r/books • u/AutoModerator • Jun 30 '26
WeeklyThread Simple Questions: June 30, 2026
Welcome readers,
Have you ever wanted to ask something but you didn't feel like it deserved its own post but it isn't covered by one of our other scheduled posts? Allow us to introduce you to our new Simple Questions thread! Twice a week, every Tuesday and Saturday, a new Simple Questions thread will be posted for you to ask anything you'd like. And please look for other questions in this thread that you could also answer! A reminder that this is not the thread to ask for book recommendations. All book recommendations should be asked in /r/suggestmeabook or our Weekly Recommendation Thread.
Thank you and enjoy!
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u/jdcambo Jul 08 '26
Ex libris/inscription/bookmark group
I have so many books with writing or weird bookmarks in them. I know that many people have asked others what they write and why, but is there a subreddit or space to show the inscriptions or personal findings in the books people own?
There is so much history, connection, feeling, and sometimes knowledge in these notes, and I always wonder if an old book of mine has ended up somewhere or if the book I now own was mistakenly donated or sold. Buying books for my kids has opened up a whole new world of what I might find, and I just can't help but wonder if Julie's Charlie Brown Dictionary that was a gift from mom and dad in 1978 would mean anything to her now. Or maybe even her parents because Julie was clever enough to write her own name beneath theirs. Some of my old textbooks have fantastic notes and ideas in the margins, with the student's name and major. I have found letters from the author tucked in early releases, banking info, bills, personal notes, brochures, newspaper clippings, whatever people had nearby that could be a bookmark. It is just this weird shared experience that adds to my love for books.
I have searched the common phrases I know that describe these inscriptions or items, but only see either individual threads or groups that showcase what people have made for their own collections.
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u/Gaol_Mo_Bheatha Jul 18 '26
"shared experience" ...."love for books". That is so wonderful and I think it's cool that you ask yourself questions about the person. LoL ~ if you ever found a book of mine, you'd end up with anywhere from $1 to $10.
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u/No_Difficulty4258 Jun 30 '26
Got an old paperback of Dune here and the glue's starting to let go in chunks, anyone know a fix that doesn't involve throwing it in the freezer every time i want to read
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u/DoglessDyslexic Jun 30 '26
Paperbacks don't last forever, my fix for that would be to buy a new copy.
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u/gonegonegoneaway211 Jul 01 '26
No, but I like the fact that you've thought of that (temporary) fix.
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u/mockdogmoon Jul 01 '26
Would this thread help at all? The top comment (Manilow) gives a fix, but I'd also recommend checking out ic349's comment a couple down.
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u/Apprehensive-Big890 Jul 03 '26
AI novels - I do not like the books which are either written entirely or just parts by AI. So far, at least Amazon, these books usually have a price you have to pay. Has anyone else noticed the AI books? What is your opinion? Just curious.
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u/abeloliveira_ Jul 05 '26
Por enquanto nunca li um livro inteiramente feito por ia, já tenho resistência pra livros com capas de ia...
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u/INTJ5577 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
I'm currently 71 years old and downsizing to a studio apartment in a 55-plus community. I own about 1200 books and have read a lot about the benefits of letting go of physical books as you get older. I have a meaningful connection to my books. The apartment I'm moving to is quite large for a studio. Since I live alone, I have no problem with a studio and have lived in many in different cities. I'm debating whether to keep all my books and their matching bookcases, which I thought of using as dividers in my studio. I love my books and how they look. Is it foolish to keep all my books at 71? In my new city, I'll be within walking distance of a large public library and a growing art museum. I try to convince myself that it's polite not to burden others with cleaning up after me when I'm gone. Removing these books feels like it would be a burden after unaliving, but maybe they could arrange for a book collector or a used bookstore to take them, and they can decide what to do with them. I don't think my books are worth much, and if I got a dollar per book, that would be $ 1,200- I'm not impressed. I've hired a moving company to handle my boxes and furniture so I won't have to do the heavy lifting myself. I'm still physically active and could move the books myself if needed. I wonder if I'm holding onto the past and resisting my next chapter. I'm a very stubborn INTJ and would appreciate a second opinion. Any thoughts?
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u/Legitimate-Law3625 Aug 06 '26
Keep them please … it’ll make your new place feel homely and library like and you probably have some real treasures amongst all those. Many books are so hard to come by these days and in the future you could palm them off to others who are interested.
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u/Regular-Newspaper-45 Jul 15 '26
Well I believe there is nothing wrong with keeping the books. If you are worried that they might be a burden after you are gone you could ask local places if they would be interested in the books and kind of write a will for them. This way whoever has to clean up later doesn't have to figure out themselves what to do with the books. Besides it sound like you got many years still ahead of you wich also means their is plenty of time to think about what to do with each book. You can instead of doing a painful parting with many books at once regularly chose a few to bring to specific places. This way it is more personal what happens with the books wich is at least for me, with my 23 years, always a more pleasant way. Or every time you see someone gift them a book. "My" grandma (My sister's husband's grandma but I don't have one so I adopted her) is giving me a book every time we see each other. Always saying it is her favorite book and that it reminded her of me, right followed by acting as if she already forgot about its existence lol Oh and you can upload them all on some reselling website. A ton of work and you won't get much out of it but this will reduce the number of books slowly and ensures that they get to people who will read them.
