I hate feeling like I have to read shitloads of books or else

Who do you hang out with? Most people barely read at all, and will get personally offended if they catch you in the act.

>>9862173

Nobody. But I worry that it might happen

>>9862173

>and will get personally offended if they catch you in the act

wut

>>9862125
>Dickens and all those other old classics could never be published today
Nigga, what? All he needs is a bit editing and he'd sell fantastically as a new writer. All of his stories got great pitches and interesting situations with mass appeal.

> I still get told to say that publishers are the final judges of literary quality
Rather the first. The readers are the final judges.

If you can plausibly explain why you think book X is boring, it can be an interesting opinion. If someone abuses you for it, they aren't worth talking with either way. Work on your confidence, faggot.

>>9862173
I mean, it did happen to me back in 5th grade but afterwards? Pretty much everyone sees reading as something positive and intellectual, unless you read romance or some shit. Even reading GRRM will get you some respect from most people. Where are you from?

>>9862125
it's not so much that pseudo intellectuals will come after you, but literature is a discussion spanning centuries (longer probably, depending on what you consider part of the Western Cannon)–how do you expect to participate if you haven't listened to any part of the conversation before whatever is contemporary to you? While you can certainly read (and understand) lit from 1900 onwards, will you really derive the full understanding if you don't know what it is in reaction to?

>>9862125
I've read Jürgen Habermas, Desiderius Erasmus, St. Thomas Aquinas, and a shit-ton of Livy. I've never read any Jane Austen, only made it through 1/3 of a Tolstoy tome, and have read only one Dickens novel all the way through. Literally everyone has gaps in their knowledge. Reading isn't a videogame where you have to get every achievement, it's a process where you peruse interests that develop naturally over time.

>>9862125
> people will abuse me if i dont like books
i realise this board is full of 18-22 yr olds but grow up fucking faggot

What the hell are you even talking about? If you personally don't find any substance or interest in a book then either reread it if you feel like you've missed something, or go find something you enjoy.