Terminalcoffee discussion

when sarah pi posted the link to the 'best books of 2010' list i noticed a lot of us didn't know most of the titles on the list and found it difficult to come up with books we had read in 2010 that were published in 2010.

one of the explanations for this could be that we don't keep up with what goes on in the literary world. i know i don't read the reviews and opinion pieces in newspapers and magazines every week, though i sometimes feel like i should.

do you? and why or why not?

I too look in the paper to see what is new each week, and to see if there are local authors being published, but I am usually so far behind in reading that I don't buy a book right away. There are a couple of exceptions.

I do keep half an eye on what's going on, but it's impossible to keep up. I add new books to my list when they look like they might be my thing, or when they are said to be world-changing.

I definitely don't keep up. I'll look at the NYT book section maybe once or twice a month. I used to have a subscription to the NYRB but it expired a long time ago. I'll occasionally go to the NYRB website to see what's up, but they don't specialize in fiction. I read the book reviews and review capsules in the New Yorker, but I'm way behind on those. Sometimes I'll make a note of a new book I see being discussed on Cspan or PBS.

Honestly, I'm mostly interested in old books anyway.

I like old books too. I'll never catch up.

Joanne wrote: "I like old books too. I'll never catch up."

I feel the same way.

I used to when I was younger. I also forced myself to finish every book I started. Not anymore. Life is too short to suffer bad writing.

My library has a listing of new books ordered/on order and I always pull up the list to get a little rundown on the plot summary and I order if I think I will like it. Sometimes I check there for the NYT list.

I used to try to keep up but I was never able to find a good place for fiction. But I usually don't like paying full price for hardcovers unless it's one of my favorite authors. I do like to look at the recent updates here on GR. I seem to get more out of reviews here.

If it's not dropped on my head like an anvil, I don't know about it.