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u/SecretBox Socrates in Love Jul 15 '26
The mods here have, so far, removed two of my posts that meet all of the rules and none of them will respond to my modmail questions about why they're being removed. I'm just trying to talk about a book, what is going on?
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u/ylimenut 18d ago
What is actually acceptable content on this sub? I see stuff constantly being taken down
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u/Sosayweall- Aug 01 '26
I'm frustrated with this sub. I wanted to make a post about books I was reading and just gets removed. Reddit is really turning me off lately after 12 years on here.
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u/Apprehensive-Act3812 Sep 02 '26
I want to post book reviews and want to know where I should do it?
Earlier this year I started to get into buying real books and annotating them after spending a few years only reading on Kindle Unlimited. Mostly romance, but I've slowly been trying to venture out into more genres.
I also began to write out my thoughts and reviews in a journal I bought, and now I've been thinking of actually posting them somewhere. They're mostly just rants about specific scenes or character actions. Sometimes its sentences I thought were nicely written or vocabulary words I've never heard before. Page numbers included for any interesting plot point or even errors missed by editors.
At the very end I do a full review of what I thought about the book, accompanied by a rating.
Some might be long and of course some things might not be interesting to include, but I thought it would be fun to just post my thoughts.
So the question is do I post it here? Somewhere else? Does anyone read reviews like that?
Comments, concerns, thoughts?
Thanks.
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u/Otherwise-Memory-838 24d ago
Ever heard of Catalyst by Sarah Beth Durst Its not a really well known book even tho in my opinion is a very good book its so un known I couldn't even find a reddit post talking about the book i suggest reading it 10 out of 10
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u/Ordinary-Craft-4817 13d ago
I am getting into reading. I dont care much about the story (I got Manga and Anime for that). I care about the human emotions the author conveys with his writing. Now how do I chose which books to read? I go into a shop and look around. I have to decide between hundreds of book. All I have to base it on is the cover. I see so many books that I feel like dont have a thoughtful cover (just white with some blue or pink) or I just dont feel its vibe. My question is if I am overthinking covers or are authors not thinking enough about them? Also why are there so many books about birds but none about Bird Wizards (atleast I didnt see them in my local bookstore)
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u/foxthezombiehunter 6d ago
I’m looking for a Goodreads alternative that doesn’t use ai, and preferably isn’t owned by Amazon or another big company. all I care about is tracking the books I’ve read and how many
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u/rainyhidden 6d ago
My husband and I (software dev + data scientist) built an app called ShelfLife as a side project, we have a visual focus with user uploaded spines but it works great as a standard tracker! We have around 4,000 users right now and pretty positive reviews on apple and play. We are trying to lean in to more human interactions, so we have a book signal feature to ask for recs from other readers instead of an algorithm.
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u/wrb163 5d ago
Hey, you might wanna check out curateapp.io- it’s all about discovering books via real human taste (no ads, no algorithms, no AI). It’s independently run (by me- a real book nerd) and is free to use. You can also track tv and movies on there.
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u/WarNational5919 Jul 02 '26
At what age do you think someone can fully appreciate “No Longer Human” by Dazai Osamu? I tried reading it when I was around 13–14, and then again at 16, but I felt like a lot of it went over my head. I’m 18 now and wondering if it’s worth giving another shot.
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u/Over_Phase_6053 11d ago
I’m 19, and I read it last month. I definitely think you should give it another shot. There were parts that, even at my age, felt a little too adult-ish, but honestly, those same parts were some of the most beautiful because of his existentialist and absurdist writing style.
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u/Mountain_Donut7145 Jul 07 '26
Does anyone know how and if you can fix spine creases? I bought a couple books second hand without realising they were heavily creased. I'm okay with one or two but they are a bit much.
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u/yaboistevelmao Jul 08 '26
Which book for Mauritius?
Albert Camus - the rebel
Or
Dostoevsky- the brothers Karamazov
Both of them I want to read so badly, and I have read books from both authors already. I’m just not sure which book I want to be stuck with for 3 weeks in Mauritius.
For the rebel, I think it can be a mind blowing book which Mauritius will give me a lot of time to digest.
For the brothers, I know that I will get sucked into the world which can also be nice for leisurely reading.
Let me know what you think
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u/minecraft-snow-block Jul 08 '26
Does anyone know if Eureka by Shinji Aoyama exists in english. It is novelization of Shinji Aoyamas 2000 film of the same name. It won the Yukio Mishima Prize. I really love the film and I would love to read the book too if a translation exists
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u/ExplodingPoptarts Jul 08 '26
What's a fascinating, creative title for a story that really sticks with you?
My go-to answer for this is I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.
If you've never heard of it, I'd especially love to hear your thoughts on this title. Don't look it up before answering. When you hear this title, what do you think it's about? Why do you think it's called I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream?
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u/simonbleu Jul 11 '26
What is the religious equivalent to cyberpunk called?
Basically that, but instead of the dystopia being based on cyber-tech, it is based on religious folklore, like for example a caste of faith controlled by angels or those calling themselves that
Thanks in advance
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u/limonce Jul 16 '26
That’s a great question. I don’t have an answer other than that you might be interested in The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon
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u/anuslitt Jul 12 '26
Is it necessary to read the Iliad before the odyssey? Asking cause I’m gonna go see the movie in 10 days and i won’t have time to finish the odyssey if I have to read both. Not even sure if I’ll finish the odyssey in 10 days but who knows. Also is Emily Wilson’s translation the right one?
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u/Headempty-meow-4004 Jul 13 '26
too many books, too little money T_T!!
