sick neg hit.

I cried when Dumbledore died in HP, put that book down, wiped my tears, cursed Snape, and went right back into that bitch. I can still smell the cold mocha I had next to me.

haha i was actually STOKED due to earlier point being proven correct

yeah and i think when it comes to social viewpoints people are too quick to write differing perspectives off as dumb.

my second post only describes when i attempt read novels. if the material is interesting that doesn't happen

i mean i get that it's the basic foundation. just feels like there should be more there to consistently rip through novels that take presumably 20+ hours to read.

this is a good post

actually reminds me that i DID like catcher in the rye. that was a good book. i read that in high school.

fyi i am not really meaning to make this about me. of course i expect people like phildo who only know me as the guy who posted about pua that one day to jump to conclusions about me.

Oh Phildo

Nope not trolling



Pretty good hipster porn imo

i tend to agree and i also thought it was cringeworthy when a bunch of dudes ripped into karak for daring to be christian. but i'm still firm on an "all reading is stupid" stance makes that person a dumbass unless they're dyslexic or something.

Weird post to me. Not because it's objectively correct to prefer the novel, I can understand preferring the movies, but to not understand the appeal of novels? Novels are able to go more in depth, better character development etc. People get to use their imagination and create the world in their mind the way they see it, instead of seeing someone else's version in a movie.

I can see why people don't enjoy reading, but it's not hard to see why they do.

LOL not sure if anyone else caught this. Well done.

Nvm: slowest pony ever. Tuq was obv going to catch it.

btw

so far the only example i've seen posted that makes a good case for the movie being > th book is the godfather, but based on some of the other absolutely absurd "examples" (OFOTCN, LOTR, etc) i feel plenty comfortable with my original statement.

haha we're cool

fwiw for me i found the whole imagination and creation of the world in my mind as a negative. that requires a lot of mental energy and i think there is a bit lost in translation from the authors mind > his words > my mind. there have been times when i have been frustrated because i couldn't imagine certain parts of the book as vividly as i want to.

spoilers you ****er

This part I can understand.

But the reader doesn't have to imagine the story the same way the author did. That isn't one of prose fiction's goals.

edit: I wish more people would watch Texhnolyze so I could have someone to talk about it with.

all this book talk made me realize that it was the Classic Book Series of the 90's that made me into the poster I am today.

brb, gotta MORPH

This is a really good and short read for anyone interested in the topic of the value of reading, specifically fiction.

PM your address to Clark if you want one.

i don't mean that i need to envision the characters having the same hair color as they do in the author's head, just that i feel a decent bit goes over my head due to being unable to relate to some aspects or not thoroughly processing every word due to ADD.

i don't know, after all of this i'll probably try to go ahead and read a novel to see if i like it or not. it's been forever since i tried, but i'll have to be sure to pick a really good one because i know i'm not finishing any one that's less than stellar.

infinite jest is IN THE MIX as a candidate.

I mean William Blake!

yup, GOAT

I hope you're being sarcastic about Infinite Jest, as someone with your complaints.

Start with Hemingway short stories, preferably just read In Our Time in order.

the last essay from DFW's "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" is the GOAT short story

that being said i am pretty damn sure there is no peer-reviewed research that supports the idea that reading text is the best way to synthesize/retain information. i happen to love reading but the knee-jerk reaction from people who say "LOL IF YOU DON'T READ YOU ARE A BIG DUMB" kinda has no evidence to support the concept

i mean there are tons of very smart software developers that i know who make $$$$ and understand lots about math, physics, logic, and other scientific things that learn from webcasts, podcasts, MOOCs that use videos, and very little conventional text-based reading

common sense/logic would indicate that processing information is done in a myriad of ways and the very hard-lined theory that reading is by far the best way to get this information probably isn't true in all cases

anyway how did we get on this topic

EDIT:

oh i forgot about The String Theory by DFW. anyone who isn't an idiot and likes sports should absolutely read this short story. it is awesome

yeah do not start with infinite jest jfc
you should try gaiaonline i hear they love that japanimation stuff
that's non fiction although it's obv incredible.

I told Dean he would enjoy Infinite Jest but I meant it in the way that he would enjoy getting high and reading like half a dozen pages and having his mind blown every now and then.

I think the requirements for Dean's book club inaugural selection are contemporary setting and intelligently written but somewhat plot driven. I would exclude Hemingway for those two reasons.

Thoughts?

Short stories are a good way to ease yourself into reading more fiction. A few I've enjoyed:

"Incarnations of Burned Children" / "Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature" [DFW's short fiction is a better entry point than Infinite Jest. His essays are the best entry point.]

"Dredge"

"A Real Doll"

All of these are kind of disturbing.

I completely understand that different people learn differently and that people use many different modalities to absorb information.

I know many extremely smart people as well, and all were voracious readers as children. This doesn't mean only fiction or nonfiction, or that reading is the best way to get information. Maybe it's just the most accessible for children. Also, not all of them continue to read a lot. But it's near-universal in my experience that intelligent adults whose background I know devoured books as children. The converse is true as well, anybody that I have heard say "I've always hated reading" or something like that hasn't been very smart. Maybe it's just my experience and not a common thing.