Guest LilBambi Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 7 Unconventional Reasons Why You Absolutely Should Be Reading Books - HuffPost In a world of omnipresent screens, it can be easy to forget the simple pleasure of curling up with a good book. In fact, a recent HuffPost/YouGov poll of 1,000 U.S. adults found that 28 percent hadn't read one at all in the past year. But the truth is that reading books can be more than entertainment (or a high school English assignment). A study released earlier this month suggests that enjoying literature might help strengthen your "mind-reading" abilities. The research,published in the journal Science, showed that reading literary works (though, interestingly, not popular fiction) cultivates a skill known as "theory of mind," whichNPR describes as the "ability to 'read' the thoughts and feelings of others." And that's hardly the only way being a bookworm can boost your mind and well-being. Below, six more science-backed reasons to swap the remote for a novel. Quote
V.T. Eric Layton Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 Between each day's new NSA revelations and issues keeping my computers running, I'm about ready to just give it all up and go back to the simpler pre-Internet days of computer-free living. That'll give me a lot more time to read. Quote
Guest LilBambi Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 I don't think I would want to go that far. I want to be able to have access to it all! I would not want to go totally back to pre-Internet times, just as I wouldn't want to go back to pre-indoor plumbing. Quote
V.T. Eric Layton Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 I've thought about it at times. I believe I could manage just fine without a computer or the Internet. I'll stick around for a while longer, though. Quote
sunrat Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 Reading a book is good to reduce stress/anxiety level. I highly recommend "Lost Horizon", by James Hilton or "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. From http://www.harpercol...n=9780061122415 Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. It certainly touched me. Quote
V.T. Eric Layton Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 +1 for Lost Horizon. http://tuppence-times.tumblr.com/post/37508075113/lost-horizon-by-james-hilton Quote
Guest LilBambi Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Lost Horizon by James Hilton are on my reading list. Quote
abarbarian Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 I'm halfway through this at the moment. And the Mountains Echoed is the third novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It is a very engrossing read. 1 Quote
V.T. Eric Layton Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 Hmm... may have to have a looksee at that Alchemist fellow. OK... just put it on a hold at my local library. I'm 3rd on the list with 3 available copies in the system; shouldn't have to wait too long. Quote
sunrat Posted January 18, 2014 Posted January 18, 2014 I'm halfway through this at the moment. And the Mountains Echoed is the third novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It is a very engrossing read. Might have to read that one. His first novel, The Kite Runner was excellent; the movie was OK too. Quote
Webb Posted January 18, 2014 Posted January 18, 2014 Just take a year off and read some novels written by the greatest English novelist ever. Pickwick Papers Oliver Twist Nicholas Nickleby David Copperfield Bleak House Hard Times A Tale of Two Cities — my personal favorite as the greatest novel ever written Great Expectations 1 Quote
V.T. Eric Layton Posted January 19, 2014 Posted January 19, 2014 Just take a year off and read some novels written by the greatest English novelist ever. Pickwick Papers Oliver Twist Nicholas Nickleby David Copperfield Bleak House Hard Times A Tale of Two Cities — my personal favorite as the greatest novel ever written Great Expectations I've read them all... and occasionally read them again from time to time. Greatest English novelist? Myeh... matter of opinion. Great, yes. Greatest, I dunno' about that. 1 Quote
sunrat Posted January 19, 2014 Posted January 19, 2014 Speaking of books, anyone want to buy a $23,698,655.93 book about flies? http://www.michaeleisen.org/blog/?p=358 Also Money for nothing Quote
V.T. Eric Layton Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 I saw it on the Internet. It's gotta' be true! Americans are so gullible. Quote
sunrat Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 I saw it on the Internet. It's gotta' be true! "You can never be sure if quotes on the internet are genuine." - Benjamin Franklin Quote
V.T. Eric Layton Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 To hack or not to hack that is the dns query. Quote
amenditman Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 Just take a year off and read some novels written by the greatest English novelist ever. Pickwick Papers Oliver Twist Nicholas Nickleby David Copperfield Bleak House Hard Times A Tale of Two Cities — my personal favorite as the greatest novel ever written Great Expectations I liked all of those, but I would need a lot more than a year off to read them all in succession. Don't think that I could stomach that much Dickens in one marathon read. Quote
V.T. Eric Layton Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 No. Reading any author one after another is actually a negative reading experience for me. The author's habits and idiosyncrasies that are entertaining in one book become boring, expected drudgery when you read many consecutive books by an author in a short time period. I can do two max. After that, I have to take a break and read something from someone else. Quote
Webb Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 You could alternate reading a Dickens novel, then a Vonnegut novel, then a Dickens novel, then a Vonnegut novel ... 1 Quote
amenditman Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 You could alternate reading a Dickens novel, then a Vonnegut novel, then a Dickens novel, then a Vonnegut novel ... Kill me now! Quote
Webb Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 OK, throw in a Clancy novel every now and then. Quote
amenditman Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 OK, throw in a Clancy novel every now and then. From bad to worse!Give me some Asimov, just not the entire Foundation series all at once. Give me some classic A. C. Clarke, HAL, for the love of God. Quote
V.T. Eric Layton Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 I have alternated Dickens and his friend Wilkie Collins before. That was interesting. Quote
rolanaj Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 I wouldn't want to read a lot of Dickens stuff together but actually did read the Foundation series all together. I sometimes binge on authors. Might have started when I would borrow books from my grandmother, she always put them in sets of 6-8 covered in plastic so I would borrow them like that. Quote
abarbarian Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 You could alternate reading a Dickens novel, then a Vonnegut novel, then a Dickens novel, then a Vonnegut novel ... Now your cooking with gas. 1 Quote
Guest LilBambi Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 I love all the books that abarbarian disliked! As well as those he liked....I just have a passion for books and reading! Quote
Guest LilBambi Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 I wouldn't want to read a lot of Dickens stuff together but actually did read the Foundation series all together. I sometimes binge on authors. Might have started when I would borrow books from my grandmother, she always put them in sets of 6-8 covered in plastic so I would borrow them like that. Me too! I have read the Robot Novels so many times! They are like old friends! And the rest of the Foundation Series a few times over the years. I love them! But I really do binge at times on authors and I have so many authors I love! Quote
abarbarian Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 I love all the books that abarbarian disliked! As well as those he liked....I just have a passion for books and reading! Not averse to Dickens just that I prefer to watch the movies. We have tons of versions of the same Dickens stories over here. Quote
abarbarian Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 https://www.humblebundle.com/?utm_source=Humble+Bundle+Newsletter&utm_campaign=c871ac4d94-newsletter_audiobooks&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_990b1b6399-c871ac4d94-96436093 The Humble Audiobook Bundle featuring Recorded Books Eight thrilling narratives. The Humble Audiobook Bundle features eight brilliant audiobooks from the world's largest independent publisher and distributor of unabridged audiobooks, Recorded Books. Pay what you want for The Satanic Verses, Stolen, Abandon, Junky and Found. If you choose to pay more than the average price, you’ll also receive A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Blood Meridian and On a Pale Horse. Grab this bundle and listen to these captivating anecdotes on-the-go! Click on the icons above for descriptions of each book. Pay what you want. These eight audiobooks would cost you nearly $685, but you get to name your price! I know I know these are not books in the conventional sense. I have read a couple of them in dead wood form though. An it is a barnstormingly good eclectic deal. Quote
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