I am a sucker for imaginative and flowery prose. My favorite author so far in this regard is TE Lawrence. For reference, here are a couple examples that I really dig from Seven Pillars of Wisdom:

“It was peaceful, chilly, and very far from the fretting world. The austerity of height shamed back the vulgar baggage of our cares. In place of consequence it set freedom, power to be alone, to slip the escort of our manufactured selves, a rest and forgetfulness of the chains of being.”

“Of Azrak and Ruum both were magically haunted, but whereas Ruum was vast and echoing, and God-like, Azarak’s unfathomable silence was steeped in knowledge of wandering poets, champions, lost kingdoms, all the crime and chivalry and dead magnificence of Hira and Gassan. Each stone or blade of it was radiant with a half memory of the luminous silky Eden, which had passed so long ago.”

I’ve since read LOTR, a couple of Orwell’s, and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by Joyce. Loved them all, but none scratched my itch for prose.

I’m curious who are some of your favorite authors that enjoy waxing poetic through their descriptive but inventive and flowery prose? (Modern and classics are all welcome)

“Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?” by Raymond Carver

I love novels, I do, but short stories are often the perfect nightcap I’m looking for before bed. They can be any matter of things — short, punchy, and sweet. They can be anything, really. But reading them always feels like a satisfying “exercise” for my literary brain before I hide under the covers for 6+ hours. It’s like my non-negotiable “daily reps”.

I'm currently reading a few things around psychology, communication and human behavior.

I've always found it interesting how two books can be about the same subject but completely change the way you look at it.

What are you reading right now?

And more importantly — what made you pick that particular book?

I like to read a lot myself and was curious as to how much do others read for. For a day I already spend like 2 hours reading, tho it’s only because I’m a slow reader.

So my question to anyone is “how much do you read for fun on an average day?” Answer with a number please, for example it can be 5 minutes or 2 hours as long as it’s a number. Just wanted to be accurate for this.

Edit: This is for a class project if you want to be a part of this. People will be anonymous as I’m only collecting data on the amount of time and how many people respond to meet the project’s requirements.

I have like 4 books I call my ‘all time favorites’ and if I’m being honest, I’ve only actually reread one of them. The rest just live in that title because I loved them once, years ago, and the feeling never got downgraded even though I never went back to check if it still holds up.

I think there’s a difference between a book that changed you in the moment and a book you’d actually choose to spend time with again, and I’m not sure I’m always separating the two when I make these lists. Curious if that’s just me overthinking it, or if everyone’s favorites list is secretly more nostalgia than active love. Do you actually go back to yours, or do they just get to keep the title forever once they’ve earned it once?

I used to read all kinds of books in my late teens and early 20s. The habit somehow vanished gradually which I realised when I entered my 40s. To rekindle the love for books, I started with this. More than half way through. So far so good. However something tells me that as the remainder pages are thinning, the end might be shallow. Amanda seems to be the most unfortunate soul of the book with nothing to gain. All have some motive, but she seems to be riding on her sense of self righteousness. Hope to have a good ending. Nevertheless, wanted a page turner to hang on to, which it has succeeded.

1984 by George Orwell is my number one favorite classic, To kill a mockingbird by Harper lee is my second favorite classic, And The Catcher In the Rye is my third favorite classics. Starting the Count of Monte Cristo with my friends next week.

hi there! has anyone ever done a full-day readathon? i've been looking at vlogs and they seem so interesting. how did you structure your read-a-thon? was it with different genres or by the hour?

Tomorrow is September 1st! The best season of the year! With 2027 around the corner, what are your reading plans for 2026?

Mine is reading all the books currently on my TBR cart. All my graphic novels and all the books I’ve received in Allurial, a Romantasy book box I am subscribed to. On my nightstand are books I’m saving for Banned Books Week and Halloween in October. In September, I want to read some classics, as well as start my holiday reading. I’m really excited and I hope to stick to these.

Made a little reading corner in my daughter's playroom because of limited space. Hoping to build a reading habit for her from a young age. What do you guys think?

So glad I saw this before reading (this page is at the very end of the book, by the way, for some reason) otherwise I might have been caught by surprise by the arranged marriage.

I just finished The Gales of November by John Bacon on Sunday, and I absolutely loved it. I followed to today with Life of Chuck by Stephen King as sort of a palate cleanser. It was ok and served it’s purpose. I’m ready to move on now.

I love history, music, nature, and adventure. I’m not into romance or pulpy books.

Any suggestions? Here’s a stack I have; I’m open to other suggestions as well. Thanks!

