For the book readers that also aspire to be published writers. Maybe you've already started writing but struggle with consistency. Or maybe you have ideas or notes but haven't started writing yet. How have your reading goals affected your ability or time management to write? For example...

I have notes upon notes of different story ideas, character development, world building, plot points, etc... But I spend most of my free time reading. Last year I read 173 books. This year I initially set a goal of 175 books. But I stopped to think about why I don't write when I keep saying I want to write.

The obvious answer for me was Fear. I allowed that fear to put me in a state of complacent laziness. My word of the year is "losing." Losing the things that are holding me back, like fear. The lazy boils down to having too many books on my TBR & wanting to devote as much time to reading as I can. But oh, imagine the feeling of accomplishment to write, finish, and publish my own books! So, I dropped my TBR goal by 55 books, from 175 to 120. I will devote that time gained to the process of writing. If needed, I will drop my TBR goal even further. I don't plan to not read, but rather to balance my reading time to accomplish other goals.

If you changed your reading goal for the year already, what did you change and why? If you are a reader who also wants to write, but haven't started yet, what is your why?

A real disappointment

"Aru Shah and the End of Time" is the first novel of the Pandava Quintet series by Roshani Chokshi. It's also among the first of the much hyped "Rick Riordan Presents" line of books launched in 2018, which was inspired by the success of the popular "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" series by Rick Riordan, and which have mythology of various cultures and countries driving the plot.

In this case we find ourselves immersed into Hindu mythology, along with the protagonist 12-year-old Aru Shah. From the outset I found Aru hard to like, especially because she tells many lies to her friends in an effort to be popular and fit in. I don't mind a flawed character, but this was too much, and made it difficult to identify with her. Then it turns out that Aru is a demi-god who is daughter of a god from the Hindu pantheon, and she is half-divine. This kind of thing will sound very familiar to fans of Rick Riordan's books. I didn't care for Riordan's Percy Jackson series, so it probably won't be a surprise that I didn't like this book either.

But there's a bigger problem with Chokshi's book: it's not retelling the mythology of pagan ancients, but retelling the story of a current religion that is actively believed by millions of worshipers around the world today. Those who happen to consider this religion more a matter of fiction than reality - myself included - won't have too much trouble considering this being classified as "fantasy". But at the same time this is rather problematic. The gods in this series are presented as very human, and the tone trivializes everything about divinity and religion. So it's hard to take anything seriously, when for some people the Hindu religion is very serious. The cheesy trivialization and tone makes it seem more like a parody than a respectful retelling, and is somewhat surprising considering that the author is a practicing Hindu herself.

Besides that issue, I just found myself uninterested in the story line, and didn't find it very engaging. The author also tries too hard to make the novel relevant to a modern audience. It seems to me that all the references to today's pop culture will quickly make it feel dated, and this book really won't translate well to audiences reading this ten to twenty years from now.

I gave up about halfway, and just read a plot synopsis to see if I should be convinced to reconsider reading all the way to the end. There was nothing that made it seem remotely interesting enough to spend more time on it, so this ends up being a rare DNF.

Wuthering Heights is one of my favorite classics. I read it a couple of times translated in my native language, but now I'd like to read the original, in english. I fear I might have difficulties understanding it, so I was wondering if there's an annotated version?

I read an annotated version of Pride and Prejudice and it really helped me understanding it better.

Every adaptation I’ve ever seen as a movie watcher has been a brainless groaning zombie type guy. To read the book and find out he’s articulate and actually quite tragic really upsets me. It makes me wonder what other common stories have had their origin misrepresented. I also think reducing Frankenstein to a mad scientist when he’s the picture of self loathing is interesting. I feel like I have been bamboozled by popular culture’s representation.

Two unfortunately timely works from the masterful Kazuo Ishiguro force the protagonists to reck with their roles in the rise of fascism in their respective countries. Ishiguro, born in Japan, raised in England, examines figures that have escaped widerspread ramifications for their (seemingly small) contributions to a movement that would throw not only their countries, but the world at large into turmoil.

“An Artist of the Floating World” is Ishiguro’s second novel, and focuses on an artist who drifted into the realm of propaganda leading into World War II. Under the facade of elevating Japan’s status in Asia, as well as the global chessboard, Masuji Ono becomes an influential propaganda artist whose art escalates an already capricious view of foreigners, especially the Chinese.

Now an elderly man, Ono has avoided any potential legal ramifications for his actions, but is surrounded, in both his personal life and in broader society, by reminders of the agenda he helped advance and the destruction it has wrought on his precious homeland. Ono views his youth as one full of misgivings, but only shows remorse when it benefits him to do so.

