But then it is the translation that adapts it? I don’t get it. Not saying you are not right. Or that I am wrong. Just that with reading it in English and googling the names of the monsters, they all connected to polish folklore. Which was cool. I did not google every single one of them, just the ones with trickier descriptions. From there I found also their legends which were from polish myths and fables. Good that it is more diverse and not only Polish stuff is there.

Still hate Yennefer tho hahaha

I personally do not do it and if I do it, I ask myself why?

Last time I was doing that was from the Dexter books and I was becoming more and more pissed with the book because I was skipping too much. So I stopped and asked my partner to give me a summary instead.

If half the book is skipped, maybe just search for a summary? It could be the writing style of the author is not for you. Or your brain needs something different (lighter/heavier) at the moment.

I tend to have different books in my Currently Reading so I can switch my attention and keep my brain interested, and if I see one is not interesting I simply remove it. I think we have enough books in our “to read” lists that we shouldn’t really feel bad about removing some for not liking them.

Thank you for expanding my knowledge!

I remember googling for almost every monster and they were all from Polish folklore and Polish tales and mythology. But it could be that I really just googled few :)

Btw, I think you can mark the post with SPOILER so it doesn’t show the extra text in the Home page, only the title :)

I can’t stand Yen in ANY of the books. This kind of attitude from women in books written by men makes me very mad.

The mythology and fighting I love. New monsters I never heard about and stories from Poland, I loved that.

I use Goodreads and in my list I have books from different topics/genres. At any given moment I try to have at least 1 book from each topic in my “currently reading”. If I finish one, I go to the next. And I try taking the oldest ones waiting for me to read them. Sometimes I delete few, according to my personal taste’s evolution. My topics are usually “fantasy”, “hobby”, “mental health”, “people”, “fiction”, “sci-fi”, “thriller/horror”, “work related”, “science”… my favorite shelf is fantasy I move those a bit more than the rest, the fastest shelf is hobby due to the size of the books. I organize my list from date added, that way I keep adding but don’t forget those old ones that I wanted to read years ago.

I did that with Dexter’s series.

They are 8 books. I read 5 and a half. On the 6th I didn’t want to continue as they were so boring after the 3rd and quite not interesting anymore.

I marked 6, 7 and 8 as read and asked my partner for a summary (we have a book club between ourselves)

With short stories/anthologies/collections, I wouldn’t see it bad to mark the book as read even if you skipped few. The book is done for you and you judge it to yourself from the ones you got to read

I also do that when they are available :)

Carlos Ruiz Zafon!

I started reading the Shadow of the Wind in English until I realized that I was being stupid as my mothertounge is Spanish hahaha. The feeling and the expressions in Spanish are just marvelous!!.

Agree.

Maybe this post should be part of the Wiki :)

Something extra:

I went from reading up to 30-40 books a year to a declining 3-10 starting 2017. Different situations for me to read presented. I was reading while commuting, now I had a more dynamic commute with almost no time, I was reading during lunch and now I was more engaged with my colleagues during lunch.

It all changed in 2021. That year I read 40 books again!! Last year I reached 55! This year I already have 12 done.

And books actually helped me get into that. “Atomic Habits” (if you read it, my only advice is to skip the chapter 1) and “The art of not giving a f*ck” practically helped me finding what is important to me and why, remove what I don’t find helpful in the life I want and find time for the things I enjoy.

I have at the moment a huge list of “Want to Read” in my Goodreads that might never go to 0 as it keeps growing. And I try to read different topics simultaneously (one chapter a day from one or the other, or few pages a day from few). I separated them in: mental health, work related, fantasy, people (biographies), hobby, fiction and such. And I try to have 1 from each category in my “Currently Reading”. That way I keep my brain challenged and interested by learning from different topics. If I want something lighter, or if I feel like crying or so. I am a curious person by nature and I love learning, I am thirsty for information always, so that also helps, but with today’s media-driven society, your brain might get a bit updated.

Only remember: your brain is yours and you are the driver. You can make it do ANYTHING you want. I know sometimes we need the help of externals like meds or docs, but in general, it is yours to command. Be open to question it and try new things and hack it :)

Sounds like anxiety. And today’s world is only created for short-spans. To hook you with one phrase. To sell you with one look. Meditating can help tons. But do not expect results soon, it’s a life-long practice.

I love TV series. Not movies that much. As I want the story to develop longer, like in a book. So I think in a sense I also read my books as if they were a TV show, “in parts”, and I enjoy the cliffhangers I leave myself with.

Just with anything in life, it is about the journey, not the destination. Try to focus on the journey instead. Not to mark the book as read but to enjoy everything that comes with reading it, maybe even learn something from it.

Maybe ask yourself: why do I read? What do I gain from reading?

I am sorry you feel this way. And your english is perfectly fine. What I can suggest is that you treat this with your therapist as it is becoming an addiction and this behavior will most likely keep coming with almost everything you try. Good thing is: you caught it!

As other say: you could channel it into something different and positive. Maybe a sport outside, walking, photography… something to balance it. Or find a remote spot outside to read. You get fresh air, you get some movement and you get to read for a bit. Maybe time your daily readings. The best you can do to deal with all the stress of daily life is plan your day and stick to a nice and healthy routine. Get x hours of reading, x hours of this or that, anything important for you right now. Check weekly: how was my week planning? What should I change next week? And repeat :)

Have you checked videos and books from Dr Stepehen Ilardi? I heard a Masterclass from him in my Calm app and it really resonated with me and helped me focus on the important things.

Mine would be Harry Potter 7… And latest “the book of night” by holy black