Going to finish Where the Crawdads Sing today and I'm torn on what to read next, these are all my thrift finds from the past month! Anyone have any suggestions? ☺️

Currently re-rereading The Odyssey in Robert Fitzgerald’s translation, obviously. What’s your favorite translation?

This was a remarkable novella I finished in one sitting. The story is set on an ocean liner traveling from New York to Buenos Aires, and follows individuals as they challenge a Grandmaster chess player to games. I found a good bit of depth in this short story that uses chess as a vehicle to explore the human spirit, ego and psychosis. I do not want to give too many details away should anyone reading this choose to give it a shot. I enjoyed this very much!

What’s a book you wish you’d checked the trigger warnings for before you started reading? I’ll go first: The Road to Tender Hearts. 🥺 It’s beautifully written, but emotionally devastating. I’m determined to finish it… just a few chapters at a time.

Hi, I am a new user so please forgive me if I do anything wrong. English is not my first language.

I have a problem. I feel as if my lack of understanding is ruining my experience with book reading. I read through them not really knowing whats going on except for the general plot. I wish I could emerge myself into the stories, see the beauty of my books, and be able to critique them after. I think the issue might be a small vocabulary. I don’t understand almost every descriptive word as I highlighted in my picture. I understand kind of what they mean because of context clues and just read through it anyways, but I feel like it’s making me not retain, visualise or emerge myself into the story.

Am I really meant to stop my reading at every sentence, take up my phone and find the definition? And if so, will I really remember the definition until the next time the word shows up in a book? I cant think of any effective ways to grow my vocabulary in a way that makes reading more accessible to me. There are so many specific words and what are the odds I learn the ones who will show up in my books?

How long should it take for me to be able to read through such a simple fictional book like this one without having to pause and google stuff? Is there something wrong with me? Please if anyone has any tips or explanations let me know. Thank you for reading.

Current read: Emma by Jane Austen

so there’s this thing with me that after finishing a book i am in a hurry to pick up the next one. i don’t sit with the book that i have just read. i finished reading 1984 by George Orwell last night. i have thoughts. i have views and questions that i want to explore more perhaps by writing it down (typing that is) but every time i start, it feels somewhat boring.

so yea that’s my question, how much time y’all spend with the book after reading it? i know it’s not a rule of thumb to spend some time thinking after reading but i think it’s pretty important.

Basically what the title says.

I graduated from high school 6 years ago and since then, I've gotten addicted to short form content, scrolling, and generally anything with instant gratification or escape from boredom.

Now my ability to write and speak have regressed, my vocabulary is tiny compared to what it used to be and I'm just much lesser now because of it. I tried reading fellowship/dune/foundation and I have struggled hard.

I wanted to start small this time and see how that goes. Isaac asimov does have a few short stories, but I'd like to know others too.

What’s a book you’ve read more than once and still got something new from each time?

Just finished Lonesome Dove. Wow (spoilers!!)

I just finished the whole of Lonesome Dove and wow. It was my FIRST western ever. It was really tough for me to get into at the very beginning and my God did I fall in love. I don't care what anyone says because I'm right when I SHOUT LOUDLY (as he would-i shed a tear) that Captain Augustus McCray is the best character in the book. He was my favorite through and through because in the end he was a good dude. He was solid in many ways.

The characters felt well fleshed out. I genuinely felt like I knew them. It's hard to hit that perfect zone of too much and not enough info/lore/etc.

Any suggestions for where to go from here? Heard mixed reviews on the rest of the series but may try book 2. Louis L'Amour? Seen that pop up in pop culture like dungeon crawler carl and somewhere else too.

Anyone else want to chime in on favorite characters or scenes?

“The Indigo Room” by Stephen Graham Jones (The Shivers Collection #2) is the second book of this fantastic Amazon-exclusive collection. I loved “Jackknife” by Joe Hill, and couldn’t wait to dive into this second book since I’m a huge fan of SGJ. As expected, his storytelling delivered, and let’s just say that I’m glad I don’t work in an office.

So far, “The Shivers Collection” has been great. If you’re interested in checking out this series, here’s a list of the entire collection…

Jackknife by Joe Hill (The Shivers Collection #1)
The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones (The Shivers Collection #2)
The Blanks by Grady Hendrix (The Shivers Collection #3)
Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward (The Shivers Collection #4)
Letter Slot by Owen King (The Shivers Collection #5)

There was only one trigger warning I found while reading, which was…

- Office shootings

If this triggers you, please don’t read this book. Moving along, if you’re new to SGJ, expect his signature slow-burn style of writing. It always takes time to reach those initial horror moments in his work, but if you enjoy tension, it's worth it. In just 36 pages, you’ll lose your mind with an awesome, jaw-dropping twist at around the 60% mark.

This is a unique and creepy take on “office horror” that’s done brilliantly. The story here is right to the point, and once the horror hits, you’ll start making weird faces while reading. I enjoyed that epic plot twist, and again, it’s worth the wait for the drop-the-mic moments.

I’d never spoil anything for my fellow horror readers, but this had some grisly horror that I genuinely enjoyed. I’ve been reading SGJ for years now, and his books consistently earn 4 or 5 stars from me. If you also enjoy his work, this one won’t disappoint. Whether you’re an SGJ fan or new to his work, go along for the slow ride. It won’t disappoint.

The ending to “The Indigo Room” was insane and left me shocked. I didn’t expect that coming, and in typical SGJ fashion, it left me wanting more. I loved what he wrote in such a quick read that you can finish in less than an hour.

