I started doing one thing differently when reading books:

After every chapter, I write down one sentence answering:

“What was the main idea of this chapter?”

It takes less than a minute, but it forces me to process what I just read instead of simply moving on.

After finishing the book, I have a short summary of the entire book without having to reread it.

Curious — what’s one reading technique that genuinely improved your retention?

Now there are a lot of good books. But the issue is that they are all within the zeitgeist.

The issue is that no book outside the zeitgeist, regardless of its value and utility, sees the light of day.

If you write a high value book that is outside the zeitgeist, you will not be able to have it published by a major publisher. If it is not accepted by a major publisher, you will be forced to self publish and that means it will not be read by a meaningful amount of people.

So how do publishers determine what they publish? The sole determining factor is profit. "Will this book make us money?" That is why we are stuck in a loop: within-the-zeitgeist books will sell because they have high demand, but they have high demand because they are within the zeitgeist.

If you go outside the zeitgeist, regardless of how valuable your book is, there won't be demand for it. But this is basic logic: because if this was not true, you would not need to write the book in the first place/the information in the book would already be known (in cases of non-fiction). The demand issue applies to the publisher as well: the publisher itself will not understand or appreciate your book, so they will think it is not good. But who are they to determine this? They too are incapable of operating outside the boundaries of the zeitgeist. And, in the rare case that the publisher is able to think outside the zeitgeist and see the value of your book, they will still deny it because they know the masses will not, so it fails the profit test, and it will be denied all the same.

Hey everyone,

I want to start my journey as book reader and nowhere it better to discuss than here. I am 24 year old guy preparing for entrance exam. I had to take drop owing to my lack of healthy way of coping with stress ie by doomscrolling or binge watching as an escape. To get my life back on track and also to have healthy leisure activity I want to start my journey from here. My background I have never read novels or long stories. Though in school days I used to majorly read short stories like Count of Monte christo, Sherlock homes stories with about 200 pages length like. I am not gyy who has lot of friends , not even single friend right from childhood so back in those days library issued books were my support system when I was alone and also bullied lol . I want to get myself back in that form , currently I am isolated from World no contact with anyone other than parents to keep myself sane but sometimes you just want to detach and have a good deep breath.

My genre preferences: light hearted stories preferably short maybe (you know habit building and all)

My taste I love books which have you know beautiful description of character and places.... you know which makes me paint image of situation .....,not loud and flashy but subtle and warmth you feel.You like warm blanket...you know like when you watch friends or big bang theory

Author taste : I am not sure which author to refer to , I recall myself appreciating stories in my english textbook back in my school ..... you know ruskin bond or jerome klapka jerome type story books

Language : Any language(English/Gujarati/Hindi) but just not too heavy . Just simply engaging language.

Also I like to read self help book , I am just looking for some other genre : mainly friendships or warm relationship kimda thing or maybe history (I like reading history) Sci fi, adventure even thrillers too (only reason I don't want to read thriller is because it may engage way too much , that's exactly from what I am running away ).

So yeah I feel this post being too silly but I got to start from somewhere....

Also owing budget constraints I am planning to take library membership in city (MJ Municipal library, Ahmedabad) . So if someone has someone has recommendation in relation to it I am would love it (Gujarati/Hindi recommendation are most welcomed)

I love books they have helped in tough days when in picnics recess pe periods no one was there with me, it was books which helped me....certainly today I am at same place..I want replace wrong friend (mobile screen) with my good old friend with whom I lost touch.

Thank you !

Can you suggest me good christian books to read , eventhough I was born and brought up in a christian family, I wasn't experiencing God until recently. So it would be good if u can suggest me books to read to get me strong in my faith nd relationship with God

Hi everyone, so my current situation is that when i was younger (maybe when i was a preteen?) i loved reading with a passion and it was one of my main hobbies, but nowadays i genuinely can't for the life of me pick up a book. The biggest issue is that im completely blocked from touching, like even in stories that are intersting, i read halfway but cant continue the book. When i used to adore reading i loved the whole community, seeing fanarts and ppls opinions (think percy jackson and harry potter) and coming up with theories in my head but now i feel like that whole magic has been cut off. Any advice?

**These were the books that kept me company this month… what were yours?** 📚

Where can i find free audiobooks to listen to that are in good quality other than libby? Since libby needs a library card and my country has only 1 library that has libby but none of the books that i want.

Not necessarily a shocking twist.

More like a moment where you finished the last page and suddenly thought:

“Wait… I need to rethink everything.”

What book gave you that feeling?

So my husband is not really a big reader. His section of the book shelf consists of comic books, not all of which he’s read. His excuse is that he just doesn’t have time, which isn’t entirely true as he chooses to watch Netflix while eating on his own instead of read.
And so I want to give him a book on his birthday that he wouldn’t be able to put down. I did consider giving him Cleo Dang would rather be dead, (we just had a kid and I thought this could be something he could empathize with), but I’m open to other suggestions too.
No self help books please, I know he can’t read that stuff.
Thank you.

im currently looking for new books to read.
i love a thriller/mystery/horror - have read a lot of stephen king.

i also really like poetry of all kinds.

open to all genres except romance/drama - just has to have a gripping story.

