Look for local library sales. Very often on the last day of the sale they will have a special where you can fill a bag for $5.

What do you mean by book addict?

Being a reader does not make one automatically an addict.

No , because honestly I don't care. What matters to me is their work, not them

Being focused while reading does not come naturally to human beings. It is a skill that requires practice. At least in my experience this is true. I start by turning off the TV and putting my phone on the other side of the room so I won't reach for it every few minutes. If I listen to music, it has to be quiet and non-vocal. Then I really try to focus on the story that's being told to me. My mind naturally wanders but I keep pulling it back. Trust me It gets easier over time.

People like to feel included in something.

I watch a number of booktok channels, but mostly out of curiosity. I still read what I please, and most of the books I read never appear on booktok.

It's a great book. I don't think of Norris as anti-capitalist as much as a proponent of naturalism. McTeague is a great example of that

I love McTeague! But very few people other than literature majors seem to know it

I like Irving but I DNF'D this one.

I thought this book was good, but, like you, I cannot classify it as the best book I read last year. Not even close. It does some really interesting things with friendship, and I loved a lot about the first half of the story, but you are right about the characters. Although not perfect by any means, I think Sam gets treated very poorly by Sadie for reasons that are more in Sadie's mind than legitimate. Thus, Sadie is probably the most unlikable of the main characters (aside from Dov, of course).

As I said, it's a good book, and I enjoyed it, but I am a bit perplexed about the gushing it elicited from so many people.

Clive Cussler novels.

I am proud of everything I read, but with these I do carry a bit of shame. They are so damn fun though. Switch off my brain and just roll with it kind of fun.

Hahaha nope

You can challenge it all you want, but this book will always be considered a classic.

However, I have the same issues with Asimov's writing that you do. He's that type of old school writer who is more enamored with ideas than he is with character or story. His writing can feel very stodgy and dull, and that's why I think he will always fall behind Arthur C Clark and Ray Bradbury on my list of great classic science fiction authors.

Why on earth would it be bad?

I have not yet read A Gentleman in Moscow, but I did read the authors The Lincoln Highway, which I thought was okay but not amazing. I still intend to get to Gentleman at some point.

I absolutely adored Blacktop Wasteland. I thought it was better than Razorblade Tears, which is still a good book.

I have a book wish list on my Amazon account where I list all the books that I want to read that I don't already own. Before going to the library, I browse this list so I know what to look for. My library also has a recent releases shelf and I always browse through that as well

I think this is normal. I had been putting off book 10 of Malazan Book of the Fallen, The Crippled God, for months because it's the last book of a great series and it's also 1200 pages. However two weeks ago I bit the bullet in dove in. I'm now 800 pages in and I'm glad I took the plunge.

It's a classic for a reason. It uses an unreliable narrator to very effectively portray an emotionally disturbed boy deeply affected by loss.

As long as the spelling and grammar is in order, I am not super picky about the choices the author makes. I might put something down because I don't like it, but I don't think I am the person to judge that something is not publication ready.

I was floored by this book, especially since I had read the author's The Buried Giant years ago and had been underwhelmed. This book is so subtle. It reminded me a lot of Hemingway in that not much appeared to be happening on the surface, but so so much was going on underneath.

As for the "twist", I figured it out about halfway through the book, but it didn't undermine my enjoyment of the work as a whole.

Sorry you didn't like it, but I think this book is a masterpiece. Second person narration is a device, and it used for a clear purpose here, but you won't know that until the end of the book.

If a book has what I consider to be hateful content, I simply don't read it.

I like audiobooks (I use Libby and Hoopla), but I still prefer physical books as my go to.

Did you like the book? It's on my TBR and I was intending to get to it soon.

Exposing Oliver's plight was the main point of the book.

I read ebooks and listen to audiobooks, but my preference is still for physical books.