I very much like the idea of reading it aloud and in a group.

I will never find such a group, however.

I supposed 'intentional spin' would fall under the category of 'poor journalism', so fair point.

> It's like listening to a radio in the mountains with bad reception and constantly changing the channels, you get bits and pieces here and there, a word or phrase here and there...

Love this summary! And if this sounds like tons of fun (it does) then it is worth it and if not, pass for now.

I was reading Desperation in my room at night when I was a teenager and it actually jump scared me. Like, I almost screamed. King is the King for a reason.

I've always suspected that people who 'enjoy' or 'get' Finnigan's Wake are exactly the type of people the author wished to expose for being twats.

I could be wrong.

I get sent to downvote hell every time I mention that Ulysses sucks and James Joyce was a weenie.

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Try in in a thick Irish accent and it makes more sense.

His family once subjugated 1/4 of the whole world -- how dreamy!

This country's founding documents specifically mention them as examples of what not to do -- oh to live such a life...

Tbh it was a joke. And my god doesn't know him as I remember

Correct. I think that gives us a big clue to the whole "poor journalism / intentional spin" question.

Yes! This is such a good point. I struggled so much with books that had many exchanges in French - the writing really reflected the audience it was directed at. I’m referring to books I read when I was growing up, before the Internet was as robust as it is now. Back then I didn’t have the same resources to look things up.

The Duke of Sussex retains his royal status and his place in the order of precedence. Just four individuals have to die before Prince Harry would become His Majesty Henry the Ninth, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

Hmmm, do I take the advice of some random reddit person or the thousands that have read it and liked it? I'll take yours into consideration though.

A memoir from a generally idle offspring of a super old-money but irrelevant family, about how mean they are -- DROP EVERYTHING BREAKING NEWS

A quick "parody" cash-grab of same -- OMG MOAR PLEASE

Never read it but it sounds like a fever dream lol

It's been a pretty standard aspect of at least European lit since forever, long before the internet or electricity. Bits of Ancient Greek, lines in Latin, French/Italian/German, occasionally I see English in older French works too. In English or Russian works entire exchanges may be in French because through to the end of the nineteenth century the reader is assumed to understand it. Thing with French is, sometimes it is sufficient to make sense of Italian, Latin, so sometimes the writers may also be anticipating that, and of course with English writers, there's an extent to which native English speakers know French phrases anyway.

I think it's nice other languages are entering the mix more, the idea we'll all perhaps know more Arabic words and expressions.

I use the Kindle dictionary or Google it if I don't understand but haven't always found it to work, with Latin especially unless it's a well-known line you're a bit stuck unless you can piece it together yourself.

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If Dark Tower did that, then go read Hyperion. Holy shit.

But it's all about protecting kids, right?

Ted Chiang changed my conception of what Science Fiction could be. He's not a full time writer, and he's only written a handful of short stories.

Basically, he writes a short story every couple of years that wins every award a short sci-fi story can win. He has two collections, and you can find a lot of his stories on the internet for free. Absolutely worth your time.

I read Stephen King’s The Tommyknockers when I was in college. Actually, I should say I read most of it. It made me so paranoid that I was becoming agoraphobic, and I had to stop reading it.

Yeah gatekeepers are the worst. Like who cares about where you get your recommendations from, what matters is that you enjoy the material.

The metal music community has a ton of them too. Like the "name three songs from that band" or "that band isn't metal" kind. It's best to ignore those people.

I frequently look up products or procedures or historical events. Does this really exist? Is this really done this way? Did this really happen?

and that's fantastic! ALL READING IS READING! I think so many people get caught up on "kids these days don't read the things like I was reading back in the day" which they then translate as "kids aren't reading."

These are the same people who will lambast others getting their recs from sources like BookTok. Often sources like that are the first way a lot of teens/young adults find a gateway to what they enjoy and then branch off to find other things like it.