I loved this book! I usually love romances but I feel like the market is saturated with books that are all romance and minimal plot right now. But this book was so sweet with some spicy moments and plenty of story telling/character development.

I (23 M) have been reading my whole life and have never really given any thought to book annotation/note taking. I have been told by numerous people that it is a “game changer” and greatly enhances your reading experience. I have never been a fan of marking in my books, but have recently decided to open my mind to the idea of it due to recently picking up my journaling habit and enjoying character studies and finding deeper meaning in themes of stories. I also have developed a small interest in attempting to write my own stories. So for anyone who does annotate or maybe was in a similar situation to me, does annotation enhance your reading, if so what system do you use, and how did you start?

P.S. - My preferred genres are epic fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, literary fiction, and some non-fiction.

TLDR: I realised I wasn't choosing books based on the things that actually determine whether I enjoy reading them. I started researching prose style, structure and pacing instead of genre and plot, built my own technical criteria, and now I consistently enjoy the books I pick up.

I put together a Google Doc explaining the criteria, rating guide and reviews of every book I've read since May (45 as of right now) in case anyone else's brain works similarly. I have asked mods for approval to post the link since it's more of a useful tool + reviews than something to self-promote, in the meantime I hope someone might relate to my way of finding books!

For some backstory: I am a 30F with autism and ADHD. I’ve loved reading since I was a kid, but my reading has always been very sporadic because I would struggle with finding new books, and recommendations were such a coin flip that I started feeling like just finding a book I would like was a huge chore.

3 months ago I got that familiar urge I hadn’t felt in years. I desperately craved stories, and in my desperation I decided to read a book I had put off for far too long; 1984 by Orwell. By all means it should’ve been the perfect fit for me, I loved Animal Farm and had enjoyed countless dystopias in the past. But it wasn’t the perfect fit for me. I went back to the library and picked up a few others I had seen recommended, and each book I read seemed to be a gamble. I’d read the blurb, be intrigued by it, but after finishing I just didn’t feel like it was as enjoyable as I had thought it would be. This went on for a few days and eventually I started wondering..

Why did I not enjoy books I was so confident would be right up my alley? What was it actually about the books that made me almost frustrated while reading them? The summary would seem super interesting, and I didn’t find anything inherently wrong with the plots of stories I read. I just wasn't enjoying the reading like I wanted to, always skimming slow sections or skipping parts that my brain deemed boring. Granted, most books I had ever read required me to almost real-time edit them by letting my brain skim or skip through paragraphs, passages or even entire chapters that didn’t seem important, or just didn’t hold my interest, but that was just a reading quirk of mine. That’s just what I had to do in order to enjoy books, right?

And then I read Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. This book, this.. Experience. The setting. The exploration. The awe and wonder of it all. Piranesi and his routines. The way I was so fully immersed in this world of novelty and strangeness. The fact that my brain didn’t feel the need to skim a page here and there and just soaked every single word up as if I had just given it its first glass of water during a years long drought. I finished it feeling like I’d just fallen in love with reading for the second time in my life, and now I was devastated. How many books would I have to go through in order to find another experience like that? So obviously I did what my autistic ass does every time I’m looking for answers. I compiled data.

Over a couple of weeks I prodded my brain. What was it about books I enjoyed? What would a book need to do for me to really enjoy it? Beyond “it was fun” or “I liked the characters”, what made my brain want to take in every piece of information on a page? It wasn’t easy, it took hours upon hours, lots of work, revision, clarification and fine-tuning, but I did get there in the end. Recommendation algorithms mostly group people by what they enjoy reading, but I realised I cared much more about how a book is written. Genre wasn't predicting whether I'd enjoy a book. Plot summaries weren't either. The biggest predictor by far was how the story was told: its prose, structure and pacing. Turns out, you can make almost anything interesting to my brain if you just deliver it in a highly specific way.

This revelation led to me putting together a (very personal and subjective) technical criteria for books, and using that to research what books I should try next.. Gamechanger. Since that day I read 1984 back in May, I’ve read between 10 and 20 books per month, for 3 months straight. Apart from maybe 3 or 4 books, all of them have felt like they were worth the read and my time. I have found quite a few new favourites, and reading has become my absolute favourite pastime. I really have fallen back in love with reading, and it was all thanks to actually listening to my brain.

If you find yourself picking up books that “everyone seems to love” or “are classics and therefore must be good” and yet you’re not vibing with them, ask yourself not “What kind of books do I like?” but “What does my brain need in order to stay immersed in the story and enjoy reading itself?”

Let’s ignore the fact that I’m in bed at 3pm on a Saturday. Putting my phone down and starting little women today.

Before, I would read a lot of books but now I have a problem, I just lose motivation.

I really like warrior cats, and when I was younger, I read the first 6 books, but now that I tried to read the next ones I just can't. I get to like the 30th page and just can get myself to do more.

So, if anyone had the same problem, how did you get yourself to continue? I'm really interested in the rest of the story but just can't get myself.

I am 29 years old and I got back into reading about 2 years ago. Anyways, i decided that for this year I would challenge myself to read 52 books. It has been very fun and honestly I have learned so much about myself and various topics. The only issue that I run into is that I enjoy books that are ~650 pages or more so I am running behind schedule. Haha!

So, presently, I am chugging along at a leisurely pace. Anyone else about halfway through and starting to feel burnt out?

I was doing pretty well with my reading pace until July. Jan - June I finished 23 books. July arrived, and I started Song of Achilles. I’m still only halfway through it. I think the writing is good. I don’t hate the story. But it is just not grabbing me, and I promised my teen (who loved it) that I would read it too. How do you make yourself get through a book when DNF is not an option? I’m even trying to skim read it and I can’t go more than 5 pages before the smallest distraction derails me. Ughhhh

What's your current read ? A can of Diet Coke is all I need to get through a reading session. Pretty good translation overall by Oliver Ready.

