Do you like to read?

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by Gryffindorian, Apr 3, 2013.

  1. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2002
    Location:
    United States
    It's not that I like to read, it's that I'm angry at letters.
     
  2. Tora Ziyal

    Tora Ziyal Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2010
    ^What did letters ever do to you?
     
  3. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2002
    Location:
    United States
    All they do is sit there and stare at me, so I just stare right back at them.
     
  4. Jan

    Jan Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2005
    Location:
    ...is insane. --JMS
    I not only love to read, it's essential. I didn't realize until my mid-20s that not everybody can pick up a book and become immersed in the story. Doesn't matter if it's a detective story or science fiction or romance, once I pick it up, I'm in the story.

    If I don't have something to read, even for a few minutes, I can't get to sleep. I once had an airline lose the book I'd brought for a multi-day trip and had to make do with an abandoned People magazine until I could get out to a bookstore the next day.

    Nowadays I never leave the house without my Kindle. I'm doing my best to fill it up with my old favorites that I re-read regularly. For the most part that's SF and fantasy because I learned early on that those make me slow down and think while other genres generally don't.

    Jan
     
  5. Tora Ziyal

    Tora Ziyal Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2010
    I like that. :bolian:
     
  6. feek61

    feek61 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2011
    Location:
    In the Sunshine!
    I am always reading and love it. I usually read biographical or technical stuff; very little fiction. Strange too because I love to watch sci-fi; just don't read it.
     
  7. Gryffindorian

    Gryffindorian Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2002
    Location:
    Gryffindorian
    I consider myself a very slow reader, too, especially when it comes to reading fiction novels. When I was a teen, it would take me at least a few weeks to finish a TNG paperback. It took me almost a month to finish reading Prisoner of Azkaban. I'm a very visual reader and like to picture things in my mind as I read. This can be both a blessing and a bane. Yes, I enjoy the imagery that I conjure up in my head, but at what cost? And having a short attention span, I get distracted easily and feel I have to take a break after a while.

    True, I only started with PoA because I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie. That was the first and only novel I've read so far, and I made myself sit alone in a quiet room to read it. Several times.

    Just to give everyone an idea of how many books I own, here's an old list that I haven't updated lately, which means I have more titles I haven't yet catalogued.

