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Sometimes, if I post on Twitter about a book I read and liked, I'll tag the author's account (if they have one). Once, the author replied back, a few times I've seen that they "liked" the Tweet. They get to see that someone liked their book, it's a bit of "word of mouth" for the work, and they're free to respond or not as they wish with no pressure.

With my personality, I just could never skip or skim. I have to know everything. Although I personally skim/skip over sex scenes…just not interested in that….I guess I’m a prude…? 🤷‍♀️ If the book is bad enough to where I would want to skip, I’d probably just not finish it.

I agree with you, and as a reader I sometimes make lists to keep track, especially if I'm not going to get through the book quickly.

As a writer, I really try for different names and for reminding the reader who someone is if that person (or dog or business) hasn't appeared in the story for a while.

I think humans have been telling stories since they developed speech. Story-telling was entertainment and teaching and holding onto history. So I think that telling stories are deeply engrained in us. Reading books is just an extension of that. It's fine if you don't like reading, but I do not think of it as wasted time. There is so much to learn from fiction and nonfiction alike. And so many books are just delightful. Or calming. Or inspiring - all good things.

I remember reading The Beans of Egypt Maine years ago and thinking: these people are never crawling out of the hole they've dug. I did not want to keep going. I did finish it, but after that one I only finish books like that if there is something else to keep me going, like really good and witty writing, or some particular character that I just have to see through to the end. Otherwise, it's not for me.

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Not-so-famous authors mostly love hearing from readers. It helps us understand what readers who like our books respond it. My website has a contact form on it - this is pretty common. Sometimes there is an email address in the author bio in the book itself. You can also see if they have a Facebook or LinkedIn page through which you can DM them. If you can't find anything, they've probably had too many requests for blurbs etc.

It took me about 20 years to finish Proust, and it did change my life. For the better. Some thoughts:

- Despite what others here have said, it's not "a series." It's one book, with many volumes.

- He didn't write it because he was bed ridden and "had a lot of free time on his hands."

- Alain de Botton's book (to paraphrase some comments here about Proust) "goes downhill" after the title page. It's shallow and condescending, imho, and a much better read is the recent book by Christopher Prendergast called (I think) Living and Dying with Marcel Proust. But it has "spoilers."

- About spoilers. I think the two main things that make Proust most worthy and possible to finish (other than the writing itself, which can be tough to navigate at times) are:

1. It's not about the plot. "What happens" almost doesn't really matter at all, because it's a novel of ideas and concepts, and things "happen" to serve a single purpose: to convey the author's observations about these ideas. Not to tell a conventional story with a 3-act structure or something normal.

2. Foremost among these ideas of Proust is that there are two kinds of memories: voluntary memories, where we try to recall something, intentionally; and involuntary memories, where something from the past comes flooding back to you unexpectedly, triggered by some stimulus (that's the madeleine thing in Swann's Way).

- There is a comment in this thread about how the last volumes must have been rushed because he was ill, so they don't hold together as well. He actually wrote most of the last volumes FIRST, and then went back and wrote Swann's Way in full and published it, before continuing, jumping around to fill in the gaps in the other volumes (but the whole thing was not quite fully "done" when he died, and much of it was put together by his editors from his notebooks and typescripts).

- If you want some amazing descriptions of how he lived and worked, read M. Proust by Celeste Albaret, his longtime house maid.

Finally, someone said below that volumes 5 and 6 were a "slog" because of "too much obsessing about Albertine." This is really interesting, because on one level, the entire 3,000 page, 2,000 character, seven volume book is a rumination on the causes and results of exactly that obsessing. That's kind of the whole point, I think.

Anyway, take your time, and remember one last thing: Every single thing in the book, every detail, every painfully extensive description of the color of the leaves on a hawthorn tree at a certain time of day, is there for a reason. There is not one wasted word. Not one. It's one of the great artistic accomplishments of all time.

Yeah, I think most of those who like Jane Eyre would also enjoy Villette.