I've finished with big exams and i've been given few months to rest so i'm TRYING to read as many books as i could, but the problem is that my pocket is not trying... so is there any alternatives to read books without butterflies flying out of my wallet? even if it's digital or any other way... i've read a few books as PDFs so i don't mind any suggestions!
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u/Regular-Newspaper-45 Jul 15 '26
For PDF or other free online books you can always check out what copyrights ran out. Those books can often be naught in a store for a normal price but are also for free online. Depending where you live you might find some public bookshelves or booktrading places/websites where you might not find exactly what you are looking for but they sometimes have some hidden gems. Then keep an eye out for people that are obviously moving or emptying apartments/houses. Books are one of the things that are most likely to get thrown in the trash. If you know someone working for a moving company or mailman or similar ask them to keep an eye out, my dad is a postman and brought hundreds of free books home that people would have thrown away. And then last are community places that host something like garage sales or similar. Some sell second hand books that they get donated and often throw away everything that isn't in great condition anymore. Those often have many newer books and a general larger variety. If you explain your situation or if you offer to help for one after noon they often are happy to give those books a new home.
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u/ThenAdhesiveness1863 Jul 13 '26
Does anyone know why Complete Stories by Kurt Vonnegut omnibus, ommits few texts, like "Where I Live", and "New Dictionary"?
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u/Rulas- Jul 13 '26
So, Im an 18 yo and I started reading books for the first time in my life on january 1 this year. Ive currently read 14 books (frankenstein, darkly dreaming dexter, the count of montecristo, planet of the apes, alice in wonderland, the catcher in the rye, one no one and a hundred thousand, 1984, the picture of dorian gray, the great gatsby, animal farm, paradise lost, moby dick and the long walk, currently reading crime and punishment). I was thinking of making a ranking/review of every book I've read at the end of the year, would that interest someone here? Or would it be better to leave that to myself?
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u/Regular-Newspaper-45 Jul 15 '26
Well whilst I am not sure if that is welcomed here in general I always find it interesting to compare my own placing of books with that of others. Specially if reasons for the placing are provided. It is a much more detailed way to find out if someone else's book taste actually matches my own and sometimes I find good new recommendations that I would eventually have not picked up.
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u/EuroStepJam Jul 14 '26
Any way to tell if a book ordered online has deckle edges? I just received a book that has them and therefore will need to return it. Seems quite a few books have this "feature".
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u/adamh909 Jul 14 '26
Catch-22 - does it get better?
I am half way through this "classic". I have not DNF'd a book yet but I am getting there.
I understand the tools being used by the author. I understand the themes about authority and war. But the literary methods are to make me annoyed and frustrated, which is being done successfully. Is that the final goal? Because I don't want to read a book with the only goal being me not enjoying it. I'm just about half way and I hate it, but if I'm being set up for a pay off or some sort of closure I will power through.
I'm not a fast reader, so when I read a book it's a bit of a commitment, so I want to enjoy what I am reading. Opinions appreciated!
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u/kidpotter Jul 14 '26
I’m about five chapters into a book that hasn’t grabbed me yet, and it’s got me thinking about how I actually decide to quit versus push through.
I don’t really have solid criteria for this, I just kind of go by gut feeling. So I’m curious how other people think about it:
Do you have a page/chapter cutoff before you’ll DNF?
Is it more about a specific feeling (boredom, confusion, no connection to characters) than a number?
Have you ever pushed through a slow start and been glad you did? What made you stick with it?
Does the reason for quitting matter (writing quality vs. just not the right book for you right now)?
Trying to build a better gut check for my own reading. Curious what’s worked for others.
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u/Regular-Newspaper-45 Jul 15 '26
Well I am not really quitting any books. That said I do have criteria for when I am considering if I quit (wich usually means putting it aside to pick it up three years later).
So basically I do a mix of general feeling and the specific reasons. For me anything that is likely to change is a reason to continue reading. If it is still too much a drag I skip a couple pages ahead and read some paragraphs to get a feeling if it gets better or not. If there are things that bother me and that are less likely to change like the MC or how certain topics are handled or idk how everything about the description of something specific is wrong I eventually look up reviews. It risks even more spoilers than skipping through the pages but sometimes they reveal major changes about the thing I dislike. The reason for quitting is absolutly subjective. I personally don't quit books just because the writing is bad, I value much more If I enjoy following the MC and If the world and or story seams promising. But that is different for everyone. I generally try to figure out what I dislike about the exact book and sometimes I just need to read the book at a later point in my life.
I don't think I am a good example for pushing through books because I want to finish anything I touch. But If I am 50 pages into a book and it is about as exciting as the magazine's in a waiting room I know it isn't for me right now and it might be worth picking up something different. At last you can always revisit the book later.
If you are like me and read several books at once you could ofcourse also just switch to a different book everytime you even just thing about quitting it. I worked myself through some really annoying and uninteresting books, just took me several years.
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u/danzooki128 Jul 18 '26
I've been really bored for the past few days so i picked up a nokia brick from the depths of my house and i started going through it. There was this app called 'Internet' and after taking like 30 minutes to load i see a few 'bookmarks' if u may call them. These websites include Google, breaking news, sports and most importantly 'Daily Stories'. in daily stories i saw 100s of books from multiple different genres which u could read online for free. i saw a book on the trending section called 'The voice from another world' by lone wolf mackie. The truth is this book wasnt trending at all. i searched for this book EVERYWHERE on the internet but i couldnt find it. This is some chinese novel or something with main character Chen wenzhong from tianwu city. The reason i want to find this book isnt because its a really good one but its cus there is no way a book could just be 'lost'. also the breaking news and sports section are constantly updated with recent news and world cup news. I need to find this book and i would appreciate any help.
