[khazhoux]

No shame in that, I say.

I've completely lost any interest in reading fiction, because it's almost always a letdown. Good ideas with poor writing. Good writing with poor endings. The disappointments go on and on, and that's hours wasted. I've tried my friends' suggestions, best-of lists... the stories are consistently lame, except for the handful of masterpieces like Dune.

On the other hand, I'll gladly curl up with a nice comp sci or math book, and that'll be enriching, challenging, and time well spent.

[therealdrag0]

I get what you’re saying. But I still read because it’s such a habit and part of my identity or something lol. There were some years I was hitting 50-75 books (and not small ones! GoT and godel Escher Bach etc) but now I’m down to a more sustainable pace of around 20 a year, and I’m pretty liberal about quitting books. If I’m getting a sense that it’s a 3/5 book then I just quit and move on. But even then I feel like I’m having an unquenched thirst for an absolute banger like Dune and Enders game. I’ve been thinking about doing a full year of just rereading books I loved like that from decades ago.

[skydhash]

Maybe too much technical analysis of the book? When I read fiction, I use the words of the author of as a means to evoke visually the scene in my imagination. Sometimes, I think I patch the story as I go on, as I rely solely on what I visualize to recall past events. Writing doesn't matter as much, and even characterizations do not. I only enjoy the ideas and the sequences of events. Every so often, I read similar novels just to see how much the author can differ from the previous.

[OJFord]

My feeling on that is that unless you're a prolific reader, the annual best-of lists are a waste of time. If you want to read the best when you do, and that isn't much, then most years there isn't a single book published that you should ever read.

There are plenty of classics that people still recommend; I find they're generally a better read than anything current, and they have utility in exposing you to the context/background/meaning for things people reference from them.