Yeah that's what I am asking that you read 100 words in a book but you can't remember all the words so how do I track those. I can start using 2 3 words but what about others.

Use the word.

The circus arrives without warning.

Maintain a calendar for the sequels to already successfull series and authors that are popular and their new releases.

Publisher's Weekly

Russian literature is overrated

The Murderbot Diaries. I have read the print versions of all of them (new one coming later this year - squee!) But I listen to the audiobook versions repeatedly - especially to unwind or while I am doing some simple but dull task.

Sci-Fi and Fantasy is my bread and butter, but sometimes I'll branch out into some mystery or thriller stuff if I need a break.

“The building was on fire, and it wasn’t my fault.”- honestly, this one sums up pretty much every book in the series.

I love spy novels. Allen Furst and Robert Ludlum are two favourites.

>>> Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely— having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.

Perfect preparation for the rest of the book. “Hi, I’m your narrator, let’s get into it. First up, I’m very wordy, melodramatic, and fundamentally unhinged. But most importantly, I love the ocean and think it can fix all my problems.”

> As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka

> It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath

> It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. 1984, George Orwell

> There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

> It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

> It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

> 124 was spiteful. Full of Baby's venom Beloved, Toni's Morrison

> Of Man's First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste Brought Death into the World, and all our woe. Paradise Lost, John Milton

> I stand at the window of this great house in the south of France as night falls, the night which is leading me to the most terrible morning of my life. Giovanni's Room, James Baldwin

There is far too much stuff on TikTok and the like for any human to usefully summarize. You want to get some sort of automation going. I've no idea what trend-spotting engines are available or imminent, but you can't expect to track all of what the "influencers" put out and still have a life.

God, what an effectively horrifying little paragraph. Imagine not knowing what Lolita is about and encountering that. “Light of my life, fire of my loins,” oh okay so he’s describing his girlfriend or wife, then the “four feet ten in one sock” starts to set off warning bells, and then “at school” hits and those bells are deafeningly loud, and then he reminds you he’s talking about this individual, this Lolita “in my arms…” and it’s ABORT ABORT OH NO.

I didn’t feel the need to read that book more than once but damn, he can write. That “one sock” detail is such tragically childish imagery.

I haven't read the text of your post due to spoilers, but this is on my TBR next month. It's been collecting dust on my shelf practically since the book was released. I can't wait to read it!

"Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know." (The Stranger)

I grew up spending many happy hours in the library and developed eclectic tastes based on explorations there. My favorites include historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, classics and realistic contemporary. I also read some nonfiction, both explorations of topics and memoirs/biography.

I'm not a huge fan of romance or horror but I will make exceptions for a very good book if someone recommends it.

Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2431?ref=anticipated23_eb

AS Byatt - Possession Julian May - The Pliocene Saga (and others) Terry Pratchett - you're kidding, right? :D Susan Cooper - The Dark is Rising Sequence, and its second novel, set in the rural Thames Valley in England. - read it at Christmas though, from the 20th December. Don't forget Alan Garner.

Bone Clocks is brilliant - should be better known. Have you read his other stuff - Black Swan Green, Number9 Dream, Cloud Atlas?

What else have you read that you might recommend?

And thanks. It was 17 years ago now.

Last books read:

Goldfinch

Crime and Punishment

Never Let Me Go

Gulag Archipelago

… I guess as of now, depressing books

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

From the Eye if the world, the first book of the wheel of time saga

It not only encapsulates the essence of the book but of all the 15 book saga

Hmm never heard of those authors! I might try them out given that I know very few people who know of/enjoy the bone clocks in real life :)

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, and I'm glad that you found a read that helps you cope/brings you comfort.

I want to try lord of the rings but it seems a bit daunting. I'm planning to first try the hobbit and see how it goes. I was wondering, are the books confusing/involve many characters to remember?

Otherway around is probably more informative. "I like all/most genres, but prefer x genres". Or mention the genres of what you're currently reading/have recently read.

I think book interests depend on the stage of life... If I am on holidays from university, I am more likely to pick non-fiction and only some fiction books. However, if I am back to studying then the chance of me reading non-fiction in my leisure time is less. I'd rather grab some fantasy series.

The interests vary so I could say that I read everything, just some genre way less often than another.