Do you read books?

[indigoasis]

It feels to me as if reading books has been falling out of style, and I don't really know why. I figured the best way to find out if my suspicions are correct (or incorrect, hopefully) would be to ask the members of the local woodland reserve. As for what counts as a book, I'll leave it broad and count anything that you can read and turn (or swipe) the pages of.

If you do or don't read books, I'd love to know why. 

[♠Soul♠]

I DON'T READ BUT I ALWAYS WANTED TO PICK UP THE HABIT I BARELY READ BOOKS, SAVE SOME MANGA OR LIGHT NOVELS VERY FAR IN BETWEEN BUT IT IS MY FAULT

MY MIND IS TOO OCCUPIED WITH NONESENSE LIKE INTERNET AND MENTAL CHATTER

 

I WOULD NEVER REPLACE A REAL BOOK FOR PIXELS ON A SCREEN AND NOT JUST BECAUSE OF EYE STRAIN

Edited May 25, 2021 by the actual real soul

[Interdimensional Observer]

I should read more, but I do try to read whatever reputable histories that interest me out in the local library.

Literature, poetry, and philosophical texts have their barriers for me, I tried a few and they didn't work out so well, so I don't approach them. Yet I'm thoroughly versed in reading history, it's what I got my degree in after all. I find history enjoyable and it expands my perspectives.

I made the mistake of not preserving my course syllabi from college, those would've provided me with a good reading list. Because not knowing what is out there, is one disincentive from reading much. Another issue is that I'm too cheap to actually purchase any books, a library is free and hence preferred.

[FlyingKitsune]

I used to read very often, prior to the pandemic. However, since then my access to the library has been much more limited, leading me to read less than before. I'll probably start reading very often again once libraries are fully opened. I usually prefer physical books, but digital books are okay too. Physical books get me more in a reading mood, although I don't really know why. Maybe it's because I read with physical books a lot more than e-books before?

[EricaofRenais]

I read a lot.  My room is full of books and I am just waiting for my second dose COVID shot to go to my favorite book store again.  Reading has kept me from going crazy this past year, I probably wouldn't have made it through lock down without books.  I prefer to read Sify and fantasy since that has always been my escape from my bad times.  I like physical mostly because my mom used to read to me and physical books bring great comfort to me because of that, digital is good too though and I have started using digital more due to COVID. 

Edited May 26, 2021 by EricaofRenais

[SoulWeaver]

We've got loads of books at my house, I just finished rereading The Virginian and The Lonesome Gods this week. I haven't touched digital for anything besides No Game No Life. I switch on and off for reading, a lot of the time I'm busy playing games instead.

[Dandy Druid]

I read sometimes, not as often as I liked. I just finished Circe by Madeline Miller and will gladly take recommendations of similar stuff. Looking into seeing where I can get Miller's other work Song of Achilles that isn't Amazon because I don't believe in them. I'm also interested in The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper but I just want to sample it before I buy it.

I prefer physical. I stare at screens a lot, so it's a nice change of pace for me.

[DragonFlames]

I read quite a lot, definitely more than I used to, however, everything I do read, I read as part of my studies of language and literature, so reading has become something of a "duty" for me instead of a hobby.
I also don't really read much outside of my studies, I admit, which is why I am not familiar with any popular book that is outside the scope of what I study.

[Parrhesia]

I don't get the time as much as I'd like to. Even so, I should do more than I manage. Still, I probably get through one a month, though in fits and starts.

[Jotari]

I try to read an average of 25 or 26 books a year. I think that's a fairly standard number for people who consider themselves readers, but much lower than some people who read hundreds of books in a year. Though the size of those books varies considerably. I usually do read at least one rather large book a year. Last year the biggest book I read was Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Haven't started any really big books this year, unless you count a collection of H.G Wells Books (that I'm currently making my way through), which I don't as it's several separate stories. I am due to read Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Laurence of Arabia's memoirs, which is fairly bulky. But then such large books are counter weighted by shorter books like, well some of those individual H.G Wells stories. I read Ella Enchanted this year too which is fairly short.

I don't really like reading on a Kindle at all, but in the Kindle's defense that probably comes from a Luddite bias on my part as I've never seriously tried. I do like listening to audio books though as it fits more reading time in when going on walks or commuting. Audio books are also more useful to my lifestyle as I move to a different country each year, and lugging around a large library of physical books can be cumbersome and expensive (baggage weight prices on flights). I've gamed Audible's system very heavily to get as much out of it as I can. For anyone looking for hints.

1. You get a free book for signing up. Though what's less known than that is that there are different websites for each region. So if you sign up to the Australian, UK, and USA regions that's three free books and no cost.

2. The UK has the best prices for a monthly subscription (at least from English language versions of their site).

3. Don't buy a book that's worth less than it costs for your monthly subscription.

4. When you try to cancel your subscription after a while they will offer you a free book to stay subscribed. If you're cancelling it's probably because you have a backlog bigger than the rate at which you read books. So take that free credit, download a book, and then cancel your subscription.

5. Lately they've been offering to let me resubscribe at half the usual price for two months. I intend to do exactly that...and then cancel my subscription.

