21st Century Literature discussion
Question of the Week
>
What Are Your Reading Predilections and Eccentricities? (8/12/18)
date
newest »
newest »
Books in our house are fairly randomly "organised". We have run out of book space. Honestly, we have: everywhere there can be a bookshelf there is one and it is as tall as it can be. That's why I read mainly on the Kindle now and why we are passing quite a few books on.The best way to organise books is explained in "Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To The Sun" where the main character arranges her books according to which characters she thinks should be talking to each other.
I feel left out of life without multiple books, almost always fiction. A paper book, a Kindle book, a Simply Audible book on CD for the car and Audible version of a Kindle for walking. (I usually drive and walk at least an hour a day.) It dawned on me one day that it's no problem to follow several meaty TV series at a time so when the TV died, the habit transferred to reading. Bookmarks are gathered from life - ticket stubs, business cards, whatever has a memory attached. My friends know to bring me " trash" from their journeys. The less said about the thousand+ books shelved and unshelved in my 2 bedroom apartment the better. Like the bookmarks, they are carriers of memories. The 2000+ Kindle titles shared with my daughter are her inheritance. I'm 73 and will not read all the books I have.
After reading everyone else here's reading 'quirks', mine seem fairly minor.I am always reading at least one book and one book of nonfiction(*) at a time. I mostly read the nonfiction in the morning to help get my brain going, and the fiction in the evening to relax.
I also always have a book I'm reading in the Kindle App on my phone, which is usually nonfiction or a short story collection. This I read while waiting in line, or for a food order, etc.
I am often also listening to an audio book in my car, either fiction or nonfiction (my wife refers to this as "found reading time").
I sometimes add an additional book to what I am reading for group read on Goodreads or for work, or because it was a prerequisite for reading another book I want to read.
I'm a very linear reader -- I don't like to read series out of order, and and am vaguely down on prequels. If a book heavily references another work, I try to read that other work first (for instance, I read two volumes of Livy before reading Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy)
(* My nonfiction reading is either work related (geography and computer science for the most part) or part of my vague grand reading project that involves physics, biology, neuroscience, mathematics, social sciences, religion, philosophy and assorted misc. topics. The aim (which I knew was impossible when I started), is to understand how everything relates to everything.)
Maggie wrote: "I feel left out of life without multiple books, almost always fiction. A paper book, a Kindle book, a Simply Audible book on CD for the car and Audible version of a Kindle for walking. (I usually d..."Maggie when you say that you will not read all the books you have, that makes me perform a calculation I should never make - to take the number of books I own and divide them by one a week, which is my approximate reading pace. By that standard I might just get through them all by the time I reach a hundred years old. That tells me that I will never read them all, and probably shouldn't buy any more. I know that will never happen, so I am going to remind myself of the joy of being surrounded by books (eve if I don't actually get to read them all).
I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread. It has definitely helped me think about who I am as a reader (my own combination of a number of traits I never considered until I saw them stated or contrasted here?). My thanks to each of you who has shared.I don't recall if this was mentioned somewhere, but one quirk that I do have is that I like reading a translated classic by simultaneously listening to one translator and following with a text by another -- especially for Tolstoy. (And for Pushkin. Something about Russian sentences?)
Marcus wrote: "I am going to remind myself of the joy of being surrounded by books (eve if I don't actually get to read them all). ..."Marcus -- on that topic, you might enjoy an article that someone else, probably on this board, sorry, don't remember whom, pointed out:
https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/03...
"The writer Umberto Eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are encyclopedic, insightful, and nondull. He is the owner of a large personal library (containing thirty thousand books), and separates visitors into two categories: those who react with 'Wow! Signore professore dottore Eco, what a library you have! How many of these books have you read?' and the others — a very small minority — who get the point that a private library is not an ego-boosting appendage but a research tool. Read books are far less valuable than unread ones. The library should contain as much of what you do not know as your financial means, mortgage rates, and the currently tight real-estate market allows you to put there. You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly. Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call this collection of unread books an antilibrary."
As quoted by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable?
Kristen wrote: "Carol, I do the same thing when packing for trips. What books to bring are as important as what clothes to pack, or more so. And I almost always come home with more books, no matter where I go or f..."I'm not seeking a cure, either! just to be clear.
Marc wrote: "Sue wrote: "How does everyone arrange books on the shelf? "Great question, Sue!
I re-arrange every other year or so, but mostly I arrange by type/genre--a shelf for poetry, a few shelves for short..."
I arrange solely by author's surname, but then I own perhaps 30 or fewer nonfiction books and poetry, so I don't have to ponder whether a thematic approach would work.