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u/adventurerofdarkness Jul 18 '26
What app do you use to track books you read? I am huge fan of tracking things i watch and read. I use Tv Time, Letterboxd etc for movies and shows, so i was wondering: Which app is the main app to track books in the community?
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u/rbdubya Jul 18 '26
I use Media Tracker (https://media-tracker.app/) for books alongside movies/TV/games/music - one login instead of juggling apps. Full disclosure, I'm the developer, so take the recommendation with that in mind. Has ratings/reviews, a "want to read/reading/read" flow, and you can import an existing Goodreads library so you're not starting from zero. Not sure it's "the" app in this community, but figured I'd throw it out as an option since you asked.
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u/adventurerofdarkness Jul 18 '26
I wanted to try Media Tracker! I am on the website but can’t find where to download the app? Also on the app store doesn’t pop up. :(
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u/rbdubya Jul 18 '26
Ah sorry, should've been clearer - there's no separate app store download. It's a PWA, so you install it straight from the website: open media-tracker.app on your phone's browser, then use your browser's "Add to Home Screen" option (Share button → Add to Home Screen on iOS Safari; menu → Install app / Add to Home screen on Android Chrome). Once added it opens full-screen with its own icon like a normal app, including push notifications. Just won't show up if you search the App Store/Play Store directly since that's not where it lives.
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u/Gems-of-the-sun Jul 18 '26
Goodreads is still the biggest one, but a lot of people are moving away from it to Storygraph because of amazon and the fact that storygraph has a lot of nice graphs
but, due to the dissatisfaction around goodreads, there are a LOT of up and coming book tracking apps and websites that aim to replace it but there isn't a clear winner yet. (If you're unaware of the history, goodreads was purchased by amazon a long time ago and then they basically abandoned it and the website haven't seen many improvements since.)
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u/adventurerofdarkness Jul 18 '26
Oh thank you!
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u/Gems-of-the-sun Jul 18 '26
One thing that may sway you, depending on what you read - you can no longer add books to the goodreads database. You used to be able to, but they removed the feature and you need to request it on the forum now.
Storygraph allows you to add whatever you want. So if you want to keep track of magazines, and webnovels and stuff that doesn't have a proper "book 1" then goodreads now looses out in this regard. There is no approval process, and they even have an "not a book" tickmark for fan fiction and such.
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u/Gems-of-the-sun Jul 18 '26
Did I miss the news of amazon removing the ability to preview ebooks on their store page? Or did this just happen?
I often use this feature for various reasons so I'm going to really miss it.
Does anyone have any other recommendations for websites that have this feature?
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u/tiredtumbleweed Jul 22 '26
I’m reading “All Fours”. Is the entirety of this book extramarital foreplay? If it is I think I’m going to step back
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u/Unusual-Fuel3001 Jul 23 '26
Good morning, I would like to buy Valeria Luiselli's new book, Beginning, middle, end.
In my country there are two paperback editions and two hardback editions available (US and UK editions). The paperback editions are priced the same (€ 22,99), while the US hardback edition is € 39,95 (9798217208319, $ 35 in the US AFAIK), and the UK hardback edition is € 27,95 (9780008804800, £ 18,99 in the UK).
I love beautiful editions and I would like to ask if the US edition is worth the premium? Or are the books roughly the same?
Thank you very much in advance!
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u/Ok_Influence1752 Jul 24 '26
Who are some good book repairers in England?
Bought Harry Potter collection Brand new off Amazon. The books damaged. Won’t even let me have them replaced and just give me a full refund and let me keep them. But I don’t want damaged books. The artwork has started peeling off, the pages are starting to separate from the spine, a lot of glue stains, and if I want to buy them again, I’m gonna have to pay more because I bought them during a massive book sale :(
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u/pleasewaitforthehost Jul 24 '26
the goldfinch
i dont know if there's already discourse about this but i tried looking and couldn't find any, donna uses the f slur in the book to describe how theo was insulted and i really cant find any artistic/storytelling reason as to why she'd just casually mention a slur. the book was published in 2013 sure but i feel like thats a reasonable time to understand the weight and meaning of words like this right? maybe im overthinking it but hopefully other perspectives will help?
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u/Daghain Jul 25 '26
I swear I have seen this multiple times but…I have a local library card but my Queens NY card is expiring and they are making it ridiculously difficult to renew. Any other suggestions? I would like a “big city” card as my library card, while part of a collective, still doesn’t have all the titles I’d like to read. Many thanks in advance and feel free to DM me if needed!
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u/moneyflyaway4752 Jul 28 '26
When you bring home used books (from the Little Free Library, book swap, used book store, etc.), do you “quarantine” those books first and if so, what is your method?
I put them all in an enclosed bin for about a week, then go through the pages to make sure there are no unwelcome surprises.
I would love some advice on how to make the process go faster!
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u/Gems-of-the-sun Jul 30 '26
I want to learn more about poetry. I really want to get into it, but it hasn't been going well so I'm considering if I simply don't "get it". With this, I really want to find some online course or educational book that focuses on famous poetry and poets, and at the same time talks about the meaning behind the poem.
