>I don’t think this is this is the deepest book to ever exist, but there is noticeable and deliberate depth.

I've actually found it's the exact opposite: the Hunger Games series has a quite noticeable lack of depth, that's part of the reason people still dismiss it as "YA Battle Royale". The whole revolutionary plot felt weightless because the setting and its big evil rulers were only ever loosely-sketched cartoon villains.

No no, "books were invented in 2,000(??) BC nearly 4,000 years before the release of Belgian techno anthem, 'Pump Up The Jam.'"

Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I'm about to re-read this book and I have to admit, I've forgotten everything about it. This year I am doing a reading challenge that is The Dark Tower extended reading order. It includes any book where there is an overlapping character or the book in some way contributes to the Dark Tower story. I'm really looking forward to revisiting some King books I haven't read in decades.

“we need to prove that our identities are valid to the people who want to bomb schools in the name of protecting children” 💀 can you hear yourself?

For Panem, it's too on the nose. It would be like having a state run brainwashing/mind-melting TV network that placates the masses having Lotus in the name

The whole world's telling them that fun is something you buy and if something doesn't pay off instantly, it's not worth doing.

That's not really cultivating a reading mindset.

Can concur, was raised Catholic and now have to cope with the massive amounts of trauma/brainwashing inflicted upon me during my formative years

It's complicated! (I'm not an expert, just a curious person who likes to read about reading strategies.) People who subvocalize are sometimes trained to stop as a strategy for reading faster. However, it's important to note subvocalization is a matter of degree: it's not on or off, but comes in many levels of intensity. It seems to affect certain types of comprehension and memory retention, particularly increasing comprehension at a high level and retention into short-term memory. It's not clear it's such a bad thing, but maybe being able to turn it off (or up and down) might also be a good skill to have?

Isn’t like all of American media owned by a handful of rich white men who literally want to watch the world burn

First paragraph, why in the fuck would you be teaching ANY history again if the babies at eighteen can’t fucking read….

Why is this so hard for you to get. They can’t read they can’t write they can’t critically think about fucking history.

Okay so teach away history and then what 🤣 they fail at yet another class but hey it’s cool they got to learn something they won’t retain and further be confused by. Then with those stats they likely will repeat in history.

Dude I am so done for now got a few appointments.

Experiment time; if you have children, when was the last time you had your child read a story out loud to you. Can they. If they can, could they then tell you what the story was about. If they can, can they then speculate into the contexts future in anyway beyond the story and articulate that to you.

If your children can, consider them blessed. And I will pray for them for their lives amongst the majority of their peers cannot and your child’s life no matter how smart will be difficult because they themselves are not the majority of their generation.

Ridiculous to even hope for such a thing. This is America, we are full speed ahead towards fascism and have been for quite some time

I see the word "book" in the title, seems relevant here.

One thing I have learned from Yelp and other online review sites is there are two kinds of people: Those who consider expected mediocrity as 5 stars and those who use the entire rating system. The former rate a greasy spoon 5 stars if their hot slop was not thrown in their face. The latter are the only people who actually leave useful reviews.

Corporate types want everyone to the the former. If they don't have a 4.5 star+ rating on a product or service, it is utter garbage because they are only concerned with marketing their junk by any means necessary. So they punish their workers and unsubtly tell users that they must rate 5 stars or they are assholes.

I use the whole rating system, because I am not leaving reviews for marketing wanks, I am leaving them for other readers so they can find the best stuff easily.

As a side note, a friend is a struggling author (is there any other kind?) and he has noted that high ratings are great, but it is the number of ratings that matters on places like Amazon. If you don't hit a certain threshold in reviews, your book will never make it onto suggested lists, and you will never be read. So if you like something mildly obscure, throw it a review on amazon, google, as many services as you can find. They need it. If it is a major release by an author with a publishing deal, fuck it they are fine.