    30 Second Mysteries Case Files
    A Dictionary of American Idioms, Fourth Edition
    America's Presidents
    An Invitation to Health
    Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife
    Art: A World History
    Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide
    Big Book of Brain Games, The
    Brain Strains Power Puzzles
    Business English
    Comparative Politics in Transition
    Complete Book of Dreams
    DC Comics Encyclopedia
    DC: 52, Aftermath - The Four Horsemen
    DC: 52, Volume 1
    DC: 52, Volume 2
    DC: 52, Volume 3
    DC: 52, Volume 4
    DC: Blackest Night
    DC: Countdown to Final Crisis, Volume 1
    DC: Day of Vengeance, Countdown to Infinite Crisis
    DC: Final Crisis
    DC: Infinite Crisis
    DC: Infinite Crisis Companion
    DC: OMAC Project, Countdown to Infinite Crisis
    DC: Rann-Thanagar War, Countdown to Infinite Crisis
    DC: Sinestro Corps, Volume 1
    DC: Sinestro Corps, Volume 2
    DC: Villains United, Countdown to Infinite Crisis
    DC: World War III
    Dinosaur Encyclopedia
    Do You Know the Real You?
    Encyclopedia of Earth, The: A Complete Visual Guide
    Exiles, Volume 1
    Exiles, Volume 2: A World Apart
    Exiles, Volume 3: Out of Time
    Exiles, Volume 4: Legacy
    Exiles, Volume 5: Unnatural Instincts
    Eyewitness Travel: Las Vegas
    Fabulous Creatures and Other Magical Beings
    Favorite Folktales from Around the World
    Geographica's World Reference
    Giant 1001 Puzzle Book, The
    Ginormous Book of Dirty Jokes
    Grimm Fairy Tales, Volume 1
    Grimm Fairy Tales, Volume 2
    Grimm Fairy Tales, Volume 3
    Guide to Getting It On
    Hammond World Almanac World Factbook
    Hammond World Almanac: Book of the United States
    Handling Difficult People
    Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide
    Holy Bible (New International Version)
    Human
    Human Body Book, The
    Introduction to Sociology
    James Bond: The Secret World of 007
    Jesus of the Bible, The
    JLA Avengers
    Justice League 1: Tornado's Path
    Justice League 2: The Lightning Saga
    Justice League 3: The Injustice League
    Justice League 4: Sanctuary
    Justice League 5: Second Coming
    Justice League 6: When Worlds Collide
    Justice League 7: Team History
    Justice League Elite, Volume 1
    Justice League Elite, Volume 2
    Justice League: American Dreams
    Justice League: Crisis of Conscience
    Justice League: Divided We Fall
    Justice League: Earth 2
    Justice League: Golden Perfect
    Justice League: Identity Crisis
    Justice League: Justice for All
    Justice League: Justice, Volume 1
    Justice League: Justice, Volume 2
    Justice League: Justice, Volume 3
    Justice League: League of One
    Justice League: New World Order
    Justice League: Obisidian Age (Book 2)
    Justice League: Obsidian Age (Book 1)
    Justice League: One Million
    Justice League: Riddle of the Beast
    Justice League: Rock of Ages
    Justice League: Rules of Engagement
    Justice League: Strength in Numbers
    Justice League: Syndicate Rules
    Justice League: Technis Imperative
    Justice League: Terror Incognita
    Justice League: The Tenth Circle
    Justice League: Tower of Babel
    Justice League: Trial by Fire
    Justice League: Ultramarine Corps
    Justice League: Virtue and Vice
    Justice League: World Without Justice League
    Kokology 2
    Life Application Study Bible (New Internation Version)
    LOST Encyclopedia
    MacBeth (Barron's Simply Shakespeare)
    MacMillan Illustrated Encyclopedia of Myths & Legends
    Magandang Balita Biblia
    Marvel Encyclopedia Vol. 1
    Marvel Encyclopedia Vol. 1: X-Men
    Marvel Encyclopedia, The
    Marvel Ultimates 2.1: Gods & Monsters
    Marvel Ultimates 2.2: Grand Theft America
    Marvel Ultimates 3: Who Killed the Scarlet Witch
    Marvel: Secret Invasions
    Marvel: Ultimate Power
    Marvel: Ultimatum
    Marvel: Ultimatum - Requiem
    Marvel: Civil War
    Marvel: Civil War - Marvel Universe
    Marvel: Decimation - X:Men, The 198
    Marvel: Decimation - X-Men, The Day After
    Marvel: House of M
    Marvel: Marville
    Marvel: X-Men, Messiah Complex
    Merck Manual of Medical Information, 2nd Home Edition
    Mythology (DK Eyewitness Companions)
    National Geographic Essential Visual History of the Bible
    National Geographic Essential Visual History of World Mythology
    New X-Men (Volume 1 Hardcover)
    New X-Men, Volume 3: New Worlds
    New X-Men, Volume 4: Riot at Xavier's
    New X-Men, Volume 5: Assault on Weapon X
    New X-Men, Volume 6: Planet X
    New X-Men, Volume 7: Here Comes Tomorrow
    Personology: The Precision Approach to Charting Your Life & Career
    Presidents Fact Book
    Quotable Star Trek
    Random House Webster's College Dictionary
    Reader's Digest Book of Puzzles & Brain Teasers
    Rules of Life, The
    Rules of Work, The
    Secret Universe of Names, The
    Simple Chinese Astrology
    Star Trek Chronology
    Star Trek: Alien Spotlight, Volume 1
    Star Trek: Year Four
    Star Wars Episode One Visual Dictionary
    Star Wars Episode Three Visual Dictionary
    Star Wars Episode Two Visual Dictionary
    Star Wars: The New Essential Chronology
    Story of Christianity, The
    Streetfigther Tribute
    Teen Titans #1: A Kid's Game
    Teen Titans #11: Deathtrap
    Teen Titans #2: Family Lost
    Teen Titans #3: Beast Boys and Girls
    Teen Titans #4: The Future is Now
    Teen Titans #5: Life and Death
    Teen Titans #6: Titans Around the World
    Teen Titans #7: Titans East
    Teen Titans #8: On the Clock
    Teen Titans #9: On the Clock
    Timelines of World History
    Titans: Old Friends
    Tolkien's World - Paintings of Middle Earth
    Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Movie Guide)
    Ultimate Guide to the Justice League of America
    Uncanny X-Men, Volume 1: Hope
    Uncanny X-Men, Volume 2: Dominant Species
    Uncanny X-Men, Volume 3: Holy War
    Uncanny X-Men, Volume 4: The Draco
    Uncanny X-Men, Volume 6: Bright New Mourning
    Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die
    Urban Legends
    Uzumaki: The Art of Naruto
    Vatican, The: Secrets and Treasures of the Holy City
    What Type Am I?
    Who are You? 101 Ways of Seeing Yourself
    Wizardology
    World Religions

