I have been wanting to read more because of the benefits like better focus, imagination etc. But I find it hard to both read the words and imagine it in my head at the same time so does an audiobook give the same benefits? If I lay down and listen to audiobooks, will I get better focus and a clearer imagination like I would if I was to read normally?

This subreddit needs an overdone topics list so badly.

And my axe

The World According to Garp

Agree to disagree. If you see something online or hear about it via a text message do you say "I heard" because then you're wrong by your metric.

There is obviously nothing wrong with just sticking to a single genre, but it does depend on what you want out of reading.

Personally, I read quite a lot. We're talking 200+ books a year, so forcing myself to sit through a genre I'm not that excited for isn't "that big of a deal". But if you're only reading 20 books a year, suffering through a single book doesn't seem worth it to me.

I mainly read fantasy and sci-fi, and the r/fantasy subreddit does a yearly book bingo. I joined them two bingos ago, and since the goal of the bingo is to widen your taste, and try out new genres or niches, or themes, or specific authors, it was a very nice stepping stone to trying out new things.

But yes, we're on the third year of experimenting with different genres and I've learned a lot and it has been an enjoyable journey. But it is definitely challenging, and a little bit of a money waster because I keep buying books (tho often on sales) and then dropping them because I have NO interest in reading them.

That is important, drop books that don't fit you. But if you're on the "ehh" or the "meh" or the "whatever" stage, try to push through. Because a single book in a specific genre doesn't mean the entire genre isn't for you.

Enjoy! :)

I've actually seen Junji Ito art marketed as coloring books before.

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Currently reading MC. Dense and frustratingly obtuse in places. References to 150 pages previous (like how would I remember that?). Nearly done. Not sure I wanna pick up another Rushdie. Question; Just gotta kindle. How can u do research on it? Currently reading Over the Edge of the World on it. Need my iPhone at the ready to search for people places and pictures. Can I do that in Kindle?

Oooo, I do indeed like horror. Definitely on the list now. Thanks!

For me, I tend to rate out of 5 stars since that is what Goodreads uses and that is where I am most likely to rate books.

My personal rating breakdown:

5 stars: excellent or top tier in its genre

4 stars: good or very good

3 stars: either consistently mediocre or else a mix of great highs and terrible lows balancing out to a middle of the pack eating.

2 stars: a disappointment and frustrating read

1 Star: so bad I have never used this rating. Probably more likely to DNF than finish since this would be a book I find nothing redeemable in.

Exactly

If you like horror, it's a must read. It's probably the most famous haunted house book there is.

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I'll have to check that out!

I really enjoyed The Haunting of Hill House. It always made me question if there were actual ghosts or if the people just went insane.

Also lust is very strong in the beginning of relationships. You begin to see more of people as that fades and sometimes it’s unsettling.

No worries. I think you'd actually find more value from just finding a few people that have similar tastes to your own and then using their "I hated it", "It was OK," or "I loved it" standard. Everything's subjective so one man's treasure is another man's trash.

I suppose, I am not the only one, who'd rather not spend time, trying to decide how to decide whether this good book is better than that other good book and if do, how much.

I have ranked light novels a 5. Let's admit the writing isn't great. There are 5star books, that are much better written. But if I return to those simple books again and again, they deserve a five as much as this well written book with great prose and depth of character, that I may reread in a year. If my backlog allows.

In the end rankings on amazon or goodread are personal opinions.

P.s. I was referring to "Restaurant to another World " and "The Hands of the Emperor ". Both 5s. One for the sheer joy and comfort the books bring, the other for it's beauty, scope and hidden depth.

I recently read Rebecca and was surprised how easy it was to read! The prose is not what I would expect from the 1930s. Reads more modern.

It could just be the translation. Terza rima is notoriously difficult to translate into English, which is why blank verse is often the way to go. I really like Allen Mandelbaum’s translation for this reason: extremely readable, with ample footnotes and a great introduction.

The Everyman’s Library edition includes Botticelli’s’ sketches throughout, which is great for visualising the various scenes and set pieces. That’s the edition I choose whenever I want to reread it.

Gustave Dore’s illustrations and engravings of the Divine Comedy are equally legendary, and i’d also recommend having those handy as you read the poem - it makes for an amazing experience.

Makes a lot of sense. I was asking on a personal level because bi personally don't look at reviews and ratings. I like to only read recommendations and go in not books blindly (aside from authors I already enjoy). I feel like if I read 5 books .5 will make a huge difference if they were all meh but some were better than others so you're meh.5

Just my opinion on my own rating.

I approve of this validation!

Most of the rating systems don't allow anything other than whole numbers. You only get the .25 or .5 because of the averages. These are really meaningless. People don't really differentiate that way. With ratings people are just looking for the am I going to hate it, think it's OK, or love it shortcut.

To make it easier for you, think about it this way...What's the difference to you when you see a 4 or a 4.5? It's likely not a significant impact on your decision making. However, if 10,000 reviews said it's a 4.5 verses 10 reviews say it's a 4.5 you're probably more likely to give it a shot. The different isn't the score itself but the weight of the number of reviews at that score. To get there you could have a large number of 5s along with a large number of 3s or a large number of 4s. It doesn't really matter. The only thing that matters is the aggregate.