6 ms·

Yes. I have always loved books. I read about 30-40 a year, mostly fiction with a few non-fiction thrown in. Novels are the closest thing I know to a form of m

by habosa 7y ago

Yes. I have always loved books. I read about 30-40 a year, mostly fiction with a few non-fiction thrown in. Novels are the closest thing I know to a form of magic. A good author can completely encode an entire world full of people on 300 pages of black and white text. And when they do it well, it literally never expires. I read mostly books from the last 50 years but I think the best example of a book as magic is Don Quixote. It was published in 1605. You can pick it up today and relate to the characters, enjoy the plot, and laugh at their jokes. Most other forms of popular media go stale in a year or maybe a decade. You will also find that reading great writers improves your ability to think and speak. The true masters, someone like John Steinbeck or Gabriel Garcia Marquez, construct sentences so beautifully that they can stop up in your tracks. After reading enough some of this will rub off on you and you'll be shocked at small bursts of eloquence in your thoughts and speech. So I strongly advise everyone to read at least a few good novels a year. You won't regret it. As for non-fiction I think the need is a little less obvious. Many times after reading a 400 page book I think "I'd probably have preferred a 30-page article on the subject". However that's not always true and many NF authors earn their word count. But I can totally see the argument for the internet as replacement for NF.

randomsearch 7y ago
+1 for Steinbeck being a “true master”. East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath essential.
- armitron 7y ago
  I never understood the fascination of many Americans (I'm British) with Steinbeck. For me, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Hemingway and even McCarthy and Melville are completely outclassing him. One American friend of mine once mentioned that Steinbeck is obligatory reading in many American schools but few read Faulkner. Maybe that has something to do with his popularity.
  - selimthegrim 7y ago
    We were assigned Faulkner in high school (in Ohio). I just wish it hadn't been As I Lay Dying.
  - randomsearch 7y ago
    I've only read Hemingway, and no doubt to my taste that Steinbeck is a much better writer (despite Hemingway's reputation). One thing I love about Steinbeck is that he is a true artist in the level of detail and research he puts into his writing. There is so much grounded substance in there, so much depth, hard work, and yet he doesn't show off, doesn't throw it in your face. A huge amount of wisdom can be found in East of Eden, more than any other book I've read.
  - anthonypasq 7y ago
    Faulkner is significantly more difficult.
exegete 7y ago
How do you decide which books to read?
- xur17 7y ago
  I'd be curious to hear an answer for this as well. My goal this year is to just read something every day. No minimum amount of time, no specific books, just to read consistently. My current approach is to keep a list of books that others recommend both online (hn, reddit, etc) and in person, and choose a book off the list as I finish each one based on what I'm currently interested in reading.
- deniscepko2 7y ago
  There goodreads website for you to help. And for me its not easy i often start and stop reading books that i find eventually bad or not interesting. One good approach i think is reading old books which have massive amounts of reviews. I know if you think that tech books get outdated you will be surprised that much of the information is very relevant
- rodolphoarruda 7y ago
  That's a question of a lifetime because as you change, mature, books "change" as well every time you read them. With that said, many people approach this by choosing the author(s) first or the historical period, and then drilling down to specific titles. Parent mentioned some authors that were relevant to him/her. Don Quixote (book title) is a great book and it had a special meaning to me when I read it for the first time. It was when I was learning Spanish and consulting in Latin America. Quixote is well regarded as a literature masterpiece for the Spanish language and, to me, as a learner, it was like playing the piano while listening to Beethoven as a reference. Well, this was my own experience. You can choose authors/books to build your own experience around them, which I'm sure you will never forget.