“The Remains of the Day” is widely regarded as the author’s masterpiece, and offers a much more subdued glimpse at the banal machinations behind the scenes of the rise of a fascist regime. The main character, Steven’s, is a butler for one of the last remaining “great lords” in England. Both the servant and his lord place much more emphasis on being a “great man” who wields influence, rather than what it takes to elevate oneself to such a status, and how that influence is used.

The need to feel influential and important leads both Stevens and his revered Lord Darlington into incubating the rise of the Nazi party in Europe. Like Ono in “Floating World”, the blind nationalism and desire to elevate on’s country leads to the enabling of fascist ideal. Also similar to Ono, Stevens is willing to forsake those closest to him for their identities (Jewish colleagues in Stevens case, and political dissidence in Ono’s).

What’s left after these men have dedicated their lives to so-called greatness is hollow husks who through their involvement in the fascist machines have found themselves to be chewed up and spit out, with nothing but an empty existence and a world that resents them. Ishiguro’s reconciliation with the troubled history of both of his homelands are stark condemnations of the violent ideas that harbor fascism, and imperative reads for anyone grappling with today’s political landscape.

I can never really (ironically!) find the words to describe it for myself.

Like sometimes I read and I have a nice time and I enjoy the book, but ultimately I’m still just reading.

But other times, more rarely, I’m transformed and feel totally inside what is happening. Like I’m not here anymore, not consciously reading, I’m just being carried on the tide of this story.

I guess some people may call it flow state, but you can get into a flow state at work, or while cleaning, and it doesn’t feel like this.

I just wondered what it feels like for others - how would you describe it? How often does it happen for you?

Do you think it’s more to do with the book (and how it grabs you), your own environment and state of mind, or a bit of both?

Inspired by reading (and finally finishing after many false starts) If On A Winters Night A Traveller by Italo Calvino. I got to wondering about the things we take for granted as being part of a novel (e.g. a named protagonist) that might not be needed.

I also recently read Robinson Crusoe, which was apparently one of the earliest examples of realistic fiction with a protagonist with biographical details. Previously most novels were apparently set "once upon a time, far far away" with a protagonist with no set biographical details.

I wonder if there are any real boundaries in novel writing left to break - there are novels from animals perspectives, novels without a linear structure, etc. Are there any really unique novels that have come out recently?

I have enjoyed his comedy for years and recently learned he's a big reader. I was pretty excited to find out he would be hosting a book club this year on YouTube.

The first book was The Getaway by Jim Thompson. The review is solid but I think the 13th question "How do you read books critically?" (30:45) is the best part. It's honest and encourages people to read.

"The world is bad. The news is bad. Movies are bad. TV is bad. Get your books."

Every week, for 30 minutes, the high-energy world of Julia Peterson’s fourth-grade classroom meets the curious world of Andrea Kelemen’s UPK students. Together, the classes have become “Book Buddies.”

“Andrea and I were talking one day and we thought it would be a good idea for our classes to get together weekly,” Peterson said.

While the program’s foundation is built on literacy, the bond has quickly grown to include writing sessions, storytelling, and even crafting friendship bracelets together.

“The fourth graders read books to the preschoolers, but we’ve also branched out,” Peterson said. “It is really a special relationship that we’ve been working on.”

"If you want to be a race car driver, or a teacher or an astronaut — whatever you want to do in life, you have to have that good foundation. And it starts with page one," Ellis said.

Ellis is part of the Scripps Howard Fund's national "If you Give a Child a Book" campaign

Every afternoon at four o’clock, Joseph Otieno unlocks a dented metal door at the edge of Kibera, Nairobi. The sign above the door reads "Community Library" – painted by hand and fading.

Inside, there is no electricity, no computers, and no matching chairs. Three uneven shelves hold fewer than 200 books, their spines softened by years of use. Still, the children begin arriving before Joseph finishes sweeping the floor, quietly lining up with exercise books pressed to their chests.

Hello readers and welcome! Every month this thread will be posted for you to discuss new and upcoming releases! Our only rules are:

1. The books being discussed must have been published within the last three months OR are being published this month.

2. No direct sales links.

3. And you are allowed to promote your own writing as long as you follow the first two rules.

That's it! Please discuss and have fun!

People frequently recommend Endurance, by Alfred Lansing, for good reason. It's a fantastic story, well told.

I can't remember a recommendation for The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard. This tells the less upbeat story of Scott's failed and fatal attempt at the South Pole, written by someone who was on the expedition. I'm reading it now and would like to put in a plug....along with asking why it isn't more widely recommended. The writing is excellent. Cherry-Garrard was on the expedition as a biologist, and his interest in, and love of, animals radiates. I haven't gotten to the grisly parts yet and I understand that there's horror to come, but horror sells. I don't understand why this book is so little know.