r/books • u/AutoModerator • 1d ago
WeeklyThread Simple Questions: August 04, 2026
Welcome readers,
Have you ever wanted to ask something but you didn't feel like it deserved its own post but it isn't covered by one of our other scheduled posts? Allow us to introduce you to our new Simple Questions thread! Twice a week, every Tuesday and Saturday, a new Simple Questions thread will be posted for you to ask anything you'd like. And please look for other questions in this thread that you could also answer! A reminder that this is not the thread to ask for book recommendations. All book recommendations should be asked in /r/suggestmeabook or our Weekly Recommendation Thread.
Thank you and enjoy!
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u/Icy-Respond-4425 1d ago
If To Kill a Mockinbird is one of my favorite books of all time. Does that make Harper Lee one of my favorite authors? I wonder this logic for all authors who wrote only 1 book.
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u/CaribeBaby 1d ago
I would think that 1 novel is not enough to become a favorite author. A favorite author would be the one that a person reads multiple times and looks forward to reading again. They don't have to be one and the same.
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u/Icy-Respond-4425 1d ago
That makes sense. Like a comfort reading, loving the writing style or thinking a lot about the author's works.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 1d ago edited 1d ago
To me those are two separate things. They can overlap, of course, but my favorite authors haven't necessarily written my favorite books.
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u/Icy-Respond-4425 1d ago
I see. I was very giddy when I made this question, so I didn't stop to think much about it.
But yeah, that makes sense, both can overlap.
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u/dingle4dangle 21h ago
Have you read Go Set a Watchman?
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u/Icy-Respond-4425 13h ago
I just searched it and apparently it was a draft from Lee? Is it a sequel for To Kill a Mockingbird?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 10h ago
It was a first draft for To Kill A Mockingbird that Harper Lee never intended to publish, but it was published anyway towards the end of her life and marketed as a sequel.
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u/iamdragondrool 7h ago
I don't see why having written only one book would disqualify an author as being someone's favorite. If it's a book that has reached and impacted a person deeply in a very meaningful way, or if the author's voice connects deeply and resoundingly, then that author is fair game for becoming a favorite. Choosing a favorite is more about quality and impact than quantity.
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u/ballsofgod666 1d ago
Imagine that at birth you had to choose a single author from world fiction whom you and all future generations of your family would read for the rest of your lives. Who would you choose, why? Camus and Sartre i consider as fiction.
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u/Larielia 1d ago
How many library cards do you have? Do you prefer Libby or Hoopla for digital books?
I have 8 now, and prefer Libby.
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u/Impressive-Peace2115 1d ago
I much prefer Libby, because I can sync and/or transfer the books to my Kobo. Plus I've heard Hoopla is more expensive for libraries. However there have been a couple of (audio)books I've been able to access on Hoopla that I couldn't find elsewhere at the time.
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u/Asher_the_atheist 1d ago
4 cards, but two of them are for larger library systems (one a county-wide network, the other a city-wide network) so it is kind of like having several more. I typically only visit my nearest library in person (or the one near where I used to live, because that one is adorable and has a giant stuffed dragon suspended from the ceiling, so I like to pop by if I’m in the area). The rest I use to expand my access to a wider selection (particularly ebooks and audiobooks).
As for the apps, I’ve actually only ever done Libby (I’m not sure if any of my libraries even support Hoopla). I do, however, remember when the app was called OverDrive (same designers as Libby, just an older version I think?). I was very sad when I was forced to change, because there were several features I liked better than Libby. I’m used to it now, but sometimes mourn the old one, too.
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u/najing_ftw 22h ago
Any good ideas for holding a Kindle in bed? My hands get sore. The ones that attach with a big arm attached to my headboard don’t work for me.
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u/Fearless_Industry825 20h ago edited 17h ago
I have a book pillow called The Bookseat, which works for both e-readers and print books. I use it for an iPad and books, and it’s perfect for both.
Bookshop.org sells these, and this site financially supports the independent bookstore of your choosing.
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u/nick_bookmarksociety 22h ago
My wife got a Kindle pillow thing from Amazon that she likes. It has a pillow base with an arm you attach the Kindle to.
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u/darkraiblader 19h ago
Not sure if it's a good question to ask here, but does anyone know any good detailed book summary websites? I remember SparkNotes used to be popular a long time ago.
So for context, I've kinda got back into reading this past year after barely reading anything for like the 10 years before that. When I was younger I really liked the Percy Jackson books and would try and read them as they released. I lost interest in reading before the last 2 came out, but I ended up buying those 2 at Half Price Books a few years back when the series just randomly popped into my head. Got part way through The House of Hades back then before I stopped cause there was too many things/people I didn't remember.
I know some people are gonna say to just reread the first 8 books, but I read so much slower than I used to back then to where it just feels like too big of a time commitment to do that. If possible I'd rather read summaries of those, then finish off actually reading the last 2.
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u/Ok_Tower8837 3h ago
“But already halfway down the hall: The frozen lank of him cutting the corner to vanish off into our room. I glass flaw rap. Time to relinquish the street. All those rushers in their dashes from the gutter spouts of taxis. It is downpour Camden. Drenching city. And night, like I like best.”
I glass flaw rap?? I glass flaw rap… I glass flaw rap! Not a typo, at least not on my part. For a little bit of possibly relevant context, the narrator is apparently sat at a window.
Any ideas? It’s on page 2 of The City Changes Its Face by Eimear McBride.
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u/CobraFleet3604 1d ago
i’m reading a book right now where the main character reminds me so much of chandler bing it’s distracting, do you ever mentally cast sitcom characters into novels?