Recent comments in /f/books

Savvybel t1_j4hdb5n wrote

Reply to Under the Whispering Door by Klune, an after death exploration of what it means to live a good life by boxer_dogs_dance

I agree with your rating, I also gave it a 4 out of 5. Some of the plot points did not wrap up as satisfyingly as I would have liked, but TJ Klune has a knack for writing sweet characters and I was really rooting for them. And it was funny, too! The opening with Wallace had me laughing.

I didn't like it as much as The House in the Cerulean Sea, but it was still overall a good book!

5

Independent_donkey08 t1_j4h81l8 wrote

Reply to Reading more slowly in another language, is it normal or it is the book? by rodrigothomas_

Tl;dr: I guess it's normal to read a book in a foreign language a bit more slowly than usual, but personally I blame it on the book.

I can read a 500 pages book from cover to cover in, let's say, about 7h. This happens if the book is in my native language and it's overall simple, plain and entertaining. Obviously it takes me a little longer if I'm reading the said book in a foreign language because there's a higher chance to encounter words I need to check and idiomatic expressions I need to read twice to fully understand.

But if the 500 pages book is written in a more complex form, has deeper meanings I need to elaborate, its's about topics I don't really know and need to learn more about, and/or I'm not into it (sometimes it may happen just for a chapter or two, or it can be a book I want to read but I don't really like), obviously I need days or weeks to finish it, doesn't matter the language.

1

rakshablack t1_j4h60ud wrote

Reply to Reading more slowly in another language, is it normal or it is the book? by rodrigothomas_

No it's common it also happens with me when I am reading English or other language books or literature it takes time to understand the lines and content, context and true meaning and so on along with the reading of nonnative language itself takes time and sometimes it reduces overall impact of story/writing on me. But since my native language is what I grew up a reading, talking it's easy for reading and understanding so rate of reading is faster than that of non native language books

1

it_is_the_law t1_j4gvcgi wrote

Reply to Under the Whispering Door by Klune, an after death exploration of what it means to live a good life by boxer_dogs_dance

I read it at the end of last year, and I neither loved nor hated it. My main takeaway is that Klune seems like he's probably a pretty nice guy and therefore has no idea how problematic people think. (More specifically/spoilers) >!Wallace at the beginning of the book felt like he was relying more on lawyer tropes than anything. Statements about how he was great at reading people in the courtroom (and by extension outside of it) felt contrary to how oblivious he was shown to be in the opening scene, etc. More than a reception ark, it seemed to me that once we got far enough in the book the additude was "we're far enough in the book so he is redeemed now!"!< Not ideal, but that said I enjoyed the book way more once we got there because Klune's nice characters ARE really charming and likable.

I agree with you about the ending too. I was actually hoping that >!Hugo would die in a scooter accident, and that is how they could get their "happily" ever after.!<

4

putshan t1_j4gg89d wrote

Reply to That feeling of loss when you finish a great book by Not_l0st

Yes, I felt really lost for a while after finishing The Wheel of Time, it took me several years to get through it all as I don't get time for long reading sessions.

But I read it all on Kindle and would take it literally everywhere with me, I travelled all across Australia, Europe, Mauritius, Singapore, Hong Kong and New Zealand with that book in my pocket.

I read it on planes, buses, cars, trains, trams and taxis.

I read it at the pub waiting for mates, at sports stadiums during half time, at lunch time during work or in my bed until I dozed off to sleep.

Any free moment I had I would give to reading that series, so when I concluded the final book, I wasn't just finishing a chapter in a book, I was finishing a chapter in my life.

2

boxer_dogs_dance t1_j4geif7 wrote

Reply to Difficulty reading The Great Gatsby? by LucidWriter03

The ideals of what kind of writing is good writing shifted partway into the 20th century in favor of shorter, clearer sentences and paragraphs. I was taught that this was partly due to the influence of writers like Hemingway. You should have better luck with slightly more recent books.

8