#book ask

[bookaddict24-7]

How many books do you usually like to read at the same time?

One—I am content living this way.

Two—multiple formats

Two—physical books

Three—multiple formats

Three—physical books

Four+ (I like chaos and thrive on it.)

Four+ (I’m a mood reader. Send help.)

Voting ended onJun 30, 2024

[the---hermit]

What’s a book(s) you feel changed the way you think about everything?

Hello :D

This is such a good question! The first one that comes to mind is The Humans by Matt Haig. It's a very underrated book in which an alien has to disguise themselves as a human, and in the process of doing that he learns what being human really means. I read it for the first time in my teens, and it really changed me a lot. I believe it is one of the first books that helped me start my journey into looking at humanity in a more positive light and to appreciate the small things in life. Thinking about it it was the first book that helped start a process of shifting my perspective in focusing on the small joys. That cycle continued with my love for hobbits which have become the model of how I want to enjoy life. The small comforts and pleasures that we often tend to take for granted. The books that mark the end of this cycle and my arrival at fully living with this mindset are the two Monk And Robot books by Becky Chambers (A Psalm For The Wild Built and A Prayer For The Crown Shy). This duology is so healing for me. I love every single thing about it, and they act as a reminder for many many important things. Like the fact that existing to enjoy a good cup of tea is enough purpose for a life worth living. Once again it celebrates the pure joy of small things and reminds me that being a small creature on this big big planet is not bad at all. I am surely forgetting about some important books that influenced me in some way, but I feel like these outline a very specific set of feelings that I managed to embrace thanks to books only. They really shaped the person I am and they are reminders for me. So much so that I have many quotes written in my commonplace book, where I reread passages when I need some comfort.

[domestically-loving-monsters]

The King in Yellow is a book filled with short stories and includes a play that is said to drive the reader insane. There is a mysterious and malevolent supernatural entity known as the King in Yellow that loosely connects the first four stories! I mainly enjoy it because of all the fanart people make of the King in Yellow, since they make it look Eldritch!! Just wanted to introduce the entity to a fellow monster lover >:)

Ooooooo, that sounds cool. I might give that a look. Thank you! I am always on the lookout for new monsters/entities.

[frannyzooey]

just got Ann Patchett’s new book 🤩🤠 so excited to read it

Oooh - what did you think? Which one did you get?

I just picked up Lonesome Dove and Blood Meridian (at the glowing recommendation from @whatsnewalycat over lunch 😍🥰) and I can't wait to live my best fictional western life 😌 and get inspired!

[wormwoodandhoney]

11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

also asked by @dude-watchin-with-the-brontes!

11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read? I read a few backlist books this year, and I loved a lot of them, but right now I'm going to shout out Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett!

[oblivionsdream]

1 and 13 for the book reading game?

1.Did you set a goal for yourself this year? How did you do? If not, why not?

Yep! Technically I ended up setting two because I completed my first reading goal with months to spare so I increased it and got a little too ambitious and missed it by a few books

13. How would you summarize your reading choices for this year?

Much more variety genre wise. I read a lot more out of my comfort zone

[thetrial]

2, 4 & 14 ^_^

hiiii :)

2. Did you reread anything? What?

I didn't reread much this year (no reread of The Trial for the first time in forever) but here are a few: - Flights (Olga Tokarczuk), which I read in janfeb & again in marchapril (& then made two of my friends read it too). - I found an audiobook of Kruistocht in spijkerbroek (Thea Beckman), a childhood favourite, while wandering around the internet archive so I simply had to listen to that -- it largely holds up thought when I joined all the files into one larger audiobook I missed the last section & only found out a week after I finished it and looked up the pdf for favourite passages. I thought the open ending I accidentally assigned to it was much more compelling (though perhaps unfit for a children's book). - I also skimmed the personal classic Nooit meer slapen (Willem Frederik Hermans) throughout summer. Woobified Holden Caulfield <3 - Obligatory Le petit prince reread. Of course

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

Roberto Bolaño - he's not new to me in the sense that I was interested in reading his works last year already and only got to it now, but man. Half the time I'm reading I am pissed off at how much I am enjoying myself. I've only finished one book -The Savage Detectives- so I don't feel like I can make any sweeping statemements about his work, but I love the texture of his prose (to paraphrase something I told a friend). It is rich without feeling decadent, like a walk in spring when the first flowers are blooming, noticing everything in the world with new eyes. I also was quite impressed by Helen DeWitt, through The English Understand Wool and ~half of The Last Samurai. Really really looking forward to more from her :) Oh! I've been listening (very slowly) to Mike Davis' City of Quartz and I am captivated by it, I really want to read it physically to have a better grasp on my thoughts instead of letting them fly away as they typically do with audiobooks, and hopefully read Ecology of Fear soon

14. What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

In direct relation to the above, I am about 150 pages into Bolaño's 2666 (i.e. near the end of the part about the critics), which I took on as my big holidary reading. I would also love to finally sit down and finish The Last Samurai but I hate reading on my phone and my library loan keeps expiring before I transfer it to my ereader :'( In the realm of delusion I have been plagued by the idea of rereading The Brothers Karamazov or The Idiot, just to measure my growth since I read them last.

Thank you <3

[end of year book questions]