Which Adventure?

[Aerial]

How do you choose which book to read? There are countless titles out there...do most of us just read the books that everyone else is talking about? The question is, who started the conversation? It's hard to find something that everyone else hasn't bought already. What do you think, and how do you decide what to read?

[Aerial]

One more question, a follow-up from my last post. Had any of you ever heard of the book "Shore of Legends"?

[Dark Muse]

There are a mix of different ways in which I choose the books that I read. Sometimes I will just browse book sales I happen to come across, or used book stores. I also consult with a variety of different book lists, and look into various different book awards. In addition I belong to places like Lit Net and Good Reads where I can heard word of mouth of different books from other people.

And there are a lot of movies made after books. Often times I will discover a book I had not heard of previously via the movie which was made after it.

[dfloyd]

by those who have read extensively, and have written about the books which can form a lifetime reading plan. Central to these are people like Harold Bloom and before him, Clifton Fadiman. These are not lists which are popularity contests, but an organized plan to read the very best in western literature, starting from Gilgamesh and going to modern times. Once started, you can skip around so you don't get bored with reading too much of one thing. Like don't try reading all the plays of Shakespeare, one after another. When you run across a book that seems too hard for you at present, set it aside for later reading. Many books are criticized by novices which are actually very good books, but they may be hard to cimprehend at the stage you are now.

[kasie]

Following the advice of 'experts' is all very well if you want to build yourself a background of the Classics but at what point do you decide to trust your own judgement, take the plunge and select a newly-published book about which you know nothing? That, I think, is the question the OP asking.

My method is to try the first few paragraphs while still in the Library/Book Store - if my attention is held and I want to know what happens next, the book comes home with me; if not, it stays on the shelf. I've made some happy discoveries that way - the OP is right, it's an adventure.

Aeriel, I haven't heard of The Shore of Legends - the title alone would grab me! May we have the author's name, please?

[Emil Miller]

There is a famous scene in the film Citizen Kane where, following Kane's death, a reporter says to Everett Sloane: "Mr Kane made an awful lot of money."
Sloane replies: "There's no secret to making a lot of money, if all you want to do is make a lot of money."

Well it's the same with books. If your object is to study literature per se, you will have to devote most of your time to it. Conversely, if you are a casual reader who just likes reading for its own sake but prefers quality writing to 'best sellers' in the sense of Harry Potter or Twilight etc. etc ,a good way to find out what may appeal to you would be to read the quality press that has literary pages with criticism of the most recent publications and also references to authors past and present. Literary critisicm is an art in itself and is often as interesting as the the books being criticized.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Literary critisicm is an art in itself and is often as interesting as the the books being criticized.

Or more so sometimes...

I think both dfloyd and Brian's responses are sound. Just to add one point, yes there are a lot of new books out there which are no doubt worth discovering, but at the same time there is a lot of rubbish being published. It is all well and good trying books almost at random, (as I have from time to time) but the chances of coming across something of quality this way is unlikely. I really used to love walking around Waterstones or the library hunting for 'new' books but I am less and less likely to approach my reading in this way now, because its mostly a waste of my time. More often than not I know what I want to read anyway and so just order it online or pick it from the library purposely. 90% of the books I need to be reading until the end of the year are Wilde related anyway so I haven't much chance for other stuff at the moment, but I have a mental list of some of the things I want to read which will stand me for reading for several years anyway. In short I don't need to search for what I want to read because I know what I want to read already.

[Dark Muse]

I forgot to add I also use allusions to help me choose books to read. If a book I have not previously heard of is mentioned in something else I am reading, or even referenced in a movie or TV, I will look it it up to see if it sounds interesting.

[Aerial]

Thanks for your interest and comments. I read through each post, and was surprised how complicated this topic really is. Most of us do choose the bestselling novels, but there were a few exceptions. I'm also interested to hear the group's opinion on the rest of this discussion.

[PeterL]

Many of the best books that I have read I selected by reaching out and taking what I touched. Someone has to discover unknown authors. Sometimes the unknowns are horrible, and sometimes they are great. Take a chance. You only have one incarnation at a time.

[loe]

Usually the choice of a book depends on my mood and/or current interest.
Most of the authors I read died long time ago, so I couldn't (and won't) rely on any critiques. And of course, these books are definitley not on a best selling list.

I mainly read what is called "classical literature" (whatever this might mean...).

I always prefer to read a book because I want to and not because I should to read.

I guess the "quality" of a book is even more subjective than colours. Everyone of us is different (different interests, thinking, attitude, taste etc.) therefore also every book affects us differently. I doubt that there exists really something like an objective good book. :)

Best regards

[Dark Muse]

Many of the best books that I have read I selected by reaching out and taking what I touched. Someone has to discover unknown authors. Sometimes the unknowns are horrible, and sometimes they are great. Take a chance. You only have one incarnation at a time.

Yes I completely agree. People should not simply only stick to the tried and true, because they are afraid that something new may not be good. One could be missing out on a lot if they are not willing to now and than take a leap into the unknown.