Maggie wrote: "I feel left out of life without multiple books, almost always fiction. A paper book, a Kindle book, a Simply Audible book on CD for the car and Audible version of a Kindle for walking. (I usually d..."I'll definitely not read all of the unread books I own, and it's not even a goal of mine to do so. So many things in life are about duty and obligation to others, to family, to employers, etc. My unread, owned books are only about bringing joy to me - no duty or guilt accrues when I am amidst them.
Marcus wrote: "Maggie wrote: "I feel left out of life without multiple books, almost always fiction. A paper book, a Kindle book, a Simply Audible book on CD for the car and Audible version of a Kindle for walkin...""and probably shouldn't buy any more"!! What a horrific conclusion to reach ....
Lily wrote: "Marcus wrote: "I am going to remind myself of the joy of being surrounded by books (eve if I don't actually get to read them all). ..."Marcus -- on that topic, you might enjoy an article that som..."
Thank you so much Lily.
Somewhere I saw a short video clip of Umberto Eco walking through his house, down a long long corridor lined with books and then into a huge room that looked more like my local library. I love that clip.
Also there is a wonderful book This is Not the End of the Book which is a debate between Eco and French man Jean-Claude Carrière about books, cinema and how we peserve our knowedge for the future. Carrière was tasked with preserving film archives from times when film came in many different sizes. He made the point about how much storage formats have changed in just the last twenty or thirty years - tape, floppy disc, discette, etc, etc. His challenge was to ensure formats would survive for centuries to come. The two opened a book and said - look at this, assuming you can read
Latin this format still works from the 1400s to the present day. It is a wonderful book for the book lover and is described beautifully in the phrase "eavesdropping on an intimate discussion between two great minds".
Marcus wrote: "He made the point about how much storage formats have changed in just the last twenty or thirty years - tape, floppy disc, discette, etc, etc. His challenge was to ensure formats would survive for centuries to come...."That's fascinating stuff. A few years ago the Princeton Adult School had a program on the history of books that traced their evolution into the familiar codex format -- three of us felt our weekly 20+ mile trek to attend was worth it.
I'd either enjoy or be deep ended by lectures that explained the logic behind the engravings that are sent into outer space in the expectation that "intelligence" would be able to decode them:
/>By NASA/JPL - The Sounds of Earth Record Cover, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer...
Lily wrote: "Marcus wrote: "I am going to remind myself of the joy of being surrounded by books (eve if I don't actually get to read them all). ..."Marcus -- on that topic, you might enjoy an article that som..."
While I think of it, I have to mention a problem we have with the Black Swan Events. Down here in New Zealand (and also I think in Australia) we do not have white swans. All ours are black. I grew up in the UK where it is possible to see three species of white swan, but since moving to New Zealand, every swan I have seen for the last 15 years has been a black one. My geography (and love of ornithology) get in the way of me really making the most of these ideas!
Marcus wrote: "Lily wrote: "Marcus wrote: "I am going to remind myself of the joy of being surrounded by books (eve if I don't actually get to read them all). ..."Marcus -- on that topic, you might enjoy an art..."
Now we're diverging big time. The appearance of the black swan was the subject of socio-philosopher Karl Popper's theory that we cannot make definite statements because an exception will occur i.e All Swans are white.
I have a question for people (like me) who often read library copies of books. Do you have an aversion to reading a large print copy of a book? I ask because when I get a library book I really don't care if it's the regular print or large print version, so if one is out I will always just get the other. But I have noticed that it happens that people will go on a waiting list for a regular print copy of a book even when the large print copy is available. I presume that at least some of those people might not be aware there is a large print copy on the shelves, but it happens so often I wonder if people would rather wait for the regular print copy instead. Any thoughts?
I prefer to leave large print editions, when, possible for people who cannot read the regular edition because of eyesight issues. Taking out the large print edition feels a little bit like taking the handicapped stall at a restroom when you're not handicapped.It is possible I am slightly neurotic. ;)
David, if it is a popular book that is in demand at the time, I would not consider borrowing the large print edition because I don't need it and I would prefer to leave it available for the visually-impaired readers. If it is an older book, I might consider the LP copy. But I don't really like to read large print and I'm not sure what the issue is. It's kind of similar to not liking books with tiny print. I want the print to be neither too large nor too small. I am apparently like Goldilocks regarding font size in books. Which makes me neurotic along with Peter. 😊
Mod
Peter and Laurie, I am hardly the one to call anyone out as neurotic (see my own predilections noted above), but I can say this about the "leave it for those who need it" argument. If the book is not checked out but there is a waiting list for the regular-type copies (let's say 5 people waiting), then if I borrow the large type copy the worst case scenario is that the person who needs it has to wait 3 weeks for me to return it. But if I get in line behind the 5 people waiting for the regular-type copy, I might have to wait 15 weeks. So by taking the large print copy out I am not putting that poorly sighted person at any disadvantage in comparison to those who can read the small type. Thus I don't feel I'm doing anything wrong by checking it out.I wonder if you feel the same about checking out audiobooks from the library and how that might make a blind person, who needs the audiobook, have to wait.