Does anyone have any recommendations?
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u/Much_Elevator4837 Jul 30 '26
What is a good season to read Age of Innocence?
I haven’t read it yet so obviously no spoilers please but what is a good season to read Age of Innocence??
For example, I read Wuthering Heights last fall and I think that was the perfect timing to read it considering the vibe of the book. I really don’t know much about the book yet but I recently bought it and wondering when would be the most “vibey” time to read it
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u/CaffeineFiend_02 Jul 30 '26
Hi everyone! I've gotten into indie books and ARC reading this year, and as a passion project, started interviewing the authors who wrote them.
So far, I've been asking the same/similar questions each time to authors whose books I've finished. But I figured other readers might have other questions or a different direction that they'd want to go. I also don't necessarily want to finish a book in order to interview someone -- too many books in my TBR, so little time lol.
So, if you could interview an author, what would you want to know?
Here's what I've been asking so far:
- Where are you from?
- What genres do you like to write, and how would you describe your ideal reader/target audience?
- How would you describe yourself?
- What has your publishing journey been like, especially with your first novel “Insert Title”
- Who has been your support system on your writing journey?
- If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
- What are your essentials to have when writing?
- What’s your creative process like? (i.e., do you like to plan everything out before writing, have just a general outline to guide you, or start with a blank page and see where it takes you?)
- When you’re not writing, what are you up to?
- Do you have any favorite authors/books?
- What things have you been into lately? These can be book-related or not ☺️
- What do you love most about your upcoming release “Insert Title”?
- What’s something you hope readers take away from your writing?
- What’s one scene/subplot that you decided to cut out from the final draft?
- How can readers get in touch with you?
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u/pithyretort Jul 31 '26
I also don't necessarily want to finish a book in order to interview someone -- too many books in my TBR, so little time lol.
I like going to author talks and listening to interview podcasts including author interviews, and I can't imagine listening to one where the interviewer couldn't even be bothered to read one book by the author. Why go to the effort of doing an interview if you aren't interested enough in their work to read it?
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u/CaffeineFiend_02 Jul 31 '26
That's a good point! I think I worded this poorly. So far I've been finishing ARCs before asking the author to interview them. However, I'm finding that their answers are super interesting, and they give me a different perspective on their work that I wish I knew more about them *before* going into their book. It's like it enhances my reading experience, and I want other readers to feel just as excited to read their story after as I was.
For example, I read an ARC with Appalachian folklore. After interviewing the author, I found out she used to work environmental jobs and even got certified as a firefighter - all thinks that relate to her MCs in the book and I realized she sprinkled a bit of herself in her characters. It made me want to reread her book all over again now that I knew more info!
However, since I create interactive flipbooks and IG carousels from their interview, I'm realizing this project takes a long time to format + design (2-3 days since I work full-time). If I waited to send an author questions until after finishing their book, I wouldn't be able to keep up with its weekly posting schedule. Authors are understandably busy, so sometimes it takes a week or two just to hear back from them.
I hope this clears it up, and I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression in my first post!
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u/pithyretort Jul 31 '26
If you like the experience of knowing more about a book/author before reading it, seems more logical to me to just do a little research on the author before reading and have even more foundation for the questions you ask them after rather than watering down your own product with generic questions.
Personally half the fun is hearing what questions other people come up with, but for generic/evergreen questions, it's always interesting to hear what the best thing is they've read lately.
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u/CaffeineFiend_02 Jul 31 '26
Thanks, I appreciate your input! With a lot of these indie authors, there isn't much info about them online since they have a very small following. Hence why I wanted to ask questions that would get other readers excited to read their work!
Here's an example: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbWBwd2Du6B/?igsh=MXFuM2M1Yng5cHJnMQ==
I love that you included a question about what they've loved reading lately - all of the authors I've interviewed so far have mentioned their favorite writers and books/series, it's super fun to see who they look up to!
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u/Single-Sport-9092 Jul 31 '26
How do I get rid of sand between the pages? My mom made me take a book on the beach and as you can guess the sand got stuck deep into where the pages connect (I don't know what it's called) and now I am wondering how to remove the sand
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u/EezyBake Aug 01 '26
First time posting here, hope this question is suitable for this thread.
I used to read a lot by author when I was younger, i read a lot of hemingway, then steinbeck, then some faulkner, then I'd branch out into Beckett or Solzhenitsyn. I fell into each book haphazardly and loved it. But lately in the past few years, with less time to read, I've tried to plan what book to read next and it's taken the fun out of just reading. I'll put it down and realize I haven't picked it up in weeks.
should i go back to just picking a book at random? or read by theme? The last book that really drew me in was a short stay in hell by steven l peck
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u/MonicaYouGotAidsYo Aug 01 '26
Do you often have periods of time in which you don't read anything? Everyone else around me seems to read consistently no matter what, but lately I simply don't feel like reading and nothing from my shelf interests me. This seems totally normal to me, as my hobbies are not consistent, but felt like asking this because it got me curious on how rveryone else handles this
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u/bluplecp Aug 04 '26
Quick question, do you prefer traditional books or e-books?
I will be quite honest I have to conduct a survey seeing if people prefer traditional books or e-books from 100 people.
