This is my approach, as well. I can usually glean enough information from other context clues to understand what's going on without fully understanding a specific word or phrase.

I tend to look up obscure English words that I'm not familiar with, more than a word or phrase in a foreign language that I don't know simply by not being a native speaker of the language. I like learning new words that I could potentially add to my vocabulary, but I'm less enthusiastic about learning bits of a foreign language that I'll likely never encounter irl.

I'm currently re-reading the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson, and there's quite a bit of Swedish sprinkled throughout the story. For the most part though, they'll be businesses, streets or city districts. I don't really need to know exactly what/where "Gotgatsbacken" is to know its just a section of the city the character currently happens to be in. If it comes up more frequently, and seems to hold weight in the plot, I'll look it up.

I was thinking about this the other night when I caught the tail end of some sitcom my friend was watching. The mannerisms were just so exaggerated that it was hard to watch. Then I remembered it was a show about a girl who talks to dead people and I got off my high horse.

I've definitely encountered this in books as well, but unless it's wholly unbelievable I just chock it up to that's how people talk in their universe. Ive yet to read anything that can accurately describe how two people who are close to each other can communicate through body language and inside jokes. I know ive had whole conversations with my best bud where hardly a word is spoken. I also know ive had nonsensical exchanges with a girlfriend that no one but us could understand because its a mix of inside jokes and reference quotes.

I haven't read much of Stephen king's newest stuff so maybe he has gone downhill, I couldn't say. I just know for myself when reading fiction, that a level of acceptance for the suspension of reality is necessary even if it takes place in the world as I know it.

I think we will definitely see a rise in AI generated writing, but I doubt it's going to wipe out books as we know them. I like the comparison another commentator made to music. Yeah, a lot of the mainstream offerings are cookie cutter garbage, but I can log onto a multitude of sites and find incredibly talented artists I never would have heard of twenty years ago.

There's already tons of mediocre books out there. With online publishers being so common now anyone can technically be a published author. Doesn't mean they're actually successful. I think it's inevitable that well see some AI generated crap make the best sellers list simply because they're backed by a company with money, but that's hardly different than it already is from people buying their way onto the New York Times best sellers list.

As a reader sometimes it is frustrating to see what gets touted as "an instant classic", but no one is forcing me to buy them. And just like with music, now with the internet I have almost instant access to more books than any store or library could ever offer.

I don't know what it takes to become a successful author, but I often joke that if I were to ever attempt it I would write religious children's books because they seem to sell no matter how poorly written they are.

I've been taking a break from the true-crime genre. It honestly wasn't a huge portion of my reading list to begin with, but I had a handful of podcasts and YouTube channels that I enjoyed listening to. That was until I watched a few videos from a specific channel. I can't remember what it's called at this point since I didn't seek it out on purpose, but every episode started the same way. They offered "their deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the victims families" in that almost human sounding AI narrator voice so many channels use now. Its hard to explain why it upset me so, but it kind of reminded me of starting a conversation with "no offense, but..." It was just peak pandering. Once I noticed the pattern I started to realize just how many tasteless tactics that these producers used and its just such a turn off.

I read a lot of biographical works based around dictators, genocide and general governmental folley so nonfiction about terrible events does not bother me. But there seems to be a disconnect in the true crime community between factual presentation and unabashed voyeurism. There's always been books published about particularly horrible or vexing crimes but most of them really go unnoticed unless you're geographically close to were the event took place. Now that any Tom, Dick and Harry can whip out a podcast the market is flooded with tactless people seeming to just want to cash in on the newest craze.

This was the grim reality for most of the world's population until not too long ago. We like to romanticize these bygone days as being "simpler times" the "good old days", but the truth was that there was massive suffering on a daily basis. People, especially children, were disposable. Regulatory bodies for safety and well being did not exsist as we know them today. Add that with the lack of modern medicine and the general lack of knowledge on harmful substances and you end up with a world that would be downright terrifying to anyone from a developed nation today.

I love history and consider myself to be a fairly rational person, but I still find myself fantasizing about being a long hunter like Daniel Boone...until I think about all the times I would have died simply because I couldn't run to cvs and pick up some amoxicillin.