I need to buy a gift for a family-of-friend. I am informed that they really like mystery stories, especially in historical settings, but are not fond of SFF.
I assume this means they have already read the obvious candidates, the Cadfaels and the like, or if they haven't then that's a conscious choice on their part which means I shouldn't buy them one of those.
What's a non-SFF mystery story you've enjoyed recently? Recommend me a book please!
@passenger@bookstodon For a historical detective series in a less common time and place setting, you could try Madhulika Liddle's Muzaffar Jang series. Set in Mughal Delhi. The author's sister is a published historian whose focus is Delhi, so the historicity is solid, and the lead is interesting
Oh, I so love it when one of my (often exercised prejudices) is offered some validation by research... this time its the boost in comprehension a reader gets from reading on paper rather than via a screen.
For years this is what I told my students (based on my own experience), to be often told it was an age thing... well looks like I was right. Hurrah!
[No doubt this will re-open the e-book vs. paper book debates in my timeline, but so be it]
"The study, published in the Review of Educational Research, also found that while there is a negative relationship between digital reading and comprehension for primary school students, the relationship turns positive for secondary school and undergraduate students."
So the article itself very explicitly says it IS an age thing, bad for kids better for adolescents
Well THAAAANK YOU #GNUTerryPratchett for 'ruining' a whole page of this book A lengthy passage about a Scottish Highland character's interactions with "the Little People" ends with this question and OF COURSE I read the whole thing mentally substituting "Wee Free" for "Little" - Every.Single.Time 🤣 #AmReading#ebooks#DeanStreetDecember#Discworld@bookstodon
@pgcd@bookstodon In an interesting twist, the character is telling the story to a child who says that he "thought fairies were nice, and had wings" and she replies with a lengthy desription of "the Little People" that is eerily prescient of The Wee Free People. "neither good nor bad" being one phrase that particularly resonated
@lorywidmerhess@bookstodon Like you, I've found Stevenson hit and miss (the one I'm reading now seems like a miss), but I absolutely LOVED Fair Miss Fortune, gave it 4.5/5 at the Storygraph
@bookstodon Just out of curiosity, how close are you to your reading goal for the year? I need to read 12 more books to meet the goal I set for myself. 📚📚📚📚
Not everyone works the same way, of course. We've discussed before that reading goals are counterproductive for many. Having a goal really helps me, but it doesn't work for everyone. Just like reading for pleasure and reading to write a review are very different processes.
@kimlockhartga@bookstodon I've met my goals @thestorygraph and am on track to achieve my primary goal which was read no more than half the 454 I read last year
@brucy@kimlockhartga@bookstodon@thestorygraph The page count shows the average length is around 280 pages. Due to a congenital disability I work from home and only part time so lots of reading time 😊
@kimlockhartga@brucy@bookstodon@thestorygraph I try to aim for 300-ish as a general average. In 2021, I set myself a 350 page average goal (238 books), and made it, but so many of my preferred recreational genres are in the low 200s that I had to read some clunky omnibuses just to 'catch up'. Around 300 means the nonfiction I read more easily makes up for the short mysteries 😀
Hey. It's ok if you're behind on your yearly reading goal. That number was arbitrarily chosen in a January fog of optimism & champagne anyway, and you don't need to turn something you love & brings you comfort into a stressor. Read good books. Enjoy them. Be gentle with yourself.
@diazona@ninsiana0@bookstodon reading that many took time away from other hobbies, especially language learning. I've been able to get back into Hindi, and start teaching myself Māori thanks to reading half as many books.
@diazona@ninsiana0@bookstodon It's more a brag about developing impulse control, a longstanding personal challenge. I see my TBR and think "it all has to go" - resisting that urge is a big deal for me
@Armadillosoft@diazona@ninsiana0@bookstodon all I have learned is that the reason the Universe is infinite is because that way it's ALMOST big enough to contain my ignorance