David wrote: "I have a question for people (like me) who often read library copies of books. Do you have an aversion to reading a large print copy of a book? I ask because when I get a library book I really don'..."I won’t read a large print book. I feel as though I’m in kindergarten anon. I need more words on the page. But then I’m not a huge fan of white space, generally.
When I read on my Kindle I select the smallest font, the smallest line spacing and the narrowest page margins: I want as many words on a page as possible! It does sometimes have the strange effect that the "real page numbers" in a book go up by 2 when you turn the Kindle page.
Mod
David wrote: "I have a question for people (like me) who often read library copies of books. Do you have an aversion to reading a large print copy of a book? I ask because when I get a library book I really don'..."I'm finding the responses to your question fascinating, David. For years, I did indeed avoid the large print editions, mostly because I find most large, awkward, and heavy to hold. But last month all the normal size print copies at my local library of the selection for my f2f book club were out. Rather than apply for a copy from our broader lending system, I noticed a large print copy was available locally and checked it out instead. I rather enjoyed reading from it. But, my eyes are beginning to give me trouble -- so....
I respect all the reasons that have been given here including, obviously, your own. I've probably used most of them at one time or another over the years. Our online catalog has separate entries for large print books, so it is rather easy to overlook them -- I know, that statement doesn't sound particularly sensible, but I know that can be the way it is for me -- I find the "standard" book and procure it, requesting a loan or wait if need be.
PS -- I laughed (inwardly) this month when I went to a library in our lending system that had a book I needed to read for our f2f group discussion. I sometimes go to this library, quite near me, when it has something not available at my home library, rather than wait for the delivery system. The book I wanted was by Celeste Ng, clearly indicated as available in the catalog system. When I emerged from the shelves with a puzzled look on my face, the alert librarian on duty offered to help. She savvily found it shelved under Celeste! Then, she asked me if I would prefer a large print copy and headed for those shelves. Well, there wasn't one, but it is only as I write this that I realize it may not have been my aging face, but rather the dark glasses I was wearing that prompted her solicitude! They are prescription and permit me to read at various distances (needed along the library shelves) and I hadn't bothered to change when I got out of the car on that sunny, hot July day!
Peter wrote: "It is possible I am slightly neurotic. ..."More likely, relatively "young"? 'Tis amazing the boundaries we do and don't give ourselves at the various points along this journey we call life...
David wrote: "Peter and Laurie, I am hardly the one to call anyone out as neurotic (see my own predilections noted above), but I can say this about the "leave it for those who need it" argument. If the book is n..."I guess I try to save the LP books for the visually-impaired partially because I heard my grandmother, who has macular degeneration, comment that she couldn't get new releases at the library because they were always out. She discovered that people who didn't need LP books usually had them checked out. She is no longer able to read books, but this situation irritated me enough at the time that I will wait my turn for regular print.
This does not translate to waiting on audiobooks. I rarely listen to new releases anyway, so I typically borrow books that are not in as much demand and are readily available.
Peter wrote: "I prefer to leave large print editions, when, possible for people who cannot read the regular edition because of eyesight issues. Taking out the large print edition feels a little bit like taking t..."I think the same way - I would say caring, not neurotic :)
Lily wrote: "Peter wrote: "It is possible I am slightly neurotic. ..."More likely, relatively "young"? 'Tis amazing the boundaries we do and don't give ourselves at the various points along this journey we ca..."
Hm. At 60 I don't feel that young. Not quite decrepit, but not necessarily young...
Sara wrote: "I also read aloud to cats but my current one does not enjoy it and peevishly ignores me."Have you tried different genres?
I’m always reading more than 1 book at a time. One has to be thin enough to fit in my purse or an ebook, because I always bring a book with me. My reading choices are primarily driven by reading challenges in 4 different GR groups. Sometimes I feel like I’m crazy but the challenges are a hobby for me and keep me motivated. In 2019, I’m planning on doing only one group challenge and focusing on a personal challenge I created- 100 (specific) authors before age 60. It started off with 60 authors but I thought why limit it to 60? I am much more interested in reading new-to-me authors than everything one author has written.
I read mainly on my phone. I prefer paper books, but live in fairly tiny spaces (boat and small cabin), and so opt for the space savings of digital reads. I sometimes read on a Kindle, but my phone is always with me and so it’s become a habit I guess. I usually have several audible books going as well, though never the same as I am visually reading.My favorite way to read a book is to begin it on my own, then when I’m a bit ahead go back and read it aloud to my husband. I go back and forth in this way, getting up early to read alone, then aloud when he wakes. I like that the experience is slightly different reading alone than it is tasting and hearing and sharing the words.