What are you reading? What are you excited about reading next? What have you finished this week? Let us know your thoughts on it and share in each other's joy about books!

I hope this is the right sub to post in; I’ve currently been in a slump since the beginning of May.
I have a bunch of books sitting at about 5-10% read.
I have tried rereading a favourite, tried rereading a book I liked when I was younger (easier to get through), tried reading a really anticipated book and nothing helped.

So basically I was just wondering what your longest slumps have been and how you’ve broken them ?? There’s so many books coming out I want to read but I just can’t 😭

I’m not looking for specific books cause I know that’s not allowed, just ways to be able to read again cause I miss it so much :(

Hey all, I’m a 33 M, I have struggled with reading all my life. When I say struggle I don’t mean like I am partially/ fully illiterate. I mean when I read any book (except graphic novels, manga, or comic books) I find myself droning after a few paragraphs and my eyes can read continuously but my brain is somewhere else. This happens with any form of fiction or non fiction, it makes no difference. I have had to read books for schooling and other projects and I have been able to but with great difficulty each time. What takes my wife a few days to read would take me weeks to months due to the constant pattern of reading a few paragraphs, getting stuck on a word or phrase that put me into a tangent of what I forgot today or an idea I had, or something else meaningless. After all of this I find myself heavily craving to love to read but due to this issue I end up hating the very idea of dragging my brain through this process. It starts as a desire and turns into a chore quickly. I adore fantasy and sci fi and romance and adventure, I’ll even get recommendations from my wife or friends but when I go to indulge in this I find myself hating the process that seems to be harder for me than anyone else I’ve met. What’s worse is even in some of my reading over the years I’ve developed favorite I enjoyed more, the process never changed and it still took forever to read them but the count of monte cristo and great expectations were my favorites to slog through, classics I know and for awhile I thought maybe that’s what I liked and therefore my issue was I just didn’t enjoy the others I tried but no in fact all of the books I’ve tried are impossible to read at a decent pace and to enjoy without my many thought tangents and wanderings. Before anyone says it, I refuse to believe I just don’t like reading enough. I feel the very fact that I have read as many as I have over the years proves that wrong and I just love stories. Also I understand it sounds childish to say I only read picture books well, I get it for real. It’s just like a child though, they are easier to engage with. Can anyone help me understand what is wrong with me? I’m not looking for a diagnoses but maybe just some guidance as to what I can look for or how I can make this wanting love work… anything would be helpful.

I came across a discussion thread where the majority of the people were sharing their common disgust of first person writings.

Personally, I like it. Especially in horror.

What abt y'all?

Trying to actually finish Thinking, Fast and Slow this time. Picked it up several times before and never made it through, so this is attempt who-knows-what. Also this is one of those “too famous to read” books for me, I’ve gotten so many recommendations for it, clearly a lot of people love it, but for whatever reason I just couldn’t get into it.

Curious how everyone else approaches books like this, the ones that are almost too hyped to actually read. Do you go in with high expectations since so many people rave about it, or does that hype end up working against the book for you?

——

Update: Decided to switch things up and read this one on my commute instead, using my Kindle Paperwhite on the subway. Get about 10-15 minutes of free time each way.

always like to pop into an indie bookshop when on a visit. stopped into Castlegate Books in Knaresborough today. nice wee shop with very helpful staff member.

chose Strange Houses by Uketsu and The Viaduct Killings by Wes Markin as I have a soft spot for mysteries set in Yorkshire and this one is specifically Knaresborough (the viaduct as pictured)

can I read Strange Houses without having read Strange Pictures first?

A user had the idea of taking those recommend me threads and putting them all in a megathread, some others agreed with them so I'd like to know what the sub thinks and if you have other ideas. Thanks!

August was a small but satisfying reading month — 3 books, 1,002 pages.

📖 The Alchemist — Paulo Coelho

🔎 The 6:20 Man — David Baldacci

🔪 Run on Red — Noelle W. Ihli

A little mix of everything this month, from a classic to two thrillers. Definitely a reading month I enjoyed.

What did everyone else read in August?

I've created a pile of books to take on holiday I need help narrowing it down, I go for 12 nights and can read a book within a day or 2. I know am definitely taking the Holly Madison one, and call nurse millie.

Also we are going to re read Jack Ketchum, Cormac McCarthy, and Cm Kosemen’s All Tomorrows.

I start a full-time job and school for my second masters degree this Fall, so I’m really hoping I can get through these. There are a couple of big boys on the list. I’ll be limiting my screens to take full advantage of my free time to help me reach my goals!