Books & Reading Them

Worldly and otherworldly topics

How many books you reading these days?

More than 20 a year
4
31%
Between 16 to 20 a year
1
8%
Between 11 to 15 a year
1
8%
Between 6 to 10 a year
2
15%
Between 3 to 5 a year
1
8%
One or two a year
2
15%
Fewer than one a year
2
15%
 
Total votes: 13

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Ferrus
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Location: Barcelona

Re: Books & Reading Them

Post by Ferrus » Sun Jun 05, 2022 11:51 am

Madrigal wrote:
Sat Jun 04, 2022 3:52 pm
It's an oft-quoted fact(?) about Borges, "He read the Encyclopedia Britannica from A-Z", purportedly having a great influence on his writing. I guess it's probably true since he sounds like an encyclopedia.
I used to read encyclopedias as a kid, actually... I still do, albeit Wikipedia.

Opening a dictionary at a random page and then scrolling until you find the first word you have never seen before is also a way to randomly stumble across concepts you've never heard before. A thesaurus is a waste of time usually - if it is Roget's thesaurus > 1929 there are very few words that are unusual, before then there are more but many are Latin phrases or archaic words not used any more. A scroll through a dictioanry is far more likely to turn up historical and scientific concepts hithertofore unknown. For example by finding the word 'limn' I realised that 'limners' were groups of cheaper painters who produced crude likenesses of people in an era before photography - unlike the elaborate works of art of the rich very few of these items have actually survived which is likely why few know the meaning of the word today.

For example I just opened Johnson's dictionary at random and scrolled along until I found the concept of the rareeshow.
Ex falso, quodlibet

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Utisz
Posts: 676
Joined: Fri Nov 22, 2019 4:35 am

Re: Books & Reading Them

Post by Utisz » Thu Jun 09, 2022 10:52 pm

Ferrus wrote:
Sun Jun 05, 2022 11:51 am
For example I just opened Johnson's dictionary at random and scrolled along until I found the concept of the rareeshow.
Old school YouTube.

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MoneyJungle
Posts: 134
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2021 12:14 am

Re: Books & Reading Them

Post by MoneyJungle » Wed Jun 15, 2022 6:46 am

Probably about four a month but never really one at a time. Usually I have in progress a literary novel, a genre novel, a religious book, a lite history book and a heavy history book (history is almost exclusively about pre-Enlightenment Europe). I used to have this statute of limitations on how long I would go without reading a book before I felt as if I had to start it over but now that my retention is so age-riddled I will just jump back into something I haven’t read in months and it works out OK. I read probably two hours a day, at least one hour as I try to fall asleep. I assume this is time people generally devote to socializing with their significant others, etc. I also will now read pretty much anything someone recommends to me, as long as it’s not political (the exception: I’ll read just about any polemic written before WW2). I don’t really take any pride in how much I read. I’d probably be better off doing other stuff.

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Light Leak
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:56 pm

Re: Books & Reading Them

Post by Light Leak » Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:24 pm

I haven't read fiction in awhile. When I read lately it's mostly health books. I still want to read fiction if I can find the time, but lately I've been trying to figure out how to fix myself since doctors can't seem to figure me out.

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Utisz
Posts: 676
Joined: Fri Nov 22, 2019 4:35 am

Re: Books & Reading Them

Post by Utisz » Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:18 am

MoneyJungle wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 6:46 am
I also will now read pretty much anything someone recommends to me
This seems highly exploitable.

Everyone, recommendations to MoneyJungle post haste.

My recommendation is "The Old Man and the Sea".
Light Leak wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:24 pm
I haven't read fiction in awhile. When I read lately it's mostly health books. I still want to read fiction if I can find the time, but lately I've been trying to figure out how to fix myself since doctors can't seem to figure me out.
What's up Light Leak? What ails you?

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MoneyJungle
Posts: 134
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2021 12:14 am

Re: Books & Reading Them

Post by MoneyJungle » Thu Jun 23, 2022 6:35 am

Utisz wrote:
Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:18 am
MoneyJungle wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 6:46 am
I also will now read pretty much anything someone recommends to me
This seems highly exploitable.