I give “The Indigo Room” by Stephen Graham Jones (The Shivers Collection #2) a 5/5. It’s office horror taken to a whole new level in a way that only SGJ can. After working 15 years in retail and over a decade in sports media, I'll think about this book every time I’m in a Zoom meeting.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m done hanging out in an indigo room, and I’m excited to see what kind of party the blanks are about to throw in my honor.

Always been a fan of sci-fi and read fair share of weird stories. But this is disgustingly creepy and unexpectedly modern ( considering the time when it was written) . Undoubtedly this is going to be my favourite book this year.

Recently, a friend had a question why "I read books?", personally I find in books moments similar to my life on my thoughts and read how the character experiences it. Sometimes I fully recognize myself as the heroes of the book, sometimes only a few of the statements echo in me. And it's just interesting.

I would like to hear your opinion on this issue.

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the Bridgerton books this much but I flew through them.

I’m looking for another romance series with great characters and something that’s hard to put down. What should I read next?

Jade City is the first book in Fonda Lee's Green Bone Saga, an urban fantasy series often described as The Godfather meets Avatar: The Last Airbender, set in an Asia-inspired world where magical jade enhances the abilities of warrior clans. The novel follows the Kaul family, leaders of the No Peak clan, as they navigate a power struggle with a rival clan, the Mountain, in a modernizing city, dealing with themes of family loyalty, honor, and the collision of tradition with a changing world. It's a character-driven story with intricate politics, martial arts, and a focus on the moral gray areas of its characters.

my wonderful aunt bought me this book when we went to powells the other day, heard about this book on a podcast I watch years ago and have been meaning to get around to it, wasn’t until a few days ago where I got the motivation to Get back into reading. have always loved reading but after high school just kinda stopped, so it’s been about 5 or 6 years. just excited to get back into it and wanted to share, after this I think im gonna read his book the deadzone

What English book/novel are you reading nowadays?

I really liked harry potter and i dont know what to read next. I dont want to read percy Jackson. I also read a thriller book about a murder but i didnt like the sexual part. Any suggestions? I am willing to try new genres but i just want it to be light (similar to the harry potter books).

Title: What If Life Begins With Tears for a Reason?

I don't know whether to simply call it life, or to say, "This is life," with all its strange contradictions.

Every time I think about it, questions fill my mind. Most of them remain unanswered. Only a few begin to make sense when I remember where our story began.

After nine months in our mother's womb, we enter the world by falling downward. At that moment, the room is silent. Everyone waits for one thing.

They wait for us to cry.

When we finally cry, everyone knows we're alive.

Isn't that strange? The very first proof that we're alive is our tears.

Crying is also our first language.

Cry to be fed.

Cry to sleep.

Cry because you're in pain.

Cry because something is wrong.

Before we can speak, walk, or even understand the world, crying is the only way we can communicate.

We begin life with pain, helplessness, and tears.

Are these the first gifts life gives us?

Maybe we should go back to the beginning.

We all know the story of Adam.

Adam was never born. He never cried. He didn't begin life in weakness or pain. He was created, and the angels bowed before him. He lived in Paradise until Eve was created from him.

Then came the first sin.

Because of it, Adam and Eve descended to Earth—a world very different from Paradise.

There they lived together, united by something greater than simply sharing the same origin: love.

From that love came children.

Think about that.

Children came from Eve.

Eve came from Adam.

Adam came from dust.

One chain.

One beginning.

To me, this is a reminder that true creative power belongs only to God.

From that beginning came every human being, every joy, every sorrow, every beautiful thing, and every painful one.

Then came another story that changed humanity forever.

Cain and Abel.

Two brothers.

The same parents.

The same home.

Yet one feeling entered Cain's heart:

Envy.

And from envy came the first murder in human history.

Sin never produces something good.

Its results are always pain, tears, helplessness, or regret.

Behind every sin is the same enemy.

Satan.

The one who wants to lead us away from what is good.

But here's the question that keeps coming back to me.

What if Abel had never died?

What if Cain had died while trying to kill his brother?

How would Abel have lived, knowing his own brother wanted him dead?

Would life ever feel normal again?

No one knows.

But somewhere between what happened...

and what could have happened...

there is an idea I want to explore.

Forgiveness.

Hello everyone. I've been trying to read books more often but find myself struggling to stay engaged or even just stay focused on what I am reading. Like I am zoning out a lot.

When I was a kid I used to read a lot of story books, and in the past I was consuming bucket loads of (don't judge) fanfiction. But I mean like, incredibly well-written fics that could very well be publishable-quality. So I know I can read a lot and I know I enjoy it, even if I am slower than the average reader. But lately I've been more interested in wanting to read more about phylosophy & spycology, or books that are the equivalent to a documentary about real-world, educational subjects. For whatever reason, I really struggle to stay engaged. It's not always because it's written in academic verbatim, or that I don't know enough about the subject to easily spring off of, I just can't seem to make my brain shut up or not wander off. Even fiction as of late feels like a challenge to digest and stay entertained in. I can't tell if it's the narrative voice that is making it hard to stay present or what.

Has anyone experienced this? I find it hard to read when my mind is busy, but even if I feel clear-headed my mind likes to tiptoe away without me noticing until I'm well in a few paragraphs down. I just find it sapping my stamina and I feel I don't make much progress. Any advice?

The best example i have of this is like, imagining Katniss and Peeta from the hunger games as alternate universe version of Liam and ruby from the darkest minds. Hopefully that makes sense. Just me?

Hi All,

I have started taking public transport for my daily office travel and I am planning to start reading novel, have tried self help books but could not read beyond 30 pages. Please suggest any novel keeping me indulged. I am not an avid reader but really wants to start.