- bsenftner 7y ago
  When I was a kid I was an obsessive reader, and a teacher basically forbid me from reading anything not from the Classic section of the high school library. Before elementary ended, I'd finished reading all the books they had in their Classics. (Understanding them at that age is a whole separate issue, BTW.) But my point being, the Classics are considered "a classic" for very serious reasons, and unless you really cannot get into a writer's voice after effort, each and every "Classic" is worth reading in a major way. I suggest starting with the Nobel Literature winners.
coding123 7y ago
Thanks for this. I feel somewhat compelled to start reading again.
walterbell 7y ago
Here is one of R.A. Lafferty's short stories (many of his works are available online, a handful are in print in the UK), http://ralafferty.com/2017/05/22/through-other-eyes/ http://ralafferty.com/2017/05/22/through-other-eyes/ "The Cerebral Scanner, newly completed by Charles Cogsworth, was not an intricate machine. It was a small but ingenious amplifying device, or battery of amplifiers, designed for the synchronous—perhaps “sympathetic” would be a better word—coupling of two very intricate machines: two human brains. It was an amplifier only. A subliminal coupling, or the possibility of it, was already assumed by the inventor. Less than a score of key aspects needed emphasizing for the whole thing to come to life ... It had been a long-held opinion of Cogsworth that, by the proper amplification of a near score of these impulses in one brain, a transmission could be effected to another so completely that one man might for an instant see with the eyes of another—also see inwardly with that man’s eyes, have the same imaginings and daydreams, perceive the same universe as the other perceived. And it would not be the same universe as the seeking man knew ... This idea of his—to enter into the mind of another, to peer from behind another’s eyes into a world that could not be the same—this idea had been with him all his life. He recalled how it had first come down on him in all its strength when he was quite small.
iamwpj 7y ago
In the middle of a complex 500 page ancestral deep dive Marquez will slip the simplest sentences that make me pause. It's not even the beginning of a chapter -- it's just something he tossed in without much thought to continue the magic. brb going to go check out a book.
Jenz 7y ago
> Novels are the closest thing I know to a form of magic. Simply; this.
vvm 7y ago
> "A good author can completely encode an entire world full of people on 300 pages of black and white text. And when they do it well, it literally never expires. " that is quite similar to how I view it also. And good authors are able to describe so well human behavior, that it will make it worth the read.
Volrath89 7y ago
I've always wondered how non-spanish or even non latin american people can enjoy García Márquez. His books display great usage of the language and are full of historic references. I personally enjoyed his work after having read a lot of other books (expanding my vocabulary) and only after learning colombian history and not before PD: Before becoming a nobel laureate writer, he worked as a journalist for a newspaper. In my university we studied one of his articles in depth, as they were beautifully written.
- rukuu001 7y ago
  My latin in-laws shake their heads in pity because I can't 'get' García Márquez, even reading in Spanish.
- sanderjd 7y ago
  I find the writing beautiful even in translation. It always makes me wish I could read the original language. It does make me feel like I'm missing a lot of things, but even with those things missing I find that it's better than most other things I read. I've had a very similar feeling when reading Russian authors like Gogol, Pushkin, and Dostoevsky.
- habosa 7y ago
  Spanish-language novels translated to English is reliably my favorite category of books. I think with a good translator the beauty of the language carries through. (I speak some Spanish but not enough to read a whole book)
undefined_user6 7y ago
Don Quixote is the funniest book I've read in my entire life.

