Do you read just for the sake of reading?

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Originally posted by Koa
I found myself reading only calssics cos they're MUCH cheaper than newer books and I kept buying them cos they were cheap and still havent read them all...and there are so many I want to read, especially Russian ones.

I FINISHED WAR & PEACE!!!!
It took me exactly 4 months.
Shame I'm really in a hurry right now, I can't even promise I'll tell you my impressions about it (like anyone cared about that LOL!) cos I'm very busy in this period.

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It took me about two months, and those were months during which I studied for and took the SATs (i got a 1580 :)) and three AP tests (I got two 5s, but a 4 in English lang. :confused: ).

War and Peace was not boring at all.

I can't stand not finishing books either. I made a post here about how I quit reading Howards End, but I resumed reading it and finished last week (it wasn't that bad).

War and Peace needed to cut out the parlor tricks it bored the crap back into me.

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Originally Posted by fayefaye

Like there's a book, and it's boring, and you're not learning anything from it, you're not getting anything out of it, and yet you just want to finish it anyway?

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I try very hard not to give up on any books (especially so if it is considered a classic). If I find really hard to plough through it then I will put it aside and read some other book to distract myself for a while but I always go back and try to finish it. I am not sure if this is reading for the sake of it... I just would like to read a book properly before I pass a judgement on it.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule. I couldn't read As I Lay Dying or Sophie's World.

Well, I never read for the sake of reading... if I find myself not enjoying or gaining anything from the book for an extended period of time (no matter what page I am in) I either ditch it or keep it for boring occasions. I mean... I do things if I enjoy them, not to add another accomplishment to the list. With that mentality I completed about 6 books and neglected 4.


Helena-- How many books are those!? :eek:
I don't think it's short attention span.. if you really had that I don't think you'd make it pass page 3. ;)

Edit; typo.

Interesting thread.
If I begin a book, I try to stick to it, no matter how painful. Firstly, if I choose to check-out or purchase a book, I attempt diligently to choose wisely, including if others consider it a classic; for example, someone once recommended me the works of Ayn Rand, and, though many people love the writer's literature, I looked into it, and it just did not sound like my "cup of tea," so I never read it.
When I do find a book that sounds at least partially interesting, I seldom find myself setting it aside, despite a few occasions; for example, Creation by Gore Vidal looked very interesting at first glance, but read very differently in actually opening the book.
As for the actual concept of "reading for the sake of reading," I find difficulty in the most ideal, devoted reader performing; most readers, I have found, including myself, desire to get something out of reading, whether entertainment, knowledge, insight, history, to get a good grade on an exam, etc.

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Originally Posted by fayefaye

Like there's a book, and it's boring, and you're not learning anything from it, you're not getting anything out of it, and yet you just want to finish it anyway? *sidelong glance at On the Road, The Prince, War and Peace, Sun Tzu's The Art of War* yeah, they're supposed to be GREAT books, so insightful and brilliant, yada yada yada. But you haven't the faintest idea WHY you're reading them? I mean, realistically, when am I EVER going to have my own principality? Yeah, I know I joke about world domination... but my plans rarely come to fruition. :( ;)

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"The Prince" can be read for pleasure, as can "On the Road". I haven't read "The Art of War", but I am not an overt warrior, so there is no reason to read it. "The Prince" should be read in conjunction with "Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livius". Macchievelli wrote "The Price" as a cover letter for a job application; it was directed at getting a good job, rather than at explaining how government can work well for everyone; the intended audience was one individual. "Discourses" was written after Macchievelli retired, and it probably expresses what he actually thought, rather than expressing what he thought would land him a job. The insights and conclusions in "Discourses" point toward the positive aspects of a free society with due consideration being given to the interests of all, and he strongly endorses democratic institutions.

At present I am reading Derrida's "Of Grammatology". In addition to being a mediocre translation (I should have picked up the original French), the reasoning is poor to non-existent, and the conclusions are inane. I am interested in finishing it so that I will be able to more fully criticize it. I have already written a short story the satirizes some of the conclusions that it contains, and I expect that the rest of it will provide me more more fodder for satire. This is an example of reading something to better know one's enemy.

I am reading the 100 greatest novels as defined by the Modern Library, and also taking some off the Radcliffe list and the readers list. They overlap at times. I have read over 40 of them.I want to be able to say I've read them all! Quirky, huh. But it's my thing, and I could have worse habits.I don't like them all, but I struggle through. I feel better after I finish a book no matter how slow it is. I also read books off "the lists". I am now reading The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer. It's slow at times, but I will finish it. It's interesting to hear others describe their reading habits. It's nice to see so many younger people enjoying the classics.