6. Shop around and buy collections of books rather than individual ones. No point in buying each individual book in Wolf Hall trilogy when you can get the entire trilogy for the same price. Ditto for things like Sherlock Holmes stories.

If you play your cards right with Audible you can get a lot of audio books at a pretty reduced cost. I think their business model depends on people forgetting they're subscribed or something, because I've been manipulating it for years and they still beg me to come back to them. Consequently free audiobooks to exist out there for classic works if you're completely strapped for cash.

I try to read a physical and audio book concurrently. Right now on audio I'm listening to The First Men on the Moon and reading the works of Lefadio Hearn. Who is an absolutely fascinating individual from the nineteenth century that few people know about.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafcadio_Hearn

 

[indigoasis]

On 5/25/2021 at 8:54 PM, Interdimensional Observer said:

Because not knowing what is out there, is one disincentive from reading much.

This is probably my biggest barrier into reading new books. If I had the time (which I wish I had more of) and the motivation to go to the library and just look, I could probably find something great to read. 

[Lyn]

Yes, I love to read. Going to the library for more book tomorrow. 

[Theolexluna]

I used to read a lot back when I was elementary. But I started reading less by the start of 7th grade because my teacher was always mad at me for not getting anything right in his math class and me asking way too much pre algebra questions on him. I was at a point of overstudying and my grades dropped but its not a failing grade. I started thinking afterwards reading anything fictional is useless. 

 

I'm now convincing myself a little more that reading fiction is fine. 

[indigoasis]

13 hours ago, Theolexluna said:

I used to read a lot back when I was elementary. But I started reading less by the start of 7th grade because my teacher was always mad at me for not getting anything right in his math class and me asking way too much pre algebra questions on him. I was at a point of overstudying and my grades dropped but its not a failing grade. I started thinking afterwards reading anything fictional is useless. 

 

I'm now convincing myself a little more that reading fiction is fine. 

There's so many wonderful and imaginative worlds that you can find in books, and you can still absolutely learn from fiction just as much, if not more so, than from a math class. Life lessons, character building, new words; you name it, you can learn about it in a book, not to mention you can get some great entertainment value out of it!

There's absolutely nothing wrong with reading fiction. It's just like what kinds of foods you like to eat and what kinds of music you like to listen to; it's something that you like to do, and no one can take that away from you. 

If I may suggest a series to look into, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is amazing. As a fan of that, I am obligated to say that it's great because everyone else that has said that it's great makes me obligated to say that it's great. I also liked the Books of Beginning series by John Stephens when I was younger, but I might've grown out of it's target demographic by now, so I don't know how well it would hold up at my age.

[Theolexluna]

40 minutes ago, indigoasis said:

There's so many wonderful and imaginative worlds that you can find in books, and you can still absolutely learn from fiction just as much, if not more so, than from a math class. Life lessons, character building, new words; you name it, you can learn about it in a book, not to mention you can get some great entertainment value out of it!

There's absolutely nothing wrong with reading fiction. It's just like what kinds of foods you like to eat and what kinds of music you like to listen to; it's something that you like to do, and no one can take that away from you. 

If I may suggest a series to look into, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is amazing. As a fan of that, I am obligated to say that it's great because everyone else that has said that it's great makes me obligated to say that it's great. I also liked the Books of Beginning series by John Stephens when I was younger, but I might've grown out of it's target demographic by now, so I don't know how well it would hold up at my age.

Yeah i agree I've actually listened to the audiobook version of Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy and I'm halfway through it i finished game of thrones on audiobook i found it kinda boring. But it's probably because I'm not a low fantasy person. I've also tried reading non fiction but it sometimes give repetitive advise that shouldn't be on a book or stuff that I already knew. Fiction actually has the same story tropes but different takes on it. 

I guess literature classes kinda take the fun out of it because I don't get why study a fictional book academically when there's plenty of other things worth studying academically. Ngl even when I was younger math classes were boring for me and I enjoy literature class more.

[Sidereal Wraith]

I’m on my 45th book for this year alone.

[defensedefumer]

On 5/26/2021 at 7:27 AM, indigoasis said:

It feels to me as if reading books has been falling out of style

Where I come from, very few of my countrymen read books. So I do have the same sentiment as you.

[KaydenceWinston]

I love reading and can say that the more you read, the better it is. Reading is vital for self-development and is also good for creative thinking. I'm a student, so I read a lot of books because it's a part of the educational process, but also I read in my free time. I like writing too, and without reading, it would have been impossible to write something quality. And still, somethimes, when it comes to academic papers, I use https://paperap.com/free-papers/chris-mccandless/ as a source of inspiration and ideas. There are different paper examples on various themes, and when I'm stuck with writing, I can always find something interesting that will help me with some ideas.

Edited June 28, 2022 by KaydenceWinston

[Jotari]

2 hours ago, Max Lakonsky said:

Yeah, i also had high hopes for the Game of Thrones audiobook. I'm a fan of all seasons and was excited to experience the story in a new way. However, the narrator's voice was monotonous and audiobook was very long, and I found myself losing interest about halfway through...

 

Taken him so long to release the next book that Roy Detrice, the narrator for the audio books, is dead....at least that's what I was going to say, but upon researching to see if I wasn't spouting bullshit I realised he died in his 90s and was super old when he first started recording them.