Followup, also a genuine question (I'm not trying to wind you up or anything, I promise)... How do you keep from getting stuck in a rut discussing only authors/books/series you already know you like...? I mean, yeah, I love talking about what I love with other people who love it, but I also like coming here and seeing what everyone else is up to, what are they reading, etc... And it's cool to see all the non-specific-book related posts too, like posts about book bans or discussions about ebooks versus digital, or how someone just rekindled their love of reading and had to come share it, etc etc... Anyway, I'm just trying to gauge your thoughts on why subs about reading/books in general don't really work for you, and how you keep from getting stuck inside 'echo chambers' (etc) I guess...

Honest question: Any suggestions for better subs for people who love to read? I'm here and in r/52book...

This is on my TBR pile 📚

Second this...

I know OP asked for Gene Wolfe not Brandon Sanderson, and on the 'seriousness' spectrum The Expanse is much closer to the Saunderson end (fun/exciting), but the writing / storytelling is pretty high quality IMO...

I'll add to this that there are lots of colors of noise: white, pink, brown, etc... OP and anyone else looking for a solution should try a wide range of colored noise to see what works best for them (if any)... I personally like something closer to brown, as true white noise is too high-pitched / staticky for me...

FWIW I use a LectroFan machine set on "Chestnut"... And it also has fan sounds too... Here's a pic from their website, with the 20 different settings (10 fan & 10 white-to-brown noise)

https://www.soundofsleep.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/B00E6D6LQY.PT04.jpg

You might try the Culture series by Iain M. Banks

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series

Just went and checked out r/truelit and this is how their sub's description starts:

> The premier place on reddit for discussing books and literature, both fictional and non-fictional alike.

So, like, they discuss books that really exist and also fake, made-up books...? 😆

Can you guys help me find this book? It has a man in it, and has something to do with bread or cupcakes or something...

No harm in skipping or skimming if one wants, but for me personally I have never, could never, and the idea never even crossed my mind 😛

>in my town we have these small libraries where you can take books and put one back idk what they're called or if this is a thing elsewhere

Little Free Libraries!

Ah! Stupid autocorrect ⌨️ I'm leaving it as evidence of my shame 😆

I was today days old when I learned the movie Forest Gump was based on a book 😳

Relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04WJEEb33CY

My bad, you're correct... It's not stealing, it's "possession of stolen goods" which is a totally separate crime (in most places, at least...)

> Possession of stolen goods is a crime in which an individual has bought, been given, or acquired stolen goods. In many jurisdictions, if an individual has accepted possession of goods (or property) and knew they were stolen, then the individual may be charged with a crime... > > -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possession_of_stolen_goods

> Why pay for ebooks?

Because stealing is against the law? So the author will get paid for their time and effort? So you won't get suckered into downloading a file corrupted with spyware / malware? To support retail platforms that offer safe, legal copies of books; many of which also help support up-and-coming authors, offer tools authors can use to self-publish their work, etc?

¯\(ツ)/¯

Sure, which makes far more sense when you're reading articles on a website called 'Bit of Trivia' ... But on a social media platform, where discussion happens between people, a post where the title is a question heavily implies that the OP is actually asking said question, and wants / is expecting people to answer ... Which, we can argue that that's just my opinion/interpretation of what's happening, but I'd say the shear number of comments giving answers -- and the fact that not a single comment is discussing the article OP linked to -- means I'm not in the minority here...

IDK, I know my account is new, but I've been browsing reddit for years now, and I still get tripped-up on these kinds of posts... I click through to see people's answers only to realize the OP wasn't really asking, they were telling...

Off topic: I see this all the time when I'm browsing Reddit... The title of a post asks a question, and the post itself links to an outside article that answers the question... Meaning the OP wasn't actually looking for an answer, yet all the comments are people giving answers, because of course they are! When you see someone ask a question, your instinct is to be helpful and answer it... Nobody IRL ever just walks up to other people, asks them all a question, and then answers it themselves*, so why does it happen so dang often online...?

I know I can't stop this trend, it's too common and happens in basically every subreddit I visit... But I feel like expressing my frustration about it rn, so here we are... 🤷

Is it just me, or does this frustrate other people too?

^(* The exception being teachers, I guess... But in a classroom or seminar, etc, you understand the context... You're all there to learn from the person asking the questions and giving the answers...)