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Originally Posted by merrycollie

I am reading the 100 greatest novels as defined by the Modern Library, and also taking some off the Radcliffe list and the readers list. They overlap at times. I have read over 40 of them.I want to be able to say I've read them all! Quirky, huh. But it's my thing, and I could have worse habits.I don't like them all, but I struggle through. I feel better after I finish a book no matter how slow it is. I also read books off "the lists". I am now reading The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer. It's slow at times, but I will finish it. It's interesting to hear others describe their reading habits. It's nice to see so many younger people enjoying the classics.

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What an accomplisment! I think the closest I can contend to that occurred when I read the top 35 novels recommended by my high school, for which I received some silly certificate. :lol:
Have you had any favorites and greatest dislikes?

Yes, I will read just for the sake of reading. It is a gap filler, a time waster, a pleasure, a guilt, a need, an addiction, an annoyance, a distraction..............I will read anything, anytime, anywhere, and except for 3 books, always finish reading whatever 'it' is. Only then do I feel entitled to an opinion on the piece. I am compelled to read an entire piece (every word, including any forwards, etc ....*anal tendencies* ) before feeling competent to say "Yay" or "Nay" as to whether a piece of reading material has any redeeming qualities.

I always feel kind of arrogant if I don't finish a book because I always think one needs to appreciate a wide range of literature and even if you hate the damn book it still deserves to be read. Hmm, maybe I just don't like to be defeated. But some books I've genuinly disliked up until the very end. So, it pays off I guess.

I really disliked Portney's Complaint to the point it made me sick to my stomach! I love The Grapes of Wrath.

merrycollie - http://www.stanford.edu/~bkunde/best/bl-crank.htm#T
(I hope that works)

I like to peruse this list, as it lists the Modern Library, Radcliffe, and a couple other top lists and compiles them into a composite rank, giving more selection and a broader range of tastes, and you can also see which novels more groups of people agree on being worthwhile. I mean, Modern Library left To Kill a Mockingbird off the list while the other three put it in the top five, what's up with that?

A few days ago, in a fairly more in-depth college psychology class, we had a long discussion regarding Sigmund Freud's seven defense mechanisms (repression, denial, projection, displacement, rationalization, sublimation, reaction formation), but went greatly in detail of displacement. Displacement defines as, for example, getting angry with a younger sibling, and venting on something entirely unrelated; but this unrelated 'thing' does not necessarily have to prove as a living thing - also an object.
As I admit myself of doing it, do any of you also, while angry, try to distract your minds with reading a book? I usually prefer poetry, which quickly seems to calm my mind from any turmoil, but I never noticed this tendency of mine until hearing this lecture; I read incessantly, regardless, but sometimes find reading a decent way of displacing any anger or frustration.
Anyway, I found it interesting. Does anyone else know what I mean, before I regret typing this? :D

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Originally Posted by Capnplank

merrycollie - http://www.stanford.edu/~bkunde/best/bl-crank.htm#T
(I hope that works)

I like to peruse this list, as it lists the Modern Library, Radcliffe, and a couple other top lists and compiles them into a composite rank, giving more selection and a broader range of tastes, and you can also see which novels more groups of people agree on being worthwhile. I mean, Modern Library left To Kill a Mockingbird off the list while the other three put it in the top five, what's up with that?

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I find the list you posted very useful and interesting. I cut the page and pasted it into a spreadsheet, and it pastes nicely as rows and columns, allowing me to print and sort as I please.

In spreadsheet form, one may sort by other criteria, such as author.

I notice Thomas Pynchon is not there.

To Kill A Mockingbird should definitely be towards the top of any list.

The project which "merrycollie" has undertaken is admirable. I think I shall do likewise.
Thanks

i used to read everything till the end no matter what, but after a while, i realized that the books i forced myself to finish i don't usually remember anyway, and so aftersince, i started to abandon books that are decidedly dull towards the beginning.

i also used to read only classics, but lately i've been switching gear and reading contemporary novels instead. occasionally i pick up a paperback novel or a chiclit.

the thing about paperback novels and chiclits is: after you read two or three of them straight, then you don't know what's the point at all, because overall their stories are pretty predictable and . . . non-pedantic? i don't know, but i often lose interest in reading in general after too much paperback novels and chiclits. they're okay every now and then, though. just a side note.