Discussion Remembering what you read

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by ReaderReader, Aug 2, 2022.

  1. ReaderReader

    ReaderReader (◍•ᴗ•◍) [Important things must be said 2 times]

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    I .. do not remember the names of ... 80% of the novel characters.

    But I can also remember almost all the main & supporting characters from Overlord , Tensura & MDZS

    Partially it's because for BL's I like to read QT so the names change every ark with the " Real Name " also appearing here and there. For other bigger ones of ( KR action ) I would recognize the names and more or less know who they are ... but mostly I just remember MC , ML , FL and stick acronyms to the character

    The plot is always somewhat forgotten until someone brings it up or the title & summary pops up again , than would most likely remember most things

    The worst thing is to mix multiple novels together ... especially if your trying to find it back
     
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  2. Night Phoenix

    Night Phoenix The *Eccentric* Person

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    I'm pretty ok with that. If I haven't read a novel in a year or so because waiting for translation, I usually remember everything in a chapter or 2.
     
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  3. Professor Baka De DeluPerv

    Professor Baka De DeluPerv Consumer of Plastic Toys

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    If I like the novel I can remember the characters even if they haven't appeared for hundreds of chapters, or I haven't touched the novel for years. If I don't, I forget them as soon as I close the novel~

    I can also read dozens of novels at the same time without confusing them together ~(´∀`~)
     
  4. Resplendor

    Resplendor High Lord of Souls

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    This^
    Why waste brain power on names of characters from stories I'll barely remember in a month's time?
     
  5. Eisvarith Devirea

    Eisvarith Devirea [Mza {Valkyrie Awakens} Mya]

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    i actually notices my lack of interest on novels these days so i create a notepad for characters name, countries, and background setting just in case, on every novels i like to read.
     
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  6. ngard

    ngard Well-Known Member

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    names tend to be difficult for me too, but I wouldn't consider that to be odd since I don't speak the language and the names are so foreign to me.
    I haven't read any of the novels you mentioned, but I have seen them being brought up here and there, and I assume they're the type of longer novels, which would obviously increase the chance of names being remembered; or the fact that they are so well known and often discussed, keeping them fresh in memory, could be a factor as well.
    sadly, forgetting such things is just how normie human memory works :blobcry:
     
  7. hypersniper159

    hypersniper159 Creator of NuF’s 7th Enigma

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    Depends on how memorable/"unique" the plot and characters are. Or just how much I can relate to them. For example, I hated reading 'Mistborn', especially Sazed, I hate how his character and his arc affect the novel but whatever. However, I remember the first actual novel I read but the title and the multiple characters' names, and thanks to NUF I found the story again. But I am awful at remembering names, even IRL I just stand around until people acknowledge my existence.
     
  8. luoxinle

    luoxinle Book Club Founder

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    While I'm reading a novel, I have a notepad with the names of characters and places that I need to keep track of along with their relationship or whatever is important about them. When I add them to my reading list, I put the summary in the notes section so I can refer to it without going to the novel page. If the summary isn't helpful, I'll write my own.

    NU edit notes.png NU add notes.png NU view notes.png
     
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  9. xiao Yi

    xiao Yi I told you to forget me but you stayed by my side.

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    I remember the plot, not the title.
    I remember the sweetness of the cp, not the names.
    I remember some side characters, but not all the time.
     
  10. sakyuya

    sakyuya 【Villain】【Very tired and wants to retire】

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    Sometimes, I even forget the main character names, not to mention the side character. :blobcatblush:
     
  11. ToastedRossi

    ToastedRossi Well-Known Member

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    Whilst I'm reading a book I find it quite easy to remember their names, the names of the different places, and other assorted specialized information. I'll only really forget some time after I finish a book or if I stop reading it for an extended period of time. But if I come back to a book, I find it's easy to pick up on all the names and story points again. I think the main reason I don't have this name recognition problem is that I don't have to read names in pinyin. See, pinyin only manages to capture the sound of a name (and not even the whole sound at that) so it strips out a lot of the meaning and feel that you'd get if you were reading in Chinese. If I were forced to look at names in just pinyin, I wouldn't be able to remember them either.
     
  12. Kaylee

    Kaylee Well-Known Member

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    The reason I write reviews for nu novel and blog for raw.

    Damn. I dont know this.
    I might do this instead of writing review not review because I use it to make me remember what I've read.
     
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  13. luoxinle

    luoxinle Book Club Founder

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    I mean, reviews are also great because they help other people decide whether to read or not.

    Also, those tags in the notes section are your personal tags. You can search/filter your reading list by your personal tags, so you can use them for things like "read next", "book group novel", "favorite author", "slow to update", "good reviews" etc.

    I also keep a reading list of books I don't want to read, so I'll use tags to track why I decided not to read it, in case someone recommends it to me, then I can go back and see "oh, right, I didn't want to read that because it has a love triangle, but my friend said the love triangle is over really early on, and it's mostly a 1-1 romance...."
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2022
  14. ShadowAscetic

    ShadowAscetic Well-Known Member

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    I don't even remember the plot, not to mention remembering character's name that is often get mixed up during MTL. Honestly, I don't even remember the main character's name from novel that I read three hour ago, I just remember that he's a concubine (?) who got married with a tyrant (???), it's pretty cliche plot with basic emotional line and no memorable characters.

    But the weird thing is, I do remember some random character from famous novel like Susie (yes, that dog from Lord of The Mysteries) or Mosaic (that Loli NPC from Earth is Online) even though I read them like, 2 years ago? Maybe they're too unique so they keep sticking on my brain.
     
  15. luoxinle

    luoxinle Book Club Founder

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    I'm more likely to recognize a name when I see it again than to remember a name if I'm asked for one. I probably remember names better if I've MTL'd it, since I'm not strictly MTL'ing, but hybrid MTL + reading in Chinese, so I like to see what characters they used for the name and what the name means.
     
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  16. whimsandfantasies

    whimsandfantasies Well-Known Member

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    I tend to remember the plot but definitely not the names.
    Being a non-Chinese, Korean or Japanese, I rarely even read the entire name and throughout the entire duration, I read the novel, I identify the characters by either the surname or just the slight variation of the characters in the name.
     
  17. Mr gentleman

    Mr gentleman Ok

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    Yeah I most of the time remember the general plot :blobpeek:but I can't remember character names tho....like if I finish a novel today I'll probably forget it's protagonists name after a month or two.... probably because I don't find them really interesting.

    What dog are you talking about:blobpeek: I don't remember anyone's name except the protagonists
     
  18. ragingphoenix

    ragingphoenix Well-Known Member

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    Same, if I ever book transmigrate I won't be able to identify the setting.
     
  19. AnneGriffin

    AnneGriffin Well-Known Member

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    I forget the names like after a day or two, well since it's not my lang. It's understable. I remember the plot for a year or two. That's why i don't tend to reread . Hopefully i will forget my fav novels in 5 yrs ( not their names too hopefully) so that i can reread them.
     
  20. ReaderReader

    ReaderReader (◍•ᴗ•◍) [Important things must be said 2 times]

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    Is forgetting everything a criteria for you to reread a novel ?

    I usually reread it just cuz ... like 3-4 times a year ...