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Old 03-14-2010, 02:15 PM   #18
lilac_jive
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CapnKirk View Post
I applaud anyone who reads consistently in our modern society. I set goals for myself, and a friend and I read books together and meet weekly at a coffee shop to discuss them.

But may I make a plea for quality of reading? There's a lot of stuff that just not worth reading. Reading for entertainment (sci fi for me!) is great. But there's a lot of important books out there that don't get read and when they do, they aren't read well enough! Now definitions of "important" vary; I have mine, but my purpose here isn't to advocate a particular set of values. Booklists are easy to come by. I used to always read the Pulitzer Prize winners for fiction, non-fiction and history every year (until the choices became the "best politically correct" books rather than the best written....) on the idea that they represent someone's idea of great writing. There's Britannica's Great Books list; that's what I started out working on as a college student. Difficult books take time to read, and will often reward a second or even a third re-reading.

Make it your goal to include several "important" books this year.

I'm trying to work my way through the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list. I'm definitely not a rereader though. I'd rather tackle the next book than read something twice. It's just not my style.
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