Do you remember all the books you've read?

[TheHoundsOfHell]

I'm shocked that I can barely remember what happens in books I've read.
Some books have stayed with me but many, I barely remember.
There's a thread on Blood Orange which is a book I've read and enjoyed. I have no idea what the thread is going on about and I can't remember a thing.
How normal is this?

I read a lot on maternity leave and the great thing was I could read all those books again a couple years later because I couldn't remember a bloody word of them!

I'm useless at remembering unless it was quite a "life-changing" type book. I once bought a book at an airport and started reading it on the plane. I was about 60 pages in before I remembered I'd read it a couple of years earlier!

I’m exactly the same and have often wondered whether there’s something wrong with me. Some people can remember quotes etc from books and I’m over here trying to remember main characters!

I can only remember if I liked or hated a book. Or vague stuff like "the one where she talks to her dying mum in hospital". Can never remember character names or intricate plot details.

Yeah, I’m crap at remembering books. I often get myself into a quandary by recommending a book to someone, only to have them ask what it was about.

Fuck knows, I just really liked it 🤷🏼‍♀️

(I’m a bloody English teacher, as well).

Such a relief to realise this is common.

I record my my books on Goodreads so i
can scroll back through the years. I’m trying to follow a reading challenge I’ve devised and find if I choose my titles with some care they’re more likely to stay with me

Yep same, barely remember anything. Well usually I remember whether I enjoyed it or not... but sometimes not even that if sufficient time has passed.

I remember some well, some vaguely and some not at all!

I don't remember. Usually get to the last 50 or so pages and realise I've read it before.

All the time. With TV programmes and movies too. People asking things like "what was your favourite bit?" or "what did you think of [character/event]?" are my worst nightmare.

I can easily forget if I've read or watched something already, but then small events will happen that trigger memories and I'll remember how it ends which spoils it enough that I don't enjoy reading/watching it as much.

I have the same problem, only a few books stand out. I read very fast as I'm impatient by nature so I guess my brain has no time to retain information. I've read more than 1,000 books in the past decade and I sometimes pick a new one thinking it's new, and a couple of things seem familiar and I realized I've read it before. I use Goodreads to keep track.

No!! I've started keeping a list on excel of what I've read along with a rating of the book and that at least jogs my memory of what I thought of it.

One time I was watching A Child in Time on TV and I was about 2/3rds in when I realised that I'd actually read the book .

One of my dds is v good at remembering every twist and turn.

No, I've completely forgotten the majority. A select few earn memory.

I tend to remember if they are part of a series, but other than that, I also don’t remember

ive also been a few chapters in then realised I have already read it!

I’m the same, they just don’t stay in my head. I’ve always been a big reader but at best I vaguely remember the emotional landscape of books and whether I enjoyed them — maybe sometimes a few key plot points or a twist.

Very glad it’s not just me!

What a relief to know I'm not the only person who experiences this. I just finished reading a book by a wedding columnist for the New York Times and I'm appalled that I couldn't even remember what happened 5 chapters ago. I take comfort in thinking that my own life is eventful enough that some books - especially "fluffy " ones don't leave much impression!

Far from it. The other day I got 3/4 of the way through a thriller before I realised I’d read it before.

I read very fast so get through a lot of books. Some really stick in the mind but others fade - I do mostly remember if I’ve read one before though!

Actually I think this reveals publishing’s dirty secret - 90% of books are basically the same as a bunch of other books. Mass market paperbacks are very very samey.

Funnily enough when it comes to authors I like a lot such as Anne Tyler I remember those books well even though they have very similar plots - because the characters are so nicely drawn they stand apart from one another.

I'm like this too. In fact, I have such a terrible memory that sometimes I read a chapter of the book I'm supposedly engrossed in over again without realising. I get a few pages in and suddenly recognise something😬 My degree is in literature and I had to read every book three times or more before it stuck. I am considering getting an ADHD assessment though, so maybe there's a connection?

I'm the same with films. I only remember whether they were good, bad or indifferent.

Totally normal! I've read thousands of books, and often will forget enough plot details to make rereading a genuine experience of suspense and surprise! It's a perk, when it's a good book.

It depends - some favourites I’ve read so much that I could probably sit and type out a pretty good copy of them! Others someone will mention and I can remember them vaguely but not really. Or I can remember one specific part but not major plot points.

Lol. I often can't even remember a book I read a year ago.

Then again, if it's a novel, maybe that's the fault of the book for not being memorable.

Well I guess it depends how much you read!
If you read regularly then that's going to be a lot of books you've got through and a lot of books to remember!
I would imagine it's impossible to remember every one

Exactly the same. What I do remember is whether I liked it or not. I can even forget the title while I am reading it. Yet I can remember books I have

loved from years ago. Discussing this subject with a friend who also reads a lot. I wondered if it is because we go from one book almost straight into another. So no time to “accommodate and assimilate”. I can forget the content of books in a very short space of time. Thinking also it is very difficult to recall much about a lot of tv series so hence the preference of box sets. Is this the same thing?