I think you would have gotten a different response if you had said that skimming is an option that you enjoy, instead of outright stating that skipping and skimming is one of the most important skills you need to be a reader. I don't care if you skim stuff, but I don't unless it's a reread and I don't remotely agree that everyone needs to learn to skip over parts of books. I don't think most readers are skipping sections of books. Everyone can read in their own way so there's nothing wrong with skimming - but there's nothing wrong with not skipping anything either.

I read them when I was in highschool, I'm 27 now. I've been rereading books I read back then and I'm putting these at the top of my list now because of this post. ^-^

Favorite book of all-time.

So the last line makes me feel like I'm welcome. I hate this book. Never picked up one I disliked more. That said, I'm glad you all love it and we can still be friends. Maybe one day we'll cross paths and you can explain this heap of babble to me. Cheers!

Also check yard sales and flea markets.

I agree to an extent but I also don’t. I don’t think language has simplified as much as it has changed. Yes, going back in time the English language was far more verbose. Literally. In Shakespeare’s time, they literally used more words than we do today.

Is that because generations today are “dumbing down” language, or because we’re getting more efficient with our strange hodgepodge of a language? Or a combination of both, it obviously doesn’t have to be a binary.

Also, one must consider that visual storytelling became far more sophisticated, and moved away from “telling” and focused on “showing”. A few hundred years ago people used to say “I’m going to hear a play” now they say they’re going to watch a play. Theatre used to be more about the written prose or verse, and the language was the focal point. In a post-checkov world, that just isn’t the case. And even more so with film. Film is far more about the emotions conveyed when NOT speaking than otherwise. Unless you’re specifically going for writers who focus on dialogue like a Sorkin.

Language and how we communicate is evolving. And I’m more akin to take the stance that it’s not good or bad, it’s just different. I certainly do agree that the state of education is not in a good spot in modern America, but I don’t think that’s the driving force behind why language has changed. That’s got more to do with societal influences, people of different ethnicities moving into the country and influencing the culture, technological advancements etc.

Will it mean some art forms will fade? Yes, it does, and that’s a bummer. But it’s a fact of life. People decried the death of the radio drama when film began to grow, but things change and some things become obsolete. Such is life.

That said, I still never found Tolkien’s dialogue particularly gripping. I prefer characters to have more nuance, play with more subtext, and be more naturalistic. Doesn’t mean my preferences are right, they’re just what I prefer.

I started reading indie authors. And have made some friends that way. I know Facebook and everyone’s hatred for it. But I started liking the authors pages and talking in the comment section. Then I became friends with them. Indie authors are down to earth from what I noticed and friendly.

Well you're allowed to, sure, but it seems weird.

In the same way that if someone was watching a film for the first time and decided to fast-forward through a dialogue-heavy scene because they don't like slow scenes it would be considered very strange.

Sure you can do that. But you're definitely getting an incomplete, and most would say lesser, version of the film. Each scene has been put there for a reason, and that reason might not become clear until later on.

I don't think it is good thing to only value the "best" bits of any piece of media, since that misses out on a huge amount of context that would enrich the experience as a whole.

But as I say, it's your life, do as you wish.

God no. More power to you if you do, but I honestly don't see the point. If the book is making me not want to read it then I'll read something else that holds my attention.

Did you think the main character Stoner was too passive? At times it drove me crazy, especially when it came to his daughter and wife. He had little small moments of triumph but man I wish he had more of a spine at times

Yeah, it's one of the best books I've ever read. This is one book that I saw hyped up on Reddit that actually turned out to be as good as everyone said it was. Williams' prose is straight forward, but undeniably beautiful. The last 20 pages or so absolutely gutted me. Great book!

This. Tolkien was a medieval literature professor. His academic work is much worse. I still remembering being in an advanced level English course and no one wanted to admit how tough his academic work was to get through.

I enjoyed his fiction because it reminded me of works like The Fairie Queen and Beowulf. If that era of writing isn't familiar or enjoyable to you, don't force it. Or try reading those works separately, then return to him later.

yep.

Seems like everybody on here holds that book in equally high regards so I'm really excited to read it

I've chatted with some of my favorite authors on twitter, surprisingly. It's a nice noninvasive way to say hi and comment on when they talk about a book they wrote/are writing.