I have a strange habit of reading the first half of a book normally, from the beginning to the middle. But by that stage, I am completely hooked by the plot and I just have to know what happens, so I read the end, then the bit before the end etc, until I have worked my way back to the middle. I don't set out to do this, it just happens because I can't wait to find out the ending. Then, if I have absolutely loved the book, I read from the middle to the end in the right order, so I can savour the way it unfolds.
Mod
I love this! A lot of people read ahead to the end, but you are essentially turning every book into its own version of Memento!
Haha, this is a cute question. Hope its not a problem that I reup the thread again.Here are some of mine:
1. I finish every book I start and have zero plans to have an abandoned/DNF shelf. Reason being that from the get go, I am very picky when adding books to my to-read list. I rarely will add a book on impulse. When I want to add a book, I ask myself: "If I were to have a hardcover copy of this book right this minute in front of me, would I temporarily set aside my current book to start this one?" If my answer is yes, then I add it to my list.
Additionally, every month or so, I go through my recent additions, skim the synopses a second time and cull out several titles that no longer intrigue me. All this is to say that if a book has gone through those two steps and I start reading it, I intend on finishing it and will not abandon it for any reason. This is also to say that I don't abandon a book for being bad. 'Less' by Andrew Sean Greer was a recent stinker for me but I finished it nonetheless. For me personally, finishing a bad book puts reading into perspective. It makes me better appreciate the exceptional masterpieces I read before or will read after. It also helps me fine tune and cultivate my reading style.
2. I read with a highlighter and blue pen in hand in order to highlight passages or words, and to write in notes into book pages. (I purchase all my books, so I can do this) Right after finishing a book, I usually immediately go back and skim all the highlighted passages and notes.
3. I use a deck of playing cards as bookmarks, rather than using ready-made bookmarks.
4. I make it a point to have some form of audible "noise" in the background as I read: classical music, new age music, ambient sounds, or sometimes I stream sounds of rain/thunderstorm/nature. If I'm not steaming music, the sound of traffic outside or the whirring of the refrigerator is also a comforting replacement "noise." I don't need the "noise," but I prefer it.
5. Taking number 4 into consideration, I don't mind the "noise" being human conversation, but their voice must be low.
6. If a book is over 400 pages, I must read it in hardcover format. The only exception to this that I make is when paperback is the only available format for the book, which is rare.
7. The extreme bending or "breaking in" of paperbacks and their spines grates me. So yes, all my books are purchased new, and after reading them, they still look brand new without any creases or broken spines.
8. Especially when the book is a fiction, I prefer to read one book at a time. However, if I read two at once, they must be opposing genres. So a fiction with a non-fiction, or a fiction with a memoir, fiction with history, etc. I rarely do two fiction books at once.
9. Except when it's a short story or novella, I always intentionally stretch out my reading for all books, usually spending an average of one to three weeks on one book, depending on it's length. Reason being to give each book time to flourish, get the characters to raise their voices, and to take the time to appreciate the author's writing style.
10. I love the element of a surprise ending. Only once in sixth grade, and twice in 10th grade did I skim the ending of a book while at the beginning of it. As an adult reader, I've NEVER read the ending while at the beginning.
Bonus: considering number 10, I only skim other people's reviews rather than read them word for word, and more importantly, I only skim the 2 and 4 star reviews. I want to know what makes a book really good, but not perfect (4-stars), and I want to know what makes a book bad, but not terrible (2-stars). With this approach, I've been convinced on reading a book based on 2-star reviews. and I've also been turned off reading a book based on a 4-star review.
Cindle | kindle w/a C. wrote: "...I've been convinced on reading a book based on 2-star reviews. and I've also been turned off reading a book based on a 4-star review. ..."I perceive you and I probably have very different perspectives on any number of topics, Cindle, but I love your "Bonus" point here. Wouldn't have said or done it exactly the same, but absolutely agree with the conclusion!
21st Century Literature
Books mentioned in this topic
This is Not the End of the Book (other topics)The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (other topics)
The Sympathizer (other topics)
The Sympathizer (other topics)
Tender Is the Night (other topics)
More...
Great question, Sue!
I re-arrange every other year or so, but mostly I arrange by type/genre--a shelf for poetry, a few shelves for short story collections, the bulk of shelves for fiction. And then I try to keep the same author's books together and work by size. Recently, I put all my unread books on one bookcase that I have to pass several times of day--these are in no particular order at all. I can discern no color pattern between older purchases and newer ones (at least, none that I've ever noticed). Most, but not all of my books are paperbacks.