how people choose which book to read?
The idea of writing this post occurred to me when I realized I always had a list of books to read. First at school, then, as I enrolled philological faculty, at the university. The time when I did not have an obligatory set of texts to read was very rare and I would usually spend it reading nothing at all, because I needed a respite…
But people who do not study philology normally have not got any reading lists. They just read what they want to read. And I suddenly got eager to know how they actually choose what they want to read. I decided to ask some of my acquaintances, got a lot of different answers and now want to share their ways of choosing the books to read with you. Philologists did not participate in this interview of course.
How do you choose what to read?
«Usually I find out about some interesting author by accident and start reading him, then his acquaintances, then acquaintances of their acquaintances. Reading through connections, so to say. This was the way I switched from Edgar Poe to Lovecraft — because in one article it was said that Lovecraft was considered to be the second Poe» (Student of Physics department, 18 y.o.)
«I choose books by their covers and brief reviews on the covers or just google bestsellers» (Student of Psychology department, 21 y.o.)
«I choose some books because of the author’s fame — if it is Remark, Fitzgerald or Akunin for example. Sometimes I read books which my friends recommend me, especially if our tastes are similar. Although these days podcasts and videos on relevant issues have drawn my attention from the books» (Pediatrician, 52 y.o.)
«I read books which my friends or my mum suggest me. When in the bookstore, I rely on my taste. And sometimes I just “close Gestalts” reading classical texts which everybody is supposed to read» (Student of secondary school, 16 y.o.)
«I used to read famous texts, those at the hearing. Later, when I took an interest in history I began to read professional literature. As for the last two or three years, I noticed that I read either authors that are somehow close to my heart (in terms of worldview or political opinion) or those who are for some reason of special interest for me. I will not read even a very good book if the author disgusts me. I also feel that the term “classical literature” no longer exists for me. I think that literature of the 19th and 20th century is just the literature of that particular epoch and it means for us no more than the clothes people used to wear or the buildings they used to construct. So now I read only those authors who are still alive or who died recently. I also have a pool of writers I enjoy reading and if I have not read some author by my age, I will not read him anymore, no matter how much people recommend him to me» (Student of History department, 23 y.o.)
«The authors that I find the most important for me and that shaped my life philosophy were recommended to me by my father in my childhood (I am speaking mainly about Jack London). My father was also a big fan of Esenin and knew a lot of his texts by heart. I learnt some of Esenin’s poems together with him and I still remember some of them. Apart from the school lists I also read books I could buy on tickets which I was given for paper disposal. I read Solzhenitsyn, Shalamov, Orwell and Voinovich because when I was 12 I used to listen to extracts from their texts on BBC radio together with my father. I enjoyed them at that time and reread them later. I also heard a lot of quotes from Il’f and Petrov, knew the film adaptations of their novels and that was why I read “The Twelve Chairs” and “The Golden Calf”. When I was in my thirties I read some books for the general development, so to say. “Anna Karenina” and others. Now I usually browse through books’ reviews on the Internet and decide what I want to read» (Engineer, 53 y.o.)
«I focus mainly on the atmosphere of the text and usually search for books which suit my current mood» (School graduate, 18 y.o.)
«Usually I know which genres appeal to me more and then I just google “interesting books about…”. I read the description and decide whether I want to read it or not. I also read books which I find in the recommendation lists on Pinterest. Sometimes I read just something random» (Student of Architecture department, 17 y.o.)
That’s it! I find all the answers really thoughtful and I am thankful to the people who took time to explain me their preferred ways of choosing the books to read. It seems like the people also enjoyed reflecting on this issue. In the whole, I guess, recommendation of relatives and friends seems to be the leading method people are guided by when choosing what to read.
I will be really glad, if you also share the ways you decide which book you want to read! I am gathering a collection :)
P.
If you enjoyed this post, you can read some of my other texts:
