Tag Archives: reading

QUANTITY OR QUALITY?

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I’m not a very fast reader, but I’m a very thorough reader.  As a writer of books I learned to hard way that it is vitally important to use the exact word, in the correct context, you intend your reader to understand.

Therefore, I take care to understand each word I’m reading.  What’s the point of reading if you don’t understand — or misunderstand — what you’ve read?

When was the last time you used a dictionary?  If you don’t know the meaning of each word in the sentence, you won’t understand the sentence.  Simple.

Reading is a form of communication.  Our environment is saturated with verbal, visual, musical and printed communication.  Too much communication prevents communication. We can’t process all of it, so we begin to ignore it, reject it and treat it all the same.  When that happens we loose are ability to differential, which is our ability to reason and make rational judgements.

A good rule of thumb about reading is this “QUALITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN QUANTITY“.

The “Dumbing Down of America” (and the world) is happening because we are reading more quantity, but the quality is dwindling grammatically.  The content of Twitter, television, films and popular media is diminishing our ability to evaluate the relative value and validity of information.  Are minds are literally being drowned in drivel!  The Draconian education policy of  “No Child Left Behind” is designed to drag everyone down to a level of  dim-witted incompetence.

Don’t fall for this bullshit.  Understand what you read.

Here is a great tool to measure your reading speed and comprehension:

ereader test

100 (OR SO) BOOKS I HEARD IN 2016

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Author Image  100 (OR SO) BOOKS I HEARD IN 2016

I have written 8 books personally.  (See my author profile (https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/pan)   I also edited and published the international best selling book Alien Interview. (Get this audiobook FREE)

As a writer I am a reader.  I usually read (or re-read) at least 100 books a year.  I am 70 years old now and have developed severe arthritis is my neck which prevents me from reading printed books.  So, I download and listen to audiobooks from AUDIBLE.COM. I have discovered the experience of audiobooks to be much more satisfying than reading printed books.  What can be better than a well written story read to you by a professional voice talent?!  Anyway, I want to share with you a list of audobooks I listened to during 2016.  As you can see from the list my preferences lean heavily toward Fantasy, Science Fiction, Metaphysics and History.  Each book is a universe created by the “author gods” of Earth: universes of infinite imagination and fascination.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Book 5  THE HARRY POTTER SERIES (7 books) by J.K Rowling

Chapterhouse Dune  DUNE  (6 book series by Frank Herbert)

Ashley Bell  ASHELY BELL by Dean Koontz

Neverwhere  NEVERWHERE by Neil Gaiman  (second reading)

THE REPUBLIC OF PIRATES: BEING THE TRUE AND SURPRISING STORY OF THE CARIBBEAN PIRATES by Colin Woodard  The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down

Bag of Bones  BAG OF BONES by Stephen King

The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes  THE IMPROBABLE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by John Joseph Adams (editor) , Robert J. Sawyer , Christopher Roden , Michael Moorcock , Anne Perry , Neil Gaiman , Anthony Burgess , Laurie R. King

THE DIAMOND AGE by Neal Stephenson

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World  GHENHIS KHAN AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN WORLD By Jack Weatherford

Red Rising  THE RED RISING TRILOGY by Pierce Brown

Hunted: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 6  THE DRUID CHRONICLES (8 books) by Kevin Hearne

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe  HOW TO SAFELY LIVE IN A SCIENCE FICTIONAL UNIVERSE by Charles Yu

Proven Guilty: The Dresden Files, Book 8  THE DRESDEN FILES (15 books) by Jim Butcher

Fated: Alex Verus Series, Book 1  ALEX VERUS SERIES by Benedict Jacka  (7 books)

The Sudden Appearance of Hope  THE SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF HOPE by Claire North

The Everything Box: A Novel  THE EVERYTHING BOX by Richard Kadrey

Spell or High Water: Magic 2.0  MAGIC 2.0 (3 book series) by Scott Meyer

THE AERONAUT’S WINDLASS: THE CINDER SPIRES, BOOK 1 by Jim Butcher

The Many Selves of Katherine North  THE MANY SELVES OF KATHERINE NORTH by Emma Geen

THE CHRONICLES OF ST. MARY’S (book 1 and 2) by Jody Taylor

Ready Player One  READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline

Tesser: A Dragon Among Us: A Reemergence Novel, Book 1  TESSER, A DRAGON AMONG US by Chris Philbrook

JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL by Susanna Clarke

THE DIRTY STREETS OF HEAVEN: BOBBY DOLLAR by Tad Williams  The Dirty Streets of Heaven: Bobby Dollar, Book 1

SLEEPING LATE ON JUDGEMENT DAY: Bobby Dollar BY Tad Williams

THE HIKE by Drew Magary

WHERE THE HELL IS TELSA: A NOVEL by Rob Dircks

The Android's Dream  AGENT TO THE STARS by John Scalzi

THE ANDROIDS DREAM by John Scalzi

ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE by Robert M. Pirsig

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  ALL OF THE BOOKS OF DOUGLAS ADAMS (re-read for the 4th or 5th time)  Life, the Universe, and Everything: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Book 3

THE GODMAKERS by Frank Herbert

AWAKEN ONLINE by Travis Bagwell

SURVIVAL QUEST: WAY OF THE SHAMAN SERIES (1 and 2) by Vasily Mahanenko

No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished: Heartstrikers, Book 3  HEARTSTRIKERS (3 book series) by Rachel Aaron

WIZARD DEFIANT: INTERGALACTIC WIZARD SCOUT CHRONICLES by Rodney Hartman

THE LEGEND OF ELI MONPRESS (5 book series) by Rachel Aaron  The Spirit Thief

WAKE OF VULTURES: THE SHADOW BOOK 1, by Lila Bowen

THE SHEPARD’S CROWN by Terry Pratchett

Watchers  WATCHERS by Dean Koontz

SOLARIS by Stanislaw Lem

The Mote in God's Eye  THE MOTE IN GOD’S EYE by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse, Book 1  WE ARE LEGION (WE ARE BOB) BOBIVERSE BOOKS 1 AND 2 by Dennis E. Taylor

BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON by Dean Koontz

Columbus Day: Expeditionary Force, Book 1  COLUMBUS DAY: EXPEDITIONARY FORCE (book 1) by Craig Alanson