Member: DGD

CollectionsYour library (1,355), To read (11), Currently reading (2), Used to own (258), Read but unowned (301), All collections (1,914)

ReviewsNone

TagsFiction (577), Fantasy (576), SF (424), England (210), America (198), Stories (162), Japan (152), Far Future (142), Near Future (134), Travel (132) — see all tags

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About meDuring my teen years, I fed my reading habit with a steady diet of fantasy and sf, most of which was of the multi-volume kind--and most of which was shlock. Over time, I became pickier, gravitating toward more "literary" sf/fantasy. Then I studied literature in university, and my horizons expanded considerably; I began reading a lot of contemporary fiction and classics along with fantasy and sf, with a growing preference for "slipstream" works that straddle genre boundaries. Two decades later, that still holds true, but I've also gained an appreciation for non-fiction in recent years, especially travel lit and books on Asian culture/history. I now find myself enjoying non-fiction more and more while becoming more impatient with fiction--although I still read plenty of it.

About my libraryWhile I realize that a five-star scale is a very superficial and arbitrary way of evaluating books, I like rating stuff all the same, and it does help me to think about why I liked or disliked a particular title. I've rated every book I've read that I remember well enough to rate. (In some cases, ratings were assigned 20 years or more after reading the book, so take them with a block of salt.) The rating is purely an indication of how much I enjoyed a book--not its historical/literary significance.

5 stars: Exceptional. One of my "desert island" books.

4.5: Great. I rarely read more than one or two books this good in a given year.

4: Excellent. A book I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend without reservation.

3.5: Very good. A book that has some flaws, but was well worth reading.

3: Good. A book I enjoyed reading, but had strong reservations about.

2.5: Average. A book with significant flaws but which is still of interest.

2: Disappointing. A book I struggled to finish but has some redeeming aspects.

1.5: Poor. A highly flawed book that irritated or annoyed me.

1: Trash. A book with no literary or entertainment value.

0.5: Insultingly or offensively bad. (This is really a theoretical rating, since I only rate books I've finished, and I likely wouldn't finish something this bad.)

GroupsNone

Favorite authorsPat Barker, Jonathan Carroll, J. M. Coetzee, John Crowley, M. John Harrison, Kazuo Ishiguro, Pico Iyer, Jan Morris, Haruki Murakami, Terry Pratchett, Christopher Priest, Kim Stanley Robinson, Salman Rushdie (Shared favorites)

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Real nameDavid

Account typepublic, lifetime

URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/DGD (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/DGD (library)

Member sinceFeb 7, 2007

Currently readingLe Passe-Muraille by Marcel Ayme
深夜特急〈6〉 by 沢木 耕太郎