How to read books?

I mostly read fiction, though I've been doing a little more non fiction than usual. The best was "The Gulag Archipelago" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. I also write, trying for one of those YA page turners @kropo82 is talking about. I'm almost finished with one called "Zugzwang," in the teen dystopian tradition that was all the rage and then fizzled out for some reason.

I've finished reading "The Tombs of Atuan" by Le Guin and "Dragonflight" by McCaffrey this year, Le Guin was much better I thought, and now I'm reading "The Once and Future King" by TH White and enjoying it. I have Roald Dahl, Richard Adams, Douglas Adams, and "The Last of the Mohicans" by Fennimore Cooper on my "To Be Read" list, as well as Shakespeare because I somehow managed to get through college lit without reading any of the Bard and that seems wrong.

I don't think there's much of a wrong way to read. Do what works

 

Which Shakespeare books? Hamlet and Macbeth are both incredible. Macbeth is by far my favorite. Shakespeare is so fun to read to because he pulls so hard on the language and stretches it in the weirdest contortions, as well as having great stories to do it through.

You could read it in a night, or a few nights if you really wanted to let some pieces soak in. I'd love to hear your feedback if you do read it.

 

It's a collection. R&J, Midsummer, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, and The Tempest

 

Hey! I wish I could read so many books too. Although a bookworm, I'm too busy with work right now...

 

if you can spare even 1-2h/day you should be easily able to read a book/week or more, if you truly don't have the time there is always podcast-multitasking, wouldn't recommend it.

 

I generally go with two books at a time.. but two should be of different genre... then only it makes sense to me. Else there is no such hard and fast rule.

1 You must read daily
2 make notes from the books into a diary after you complete the book. That way I revise the book and its important points/conversations.

 

I don't know where it went and I don't have time to find it, but in some book reading thread I promised I'd post the link to mine when it self published so here it is. I haven't read my Shakespeare yet.

Trying to get it available in paperback, if that's your speed. If you read it, write a review, thanks

https://www.amazon.com/Zugzwang-Strategy-J-D-Stone-ebook/dp/B09QMK9G5H/ref

 

I acquired a complete Shakespeare last year and hope to get stuck in after i finish my current book (complete Kafka).
I used to go to the theatre a lot (actor friend got me cheap tix), so ive seen most of the famous plays and a couple of obscure ones, as well as seen some films. But im looking forward to appreciating them as literature instead.

 

hey man how goes your book? i actually read it on the day you posted -the free sample- but i am not much of a reviewer, you should put it on goodreads there are way more book lovers there than amazons and their reviews tend to be better as well, i cannot remember the last time i read a book without reading the review on the site first. And you should also distribute some free copies as well to get some good ratings.

 

Oh, reviews.

The book is up in ebook and paperback now. I think it’s derivative, but I’m in a depressed cycle right now so it doesn’t matter what I think about it.

I put it on Goodreads but the system gave it to another J.D. Stone. I can’t figure it out right now, I’m on a work trip and don’t have the computer or the patience to figure it out. That’ll have to happen next week.

The ethics of reviews are complicated. Friends and family obviously aren’t allowed to review, because they are biased and their words impact their future relationship with the author. Even if I give a free book with the request for a review, I’ve influenced that review. If it even happens. Because here’s the reality; people don’t read stuff they don’t value.

It’s not the money that’s stopping people. The ebook costs less than a coffee, the paperback is a little more than a lunch. The real barrier is time. When my book was in beta I had eleven people say they’d read it. They were going to have a chance to contribute, but maybe that only excites me. I was going to write them in as a side character. They had an obligation, and I obviously gave them the book for free. Only two finished.
I can hand out my pdf to whoever wants to trust me with their email, and I can try to hand out hard copies of the book at $13 a pop with the verbal agreement they’ll review it when they finish, but when will that be? If I got the same as the beta reads and received one review for every five I gave away, that’s essentially buying reviews $65 a piece. Since I get a little less than a dollar per sale… I don’t know. Maybe one review does translate to more than 65 sales, who knows.

I think most people are intimidated by a review. We love having opinions, so something is stopping them. Admittedly, there’s skill in writing a good review. If you want help with that I could give some pointers, but you don’t have to be a top grade writer to help another reader make a decision. Just “Fun read” or “not what I was expecting” provides other readers with some data to work with.

I don’t know why this makes a difference to me. Honestly, if you aren’t hooked after reading Amazon’s free sample, it’s probably not for you and you don’t need to buy it.

 

Oh man I have tried The Trial twice and at the moment I sort of feel that the weird internet world of 'culture wars' etc it kind of Kafkaesque. 'Nothing you think you know is real', sort of thing. I'll steer clear for now and keep it light with...The Brothers Karamazov!

 

Very encouraging to see folk reading, especially as I was a somewhat voracious reader until I became an internet zombie.
For me, two books at a time is ok: one more factual/philosophical/practical (I'm doing 20 mins or so a day on Stoic stuff), and another of decent, proven literature (Dostoyevsky right now, although a little long-winded).
It does take a little discipline, but then there are periods of peace where you realise that you are (in a way) mingling with better minds as opposed to debasing and stupefying yourself.

 

My book is available now in ebook and paperback, and you can review it on Goodreads. Don't know why you'd read about depressing Russians and cockroaches and stuff when you could read anthropomorphic coyotes and singing in the shower instead. Do it you cowards.

 

I read around that many books last year too, but mine were mostly audio, so that's much easier to achieve. I can listen to them at work. But I'm in a but of a reading slump right now. Haven't really felt like listening to anything in a while.

It's nice to see someone else who reads fiction. Lol I feel like most of the time people talk about books here it's always non-fiction.

 

Fellow author here. *waves*

There's a group on Facebook called "I Need a Goodreads Librarian" that would be able to help you with that. Sometimes on goodreads you have to have a GR Librarian make changes for you, because you can't always change things yourself.

Good luck with your book!