Books on the Nightstand discussion
Do you ever read & love a book then forget what you read?
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Yeah, it seems like the faster I read a book, the quicker I forget it. Of course, that forgetfullness does seem to come easier as the years go by.
George wrote: "Yeah, it seems like the faster I read a book, the quicker I forget it. Of course, that forgetfullness does seem to come easier as the years go by."Yeah, isn't growing older fun!
Jan wrote: "George wrote: "Yeah, it seems like the faster I read a book, the quicker I forget it. Of course, that forgetfullness does seem to come easier as the years go by."Yeah, isn't growing older fun!"
Yes, it is. Same goes with movies.
This was an interesting article and it made me feel better - I'm not alone! I've always been so disappointed that I don't remember books very well and I've thought that in reality I should be able to be happy with just one book in my lifetime. I could read it over and over and it would be new everytime! It's good to hear that probably these books are sinking in on some level, but I know that they have not been a waste. Even if I don't remember them, I have enjoyed my time reading them. And I can enjoy them another time just as much. Thanks for posting this.
That was a really interesting read, thanks for sharing! I am also a person who forgets what she's read. I hate that I can love a book but when I try to recommend that book to a friend at a later date I struggle to sum it up, sometimes for fear of spoiling the plot but mostly because I seem to remember how a book made me feel, but not so much the detail of the plot. I'm so glad that I'm not alone!!
That is such an interesting article! I am always forgetting books, and so jealous of people who can remember what they read! I think it is part of the reason that I don't read a lot of non-fiction.I do definitely have better retention of books that I listen to on audio -- I think because there is no way to skim??
My mom reads almost exclusively mysteries and is famous for being able to re-read them without worrying that she'll remember who done it!
At our library the computer will say if you have already taken out a book and some people use this regularly as a check. I find this amazing. I can't remember the all the books I read as a teen 25+ years ago when I read more than a book a day but sometimes people forget books they read 6 months ago.
However, although I am excellent at remembering plots and characters I can't ever remember quotes. I hate pulling myself out of the story to make notes so I have started to use slips of paper to mark the page and then I go back afterwards.
I used to worry about not being able to remember books I've read, especially since my husband seems to have much better recall of his reading. But then I decided that when I read for pleasure (which is the bulk of my reading) I know there's no test after wards, and I can just enjoy the book. The benefit of this is that I can read the book again at a later date and enjoy it all over again. I do seem to have better recall of books I read to gain specific knowledge...although as I get older, that ability seems to be decreasing. The article mentioned about was very interesting and reassured me that I'm not the only one who shuffles memories of good books to the back shelves, to be found again, or not.
Thanks for the link. Article definitely made me feel better! My DH retains tons from a book , but his pace would kill me. Has anyone simultaneously read and listened? I've heard this is amazing for retention but have never felt compelled to try it myself.
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Luckily, i have never had this problem. if I read it and love it, it's with me always. About the only books that get put away to be buried beneath layers of dust in my mind are the ones that bored me to tears or were otherwise unfinishable. I only remember them after some reminding. or if they were that terrible that it was traumatic for me.
I do this with some books-have no recollection of the story. I also tend to forget or confuse books in a series, such as Clive Cussler and Anne Perry. Does anyone know of a website that summarizes the entire book so I could jog my memory?
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The article is interesting. What I find is that I have difficulty conjuring up details on my own but if I am discussing the book with someone else who has read it many aspects of the book come back to me and I remember a tremendous amount of detail. I also find that I remember books from my youth a bit more than the ones I read now but I think I can attribute that to the fact that I read many of them several times which tends not to happen so much now. I find this also to be true with movies. I can remember many that I have seen many times verbatim but only bits and details from more recent movies..
Yes, I too need something/someone to stir up the memory of certain books, plots, etc. And glad to hear I'm not alone! I also have this built in resistance to re-reading. ("But there are so many books out there to read, I can't possibly spend time re-reading . .") A very few exceptions, natch.
I write down all the titles I read in a small notebook. Sometimes when I browse through it, I have no clue what some of the titles are. If I then look them up and read something about the book it comes back to me.
It happens to me at times as well. Especially when I'm reading a series and I leave large spaces between entries. I love John Connolly's Parker series, I just started reading the 9th entry and finished the 8th entry probably 6 months ago. I forgot a few things and was confused when they came up in the new novel.Frustrating!
I love this website: www.fantasticfiction.co.uk. You can look up any author and get a list of all their books, series are listed in order.
Jana wrote: "I love this website: www.fantasticfiction.co.uk. You can look up any author and get a list of all their books, series are listed in order."Thanks for posting this website. Michael or Ann had mentioned it on a podcast, I was driving and could never remember it!
I also love fantasticfiction.com. I have it bookmarked on my iPhone so I can find the next book in a series when I am shopping! Thanks to a suggestion from BOTNS, I just found fictfact.com. Wow, I love it already. So easy to use. I was able to go under most popular series and check the ones I read. now they all show up in my list!
I am so glad that I am not the only one. I have read several books that I loved and was so sad for it to end and now thinking back I can only remember bits and pieces of it. I can recall how I felt reading it and something about it moved me but if someone asked me to tell them about it - FORGET IT! All I can say is I loved it and I recommend it.
i am not good about remembering the details of what i've read, but i typically can get the title in my brain.i often have to look at the description of the book to finish a review as i don't remember names or the setting.
i read The Hours when it first was released. when the movie was made, i thought, "that looks interesting." so i picked up the book again, only to discover it all seemed so familiar! i told my husband, "i think i've read this, but i am going to finish to make sure it ends the way i remember!"
i then begin to keep a journal of books i read until i discovered goodreads.
I wonder if this happens more to 'bookies', those who read lots and lots of books, or to everyone. I think the more onevreads, the more confused you get about individual stories.
I am a very fast reader - always have been. AND I frequently don't remember details from books I've read. Sometimes I don't even remember reading something at all. My husband gives me grief, saying that I'm not really reading them thoroughly if I can't remember. He is a much slower reader and seems to retain more. The way I look at it - what does it really matter? If I get enjoyment while I'm reading the book, that's really all that matters to me.
I noticed this morning that this site was on my bookmarks. Curious, I clicked it. Apparently, there are a lot of books that I'm supposed to have read. When did that happen?
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/bo...