Haven't even touched the poem yet, still in the very thorough intro which I'm actually enjoying so far. My question to everyone is do you read the intro no matter what or do you skip it sometimes?

I'm a pick and choose kind of person, so for this book I would read the intro because I feel like I would have the nuance and subtext go straight over my head but I'm curious for everyone else.

"teaching to kill is worse than killing."

oh im so freaking excited for this book it will ruin me

To put it into perspective, the last I was active was when mass market paperbacks were aplenty. They were everywhere. All types of books, every genre, and even the most popular ones easily found on shelves. Now, it honestly feels like whiplash to find huge paperbacks that are a hassle to carry around and pricey to boot. What happened? 😭

It's so hard not to be hateful when all I see, all day everyday when I go to social media, are marketing of books with sprayed edges, decked out hardcovers, new, and newer versions of popular books that are pushed out relentlessly to no end. I no longer feel like the customer in search of the next read. I actually feel like I'm the product. Does that make sense?

No hate please. Just airing out my frustrations.

so, i was wondering what you might do when you feel like starting any book - or even continuing - feels anxiety-inducing or tedious.

right now, i am stuck between several books – i am starting wicked king to catch up with my friend, but it's stressing me out, as well as once upon a broken heart, and I have two more books i paused. can't read more than a page at a time in any of them.

should i read a completely different genre? should i stick to one page in a few minutes? force myself to power through until it sticks?

I saw a post the other day that said if you read 15 pages of East Of Eden a day around this point you'll have finished it in time for the Netflix series. Has been a long week and was feeling pretty unmotivated to read but this seemed like a fun challenge to set myself and has gotten me properly started with the book! Wondered if anyone has had or is planning any similar strategies when you're reading for a particular goal or there's a plan behind your reading? ✨️