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u/Consumption2Wombly Aug 04 '26
Anyone have a suggestion for a book series for reading outloud to ~4-6 year olds? We are finishing up How to Train Your Dragon book series and looking for whats next. Best I have come up with (so far) is Percy Jackson & the Olympians
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u/Coffee_fuel Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26
My nephew really liked Geronimo Stilton's main and his Kingdom of Fantasy series. :)
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u/shapedbydreams Aug 06 '26
Do you guys have any advice about removing sticker residue? I hate stickers on books, so I always remove them when I can, but then it inevitably leaves that annoying sticky spot.
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u/SnooPoems1106 Aug 14 '26
It enrages me. I used rubbing alcohol. Usually it works no problem if wiped off immediately, but occasionally bleaches the dust cover. I find that annoys me less than being sticky but I can't stand it either. I have started peeling away at bookstores to ensure they are ones I can remove.
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u/Jazzlike-Spite-9991 Aug 06 '26
Is there an alternative to Bookmory? I want something rather personal than a social thing. Storygraph and Fable seems the most popular but both have social aspects to it. I'll take it as a last resort, but otherwise, anything else?
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u/headpiesucks Aug 08 '26
Which book shall i read next?
The Count of Monte Christo - Dumas
The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoevsky.
Blood Meridan - Cormac McCarthy.
Thanks.
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u/FInderSeeker616 Aug 08 '26
What Time Travel books come out in February? (Showing on Goodreads Time Travel section)
I usually check the new Time Travel books section each month on [Goodreads.com]
( https://www.goodreads.com/genres/new_releases/time-travel )
gets updated sometimes twice. It slipped my mind & wasn’t sure where to ask so after 6 months I know. i wonder if anyone could tell me the books that were under the time travel or came in February?
please respond only if you know any/all that did for February
thanks in advance
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u/Midwest_Backpacker Aug 09 '26
I just read "Bag of Bones" by Stephen King and it says the titular phrase "Bag of Bones" at least eight times in the book. I'm wondering if this is a record lol.
It comes from a quote which is used twice and referenced a lot more throughout the story.
"Compared to the dullest human being actually walking about on the face of the earth and casting his shadow there the most brilliantly drawn character in a novel is but a bag of bones" - Dennison Carville
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u/Mysterious_Sky_85 Aug 13 '26
I'm currently reading The Extinction of Irena Rey, and I'm super curious about how the story was handled in languages other than English.
If you've read it, you know that the book's main conceit is that it is being translated into English by a character who is specifically established as an English translator. (this is a very minor spoiler, in fact you can almost get it from the book's blurb)
But in order for this to make sense, you kind of have to be reading the book in English. Right? Am I overthinking this?
If anybody has read the book in translation I'd love to hear how it's handled.
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u/Apart-Pianist3556 Aug 17 '26
Hello fairly young reader here!
can anyone hype LOTR book series for me it’s signifance for me I’m 100 pages into the first book and have the copies still left to read
can anyone hype me up on how good is jrr Tolkien at such and such and such
i finished reading homers odyssey and thoroughly enjoyed odysseus reuniting with his dad his son Telemachus and his wife penelope but I knew the gist of the odyssey and how good it is as a piece of literature beforehand
i do not know the gist of LOTR and how good it is (I’m not excited to read it)
1
u/Nearby-Oil1569 Aug 19 '26
What books do you read vs listen to?
I’m starting to get into reading more recently and I’ve always been opposed to audiobooks. I like the feeling and look of having a physical book that I can see on my shelf and feel in my hands. But audiobooks are so much more efficient, I would be able to read 10x as much. What books do you physically own vs listen to and how do you choose?
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u/KaptainKast Aug 20 '26
[RANT] Is anyone else off put by Ryan Holiday?
Currently reading Outlines - Rachel Cusk (fantastic so far)
I realize this is probably going to give a bad first impression, as I've recently gotten back into reading again, want somewhere to come to from time to time get help. I've been wanting to learn to annotate my books so I can retain and build better comprehension skills to remember books long term. So, I've been scrounging through YouTube, kinda doomscrolling, but stumbled on a couple of vids by Ryan Holiday, one talking about common place books and others in regards to writing processes. But anyone familiar also put off by him as I am? It's as if he kinda has this front of to sell you a worldview supported by his work under Robert Greene. IDK if im looking too far into it, but some things appear hypocritical from an initial look.
Oddyseas, Jack Edwards, and Man Carrying things have all been helpful.
1
u/Travel_crazy8897 Aug 23 '26
Hi all! I’m looking for books similar to "Dragons, donkeys and dust" and "Fakirs, feluccas and femme fatales". As it often happens, I find a book that I really like but the author doesn't have any other published books that I can find. In these two books I'm drawn to the easy writing, slice of life stories and travels of course. Would you know of similar books?
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u/FetidFetus Aug 24 '26
I started reading all my books digitally but I would still like to own a library, how stupid is it to buy books (probably second hand) that I'm not reading?
1
u/Maleficent-Basil-314 Aug 27 '26
Please help me get out of my reading slump after reading and enjoying a Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towels, Never let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro, and East of Eden by Steinbeck, in that order.
It feels like nothing else will be good enough. I wish that I had at least read Gentelman in Moscow last, because it would have let me with an overall good feeling. Even though the ending felt almost u resolved to me. But the other two were big emotional blows. I loved them though. I tried to start Of Mice and Men but couldn’t get through the first few pages (I don’t even know why, but partially because I got the book from a yard sale and it smells really moldy). And now I just learned from this sub that Dolly Parton, the fairy godmother of all children readers died today, so that’s an extra layer of feeling bummed and not ready to pick a book up. At the same time I know that only by reading a truly great book I will feel better.
