Almost every day I'm recommended a "must-read" book from somewhere. And almost every day I put something in my amazon cart based on those suggestions. When it comes time to check out, I have to remove a bunch from the cart lest I spend hundreds of dollars in one pass.
Also, as an academic, there are innumerable texts out there designed to keep me up to snuff in my field. I can't possibly get to all of them. One part of me wants to start out with the classics like Socrates or Nietzsche but how does one prioritize their reading content???
There's a modern concept gaining popularity called FOMO or Fear of Missing Out. I'm beginning to understand this in my own strange way.
It's funny, because I have a completely different response when someone recommends a book to me, especially if they give me the book. I feel burdened.
It's as if this book is the last book I now want to read. But, I feel the weight of the recommendation.
Maybe it is the sense of obligation. I tend to be a spontaneous book chooser, selecting my next read on a whim, or I get in a mood for a certain type of book. Now I feel I have to read this darn thing! Of course, I feel more like this when they give me the book over if they just give me a recommendation.
Funny you mention that. I was just browsing a list of "recommended books" by a certain doctor I happen to like and it occurred to me that what I was looking at was "a list of things that would lead me to draw the same conclusions as the person recommending them". So, it was a humbling experience. And these lists are on many websites owned by scholars of one field or another.
In the best interests of my own development, I should just read in a way that would allow me to draw my own conclusions about the world. I feel a bit silly, to be quite honest.
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