Google and books

[saliotthomas]

In many ways Google and other search engines changed our ways of reading.All that information we lacked are now available.The book talk about a city,a painter,another book,a tool,a car i don't know, i just search and in few sec i see photos and have all information about it.I love also the way we can find the authors photos,i alway check the new ones,i find that very interesting.
In a sense it might restraint a imaginative part of us,but so much remain to imagine that i don't think it really affect it.

Do you research while reading?

 

[abecedarian]

Do you research while reading?

Is there another way to learn? Since I don't have access to Donald Trump's checkbook, it is impossible to maintain the kind of reference library I can readily and inexpensively access online. Not saying the web is a good excuse to forgo having a few good references on the shelf, but for easy, instant intellectual gratification, Google is nifty resource.

 

[Libra]

Do you research while reading?

I do enjoy searching,about everything,after I finished Chadwick's books on William Marshall (a real knight),I went and looked him up and was amazed to see pictures of the castles and his homes.The book was so on to the descrition and detail the authour had given.

The best part for me is looking up an author on wiki and reading up on them.

I search everything,I want to fit as much stuff/crap/info into my brain as I can.I hear something on T.V that interests me,then I search about it,oh the beautiful world of the web...

The only downside,if you could call it that,the to buy list gets longer.

 

[beer good]

I often end up checking one or two things on wikipedia or the like with every book I read. Sometimes there's some historical or political background that intrigues me, or a geographic or cultural setting I'm unfamiliar with, or mentions of some other writer I haven't read, etc...

And then there's books like Pynchon's Against The Day, where I end up checking the wiki twice on every page. But that's rare.

 

[Stewart]

I often end up checking one or two things on wikipedia or the like with every book I read. Sometimes there's some historical or political background that intrigues me, or a geographic or cultural setting I'm unfamiliar with, or mentions of some other writer I haven't read, etc...

Yeah, same here. I remember reading up on the Hungarian Revolution after reading Ferenc Karinthy's Metropole. And recently, after Le Clezio's Terra Amata, discovered that the main character, Chancelade, is likely named after a skull found in France. The novel takes its name from another French dig site.

Strangely, I never felt much of a need to research after reading Umberto Eco. Saying that, I did buy a book on the realm of Prester John, which was great up until the point it discussed Portugese relations with Ethiopia. Snooze!

 

[saliotthomas]

Strangely, I never felt much of a need to research after reading Umberto Eco.

On of the thing i wanted to see was the Pendulum(i meant to see it in Paris but forgot again) .

 

[Dogmatix]

Google is an amazing tool. One must use it wisely though. There's some crappy info out there.

 

[silverseason]

In many ways Google and other search engines changed our ways of reading.

Yes, there is some garbage out there on the web, but there would probably be an equal amount in the library if the librarians didn't screen it for us. On the internet, we have to do it for ourselves. I'm struck also by how much more research I do now than I did when I had to get in a car and drive to the library to look up some missing fact or enjoy some range of opinions.

 

[buckskis]

I love having quick and easy access to more information about the things I read. I use wikipedia quite often. It's great for quick biographies on non-fiction characters I sometimes come across in books I read. The internet has been really helpful in better understanding "Wild Swans" a book about modern Chinese history.

 

[Mattyj]

I use Google constantly, especially when I am reading. If something comes up that I don't know about in the text, I run off to the computer and look it up. Sometimes it sidetracks me though, because looking up one thing always leads to another...and so on. I'm currently reading Musashi, which is about a samurai. Since I know nothing of samurais, I have been googling constantly to learn about both the author and the swordsman the story is based on.

 

[ciscopower]

Do you research while reading?

Yes, when I have interested in reading one book, google it is my first thing to do, find out the customer reviews and comments, and then make my decision : buy it or just read it online or borrow it.

 

[Enya]

I always do that.While reading a book, I google the name of the author and read interviews with him/her, get information from the official web page, find out more about the way in which that book was written or about some characters in the book, especially if the book is based on historical facts.
I've just finished The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory and I enjoyed the writer's official page but also sites on Tudor history.
I think finding this information doubles the pleasure of reading and of learning something while reading fiction.

 

[SFG75]

Strangely, I never felt much of a need to research after reading Umberto Eco.

Eco inspired me to look up a number of things, I particularly devoured any and all information about the gruesome cadaver synod.

 

[Landslide]

I often end up checking one or two things on wikipedia or the like with every book I read. Sometimes there's some historical or political background that intrigues me, or a geographic or cultural setting I'm unfamiliar with, or mentions of some other writer I haven't read, etc...

Same here. I frequently search for pictures of places or objects described in the book as it helps me to better visualise the setting of the story.

 

[abecedarian]

Same here. I frequently search for pictures of places or objects described in the book as it helps me to better visualise the setting of the story.

I like to see a good map of the region in question too. I love maps.

 

[Landslide]

I love maps.

Me too!!!

 

[MonkeyCatcher]

I usually use wiki to learn more about the time period in which the book is set, and I try to keep a notebook next to me to keep track of the different things I want to look up when I'm next on the computer.

 

[abecedarian]

I usually use wiki to learn more about the time period in which the book is set, and I try to keep a notebook next to me to keep track of the different things I want to look up when I'm next on the computer.

I like to use a notecard for a bookmark, particularly for books I know I'll have things I want to look up later.