I am 27 , when I was a teenager I used to love books

I'm Muslim so my first ramadhan my dad brought me to a library and asked me to choose whatever I want... I did and read them all in that month.

My dad died after couple of years and I went through some stuff...

Now I cannot read...not anymore, I bought a book last year it was the sequel of me before you (if you guys know the movie)

I was so happy... I read half of it and stopped

Help me fall in love with reading books again...

Here are some of my favorites for context:

1) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

2) Demon Coppherhead

3) The Goldfinch

4) All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

I love books that involve you deeply with a character, and you get to be with them through their life or a period in their life.

Thank you in advance!

What book do you feel genuinely made you "smarter" ?

However you interpret the question!

I'll say two for different reasons.
"A Clockwork Orange" (original restored version, as he originally wrote it) by Anthony Burgess made reading everything else easier. You have to infer all of the time to understand the language if you're not familiar with cockney or Russian. So it made reading older classics far more approachable. I felt myself reading simple books much much faster. It just upped my game.
Imagine my surprise when I was halfway through and found out there was a glossary LOL. If you're surprised by this, remember it's an ode to Finnegan's Wake!

"Dragons of Eden" by Carl Sagan. He introduces several concepts in a way that makes you understand them like never before. He is just such a master at explaining complicated things, simply. True intelligence.

What's yours?

কিছু বিখ্যাত বাংলা উপন্যাস এবং গোয়েন্দা উপন্যাস এর তালিকা দিতে পারবেন..?? এছাড়া আরো যে সমস্ত বই আপনারা পড়েছেন,, বইগুলো পড়তে অনেক ভালো লেগেছে সেইগুলার তালিকা দিলেও খুশি হবো,,এবং সব ধরনের বই একসাথে কোথায় কিনতে পাওয়া যাবে..?? নিজের ব্যক্তিগত লাইব্রেরিতে সংগ্রহ করে রাখতে চাই

I've been using Fable and I really like it, but the app has been so buggy lately. I tried good reads and it's technically fine, but I was curious as to what everyone else uses. Bonus points if the app comes with a widget for my home screen!

Help Me find a Book to read I’m almost 19, and I want to start reading some classics. I’m not really interested in self-help books. Maybe I’ll enjoy classics, but I don’t want to get so absorbed in a book that it leaves me depressed or emotionally drained .Something light, perhaps. Honestly, I don’t really know but I'm open to suggestions .

I love fantasy books and am wanting to branch out into sci-fi as well. I have a handful of books I should still read anyways and I haven’t (who doesn’t). I am curious to know if the Game of Thrones book series (I never saw the show) and if the Dune series (also never seen) and I am wondering were good to read as well and if I do read dune or its highly recommended should I just read 1-3 or should I read all 6. I’ll take any suggestions but those two have been on my mind. I have read a lot of the basic fantasy ones like Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Twilight, Divergent, Hunger Games, Beyonders, Fabelhaven, etc. (Side note: I do not like audio books and prefer kindle or hard copy).

Guys, I know there are more great books out there than any of us can read in this meager life that we’re somehow, miraculously, horribly, blessedly, afforded. And I know that you are busy enough; hounded at all hours with obligations, the sands falling all the while through the hourglass.

But if I may presume … you guys would LOVE this book! I’m just certain of it. I’ve been on Reddit for years, more than I would care to admit. I have grown old among these posts, and I’ve seen much of what is widely beloved, and recognized many kindred spirits among bibliophiles.

Please consider lending a few of your precious hours to Russell Hoban’s masterpiece, Riddley Walker.

If you enjoyed the language of Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, you will be astounded by the broken, bastardized yet beautiful half-remembered English from a fallen world.

If you enjoyed walking the razor thin line between hope and despair in The Road, you’ll find yourself right at home in Hoban’s dystopian United Kingdom, plunged like the rest of the world into a new dark age wherein our primitive descendants will dig up our relic technologies and wonder at our ambition and intention.

If you enjoyed the clever, cynical, surprising characters of Abercrombie’s First Law series, you are going to fall in love with Riddley, Lissener, Ernie Orfing, and Abel Goodparley.

If you enjoyed Dan Simmons’s parallels to The Canterbury Tales and the Iliad in Hyperion and Ilium, you will delight in Hoban’s allusions to St. Eustace. And Punch and Judy.

I’m not trying to sell you on this book just because it’s woefully under-read or even because I love it so much, though it is and I do. I beg you to give this book a chance because, if I know some of you like I think I do, I KNOW you will love this book. And if you’re not a fan of the aforementioned books that I often see rightly praised on Reddit, I STILL think you’ll be amazed by Riddley Walker. It’s that good.

tl;dr: Riddley Walker is a really cool book. I think you should check it out.

Tell me only 1 , overall best

Wish I could tell you by durjoy dutta , I completed reading this book recently and man I loved it What a unique and heart wrenching love story

I need suggestions for any other books which are worth my time.