1
u/Ikeapencil2 Aug 28 '26
Would ya'll mind providing some feedback on this book recommendation project?
Still rough since it's a side project, but feedback's welcome: handpicked-seven.vercel.app
Made a small tool that reads your Goodreads or Storygraph ratings, including the ones you hated, and picks your next read from that. Recommendation engines usually only care about what you loved, but a book I DNF'd because of a huge cast and 600 pages tells you plenty about what I'll actually finish too.
You export your ratings as a CSV, drop it in (no account needed), nothing gets stored, it just reads the file in your browser. Every pick comes with a real reason tied to your ratings instead of "people who liked X also liked Y."
Disclaimer: AI was used throughout building this, including an LLM for parts of the code and recommendation wording, plus a small embedding model that measures how similar books are to each other at runtime.
1
u/BuffaloStranger97 Aug 29 '26
What are some of the most insufferable, unlikable characters you've read about? I've come across some really unsavory characters in books like private citizens and crazy rich Asians, ESPECIALLY Private Citizens.
1
u/v1ew_s0urce Aug 31 '26
Will I enjoy the Shutter Island if I already know the twist from the movie? I have also never really watched the film, but I think I saw a post and someone made a comment from it. Thinking of purchasing an e-book. The book looks very interesting!
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u/1_The_Zucc_1 Sep 01 '26
I'm new to reading and have a lot I want to read though (like a hell of a lot) and I find myself wanting to start other series and/or before I've finished the one I've started.
So is it easy to read multiple at the same time and how do you manage it? I hear people talk about mixing genres but I really wanna binge high fantasy right now. Also how do you stop yourself from reading two, preferring one and subconsciously ditching the first one and that worries me too?
These might be dumb questions but just wondering how others tackle this is all
1
u/BookWench00 Sep 04 '26
Goodreads Friends
Epic Fantasies Cozy Fantasies Romcoms Mystery/ Thrillers Horror And some Dark Romance
I just want more friends so I can see more books and get ideas for future reads. So if the above list sounds like your TBR, let's be friends!
https://www.goodreads.com/friend/i?invite_token=MWQyYjI5NjgtOWZhOS00YzQzLWEyY2QtMTk0YjE0ODVhNWZi
1
u/Entire_Repeat1314 Sep 07 '26
Could anyone point me in the direction of any subreddit featuring the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva? If I'm lucky to find anything it's years old.
1
u/Medical_Lead Sep 11 '26
Quick inquiry:
I edited about 80% of a chapter that booknova wrote first. Thought i clicked to write chapter 4 but it seemed to Regenerate chapter 3 based on what I had written, leaving out some details but including my added concepts.
What did I do to have it rewrite the same chapter, when I simply thought I was through and clicking the bottom blue button to write chapter four?
1
u/GetScaredd Sep 11 '26
I get a lot of book recommendations from different sources either friends, media or just the library but I want a place where I can keep track of them and what they’re about how do people keep track of their backlogs and such?
1
u/xdomanix Sep 11 '26
This is a bit of a random one, but is today's Stephen Collins comic in the guardian an oblique reference to Diane Wynne Jones' "House of Many Ways"?
1
u/such-luck Sep 11 '26
I recently moved to a new apartment and noticed that a number of my books are bending at the spine and sort of “puffing” out. I have some humidity sensors and they are registering 60-70%. I assume that the humidity is the issue here but wanted to make sure and wanted to see if anybody knew if a small dehumidifier in the rooms with the books would help prevent further bending.
Im also hoping that if the humidity is the issue, that getting the humidity more under control will help the books return to their original state? any advice on achieving that would also be appreciated.
thanks!
1
u/Impossibledabmaster Sep 12 '26
So I wanted to start buying books from book stores/local shops but don't know what to look out for when buying a book like its quality,pages etc so I wanted to ask What do you guys look out for when you buy 2nd hand books or a new edition from a book store or local shops?
1
u/BuffaloStranger97 Sep 12 '26
Have you guys encountered instances of a story being told within a story you’re reading? For example, in tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, the main characters create a video game about a kid, ichigo, getting back to their family after a storm or tsunami swept them away.
1
u/poison_griffith Sep 13 '26
How do I increase my reading level and ability. I'm struggling with simple and common books like the Bible and bought a ton of philosophy books I have no business reading. Help!
1
u/LimeCamp 28d ago
Hi I’m getting back into reading books but I didn’t know where I should ask for help. Im reading a book but its very difficult to follow along; I think I might just be unintelligent but I have a hard time consuming what I read and breaking it down into something I understand; like all that I read is going over my head and not sticking. I could use some advice and maybe I can swap books for now but I really want to be more of an intellectual than I am now. I do write down vocabulary words but I don’t have any flashcards or anything made for them yet. Also if someone can link me to other resources on being more intelligent or tips that would be great; I just thought reading books is a good start.
2
u/athu_15 24d ago
What are some books you've read before? I think you might be putting a lot of pressure on yourself to understand every single part of a book. If you're able to finish reading something and took away anything from it that's a success!
I think the things you are looking for will come from reading a lot, and looking up what people are discussing about the things you are reading. Every fresh perspective can help you think about books better.
1
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u/Odd_Grocery_7834 26d ago
Elizabeth Strout — Olive Kitteridge — traumatic writing?
