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Buying Books You'll Never Read

Misha

Misha
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So. Just a thought... who else just buys books, reads two pages, and then let's it become a Stonehenge for dustbunnies?

And for those who do read... INTP suggestions? Thanks!

For me, the Zohar is at the top of my list.
 

Rook

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Ah yes, the procrastinator's library.

Secondhand shops and a 'booktown' 1300kms from here do not help much in this regard.
The same with electronic tomes, filled to the brim with oft-ignored texts.


From the cusp I suggest Tolkien, H.P Lovecraft, Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett.

For an interesting fantasy romp, Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy is quite good, I think she has expanded her series of late. The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson has quite the unique setting, with a sufficiently unique system of magic.

Starting on the works of Spinoza and the anecdotes of a British veterinarian, no idea how they will turn out.
 

Happy

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I solved this problem by only buying picture books:king-twitter:
 

Pyropyro

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I suggest audio books. You can learn as you do other stuff.
 

Rook

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that's why i pirate ebooks and stuff

Ye damned children with all yer newfangled internem webbings, in my day we stole books like the true rouges we were.

pirate-ebook.jpg
 

Ex-User (9086)

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It varies on the quality, most of the time I already know a book will be good before I buy it as I research or know the author and the topic before committing so I rarely regret those decisions.

There's a stack of about 10 books I borrowed from my friend and haven't really started because I wasn't in the mood for reading in the past few months, so the books will pile up until a specific need arrives and I'll burn through them very quickly.

I know those books are good and I'd enjoy them but I don't have the time or the undivided attention right now to sink into the medium fully and I quite dislike having to wait or pause my reading once I start. When I start reading I might cancel all plans for the day, sometimes skip my meals and I don't have that kind of luxury right now.

As to the books that depends on what you are into but I assume you can't go wrong with a bit of classics such as: The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov, Notes from the Underground by Dostoevsky or Nineteen Eighty-Four by Orwell.
 

rainman312

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I buy books that I think look interesting on a whim and then open them to the first couple of pages and find they're complete garbage. I have about 15 of them on my shelf right now, although most are actually just gifts that were poorly chosen. Fun fact, the Japanese have a specific word for books that you've purchased but never open: 積ん読 (つんどく), pronounced "tsundoku". Usually if a book is bad but not terrible I'll just read it very quickly without giving it as much attention or consideration as I usually would give to a book. If it's obviously trash, tsundoku it becomes.
 

Nebulous

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I have a bunch of books I've been meaning to read, I'll get to them over the summer, but I can't find a lot of them! I don't know where they went. I have like three book covers but none of those books.
I have so many unfinished books, it's terrible. I've been wanting to read the sequels of A Wrinkle in Time since fourth grade and haven't gotten around to that. :/
 

Kuu

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Some people buy gadgets, others clothes, games or decoration trinkets, and some buy books. It's a consumerist addiction. I've been several months clean, it's been a real struggle.

I think the internet has massively impacted my book-reading. It's not that I lose interest in books, it's that I feel I never find the time or comfortable place to read them. Sometimes only at night, and I tend to be too exhausted and fall asleep, largely because I've already spent several of my rest hours browsing the internet. Perhaps its the brightness of the screen that is also somewhat addicting and beckoning?

I've been trying to read more of my books lately, but I'm far off my planned target.

Fun fact, the Japanese have a specific word for books that you've purchased but never open: 積ん読 (つんどく), pronounced "tsundoku".

Most excellent.
 

Sinny91

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I've probably read 75% of the books that I own.

I generally only buy what I really really want so...

I get given a lot of books too, but if they aren't what I want I get rid, really.

I go book shopping every other week at 2nd hand stores.

Bought Gone Girl and the LoTR two weeks ago from the new second hand store which opened up in my area. I've had a really synchronistic relationship with shop ever since it opened..

I think about things, then related books appear on the shelves, as if by magic.

I want to finish my Martina Cole and Buffy collections, and start on the Buffy comics....

I'm so behind the time's.
 

Misha

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Some people buy gadgets, others clothes, games or decoration trinkets, and some buy books. It's a consumerist addiction. I've been several months clean, it's been a real struggle.

I think the internet has massively impacted my book-reading. It's not that I lose interest in books, it's that I feel I never find the time or comfortable place to read them. Sometimes only at night, and I tend to be too exhausted and fall asleep, largely because I've already spent several of my rest hours browsing the internet. Perhaps its the brightness of the screen that is also somewhat addicting and beckoning?

I've been trying to read more of my books lately, but I'm far off my planned target.



Most excellent.

There's this really cool program I just download for Windows called f.lux that filters the blue light out of your screen, which supposedly helps your pineal gland release melatonin (or at least the folks at Harvard think it does). There's also version for iPhone and Android... I'm sure Apple probably has a version... so let's hope you don't use Linux if you ever want to have a normal sleep cycle again. :storks:
 

Sinny91

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There's this really cool program I just download for Windows called f.lux that filters the blue light out of your screen, which supposedly helps your pineal gland release melatonin (or at least the folks at Harvard think it does). There's also version for iPhone and Android... I'm sure Apple probably has a version... so let's hope you don't use Linux if you ever want to have a normal sleep cycle again. :storks:

Now I'm downloading :)

Got any idea's to protect me from the microwave radiation?

My laptop is sat right on top my fanny bone... and I'm feeling a bit paranoid, aha.
 

Misha

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Now I'm downloading :)

Got any idea's to protect me from the microwave radiation?

My laptop is sat right on top my fanny bone... and I'm feeling a bit paranoid, aha.