Everyone, recommendations to MoneyJungle post haste.

My recommendation is "The Old Man and the Sea".
Light Leak wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:24 pm
I haven't read fiction in awhile. When I read lately it's mostly health books. I still want to read fiction if I can find the time, but lately I've been trying to figure out how to fix myself since doctors can't seem to figure me out.
What's up Light Leak? What ails you?
I’ve been thinking about this book for the last couple of years. It was required reading at my high school, and I actually read it. I don’t know why you would have high schoolers read it, aside from it being a sexless and relatively boozeless Hemingway book. I wonder what I would think of it now that I am an old(er) man. Maybe some old guy read it and wished he had read it as a young guy so he forced it on a bunch of high schoolers. Not having gotten something and then really getting it is definitely a perk of aging. It’s also relatively short. I’m gonna read it!

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HighlyIrregular II
Posts: 341
Joined: Thu May 26, 2022 10:50 pm
Formerly: BarII

Re: Books & Reading Them

Post by HighlyIrregular II » Thu Jun 23, 2022 4:56 pm

I couldn't help Elvis in 77, I failed again with Yesterday in 22, but I'm determined to get to the bottom of Light Leak's problem.

Yesterday
Posts: 332
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2021 3:09 am

Re: Books & Reading Them

Post by Yesterday » Thu Jun 23, 2022 7:18 pm

I read a lot of clinical studies. As acting assistant manager of a sober living home in Stanislaus county it's important for me to be medically informed. However, the compensation is so small that I basically do it for free. We have 20 clients and I preform urine analyses, do laundry, run home meetings, cook community meals, and do occasional maintenance. For example yesterday I grabbed a youngster with construction experience and we installed a portable air conditioner in the scorching women's building. The women were grateful! BTW, I am not a cocaine addict nor have I ever been. My doc's are marijuana and kratom. I've spent the last 8 months working extensively on myself. I love myself. I love people. I may have to jettison my affiliation with those deficient in discerning covert tomfoolery for now. That or just revisit what Immortal Technique said. Sarcasm is the worst form of communication. Well, he was mostly right. Sarcasm is to be used sparingly. And has no place in serious sincere discourse. I liken it to hot sauce in that a little dab adds flavor. But too much ruins the intended flavor - kinda thing.

Also, @HighlyIrregular II being a clinician isn't your thing bud. Jk :vcool:
ENTP

"Our truest selves exist within the observational incongruencies among general first impressions and further analyses of the finer details."
- from my Ph.D. thesis in psychobabble

Yesterday
Posts: 332
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2021 3:09 am

Re: Books & Reading Them

Post by Yesterday » Thu Jun 23, 2022 9:53 pm

Light Leak wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:24 pm
I haven't read fiction in awhile. When I read lately it's mostly health books. I still want to read fiction if I can find the time, but lately I've been trying to figure out how to fix myself since doctors can't seem to figure me out.
:read: :thumbsup: I'm confident you'll figure yourself out. Remember not to ever give up.
ENTP

"Our truest selves exist within the observational incongruencies among general first impressions and further analyses of the finer details."
- from my Ph.D. thesis in psychobabble

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Utisz
Posts: 676
Joined: Fri Nov 22, 2019 4:35 am

Re: Books & Reading Them

Post by Utisz » Fri Jun 24, 2022 1:51 am

MoneyJungle wrote:
Thu Jun 23, 2022 6:35 am
I’ve been thinking about this book for the last couple of years. It was required reading at my high school, and I actually read it. I don’t know why you would have high schoolers read it, aside from it being a sexless and relatively boozeless Hemingway book. I wonder what I would think of it now that I am an old(er) man. Maybe some old guy read it and wished he had read it as a young guy so he forced it on a bunch of high schoolers. Not having gotten something and then really getting it is definitely a perk of aging. It’s also relatively short. I’m gonna read it!
I breezed through it while waiting for a plane in New Zealand, the sort that goes for 12 hours non-stop.

I am a bit of a sucker for romantic stories of hardened old bastards -- card-carrying members of The Dying Breed™. Also it was not Madrigal's gourd of maté, which made it all the more appealing.

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