The book didn’t work for you. Big deal…move on to something else. I can pretty much guarantee though that someone out there loves this book, lol.

Nope. I read for entertainment these days.

But, if I was at work and/or reading a technical document or reference book, I’d be marking up like crazy.

I bogged down early in the book. The writing style is wordy, tedious and archaic. I’m sure I could get used to it if I persevered.

But there are too many other books I want to read that I know I will enjoy without having to work for it.

I split them by Genre - Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction & Misc.

Bold Font is for books I’ll need to buy. Regular Font for Kindle Unlimited selections.

I keep the list on a word doc at work and a physical list in my billfold

That is pretty much the entire system. About 35 titles on the list currently. Some titles though are the 1rst books of multiple book series or trilogies.

There has been so many over the years, but some favorites that come to mind right now are:

1. The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda

2. The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson

3. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

I don’t regret reading any book. I’ll try most anything. I may not finish some, but “regret” never enters the equation.

I see every book as a learning opportunity. Will I or will I not revisit this author and his / her works.?

That looks like something I might be interested in. Thanks for recco.

There have been a few over the years.

The ones that come to mind right now would be:

1. The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda

2. The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson

3. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

I’ve run across this before. If the book is good, I’ll ignore it.

But if I’m not enjoying the story? It tends to annoy me. And each time it happens, it becomes sort of like a multiplier to the other problems I’m having with the story.

Usually resulting in a DNF.

Probably "The Illuminatus! Trilogy. 1970’s era anarchist fiction that tries to link every conspiracy (of the times) to, eventually, a rock concert in Switzerland with occult-ish consequences.

I make it a point to find something different frequently. To step out of my usual wheelhouse of historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. I try for one every couple of months. Might be a mystery, western or something else totally different.

Not really. It’s just a story. I don’t internalize the story to the point of angst. I read all the time. It’s entertainment for me. A temporary window in to the author’s mind and the souls of the characters for a time. Then back to the real world.

Pre-internet you would have a dictionary, a thesaurus and a set of encyclopedia for references prior to analysis. Now you have the internet. Either way is just accessing info first to form coherent thoughts later.

That deep dive into Milton by the Yale professor wasn’t off the cuff. He/she most likely has a ton of study notes to support their lectures.

Dungeon Crawler Carl- My first foray into the LitRPG field. What a fun read. Totally unexpected.

Glen Cook’s- P.I. Garrett series. Tongue in cheek detective stories complete with elves, ghouls, vampires, sexy dwarves and even a golem.

W. Michael Gear’s - Donovan series. Best science fiction series of the decade, imo.

I think turning reading into a “Task” takes all the joy out of it.

Find a book you like and just go with flow for whatever time you have with it. If you like it enough, you’ll probably find more time to read than what you think you have.

Looks like its going to be the “Lord of the Rings” Trilogy. Loved it when I was 12, but I bogged down in a re-read of “Fellowship” earlier this year. And it is unlikely I will take it up again. Tastes change over time.

There is a difference between YA books and books with a young protagonist(s). I think some people tend to mix the 2 up.

I read them all the time. Some are great, some are not so great. There is a tendency towards editing errors and sometimes progression errors. If they don’t interfere with the flow of the story, I just read around them.

Sometimes though, you can’t. And then it’s time to move on.

Young, handsome, naive, peasant MC who is really a King…

I can admire the cover art and hate the book or vice versa. In the end though, the cover art means nothing to me. I judge a book by it’s content only.