I always feel like rape is the first/most common answer to these things. And it’s such a complicated topic.

First and foremost of course, all readers should take care of themselves and no one should feel pressured to read something they think will be bad for them, or to read on in something that is bad for them.

Second, I think it’s precisely because rape is so common that depicting it in fiction is so important. Many sexual assault survivors, as well as loved ones of survivors and just people preoccupied with fears of rape, find these books incredibly important for healing, connection, and understanding.

Third, obviously none of those goals can be met if the author isn’t approaching the material respectfully, with the understanding that an appreciable portion of their audience will have been sexually assaulted themselves. I’m fortunate enough that I haven’t, and I don’t mind depictions as long as they’re done well, but I draw the line at writing that seems to excuse or glorify rape or use it as cheap titillation—at this point I’ll tend to avoid male authors depicting male-on-female rape altogether. It’s not that it can’t be done well, I’m sure, but I also don’t think I’ve seen it. With female authors I rarely see those problems.

But I’ll still generally put down a book on sample if it begins with the rape—there’s a sense in which, not yet knowing or caring about the character in question, it automatically feels like these scenes are there for cheap shock/titillation.

Winds of Winter. I don't even know why I still have hope.

Yeah the way some people treat Lee is rough, and there's also a side character just straight-up called the n-word. Like that's literally the name everybody calls her by. D:

tbh i can relate

Others should benefit from my disappointment.

Ah! Thank u so much! I see it.

This is all very subjective, at least for me. It's kinda like asking me if I prefer wall art to have a landscape or portrait orientation.

I used to really dislike mass market paperbacks, but certain books seem to really work with that format. That dislike probably came from seeing so mass markets with terrible covers while growing up. If I really enjoy a book or it's something I'm almost certain to enjoy, I prefer to get the hardcover assuming it has the same cover as the paperback. For my favorite books, I have multiple editions and I typically get the newer ones first, then seek out the original covers later just to have them.

I took a long time to get to the last twenty pages or so of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I had seen the TV series already, I thought the ending would be different & dragged it out.

I took my time starting Romola, I read all the other George Eliot and saved it for last.

Yeah one of my professors had our class do an exercise on how we think presentations should be graded. He preferred a 5-level system because it gets harder to objectively define the difference between two adjacent levels when the increments are finer.

Which made sense, he wanted to be fair and objective. I think when you get into the “finer shades” as you say, one tends to rate based on comparison to other books too much. Like “A and B were both great, but I liked A just a teensy bit better, so I’ll rate them 9 and 8.5” Which is fine and all for your personal book ratings if that’s what you prefer. Not so great for students when you give one 90 and another 85 but can’t explain where the difference comes from.

If you’re still interested in something like that, you might try Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller.

Thanks for shaving some time off of my life clock, that's the only reason I clicked on it LOL.

Ha yeah I hate scatological descriptions in books as well! I don’t know why but there’s something about anything involving bodily fluids where it’s so much more gross when it gets put into words. Like sure, I have bodily functions too but I definitely don’t want to read about them in books regardless.

Yes! Finished Sam Lipsyte’s book No One Left to Come Looking For You. Only 200pp so I portioned it out so I could make it last a while

I’ve definitely read while walking on the treadmill, pacing in the house and walking outside. Really not that difficult as long as you’re able to multitask okay. I wouldn’t be too worried about reading while walking outside as long as you aren’t in an area with lots of cars or crime etc.—on a walking path or a quiet residential area it’s just fine! I’ve seen other folks do it too.

Winds of Winter, for the boring answer.

This has a lot to do with how books are printed and bound - it's typically cheaper and more efficient to print the photo sections (which often use a different paper stock than the rest of the book) and then bundle and bind those in the center of the whole book. So it's less a question of editing and more a necessary evil to minimize production costs and maximize profits on the sale price.

HA! I have read the Master and Commander series twice. That is, all except for the last book.

I pace and read as my natural reading habit - just maybe 10 steps or so one way and then amble back the other way for as long as I read. It's not a concerted effort thing, just casual walking. To answer your q: it's helpful. Also can't sit and read

As far as the treadmill, though, one time in highschool dropped a textbook and actually reached down between my feet to grab it (because dumb) and did a full-ass somersault off the back of the treadmill in the middle of a gym - so as long as you supress the urge to grab a book you might drop, think you should be fine. Haha

Pedophilia, incest, and bestiality. It makes me sick and hurts my heart. Cannibalism grosses me out, but I don’t actively avoid it. I also can’t read anything involving possession. I won’t sleep for days! 😱

Thank you!

Same - I give stars on Goodreads because it helps me remember (especially if someone asks for a rec) what I really loved and what was fair-to-middling. But I read for fun, not as a literary critic, and I don't need an incredibly specific rating system.

I'm taking my time with Anna karenina because I know I won't find something as good for a long while after

Thank you for telling me about that letter. It still leaves me with the basic question: Why publish the letters at all? I understand that if you're as famous as TS Eliot, you assume that every little thing you ever wrote will be fascinating to biographers and literary scholars, and I suppose he's right, but it just strikes me that at some point this becomes more egotistical and less useful to historians. Oh, I'm just being cranky!

Almost completely agree with your breakdown. But I give 1 star ratings occasionally, to books that are so bad I'm honestly insulted by them.

>! The Shards !<