Piketty’s Capital in XXI century.
I’m not sure I’d call that popular in general. Maybe it is among your friends, though.
infinite jest
I hate this like neckbeard pseudointellectual misogynistic popular opinion of this book, because it is truly a tender and empathetic and beautiful work
Loving that is quick proof that I’m a lib :(
I tried it twice and succeeded the second time.
I’m currently reading it. I can see why so many people just leave it in the bookshelf.
It’s not a bad book, but God damn does it feel like running a marathon.
It frustrated me, I’ve been pretty depressed in the past and I felt like I detected all the same thought patterns in it. Not a badly written book but I didn’t enjoy what felt like a book written as a sort of self-flagellation
Without a shadow of a doubt the Bible.
No, reading the Gospels, Paul’s letters, Revelations, Genesis, Exodus, and selected Psalms doesn’t count as reading the Bible. Do you count reading 10 chapters of a 60+ chapter book as reading the book? Of course not.
I grew up in an evangelical house and I constantly get to wield the line: “I guess I took the wrong lessons” as my comeback to literally any political dispute and it is wonderful having the ability to actually quote the Bible when arguing with my child relatives
I was raised in a Christian household, and I was told that when I turned 12 I could be baptized. I looked forward to, and on the summer I was 10, I decided I wanted to be ready. I sat down and read the bible, front to back. I got to the end, and I paused: this was nothing like what they were telling me! I decided to read it again through, certainly I missed something? At the end, I decided to work through again, one more time, and then I was no longer Christian, at least not like these other ones. Now I’m not at all, but I love being able to source the bible more accurately than my Christian family members.
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Oh phew. I studied English Lit at university and had to wade through bits of both. I used to feel like I was some sort of uncultured swine for not “getting” them. But honestly, I just don’t think they work as novels. As a piece of art, I guess, sure. Fine and modern art can look like nonsense without context, but often make sense when seen as part of a conversation with other artists and movements. If taken like that, fine, you do you, Joycey-boy, and write incomprehensibly. I’ll be over here with my Iain Banks and Ned Beauman, enjoying them.
1984
Fahrenheit 451
People don’t read Fahrenheit 451? Or 1984? 🤨
Literally 1984
I read Fahrenheit 451 on a whim one day and the scenario was the exact same one we’re in today. Except the fire department in the real world still tries to put out actual fires instead of burning books. We’re not that far gone yet.
In my experience a lot of people have read 1984…
You definitely got me on Fahrenheit 451 though :)
Fahrenheit 451 is highly readable.
Do people not read 1984? They should, it’s great.
I’ve not read F451, but I also haven’t bought it, so I’m off the hook! :-)
The Bible
CHECKMATE
This was my first thought, and I knew someone had to have said it already.
harry potter mabye
A Brief History of Time - a fair number of people do read it but there’s a pretty big chunk of people that just want bookshelf clout.
People don’t read popular science books? 🤨🤨
Okay, I admit, I am deeply perplexed by everything everyone is saying in this thread. Do people seriously keep books on bookshelves not for reading, but for decoration or to pretend they’re well-read? Why wouldn’t they just read the books?
Yes they do just buy them for decoration. If you are intellectually curious you’re in an extreme minority of people.
Which I find strange. Usually anti-intellectualism is open, up-front, and honest about what it is. People buying books and not reading them just to pretend they’re smart doesn’t seem like a thing that actually happens in real life, just a straw intellectual the willfully ignorant like to beat up.
I prefer the album “A Brief History of Rhyme” by MC Hawking.
I was looking for this. 15 years ago this would have been top of the list.
I came to answer “the Bible”, but it seems that was already taken. Multiple times.
It would seem that the people complaining about Christians not studying their scripture, commented without reading the comments … that’s somehow very meta
Why exactly would you buy a book and not read it ?
I have a pretty decent sized library. My fiction section is about 95% read, but the non-fiction sections are much less. You sometimes buy non-fiction as reference materials, to flip through, etc. Not necessarily to read cover-to-cover. (I’d guess my non-fiction is 25% read.)
Looks good on the book shelf. Many people decorate with books. Look at all those old mansions you see in movies, where there is a giant library.
I guess it’s never crossed my mind. I never thought someone would get a book for a reason other than reading it. They do look good in a living room
People buy false books for decoration, so…
I had no idea
So other people think you did read it. Perhaps for the binding color in a background. Maybe to impress people while holding it in a cafe. To burn.
The same reason anyone buys anything that they don’t use, they think they’ll enjoy it but in reality they don’t find time or lose interest.
I’ve got a library’s worth of books, board games, and video games that I’m planning to read/play/consume “at some point” when I get the time. I actually have more content to digest than I probably have time left to live and that’s kind of depressing.
But those things aren’t the answer to OP’s question, are they? I’m sure that out of all the Harry Potter or DaVinci’s Code or whatever whatever popular book you look at there’ll be a nice % of books that haven’t been read, but I’m pretty sure that a majority of.peoole that buy them also end up reading them.
The more reasonable answer would probably be something that’s popular but not necessarily something you read. Like others have said, a dictionary, cookbook, or book related to some other skill. Those are a lot more likely to go unread
The meaning of OP’s question seems blindingly obvious to me, as long as you don’t take it too literally…
I’d say the DaVinci code would be a good answer, I’ve got a copy that I’ve never read. Same with the Harry Potter books as well.
The girl on the train is another book that everyone seems to own, but nobody reads.
meant to read it then never actually got around to it
Adhd
I have a few dozen books. A third I’ve read all the way through, the rest I’ve picked up and put down or skimmed.
It helps to have a lot of options so that I’m more likely to find one that clicks and holds my attention for longer.
Plus I frequently reference books for specific info or quotes.
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I’ve purchased many books that I haven’t physically read.
I mostly read on my Kindle, or I listen to audiobooks. But for books I really love, I will also buy the physical copy to display.
Fair enough, I’ve never considered that before, but I understand it
Dictionaries or lexicons. Who reads those from start to finish?
To be honest. I did.
I found another of my kin.
Ulysses by James Joyce.
I convinced myself it was very important to read this book when I was 17, physically dragged my eyes across ~200 pages of it, and understood nothing of what was happening.
Lmao me with Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (makes sense ig it’s just a guys whole childhood)
i liked the hell-fire sermon. My one office job I ever had, I did a dramatic reading of it for an old man and a former improv kid.
Sdgflk I read that part out loud for no reason at a band camp once and nobody was interested. I was a weird kid
The dictionary
lol
The
dictionarydikshunaryDo they have those at the lie-berry?
Most of friedrich nietzsche’s books
If you’re Gen X, the entire three fucking ton collection of whatever encyclopedia itanica set out there and fifty time life books about random shit with pictures. Maybe sex by Madonna.
My parents, and those before them loved to appear as if they could ready but only really recognized the logos of gas stations and liquor bottles.