    Here's a list of magazines I subscribe(d) to:

    Entertainment Weekly
    Smithsonian
    National Geographic Traveler
    The Food Network Magazine
    Condé Nast Travel
     
  8. Kestra

    Kestra Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2005
    I'm not sure where you're from, but you might want to consider volunteering with a literacy group. Think of everything that reading has done for you, and then imagine what it must be like to be an illiterate adult. I know it was a life-changing experience for me, and seeing how passionate you are about reading, I just thought I'd offer it up as something to think about!
     
  9. Tora Ziyal

    Tora Ziyal Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2010
    ^Excellent suggestion, Kestra. I taught literacy-level writing and math to adults and loved it. I felt like I was opening up a whole new world for them.
     
  10. Kestra

    Kestra Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2005
    It's so gratifying, isn't it? The man I was paired up with was having a son and wanted to be able to read to him because he wasn't able to do that with his two older children. There are so many things that we take for granted.
     
  11. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2003
    Location:
    RJDiogenes of Boston
    ^^ That's nice. It seems like literacy is treated with disdain these days.

    You know what Nietzsche said: "If you stare long enough at the letters, the letters stare back at you."
     
  12. Yoda

    Yoda Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2000
    Location:
    San Diego
    Computer games are not something to be outgrown. Especially when you're ultra-enthusiastic about your comic book collection ;)
     
  13. Sam_I_Am

    Sam_I_Am Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2004
    Location:
    New Taipei, Taiwan
    I love reading. I love my Kindle because I read much more frequently nowadays. It's certainly so much easier to peruse Amazon and download something rather than heading to the book-store, charity shop or library.
     
  14. Gryffindorian

    Gryffindorian Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2002
    Location:
    Gryffindorian
    Alas, I must say I was quite immersed in City of Heroes/City of Villains MMO up until a year before the online game shut down. Ahh, the good old days of farming and Double XP weekends. But I was never really a hardcore gamer, averaging only 3 to 4 hours per week until I lost interest.
     
  15. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2002
    Location:
    United States
    That explains why I love green eggs and ham! :wah:
     
  16. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2003
    Location:
    RJDiogenes of Boston
    If you stare long enough at the eggs, the eggs stare back at you.

    [​IMG]
     
  17. rhubarbodendron

    rhubarbodendron Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 1, 2011
    Location:
    milky way, outer spiral arm, Sol 3
    Ahem... you are aware of the fact that Nietzsche died in a loonie asylum, aren't you?

    Sorry about the late reply - I only just discovered the thread.
    I learned how to read at the age of 3 and ever since nothing in print has been safe from me. When I was at primary school I used to wake up in the night and I would always sneak to my dad's office and read the 12 volume lexicon :) You may know the effect from Wikipedia: you look something up, find an interesting keyword, follow that to a different article which leads you to a third and so you get from meatballs to streetcars.
    My eyes aren't that good anymore and I appreciate this new invention of ebook readers that allow me to enlargen the print. Also, in digital form books take up so much less space. Plus I can easliy edit out typos and bad grammar =) (the noble custom of proof reading appears to have been abolished).

    I used to read in every spare minute, alas, the older I get, the less time do I find for reading :( Recently I started to sell those books I am not interested in anymore but I still have half a moving van of book crates.
     
  18. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2002
    Location:
    United States
    That is SO disturbing, but I love it. :lol:
     
  19. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2003
    Location:
    RJDiogenes of Boston
    ^^ :D

    Nietzsche is dead? :(
     
  20. RandyS

    RandyS Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2007
    Location:
    Randyland
    Yes and yes.