[Aerial]

I have a complicated question for you, one that will affect almost every book in the future…it used to be that certain styles of writing were regional, and even defined some cultures. Now you can buy most books anywhere in the world. Won't the next generation of authors (no matter where they live) be influenced by literature that’s similar? What exactly does that mean for the future of writing?

[Aerial]

(If you'd rather discuss a different topic, that's fine too...)

[togre]

I'm no expert, but as far as writers being regional, I don't expect the greater availability of world literature to have regional styles springing up from authors far from said region. I think what creates regional styles is more than just the authors having read the same works. It comes from a regional culture, language, history, the struggles, hurts and hopes of a given people. This is imbibed unconsciously by living in a place and can't (easily?) be picked up no matter how much of their literature you read.

The real danger may be the death of regional literature. Think of have national news networks have largely removed (or at least softened) regional dialects and accents in the US. Exposure to the world is more likely to make the local more worldly, than to have worldlings go local.

[kasie]

....By the way, Kasie, Barnes and Noble has a cool cover picture of "Shore of Legends" if you want to check it out. It didn't have a summary posted though....

Thanks for the pointer, Aerial - it seems the book is newly published and has not reached UK bookstores yet: I'll keep a lookout for it.

[Jozanny]

How do you choose which book to read? There are countless titles out there...do most of us just read the books that everyone else is talking about? The question is, who started the conversation? It's hard to find something that everyone else hasn't bought already. Barnes and Noble's website seems to be the exception. Thousands of their books don't even come up unless you happen to type in the right keywords. There are all these hidden stories that will probably take months for most people to discover. I found one book on Barnes and Noble that looked like it should be in their catalog (called "Shore of Legends"). That's one example that hasn't gotten as much traffic though, since it's so new. I'm not sure how Barnes and Noble can keep track of so many books in their stores (in fact, they probably can't) but that means there's a lot of unexplored territory when it comes to fiction. What do you think, and how do you decide what to read?

Aerial, my answer is going to be much shorter than your question: I read reviews, keep a wish list, and keep an eye on what reading groups select, and I am satisfied about 85% of the time; my tastes veer heavily toward literary realism, science fiction, and in recent years, philosophy, history, and science works, though Greene, who I paid a decent sum of money for, I have not opened yet, since the most of physics I can grasp are a wee bit of Newton and Einstein; quantum and string theory makes me cry and gnash my teeth, but even the physicists themselves say this subject is difficult for the human mind configuration.:biggrin5:

[Aerial]

Togre, you’re right…if writers are only inspired by what they read, who was the first writer? A chain reaction has to start somewhere. Most literature has to be culturally driven instead, which also includes perceptions of each culture that are passed on by previous generations.
Kasie, sorry about that. I didn’t realize you were in the UK. Who knows if the book will eventually make it overseas…
Jozanny, thanks for your post. I’ve taken a lot of science classes myself- in fact, I have a Biology final tomorrow! (Your discussion of physics also sounds familiar because of Astronomy). It’s a pain to deal with all those formulas…Anyway, I’d better get back to studying.

[tiredstudent]

i use amazon... toward the middle of the page, there is a banner full of books that other people bought with the book your looking at. i type in a good novel and check out the banner.

[mal4mac]

I have not opened yet, since the most of physics I can grasp are a wee bit of Newton and Einstein; quantum and string theory makes me cry and gnash my teeth, but even the physicists themselves say this subject is difficult for the human mind configuration.:biggrin5:

The best (Feynman, Hawking...) and even some of the second best (Greene..) are big enough to admit it is not just difficult to understand but *impossible*. For instance, Hawking admit he can't visualise four dimensions and (like me!) has difficulty even visualising in three (normal humans can manage 21/2 dimensions adequately...) Feynman bluntly states that quantum physics is *impossible* to understand - I mean, particles and waves, who can understand that! I think the problem that many lay readers have when reading popular physics books is that they haven't taken the heart the message that modern physics is *impossible* to understand, and it's not just them failing to understand, it's the nature of the subject. The very best (Einstein) said you should be able to explain any concept in physics to anyone who can read a tabloid newspaper... fair enough... but don't expect to understand it...

[Jive One]

I have a complicated question for you, one that will affect almost every book in the future…it used to be that certain styles of writing were regional, and even defined some cultures. Now you can buy most books anywhere in the world. Won't the next generation of authors (no matter where they live) be influenced by literature that’s similar? What exactly does that mean for the future of writing?

This response is a little belated, but you bring up a good point. With everything available to everyone nowadays via the internet and other instant forms of communications, I think we'll definitely see the spread of certain regional styles. More importantly, however, is that we'll see authors start to combine and experinment with these styles; perhaps incorporating the new with the old and such. Some may disagree, but I think this is great as it will result in diversity and novelty in contemporary literature.

[Babak Movahed]

If you're looking for stuff to read I would recommend that you read a lot of shorter works by an assortment of different authors. If you check out a bunch of different styles and themes of works you're bound to find something you'll like. Find some authors that you've heard about or interested in and just go from there.