Reader discussion: Three Weeks

Public reader discussion about Three Weeks in the WeRead Catalog by Elinor Glyn.

What authors have great books that were overshadowed by their major successes?

By cosmos_mirror

I’ve been getting into a bunch of early George Orwell lately—Down and Out in Paris and London is probably my favorite of the lot, and I’m almost done with Homage to Catalonia. Next up is The Road to Wigan Pier. I’ve always liked him for Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, but these early books basically locked him in as one of my all-time favorite authors. If you’ve been on the fence about reading him, I’d say just do it. It’s totally worth your time. That said, it made me wonder about other writers too—are there any well-known authors whose best novels kinda got swallowed up by their more famous hits?

Jack Kerouac Wrote 'On The Road' in Three Weeks. It Shows.

By SilverFocus1993

It was basically put together on that long roll of paper over three weeks in 1951. Kerouac already had big chunks typed up on notepads, then kept tweaking it right up until it came out in 1957. That said, I still can’t shake this creepy feeling that nobody reads Kerouac much anymore. But yeah, that whole idea is probably a load of crap.

After years of slow reading, I've read 9 books in about three weeks!

By StillRose7

Title pretty much sums it up. When I was a kid I basically couldn’t stop myself from reading whatever I grabbed off my mom’s shelves. Then adult life happened and work became this big thing I had to keep studying for, and honestly I just ran out of energy to read for fun. Lately though, I’ve gotten back into the swing of it and I’m actually reading things I genuinely like again—both fiction and more technical/random science stuff too. Yeah, some of the books in there are those quick ~100 page ones, which feels a little like cheating, but I don’t even care as long as I’m reading. I’ve dragged myself out of the slump and I’m proud of it. It started because I wanted to finish the Dante and Colomba series by Sandrone Dazieri. I ended up re-reading the second book just to get into the third, and then I couldn’t stop. First one is *Kill the Father*, if anyone’s curious. I also added a few science books I knew I’d enjoy that were just sitting there collecting dust: - *Kill the Angel* (Dante and Colombia #2) — Sandrone Dazieri - *Kill the King* (Dante and Colombia #3) — Sandrone Dazieri - *Lord of the Flies* — William Golding (re-read, still one of my favorites) - *Of Mice and Men* — John Steinbeck (read it in one sitting on a 3-hour plane and loved it) - *A Brief History of Time* — Stephen Hawking - *Atom* — Lawrence Krauss (I had to take notes to keep track of a few things, but I had a great time) - *The Theory of Everything* — Stephen Hawking (I was annoyed at first when I realized it pulls from *A Brief History of Time* a lot—like 95%—but it was also another short one, so I still read it while sitting at a comfy bar) - *A Clockwork Orange* — Anthony Burgess (I didn’t know about the whole made-up Nadsat language thing, so the beginning was rough, but the words kept repeating and it got easier to remember… I just didn’t end up loving it as much as I thought I would) - *The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy* — Douglas Adams (I actually laughed out loud reading it and I’m getting #2 tomorrow—*The Restaurant at the End of the Universe*. I want all of them.) So yeah, I’m definitely playing catch-up after losing interest for a while. There are so many books I left behind and it’s making me kind of giddy. What am I reading next? I’ve got a few waiting. I’m probably going to start with the Harry Potter play first since it’s easier to get through—I don’t want to lose the momentum. And I can already see *The Restaurant at the End of the Universe* coming up soon. Also, there’s a longer one waiting: *11/22/63* by Stephen King. Anyway, I’m really happy with myself and I want to keep going. I know work will try to get in the way, but I’ve managed to avoid sitting at my computer for a few weeks now, and reading with coffee in hand feels so nice that I honestly feel like I could keep doing this. What have you guys been reading lately? Do you naturally stick with books or do you lose interest easily as an adult? And if you’ve ever stopped reading, what brought you back? Hope you all have a great weekend!! Edit: quick wording thing. Edit 2: yep, it’s *A Clockwork Orange*. Thanks to whoever corrected me. Edit 3: I started the Harry Potter play, and you all are making me update my Goodreads “Want to Read” list… so many good recs, thanks! Edit 4: finished the Harry Potter play and loved it. The bookstores I went to didn’t have *The Restaurant at the End of the Universe*, so I’m killing time by re-reading *2001: A Space Odyssey*, and I’ll go on to #2 and #3 since I never actually read those. Still love it—waiting on *Hitchhiker’s* until I can grab them all.

Has reading actually increased your vocabulary?

By beaverLone1994

Honestly, if I hit a word I don’t know, I’ll look it up on Google and then it’s gone from my brain right away. I’ve probably searched stuff like “sardonic,” “zeitgeist,” “zealot,” and a bunch of others way too many times, and I still don’t really remember them. But if I’m using a word whose meaning I don’t fully know, I’ll still figure it out from the context and it makes more sense that way.

For those that read 50+ books a year, what is your reading schedule?

