Books and reading

gufnork · 11-04-2014 12:43PM

There's a girl on another site I visit that has set herself a challenge to read 365 books this year. She swears blind it's do-able, and is blogging about it. At the last blog post she was about 20 books behind I think(don't quote me...). She says her dad tested her once to see how much she's actually taking in and says she managed to tell him pretty much everything he asked about. I remember seeing something about Oscar Wilde once being able to take in an entire page in an instant simply by glancing at it for a second. Must be nice to have a photographic memory like that!

ThirdMan · 11-04-2014 01:26PM

gufnork wrote: »

I remember seeing something about Oscar Wilde once being able to take in an entire page in an instant simply by glancing at it for a second. Must be nice to have a photographic memory like that!

The current speed reading champion is Anne Jones. 4,700 words per minute with 67% comprehension. Phenomenal.

gufnork · 11-04-2014 01:34PM

Zed Bank wrote: »

I love books but being honest I would actually have to have a book made out of paper. I don't know why really, I suppose its the novelty of it. I can't deal with reading on a tablet, thats just me anyway.

It's nice to have a real book to read I must admit, but it's been forever since I've actually read that way. I've spent the last 4 years using my Sony PRS 505 pretty much exclusively and have only recently switched to using my Kindle Fire, again, pretty much exclusively. In an ideal world I'd still be reading via dead tree, but ebook readers are just too damned convenient for me to stop now.

Legs.Eleven · 11-04-2014 01:35PM

gufnork wrote: »

There's a girl on another site I visit that has set herself a challenge to read 365 books this year. She swears blind it's do-able, and is blogging about it. At the last blog post she was about 20 books behind I think(don't quote me...). She says her dad tested her once to see how much she's actually taking in and says she managed to tell him pretty much everything he asked about. I remember seeing something about Oscar Wilde once being able to take in an entire page in an instant simply by glancing at it for a second. Must be nice to have a photographic memory like that!

What a pointless exercise. I know another fella who's doing that and I don't see any point to it. Just read the books and enjoy them ffs.

RoboRat · 11-04-2014 01:37PM

although I bought Glamorama by brett easton ellis about 10years ago.

Ah man, I envy you, that book is ****ing immense. Bat**** crazy like all his stuff but I loved it!

gufnork · 11-04-2014 01:43PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

What a pointless exercise. I know another fella who's doing that and I don't see any point to it. Just read the books and enjoy them ffs.

Yes, I agree. For the last 2 years I've done the goodreads yearly challenge, 40 and 45 books respectively, and even then I felt like I was taking as much notice of the book count as anything else, so this year I'm not doing it at all, and I have to say I'm much happier for it. God only knows what pleasure can be had from reading a book a day for an entire year. Sounds like hell.

ivytwine · 11-04-2014 01:46PM

I'm replying to this thread because I want to keep up with all your recommendations.

I love reading and tbh I feel sorry for people who say they don't read. I can't imagine living life without all the wonderful characters and stories I've enjoyed throughout the years.

Like a lot of 'weird' kids, books got me through childhood and my teen years

ThirdMan · 11-04-2014 01:50PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

What a pointless exercise. I know another fella who's doing that and I don't see any point to it. Just read the books and enjoy them ffs.

Exactly. I set myself a similar task with films in January. Yeah, I was flying through them, but I wasn't taking them in properly. I quickly stopped it. Now I only watch two a week. A contemporary one on Friday nights, and a classic on Sunday afternoons. Much more enjoyable.

MRnotlob606 · 11-04-2014 01:52PM

Funny how in school i never read anything the teacher assigned, then I started buying books and became so enlightened by it all, Reading is a great cure for boredem

11-04-2014 01:53PM

Strangely, I know a guy on a journalism course who has never read a book in his life, and is very proud of that fact. How he got on that course is a mystery, why he's interested in words for a living is an even bigger mystery.

Micky Dolenz · 11-04-2014 01:54PM

I read all the time, in fact I am reading right now.

Ilyana 2.0 · 11-04-2014 01:58PM

When someone tells me they don't read, it reminds me of people who say they don't listen to music. Fair enough if it's not your thing, but I couldn't imagine living without reading or listening to music. I genuinely don't understand it.

11-04-2014 02:04PM

ThirdMan wrote: »

The current speed reading champion is Anne Jones. 4,700 words per minute with 67% comprehension. Phenomenal.

Jesus
I thought I was a quick reader

I haven't tried to actually "speed read" much though

Oranage2 · 11-04-2014 02:14PM

Never really read books until about 3 years ago, now I love them, with a really good book I could spend till I wake up to when I go to sleep reading one.

The only bad thing about reading books that are turned into a movie is that the movie never comes close to how good the book was.

