Just avoid his heavily French ones

I second anything by Robert Louis Stevenson (especially his short stories) and Trollope!!! Trollope is so much more readable than Dickens in my opinion

If you are in the US get the Libby app and use earphones. Earphones were essential for me. It’s my favorite way.

I agree! It definitely takes getting used to though!

In most contexts yes, it’s important to make the distinction. But not every single one - which is the point on how the meanings of words can expand slightly. This is what my frienddescribes themself as doing, not as some fantasy of physically walking, but because there’s a more general/cultural meaning to the ideas of walking or going on a walk that is still essentially true, and being pedantic about how literally they use the words can sometimes be, at best, pedantic and, at worse, demeaning.

Another example that may be more relatable: If I read a rumor on a text message and then casually relayed that I had “heard” about it to a friend - am I lying or using an acceptable general use of ‘heard’? In casual conversation “read” might imply a more formal source, unless I specify I read in a text exchange with an acquaintance. But these expanded meanings let natural spoken language have these shortcuts built in.

I second the Decameron. I was tempted to put Canterbury Tales in translation on my list. You wouldn’t think how amazingly entertaining medieval stories can be!

Vanity Fair The Charterhouse of Parma Madame Bovary

Just donate it to goodwill. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. You may not like it but clearly some publisher/editor thought it print worthy and perhaps others feel the same? Or just throw it out but do you think promoting his name and title in Bold on social media is the right way to go if you really wanted to get rid of it? Sounds more like virtue signaling to me.

Yes. Why would anyone do that? Is it who you thought it would be?

Give it to charity book shops or goodwill (dunno if they have those in your country) or sell it on ebay that way the person who gets it will be doing so deliberately.

Seriously, just because you find it offensive doesn't mean it has no redeemable qualities it's not like it's a nazi propaganda, and I mention that deliberately since destroying books because of their contents was big with that crowd. There's actually quite a lot of books such as this which explore transgressive themes usually deliberately and often with reason. Would you destroy a dvd of the exorcist, a copy of Grand theft auto, or the painting Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan?

I've not read this and it seems like it's just be trashy horror but I don't think you should destroy it simply because you found it vile when someone else might have a stronger stomach and get something out of it. The blurb on the back indicates pretty well what the book is about and it's clearly not puppies and unicorns so anyone who picks it up should be aware of what they are getting into. Art is subjective and even trashy horror deserves some respect and has millions of fans who would probably like to have this.

Compost?

You do not say where you are from and censorship comment does not reslly narrow it down a lot, but have you thought about reading in your native language? English is obviously the language for genre work right now, but there must be a lot of literature in your language that could interest you.

r/bookclub is reading this in the first half of February! I'm hoping to join in and finally read it.

Thank you for mentioning the book. I will read it.

You have presented one side, so here are some thoughts. I appreciate the risk of norovirus and COVID is real, but sexually transmitted infections? How is it unique to cruise ships if people choose not to use condoms? Sexually transmitted diseases are also widespread on land. Some people treat cruises like Spring break, but every year, resorts on land are also full of people partying and finding people to have sex with. I have read that retirement communities also have rampant stis.

We took two elderly relatives on a cruise to Alaska and had a really nice time. They especially enjoyed the live music. The comfort of the ship made travel a reasonable choice for them. Cruise ships give disabled people access to glaciers and fjords.

There is a lot of bad industry practice in this world. I am glad there is a book calling out the cruise ships for their labor practices. Putting pressure on them to do better is a cause I that I fully support. Having said that, am I exploiting labor any less if I fly to Puerto Vallarta and stay in an all inclusive resort? Most if not all of the staff are from countries where people also see migrating to Quatar as a rational job seeking decision.

I have seen gatekeeping threads on the travel subreddits where people seem to look down on many forms of popular travel because they are not the ideal travel experience. Personally I am in favor of access to travel for the middle class, even if it doesn't exactly match my tastes and preferences.

I will have to read the book. Muckrakers have done great work historically from Uncle Tom's Cabin and Black Beauty and Upton Sinclair's the Jungle through Ralph Nader's work and Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and a Civil Action and Erin Brockavich, up to now with Empire of Pain about the Sacklers and many more.

Burn it.

I think that is the definition of a classic - a book with great writing that is still relevant and resonates today.

For books you find vile, trashing them is the way to go. I am very protective of books in general, but I found two hardbacks full of right-wing hatred in the house I bought. They went straight into the dumpster.

I used to work in a bookshop and honestly I'd just bin it. It does feel weird but sometimes it's just gotta be done.

Gotta actually say I disagree with number 9. You have to respect people around you, and reading outloud within hearing of others is rude and weird.

The Thin Man is one of my favorites. Nick and Nora are hilarious.

Just finished it a few weeks ago. It is also one of my favorite books.

I really like the art on some of the hardbacks of Dan Brown books. Especially Inferno.

I think anything by Jane Austen remains remarkably readable today.

This is embarrassing

The right to look for the plot of the book before / while reading because you still don't understand what's going on.