By HollowMug

I know it’s not really about the numbers, but I’d still love to get the answer. Also—please exclude audiobooks. I’m into them for sure, but I want to talk about regular reading. So quick questions: - Do you read a bit every day? - How long does it usually take you to finish one book? - Do you feel like you have to rush? I’ve been listening to audiobooks for about 7 years, and I really do love them. I even have this little note-taking system and I’ll listen to all kinds of stuff. But on holiday I finally grabbed my first physical book in my native language and read it, and it was honestly different than how I remember it—I totally lost track of time. That experience made me start reading From Dawn to Decadence (500 Years of Western Cultural Life). I’ve wanted to read it for ages, but it’s not available in audio for me. I like the idea of reading a little every day and just getting absorbed. Before, I felt like I was aware of what I was doing the whole time, like it was a bit of a struggle. I’m guessing audiobooks kind of trained me to see how books are put together, so now I’m more relaxed. But I’ve been at it for 3–4 days and I’ve only made it through around 100 pages, so now I’m wondering: when people say they read one book a week, are they reading a little each day, or do you just set aside a few days and knock it out?

How long does it take you to read a book?

By muddybowl

I’ve always been kind of annoyed that I can’t read that fast. Like, even a pretty average novel—think something around the length of 1984—takes me maybe 12–15 hours. When I read, the words just kind of go through my head at basically a normal speaking-aloud speed. I honestly don’t get how people can read way faster than that, but I’ve seen it happen. In high school I had a friend who could smash through three Discworld books in one night. So I keep wondering what makes that difference. Is it mostly just genetics or brain wiring for processing language? Or could it be starting earlier, or something like that? Does anyone have an idea? And can you actually speed up without ruining how much you enjoy reading?

Those of you that read everyday, what is your goal for how long you read per day?

By Winter40

I’ve only just gotten back into reading, and in the last three weeks I finished 3 books (which is way more than I used to manage in a whole year). I also decided I’d try to read for at least an hour every day. It’s been doable because I usually read at work during downtime since I work a lot, but if I’m not at work I kind of struggle to feel like reading. I read on the iPhone Books app, and it shows your streak—I’m at 14 days straight so far. But now I’m wondering if I should lower the goal. The hour sometimes feels like a lot, and for someone who didn’t really read before, it feels harder to keep up every single day. Do you think that goal is too high?

"If you read a novel in more than two weeks, you don't read the novel, really."

By distant_octavian582

Philip Roth basically said that reading a novel takes real attention and commitment, and if you can’t finish it in about two weeks, then you didn’t actually read it “for real.” And I get what he’s pointing at, but I also don’t know if I can fully agree—some people just don’t have the time, brain space, or even the language/reading skills to power through something that fast. That said, I think he’s talking more about the seriousness of reading than someone’s actual ability. If you’re only doing it in tiny chunks between movies, shows, scrolling, and everything else, it makes me wonder what you’re really getting from the book. My first reaction was honestly, Roth sounds kind of stuck up about it. Like he’s annoyed his readers aren’t giving him their undivided attention. And then I remembered that one of the few longer novels that took me more than two weeks was *American Pastoral*—and I’ve seen a bunch of people joke about that exact quote in reviews. So yeah, maybe people just slogged through it and made it work, which kind of contradicts the whole “didn’t really read it” thing. But now I’m like… maybe he’s not totally wrong. He didn’t say you have to read perfectly or in exactly two weeks, he said you need “a certain amount” of focus. Two weeks feels arbitrary, sure, but if you’re constantly jumping away from the book for other media, do you actually stay with the story and connect what the author’s doing? I’d like to think you still could, even if you watch a whole series in the middle, but I see his point. So I’m curious: do you buy Roth’s take? Does missing that two-week window really change anything, or is it more about how you’re engaging with the book? And if someone takes forever because they’re also doing other stuff, is that somehow “not really” reading?

Need to vent: my 11-year-old has completely lost her passion for reading as a result of her summer reading requirement.

By bronzeFish1980

My 11-year-old is a big reader—she’s already finished more than 150 books. She wrapped up *The Refugee* a little under three weeks ago and it really messed her up. There’s a point where the mom has to pick which one of her two kids to save, and it just broke her. Since then it’s been nonstop crying, she’s been way too into screen time, her eating habits have slipped, and she seems extra sensitive to certain words. Now she doesn’t really want to read at all. She still has one more book for the summer: *George Takei: They Called Us Enemy*. I’m hoping that one won’t be as brutal, but I still think these kinds of intense books are important—I’m just not sure it’s the right time for her to take this level of stuff on. I’d love to hear what you think about whether now is (or isn’t) the right moment for her to read this kind of heavy literature. We’ve had a lot of calm conversations, but I’m honestly worried the next book might make her quit reading for good. Edit: it’s definitely *The Refugee* (not *The Immigrant*). It also has parts where a kid gets their foot bitten off by a shark, a mom has to choose between sending one child into a concentration camp to save the other, and it covers their dad being tortured too. There are also people being put into barrels and drowned/executed.

I can only read on my kindle. Not physical books.

By starlight_narrow1977

Anyone else have this happen? I grabbed Vicious (VE Schwab) in hardcover and I was into it, but I kept going super slow and it felt kinda like a chore. Then I got it on kindle and somehow burned through it in a day. I hate that part though, because I really like being able to show off what I’m reading and I love having physical books in my hands. If I keep reading on kindle, will I actually end up back in physical books? I didn’t really start reading for fun until this year, after I got the kindle.

Making a reading list?

By stone-lunar

How do you all decide what to read next? Like, do you keep a list, and if so how many books are on it, and what order do you put them in (or why)? I’ve been reading a lot lately, but I keep getting stuck every time I finish a book. I’m thinking I should just make a list of options so I’m not stuck spending forever arguing with myself about what to pick up next.