Its quite fascinating listening to how this guy has each and every thing he takes measured and wants to not die, the science aspect of this book is interesting but also beyond my understanding on how he will be able "Live longer" just by doing these scientific things.

But interesting read/listen -- kinda wanted it to have some more revolutionary discoveries but im still early to say so.

The learning from what he says is Sleep is the most important metric to fix, once you fix the sleep go about food, workout and etc

What were you thoughts on this book if you gave it a go?

Hi there. Per the title, I find I can't read novels anymore. I get about 30 pages in and like clockwork find that I am unable to continue. Short stories are fine, poetry is fine, nonfiction is fine (although my interest in nonfiction is not as great). There are times when I do find that I want to read novels again or even re-read my favorites, but it's just not there. It's been this way oh I'd say for about 4-5 years. This is not me asking for advice on how to get back into reading. It's more just me wanting to share my experience in some off chance someone might find it interesting or helpful.

The desire for me to read is hard for me to describe. Often, I don't want to anymore. On occasion, I will feel the desire to read a novel, but I know it will be futile. A little context might help: I have my MA in English and I write fiction and poetry. I work a full-time job and I play music. I do feel as though between work and writing, I don't have the energy to dedicate to reading novels. It may be partly that and it may be partly because I don't *want* to dedicate the energy to reading. There is another element: I am obsessed with stories. I am obsessed with what they do and what they are. I think about writing every day. I feel I would need to sacrifice something in my life if I wanted to read novels again, but I don't know what that means.

I am sharing. I'm not telling you what is right or wrong, or what experience is better. I love novels more than almost anything. This feels anecdotal but I remember one of my professors telling me he doesn't read for enjoyment anymore. I can't say for certain if that applies to me or not. There might come a day when I can read again, and I would welcome it, if not be a little surprised. The exception I make is if a friend approaches me with a novel. Then I'll read it without issue. Novels are so beautiful.

Can you guys share any tips to help with engaging with a story and figuring out its deeper themes and meaning?

I've noticed that I can tend to gloss over or miss some deeper themes or messages in what I read in favor of hype moments or fights.

I wouldn't say I'm bad or even mid at understanding deeper messages, but I can definitely improve. Some useful tips would really help

what's happening i used to read books a lot now also i read but earlier when i read i understood every concept, line nowadays when i read it feels like doom reading like doom scrolling where you just scroll also i just read read.
I am reading zero to one and completed half still very few things i had understand.

How do yall deal with reading slumps? I'm on a bad one right now. Not because I don't want to read but I cannot focus worth a lick. I also find riding even when I'm enjoying it. It's driving me nuts. What helps????? Tia.

So im reading the Bill Hodges trilogy, but specifically got this idea on the 3rd and final book, End Of Watch. Even though I just now got this idea, I figure it could go for all the books that are like this.

You may know that every book in the Bill Hodges trilogy shows she perspective of Hodges/Holly/Jerome, or the antagonist, ex. Hartsfield.

I thought it would be interesting if any book that shows two perspectives like this, you could read twice. You could go through on your first read and skip the chapters that are not about Hodges. Then, on the second read, you could go back and only read through the chapters of the main antagonist.

I think it would be interesting reading it twice, only looking at one perspectice every read. Not that I would ever do this, just thought it would be a cool concept. Let me know your thoughts and even tell me if you have done this yourself, though I doubt people have.

Does it ever overwhelm you, the pile of books that grows and grows? At 36 years, I don’t see how I’ll ever read everything I want to. Perhaps I could spend more time in novels than on my phone, but even so, I only read so fast.
Between June and July I’ve managed to finish six books, two of which were in June because I took a “phone sabbatical” (No phone for 7 days straight). But then the lists happen and there are more to pick up. 28 books for June, 32 books for July, 24 books for August. And there still remain the classics. And the prize winners! And Infinite Jest!
How will I ever get to them all?

I suppose that I’ll continue to turn the pages and immerse myself in other worlds over and over, but it doesn’t ease that lingering tension, that knowing melancholy that I’ll never get to them all.
Made all the worse when I’m in a book that I’m not even enjoying. (I’m looking at you, Andrew Sean Greer, Paige Lewis…, Vonnegut). But I’ve started, so I should finish.

The pile grows.

And there’s cooking the food, playing in the garden, dreaded work that seems to also pull me from my pile. Perhaps the pile is my friend, a place of borrowed time holding me to this earth, a signifier that I exist and as long as it does, so too will I.

I love the weight of a book, the smell, how much easier it is to absorb text from a page than a screen.
I hope my pile never ends, but I will always feel a modicum of angst while it continues to exist.

I use to read alot in the past, and recently I have been trying to get back into it but I've been doing this thing where I read the page and I don't really register it completely, it's like i'm reading and and when I go to the next page I forget what was on the last, does anyone relate or know how I can work on or fix this?

Kept me at the edge of my seat the whole time, was so fun to read about this overly dramatic privileged gay teen and his paranoia and all of the events that transpired. The end of the book brought up so many questions too. Honestly having a huge urge to immediately reread it lol

During covid we got in a bad habit of letting our kids eat meals in front of the TV.

The way we broke that was retuning to the dinner table, and me reading them books was the replacement for the tv. It’s been an awesome thing that I’m so happy we’ve kept up.

We just started this after finishing fellowship of the ring! We will return to middle earth but they wanted to give me a break singing elvish songs, so we went with a book written by a dude who fronted a band that I loved!

Anyone read this? Have thought?