Gotta get a blanket made out of lead like they have at the dentist when you get your X-rays. THE ONLY WAY!!
 

rainman312

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There's this really cool program I just download for Windows called f.lux that filters the blue light out of your screen, which supposedly helps your pineal gland release melatonin (or at least the folks at Harvard think it does). There's also version for iPhone and Android... I'm sure Apple probably has a version... so let's hope you don't use Linux if you ever want to have a normal sleep cycle again. :storks:

I've used this on both my Linux and Windows computers. There's a CLI version for Linux called xflux. The Linux version is a bit buggier but it's still usable.

It's not that red/yellow light per se causes melatonin to be secreted (btw this isn't just thought by the folks at Harvard, it's a pretty well-observed phenomenon in hundreds of different organisms), it's just that the presence of blue light suppresses this secretion. Another fun fact, this is probably why a lot of animals have only blue- and yellow-sensitive cone cells in their eyes.
 

onesteptwostep

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@f.lux

I've used it for a couple of years, it isn't all that great. They say it'll affect your sleeping pattern but I'm pretty sure that bogus. Also, all you have to do is lower the brightness settings to get the same effect. :phear:
 

rainman312

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@f.lux

I've used it for a couple of years, it isn't all that great. They say it'll affect your sleeping pattern but I'm pretty sure that bogus. Also, all you have to do is lower the brightness settings to get the same effect. :phear:

I think it helps. I don't think it'll make you fall asleep; if you're using the internet, the sheer availability of engaging content will probably delay that quite a bit, but when you do make the decision to go to sleep, it's usually easier to fall asleep. That's what I find, at least. Also, as discussed above, it's not really the brightness of the screen but the color of the light that causes the effects.
 

onesteptwostep

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I think it helps. I don't think it'll make you fall asleep; if you're using the internet, the sheer availability of engaging content will probably delay that quite a bit, but when you do make the decision to go to sleep, it's usually easier to fall asleep. That's what I find, at least. Also, as discussed above, it's not really the brightness of the screen but the color of the light that causes the effects.

Nah, I think that's bogus too. It's the glare that comes from the brightness, I don't think the color has that much of an impact. It would depend on what the display system of the monitor is as well. The stuff they put on their website is for them to get as much downloads as possible so they could get the attention to possibly make profits.
 

Pizzabeak

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Have been using f.lux for years after someone made a post about it, it doesn't really do that much besides lessening the strain on your eyes after continued use of computer screen exposure, which is why it dampens the screen, emulating more natural lighting effects for sheer comfortability, and the copious amount of content available on the inter webs could very well make one fall asleep as opposed to just containing the effect of keeping one engaged.
No, melatonin production is promoted in darkness and suppressed in white light. Has nothing to do with blue or red wavelengths or whatever. If you're tired you're tired and will want to crash anyway, chances are. Watch movies with the light on and not laying in bed if you don't want to fall asleep during them.
 

rainman312

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Pizzabeak said:
Have been using f.lux for years after someone made a post about it, it doesn't really do that much besides lessening the strain on your eyes after continued use of computer screen exposure, which is why it dampens the screen, emulating more natural lighting effects for sheer comfortability, and the copious amount of content available on the inter webs could very well make one fall asleep as opposed to just containing the effect of keeping one engaged.
No, melatonin production is promoted in darkness and suppressed in white light. Has nothing to do with blue or red wavelengths or whatever. If you're tired you're tired and will want to crash anyway, chances are. Watch movies with the light on and not laying in bed if you don't want to fall asleep during them.

I mostly agree with you, but wavelengths are related to a degree. From wikipedia:

Blue light, principally around 460 to 480 nm, suppresses melatonin, proportional to the light intensity and length of exposure. Until recent history, humans in temperate climates were exposed to few hours of (blue) daylight in the winter; their fires gave predominantly yellow light. The incandescent light bulb widely used in the 20th century produced relatively little blue light. Light containing only wavelengths greater than 530 nm does not suppress melatonin in bright-light conditions.Wearing glasses that block blue light in the hours before bedtime may decrease melatonin loss. Use of blue-blocking goggles the last hours before bedtime has also been advised for people who need to adjust to an earlier bedtime, as melatonin promotes sleepiness.

and from a study found on Pubmed:

The photopigment in the human eye that transduces light for circadian and neuroendocrine regulation, is unknown. The aim of this study was to establish an action spectrum for light-induced melatonin suppression that could help elucidate the ocular photoreceptor system for regulating the human pineal gland. Subjects (37 females, 35 males, mean age of 24.5 +/- 0.3 years) were healthy and had normal color vision. Full-field, monochromatic light exposures took place between 2:00 and 3:30 A.M. while subjects' pupils were dilated. Blood samples collected before and after light exposures were quantified for melatonin. Each subject was tested with at least seven different irradiances of one wavelength with a minimum of 1 week between each nighttime exposure. Nighttime melatonin suppression tests (n = 627) were completed with wavelengths from 420 to 600 nm...The action spectrum constructed from these data fit an opsin template (R(2) = 0.91), which identifies 446-477 nm as the most potent wavelength region providing circadian input for regulating melatonin secretion. The results suggest that, in humans, a single photopigment may be primarily responsible for melatonin suppression, and its peak absorbance appears to be distinct from that of rod and cone cell photopigments for vision...
 

Happy

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I've come to realise that, at least for me, my book addiction can be safely managed by diversifying.

At the moment, I'm reading about 15-20 books (all non fiction - I don't think I could juggle fiction). I select one based on my mood, pick it up, read a chapter, and put it back in the bookcase. This way, I get my book fix, but don't get stuck on the logic loop of "I can't read that one until I finish this one". They all get read eventually, and I get plenty of time to digest the information.

There was a bit of a problem in the beginning with bookmarks. A stray piece of paper just doesn't do the job as well as a dedicated bookmark, and there were too many books. I found that using my business cards was the best solution because I don't really use them, and they have my contact details in case I ever leave them in a cafe or something.
 
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