by habosa 7y ago

randomsearch 7y ago

+1 for Steinbeck being a “true master”. East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath essential.

armitron 7y ago
I never understood the fascination of many Americans (I'm British) with Steinbeck. For me, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Hemingway and even McCarthy and Melville are completely outclassing him. One American friend of mine once mentioned that Steinbeck is obligatory reading in many American schools but few read Faulkner. Maybe that has something to do with his popularity.
- selimthegrim 7y ago
  We were assigned Faulkner in high school (in Ohio). I just wish it hadn't been As I Lay Dying.
- randomsearch 7y ago
  I've only read Hemingway, and no doubt to my taste that Steinbeck is a much better writer (despite Hemingway's reputation). One thing I love about Steinbeck is that he is a true artist in the level of detail and research he puts into his writing. There is so much grounded substance in there, so much depth, hard work, and yet he doesn't show off, doesn't throw it in your face. A huge amount of wisdom can be found in East of Eden, more than any other book I've read.
- anthonypasq 7y ago
  Faulkner is significantly more difficult.

exegete 7y ago

How do you decide which books to read?

xur17 7y ago
I'd be curious to hear an answer for this as well. My goal this year is to just read something every day. No minimum amount of time, no specific books, just to read consistently. My current approach is to keep a list of books that others recommend both online (hn, reddit, etc) and in person, and choose a book off the list as I finish each one based on what I'm currently interested in reading.
deniscepko2 7y ago
There goodreads website for you to help. And for me its not easy i often start and stop reading books that i find eventually bad or not interesting. One good approach i think is reading old books which have massive amounts of reviews. I know if you think that tech books get outdated you will be surprised that much of the information is very relevant
rodolphoarruda 7y ago
That's a question of a lifetime because as you change, mature, books "change" as well every time you read them. With that said, many people approach this by choosing the author(s) first or the historical period, and then drilling down to specific titles. Parent mentioned some authors that were relevant to him/her. Don Quixote (book title) is a great book and it had a special meaning to me when I read it for the first time. It was when I was learning Spanish and consulting in Latin America. Quixote is well regarded as a literature masterpiece for the Spanish language and, to me, as a learner, it was like playing the piano while listening to Beethoven as a reference. Well, this was my own experience. You can choose authors/books to build your own experience around them, which I'm sure you will never forget.
bsenftner 7y ago
When I was a kid I was an obsessive reader, and a teacher basically forbid me from reading anything not from the Classic section of the high school library. Before elementary ended, I'd finished reading all the books they had in their Classics. (Understanding them at that age is a whole separate issue, BTW.) But my point being, the Classics are considered "a classic" for very serious reasons, and unless you really cannot get into a writer's voice after effort, each and every "Classic" is worth reading in a major way. I suggest starting with the Nobel Literature winners.

coding123 7y ago

Thanks for this. I feel somewhat compelled to start reading again.

walterbell 7y ago

Here is one of R.A. Lafferty's short stories (many of his works are available online, a handful are in print in the UK), http://ralafferty.com/2017/05/22/through-other-eyes/ http://ralafferty.com/2017/05/22/through-other-eyes/ "The Cerebral Scanner, newly completed by Charles Cogsworth, was not an intricate machine. It was a small but ingenious amplifying device, or battery of amplifiers, designed for the synchronous—perhaps “sympathetic” would be a better word—coupling of two very intricate machines: two human brains. It was an amplifier only. A subliminal coupling, or the possibility of it, was already assumed by the inventor. Less than a score of key aspects needed emphasizing for the whole thing to come to life ... It had been a long-held opinion of Cogsworth that, by the proper amplification of a near score of these impulses in one brain, a transmission could be effected to another so completely that one man might for an instant see with the eyes of another—also see inwardly with that man’s eyes, have the same imaginings and daydreams, perceive the same universe as the other perceived. And it would not be the same universe as the seeking man knew ... This idea of his—to enter into the mind of another, to peer from behind another’s eyes into a world that could not be the same—this idea had been with him all his life. He recalled how it had first come down on him in all its strength when he was quite small.

iamwpj 7y ago

In the middle of a complex 500 page ancestral deep dive Marquez will slip the simplest sentences that make me pause. It's not even the beginning of a chapter -- it's just something he tossed in without much thought to continue the magic. brb going to go check out a book.

Jenz 7y ago

> Novels are the closest thing I know to a form of magic. Simply; this.

vvm 7y ago

> "A good author can completely encode an entire world full of people on 300 pages of black and white text. And when they do it well, it literally never expires. " that is quite similar to how I view it also. And good authors are able to describe so well human behavior, that it will make it worth the read.

Volrath89 7y ago

I've always wondered how non-spanish or even non latin american people can enjoy García Márquez. His books display great usage of the language and are full of historic references. I personally enjoyed his work after having read a lot of other books (expanding my vocabulary) and only after learning colombian history and not before PD: Before becoming a nobel laureate writer, he worked as a journalist for a newspaper. In my university we studied one of his articles in depth, as they were beautifully written.

rukuu001 7y ago
My latin in-laws shake their heads in pity because I can't 'get' García Márquez, even reading in Spanish.
sanderjd 7y ago
I find the writing beautiful even in translation. It always makes me wish I could read the original language. It does make me feel like I'm missing a lot of things, but even with those things missing I find that it's better than most other things I read. I've had a very similar feeling when reading Russian authors like Gogol, Pushkin, and Dostoevsky.
habosa 7y ago
Spanish-language novels translated to English is reliably my favorite category of books. I think with a good translator the beauty of the language carries through. (I speak some Spanish but not enough to read a whole book)

undefined_user6 7y ago

Don Quixote is the funniest book I've read in my entire life.