How do you skip subvocalization? I read slower, always have, and it sounds like it is due to my subvocalization

I can read that way, I find it helps me to slow down a bit and understand what I'm reading rather than skimming. I can read very well without doing so, so I don't misunderstand what I'm reading but I often find it harder to recall specifics of things I've read rather than the gist.

5* - Books that I not only loved, but I actively remember for a while after reading it. The stories not only stick, but also influence what I look for going forward. If there are any flaws in the book, I don't find them impactful at all. I only have a handful of these.

4* - Books that I thoroughly enjoyed. The only difference between 4* and 5* is that I find some of the flaws harder to overlook. Maybe I was bored with a certain section, or think passages could have been reworked a bit. But I still would very much recommend these books and think they are well worth the time.

3* - Books that I liked, but felt were just about average. The flaws are significantly harder to overlook, but despite that, I still enjoyed the read. Still, they aren't bad books by a long shot, and I would still recommend them, however they most likely aren't the first thought that pops into my head as I believe there are better books out there.

2* - Books that I did not like. Perhaps the concepts were cool, but the execution left me wanting. Usually, I'll finish a 2* book and think it wasn't worth my time. I wouldn't recommend these books to anyone.

1* - Books that I not only hated, but felt that they actively wasted my time. Everything about them felt awful and I often regret reading them. Sometimes, I'll even refund these if I realize I won't DNF. Not only would I never recommend these books, I'll actively express how I felt about them if it comes up in conversation.

I don't actually rate anything lower than a 3*. I've read that authors shouldn't do that because it kind of creates a stigma around that author and people might be hesitant to work with them. As an author who already has a hard enough time networking, I didn't want to dig my own grave. Instead, I just don't rate them. Plausible deniability at its finest.

But I know what book gets what rating.

Also, I really wish Goodreads was out of 10 instead of 5. Or maybe gave half stars. No matter how much I love a book, I don't think I've ever read something that was absolutely perfect. But, to me, 5* sort of implies perfection. I'd give those books 9/10 or 4.5/5. But I don't feel like, with the current system, that they should get a 4* because they are markedly better from my perspective.

So I found out today that the Atlantic is owned by Steve Jobs’ widow. Which feels worth considering when reading about how it’s not screens turning kids off reading.

5 stars - Amazing. Will think about a lot and possibly read multiple times. Would recommend to anyone.

4 stars - Enjoyed greatly. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys that genre of book.

3 stars - It was fine. Would only recommend to other people with caveats.

2 stars - Not good.

1 star - Let's never speak of this again.

5 - transcendent, genre defining or defying. i used to give more 5s but i’m down to 2-4/year (out of 40-50 books read). Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake, Tinkers by Paul Harding, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. Books i will reread multiple times. Will recommend to anyone. 4 - amazing books, worth a reread. Seriously enjoyed but not as unique or masterful as 5. Will recommend frequently. 3 - enjoyed it. probably won’t reread. Will recommend if matches a prompt well. 2 - meh. probably won’t recommend. 1 - DNF.

I rank in a similar manner. Never done a one because I would never bother finishing a one and I don’t feel comfortable eating a book I haven’t finished! 🤷🏻‍♀️

Personally, a 5 star is reserved for the best books I will ever read. There should be no question in your mind "is this a 4 star or a 5 star?". You KNOW it's a 5 star. You would give it 6 if you could.

So 4 stars for me are still incredible books, just not in the best books of all time category. I've read 18 books this year so far and only have one 5 star. But lots of fantastic 4 stars.

I can do all the reading I want for free online in the comment sections.

I've tried and it's like I'm tripping up over myself. The internal words get a bit jumbled and i miss details. I'm probably trying to go too fast actually, I tried with your comment.

The Baroque Cycle is up there with my favorites, but I cannot imagine reading the entire trilogy 5 times.

Would love to watch it as a movie or tv series, though, if that were possible.

5 - Perfect 4 - Great 3 - Good/Okay 2 - Not Good 1 - Awful/DNF