AnonoBoy · 11-04-2014 03:06PM

D1stant wrote: »

All well and good unless the library is a mix of medieval torture, butchery, body decomposition and the like

True. Although Mister Waters doesn't say you have to f*ck them just because they have books. Merely that if they have none, definitely don't.

meoklmrk91 · 11-04-2014 03:29PM

I was an avid reader as a child, went through books like there was no tomorrow, no one else in my family was reader at all, wasn't encouraged, I just loved it and had a reading age of 17 at the age of 11! In my early teens I didn't read as much, the odd book here and there, I just didnt have the concentration level, got back into it in my mid to late teens and now I always have something on the go, I read on my ipad these days and fly though books, love browsing the kindle store to see what I am going to get next. I also don't understand people who don't read, it is such a brilliant pastime. I am of the opinion that a book is the best gift you can give, I always try to give books to the children in my life, pick something that they are interested in a buy a book about it, they love it!

RayM · 11-04-2014 03:34PM

Candie wrote: »

Strangely, I know a guy on a journalism course who has never read a book in his life, and is very proud of that fact. How he got on that course is a mystery, why he's interested in words for a living is an even bigger mystery.

I did a journalism course a few years ago, and there were one or two people who very obviously didn't read books, newspapers or magazines. They couldn't really write very well, and didn't seem to know anything about anything. Yet they somehow thought journalism would be a good idea.

Cabaal · 11-04-2014 03:34PM

That_Girl_ Is_ A_Cowboy wrote: »

Recently I watched the movie Philomena Lee and the movie almost had me in tears. I know it's based on a true story and a book - The Lost Child Of Philomena Lee.

The book is always better then the movie,

It has been the case for numerous movies including
- World War Z (the movie was awful but the book was fantastic)
- Congo
- Jurassic Park
- Jurassic Park The Lost World
- Any of Clive Cussler books that were made into movies, Sahara, Raise the Titantic etc

Really the only movie I've ever seen that is perfectly in-line with the book is 1984,

IvyTheTerrible · 11-04-2014 03:40PM

You're never bored if you've a book to read.

gufnork · 11-04-2014 04:44PM

Cabaal wrote: »

The book is always better then the movie...

You've obviously never read Jaws then. My God, if there was ever a movie that surpassed the book in almost every respect, it's that one.

IvyTheTerrible · 11-04-2014 05:17PM

gufnork wrote: »

You've obviously never read Jaws then. My God, if there was ever a movie that surpassed the book in almost every respect, it's that one.

The Godfather the book is not great either compared to the films.

kowloon · 11-04-2014 05:32PM

bluewolf wrote: »

Jesus
I thought I was a quick reader
I haven't tried to actually "speed read" much though

Speed reading turns entertainment into an exam. You don't enjoy it if you're rushing.

Censorsh!t · 11-04-2014 05:36PM

I love reading. I read around a book a week (depending on the size!). I've always found them a brilliant way of losing yourself, and also of gaining new vocabulary and expanding your imagination.

I also love books in general, I would never buy a kindle. I love the feel and smell and look of books.

11-04-2014 05:38PM

I haven't read a book in years, no interest in it at all. I read the paper and the internet though.

11-04-2014 05:39PM

Censorsh!t wrote: »

I would never buy a kindle.

Yeah I used to say that too

kowloon · 11-04-2014 05:48PM

bluewolf wrote: »

Yeah I used to say that too

I can't say I know anyone with one that regretted the purchase. The free books alone make it worth it.

Censorsh!t · 11-04-2014 05:51PM

I would buy a kindle if I were going abroad and couldn't bring books with me. Otherwise, I just prefer reading off paper, and I dont mind spending money on books (all use books so cheap anyway). I look forward to the day that I have a big library!

RayM · 11-04-2014 05:52PM

Censorsh!t wrote: »

I also love books in general, I would never buy a kindle. I love the feel and smell and look of books.

I said the same... until somebody bought me a Kindle. I still prefer the feel and smell of a proper book - and wandering around Chapters or Hodges Figgis for hours is much nicer than browsing Amazon's website, but the Kindle is just so handy. If I can't sleep and have nothing to read at 2am, all it takes is one click, problem solved. I no longer have to shoehorn a book into my coat pocket when I'm going out. With the Kindle, I can bring hundreds of them with me, thousands even. And if I forget it, there's always the app.

Daveysil15 · 11-04-2014 05:56PM

Cabaal wrote: »

The book is always better then the movie,

That almost always seems to be the case alright, but I can think of one exception and that's Angels & Demons. I thought the film was better than the book. It's interesting how most people prefer the book over the film though. I guess you're just using your imagination. It's always better in your mind.

gufnork · 11-04-2014 06:08PM

'The Last Starfighter'. Now that was a good book. Very atmospheric. The movie was good too, but the book was great.

Books and reading

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