A couple of years ago, I recommended Olive Kitteridge to a friend of mine and we later talked about the book. When he described how he felt reading it, he said (besides other things), that he feels like Strout‘s writing style in this book is one of traumatic writing. I wanted to ask him about what that meant to him, but we got into an argument about something else and soon after our friendship ended. I still think about it years later and would like to try to understand better what that meant to him as he was a very close friend at that time and was/still is an important part of my past.
Any ideas, thoughts, musings? I would really appreciate your perspectives.
1
u/Historical-Newt-2442 24d ago
I am trying to remember the name of a book.
The only thing I definitely remember is that it opened with the Beatles lyric from A Day in the Life “I read the news today, oh boy” (or potentially I saw a film today oh boy).
I’ve read broadly enough that I have lost any inclination and just can’t begin to think what book it could have been.
If anyone knows that would be awesome.
1
u/dancinghobbit81 20d ago
Does the abridged audiobooks of the Temperance Brennan series cut out too much?
After reading Deja Death, and finding it wordy, I want to continue the series as an audiobook. The unabridged version of Death Du Jour is 12 hours and the abridged version is only 5. That's more than half the book!
For fans of the series: does the abridged version simply cut out unnecessary details, or will I be missing out on meaningful content? Any thought on the series in general are welcome
1
u/razeusv2 19d ago
Loved Game of Thrones tv show (until the last couple of seasons). Should I read the Song of Ice and Fire series even if it’s not finished?
1
u/wapey 8d ago
I Just got to the part of 100 years of solitude where Aureliano Buendia stages a surprise attack on the military in Macondo, before adopting the title of Colonel. Then the next chapter starts, and it talks about the long life he lives and how he dies of old age, and I’m very confused. The whole book has been referencing him facing the firing squad, did he just not die from it? Is it just that simple? Feels like a weird angle to take when they’ve been building up so much anticipation of this firing squad.
1
u/regular_lamp 4d ago edited 4d ago
WTF is "bad writing"?
I frequently find myself annoyed by media being criticized for having "bad writing". What's that supposed to mean? It seems way too general a term. Especially when applied to books. Surely if you are such an expert judge of writing you can come up with a more specific description than "bad".
I can maybe understand when people apply this to media like movies. Maybe they dislike the dialog but appreciate the cinematography. Even then, there should be more descriptive ways to frame that criticism.
But for a book that doesn't make sense. The book is the writing, right? Saying the writing is bad is just a way of rephrasing a general dislike for the book. You are calling out the writing as opposed to what other quality that isn't bad? The paper quality? The typesetting? The cover art?
Does the mundane generality of "bad writing" have some more specific meaning to people in literature circles? Or is it just a way to dress up a subjective "I didn't like it" in a veneer of sophistication and objectivity?
1
u/st4rxxaja 2d ago
I split coffee all over my book, help!!
So I’m studying Frankenstein at school and the book is filled with important annotations and I accidentally spilt an americano on it, help!!! I have no idea what to do😭😭 the smell is super strong and the pages are all soggy.
1
u/siminik5 2d ago
Has Anyone Heard Of/Own a Copy Of "The Maggot People"?
My partner found a copy of this book, The Maggot People by Henning Koch. She bought it on a whim and has been low-key hyperfixating on it since. She's been trying to get a copy of it for a friend or to at least have some kind of proof someone else has ever seen or heard of it. It's listed on Amazon and Thriftbooks, but neither have copies available or seem to expect to anytime soon.
The publisher said that there were only a couple hundred copies made, and it's starting to feel like some SCP shit. Has anyone here ever encountered The Maggot People? If so, are you still in possession/willing to part with it?
1
u/Fluffy_System6211 2d ago
Has anyone had experience with Timeless Book Club yet?
The editions look exactly like something I’d want, but it’s a very new service and I’m skeptical. There’s a lot of people in their comments complaining about long wait times for delivery and lack of communication from support, but it seems like it’s not a scam because some come back and say they got their shipment. I’m curious if anyone here has received a book and if the quality is durable like they advertise?
1
u/NoInevitable5437 1d ago
What are the best publishers for non-English classics?
Mainly for translated works, e.g. Tolstoy, Nietzsche,etc..
I’ve bought Wordsworth Classics, and have many copies of Penguin Classics, but so far only English authors for Penguin, and Russian for Wordsworth
0
u/JCitW6855 Jul 02 '26
I know it’s dark, but is Verity by Colleen Hoover demonic?
I’m interested in reading this book and understand this is a dark book which I don’t mind but I don’t like demonic evil level stuff. So I’m just wondering if it’s on that level of literally and clearly demonic or just evil on the scale of this physical world.
Hope my question makes sense. Thank you.
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u/seatownquilt-N-plant Jul 03 '26
i just read the plot summary on Wikipedia and there's no mention of demonic/occult stuff.
-1
u/FallenPeigon Jul 25 '26
Do people really think John Green is one of the great American authors? On the level of Mark Twain?
3
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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '26
ok so this happens to me a lot and I’m curious if it’s just me. sometimes I have a pretty clear idea of what I want to read next, like not too long, a certain vibe, maybe something I specifically want to avoid… and I just can’t find a book that actually fits all of it.
how do you guys usually deal with this? do you just browse goodreads, ask on here, use chatgpt, go to a bookstore and hope something jumps out at you?
and has it ever gone wrong for you, like you picked something based on a review or a friend’s rec and it turned out to be totally not what you were looking for? curious how everyone handles this tbh