r/readwithme

Idk what’s wrong with me. I’m a big reader but have always struggled with finding my genres of books. Probably the ADHD doesn’t help lol. I get overwhelmed by too many decisions, buy books as dopamine hits, go through genre hyper fixations, and collect TBR books for dopamine. I have like 50-100 unread books in my house and 554 unread TBR books stored on my Goodreads.

I love books tho! I’m always trying books even if I dnf. I am also even an English Literature major. I actually loved everything that I read so far in my major a lot. It feels like I know at least that stuff is my type of books.

I’m trying to maintain my reading up over the summer tho! I’m just having trouble picking what to read. I have a lot of books at home but idk if they match what I want to read. I also tried to make a Summer TBR list but I ended up putting like 24 on it which is an absurd amount for my reading pace. I’ve attached pictures of the TBR list to this post. Some are some I already own, some are not.

I want to read books that give that vibe of summer. The heat, the nostalgia, the regrets. I don’t want something summer cute.

Reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky for the first time! What is everyone’s thoughts about it?

Kind of funny: I was about to search up something unrelated on Google and after typing "I want," this suggestion came up, which leads me to believe it is pretty popular. I've never heard of it. It got me curious. So if anyone has read this, how did you like it?

I bought this book 2 years ago and forgot about it and recently I found it while cleaning my room and started reading it, So far I am enjoying it very much and learning various things about Power.TBH it's my 1st book,maybe fate has destined me to read this book now, maybe I wasn't ready back then so it hid itself and now when the time is right it came back to me, what you think about this ?? I wanna know your opinion,do comment if you see this post😁

Looking for something really engaging that sucks me into it. I really love thrillers and horror and haven't looked into what any of these books are about, I like going in blind. Thanks in advance!

I’ve always defended audiobook listeners because, at the end of the day, you still consumed the story and the content of the book. Personally, I don’t listen to audiobooks because I zone out too much, but I never saw them as less than reading.

But after finishing Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden and going through the reviews on goodreads (Americans, before you come for me: I’m not from there and I will not be boycotting Amazon), I noticed something interesting. A lot of the people giving the book less than 3 stars had listened to the audiobook instead of physically reading it.

And it made me wonder: how sure are you that you hated the actual writing and not the narrator’s performance? A bad narrator can completely change the experience of a book the tone, pacing, emotions, tension, even how intelligent or annoying characters sound. Some narrators overact, others sound bored, and some voices just don’t fit the story at all.

So then I started checking reviews for other books, and I noticed the same pattern. A surprising number of negative reviews mention that the person listened to the book rather than read it. At that point, it stops feeling like they are only reviewing the author’s work,sometimes they are also reviewing the performance of the narrator without separating the two.

Outer Dark is my second Cormac McCarthy novel, with Blood Meridian being my first. I truly admire McCarthy’s writing style, I have yet to encounter anyone who can match him. Outer Dark is an unflinching look into a “godless land” with irredeemable characters. It’s bleak, desolate, and hopeless.

For those who aren’t familiar with this book, Outer Dark is about a brother (Culla) and Sister (Rinthy) who live in the Appalachian Mountains. They engaged in an incestuous relationship, which leads to Rinthy bearing her brother’s child. Rinthy gives birth and Culla wants nothing to do with the child, so he waits for Rinthy to fall asleep and he abandons the child deep in the wilderness. The following morning, they have a falling out and they embark on separate journeys. Rinthy hopes to find her child while Culla leaves home to find work and distance himself from his situation at home.

*Stop reading here, to avoid spoilers!*

The writing from start to finish was insanely beautiful with a good helping of dreadfulness. My favorite part of the book was Culla’s last encounter with the three strangers and the interaction that ensued. The amount of dread and anxiousness I felt, weighed on me a lot. By the time the encounter ended, my jaw was already on the floor. Then Culla’s interaction with the blind man and the marshlands… although I’ve only read two of McCarthy’s novels, I’ll continue to sing his praises till my last breath! I’m eager to start my next CM novel! What are your thoughts on Outer Dark?

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I'm unsure what to pick next 🙃

These are the current options:

- King Lear

- Die Liebe der Fuechsin which is old Chinese Ghost Stories

- The Silence

- The Vampire next Door

- Kagurabachi Volume 1

- Laughing beneath the Clouds Volume 3

I’m 70% in and I hope she releases something soon. I’ve read all her books , some were great, others were terrible. I hated The Crush, but her books are such comfort reads. They’re so easy to get through; I’ve read like 300 pages today. I love her books anyway.

Anyway, I was talking to a friend about it and telling her my guesses and predictions, and she was shocked that I do that. Apparently when she reads, she just switches off her brain and likes being surprised. Meanwhile, I like trying to solve the mystery before the author reveals it. Do you guys try not to guess what’s going to happen while reading?

My third Patrick Radden Keefe book and it just always amazes me how quickly he manages to hook you into the such obscure/niche stories that otherwise you might not have been interested in. Truly one of the greatest writers now, can’t wait to pick up his new book!

Also, recommend listening to his podcast called “Wind of Change”. So entertaining and maybe something you’ve never heard of before!

A friend read it and gave it four stars. Has anyone else read this one?

We finally got some nice chairs for the backyard, which means more reading outside this summer! Starting with Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler.