How to read more books(scotto.me)
scotto.me
How to read more books
https://scotto.me/blog/2026-07-12-how-to-read-more-books/
293 コメント
I very much connect with the "I'm in grief but desperately trying to hold onto something long dead". People point to the smolweb (ugh, that term), Gemini, or something else as proof it's still there, but it really isn't. I'm glad they exist, but the mindshare is with the addictive, algorithm-driven destinations. It's like listening to your favourite band play to a handful of people in the room next to a Taylor Swift concert, you might not like Taylor Swift, but the crowds and energy are all over there, and it's hard to hear your own music when something else is blaring through the wall.
My own response has been to opt out at the hardware level: I've gone for a Mudita Kompakt e-ink phone. I haven't even bothered installing social media, the experience would be bad enough that I'd never be tempted, but what it's great for is KOReader and some light fiction. I use my Kindle for heavier fiction and non-fiction, and paper when I suspect I'll really want to engage with a book, writing all over it, referencing it heavily.
My own response has been to opt out at the hardware level: I've gone for a Mudita Kompakt e-ink phone. I haven't even bothered installing social media, the experience would be bad enough that I'd never be tempted, but what it's great for is KOReader and some light fiction. I use my Kindle for heavier fiction and non-fiction, and paper when I suspect I'll really want to engage with a book, writing all over it, referencing it heavily.
An easy trick nowadays is to simply log out of the accounts. Most social media websites really want you to log in so they become unusable when you log out. Its a good defense in depth strategy.
Yep, or… disable the cookies on this website.
You’ll have to login each time you’ll want to access it.
If you have a password manager that allows you to login faster, just modify your password in a known way like {password_stored_in_passmanager}_IACKNOWLEDEGEIREALLYWANTTOLOGIN
If you want to keep the account but lose the access for a long time, just remove the password from your password manager, next time you’ll want to login you’ll have to use the password recovery.
You’ll have to login each time you’ll want to access it.
If you have a password manager that allows you to login faster, just modify your password in a known way like {password_stored_in_passmanager}_IACKNOWLEDEGEIREALLYWANTTOLOGIN
If you want to keep the account but lose the access for a long time, just remove the password from your password manager, next time you’ll want to login you’ll have to use the password recovery.
I loved the article, but the only part that I didn't connect with was the blocking, and probably the goals (not sure if going for the numbers instead of the pleasure of reading something good is ideal long term). I think the author and you shouldn't necessarily be so hard on yourselves to go to these extremes of blocking of these things, usually it works for a while, but it might come back worse when you crack and try it again.
I found myself in a similar situation last year, I felt like I have no time, but I was just scrolling mindlessly on social media whenever there was some off time. As I was reading quite a lot when I was younger, I ended up maybe reading 1-2 books a year, best case scenario. Last summer somehow I wanted to try something else that would help me keep focus or disconnect, maybe for me it worked because of what I started reading. I heard 2-3 years ago on a podcast (Tim Ferris I think) about Ted Chiang and bought one of his collections, but never read it. I got so fascinated with the first book (sort stories, you could just read a story on the go, no huge time investment) and the stories that I ended up reading most all his works, that just hooked me up. A year later, I'm around 2-3 books per month, always try to alternate from fiction to non-fiction, try to mix up and probably the most important part, like in the post, whenever I feel like I don't "vibe" with the book or author, I just stop. Forcing yourself to read a book that you don't like is probably the easiest way of breaking the habit. I even stopped driving to work, the 40 minutes I get per day to read on the train are amazing, it makes me happy if there is some technical issue and the train takes 10-20 minutes longer, more time to read.
I found myself in a similar situation last year, I felt like I have no time, but I was just scrolling mindlessly on social media whenever there was some off time. As I was reading quite a lot when I was younger, I ended up maybe reading 1-2 books a year, best case scenario. Last summer somehow I wanted to try something else that would help me keep focus or disconnect, maybe for me it worked because of what I started reading. I heard 2-3 years ago on a podcast (Tim Ferris I think) about Ted Chiang and bought one of his collections, but never read it. I got so fascinated with the first book (sort stories, you could just read a story on the go, no huge time investment) and the stories that I ended up reading most all his works, that just hooked me up. A year later, I'm around 2-3 books per month, always try to alternate from fiction to non-fiction, try to mix up and probably the most important part, like in the post, whenever I feel like I don't "vibe" with the book or author, I just stop. Forcing yourself to read a book that you don't like is probably the easiest way of breaking the habit. I even stopped driving to work, the 40 minutes I get per day to read on the train are amazing, it makes me happy if there is some technical issue and the train takes 10-20 minutes longer, more time to read.
> but the only part that I didn't connect with was the blocking, and probably the goals.
Funny, because I found the post terrible but approve of the goals technique if done temporarily. Many many years ago I set myself a reading goal (first year it was number of books; second year and beyond it was time spent reading) and that served me well to both establish the types of books which aren’t worth it and create the reading mindset. Now I read whenever, but it has become frequent and effortless.
Some of the things I found terrible advice in the post include:
> Also, Ryan Holiday — a famous author
Look, you do you, but Ryan Holiday is not a good person to take advice from. Also, being a “famous author” is not a credential for being the person to help you read more, especially if you are familiar with his history.
> Avoid summaries and summary services. (…) reading a summary does not equal reading a book.
Many many books are not worth the amount of pages they take. This includes several books popular on HN. Too many books should have been pamphlets. They take one big core idea then stretch it out over multiple chapters with self-serving examples, story after story of repeating the same bullshit. Not every book is read for pleasure, some are only worth it for the information. Find a talk on YouTube that the author has given, and you’ll get all the important points.
> Avoid even audiobooks. (…)
Look, it’s fine if audiobooks don’t work for you, and it’s fine to let your readers know why. But don’t phrase it as advice of audiobooks not working in general. You may get distracted when listening to an audiobook, you may not be able to concentrate on it, but that is definitely not true for everyone. Listening to an audiobook while cooking or cleaning can work like doodling while listening to a lecture, i.e. it helps retention, attention, and understanding.
Funny, because I found the post terrible but approve of the goals technique if done temporarily. Many many years ago I set myself a reading goal (first year it was number of books; second year and beyond it was time spent reading) and that served me well to both establish the types of books which aren’t worth it and create the reading mindset. Now I read whenever, but it has become frequent and effortless.
Some of the things I found terrible advice in the post include:
> Also, Ryan Holiday — a famous author
Look, you do you, but Ryan Holiday is not a good person to take advice from. Also, being a “famous author” is not a credential for being the person to help you read more, especially if you are familiar with his history.
> Avoid summaries and summary services. (…) reading a summary does not equal reading a book.
Many many books are not worth the amount of pages they take. This includes several books popular on HN. Too many books should have been pamphlets. They take one big core idea then stretch it out over multiple chapters with self-serving examples, story after story of repeating the same bullshit. Not every book is read for pleasure, some are only worth it for the information. Find a talk on YouTube that the author has given, and you’ll get all the important points.
> Avoid even audiobooks. (…)
Look, it’s fine if audiobooks don’t work for you, and it’s fine to let your readers know why. But don’t phrase it as advice of audiobooks not working in general. You may get distracted when listening to an audiobook, you may not be able to concentrate on it, but that is definitely not true for everyone. Listening to an audiobook while cooking or cleaning can work like doodling while listening to a lecture, i.e. it helps retention, attention, and understanding.
> Look, it’s fine if audiobooks don’t work for you, and it’s fine to let your readers know why.
Listening to an audiobook is not the same as reading a book.
The whole point of the article was how to read more books, not how to have someone read books to you.
Listening to an audiobook is not the same as reading a book.
The whole point of the article was how to read more books, not how to have someone read books to you.
What a meaningless gatekeeping distinction. Unless your sole goal is to be a poser who wants to be perceived as a literate intellectual who is oh so cultured and well-read, however you consume the book is up to you. Who the heck is thinking “I really want to read more books, but only if it’s in the way this stranger tells me I should, not the way I enjoy”?
If you like reading paper books, good. If you like reading electronic books, good. If you like listening to audiobooks, good. If you like having your partner lovingly transcribe a book into individual postcards and mail them to you weekly, good. Consume the book however you want and don’t judge others by their preference.
If you like reading paper books, good. If you like reading electronic books, good. If you like listening to audiobooks, good. If you like having your partner lovingly transcribe a book into individual postcards and mail them to you weekly, good. Consume the book however you want and don’t judge others by their preference.
There are many reasons why someone might want to improve their reading, and the only solution to that is to practice reading.
Audiobooks are someone else's (i.e. not your) interpretation of a work. Kind of like how you might go watch a play or a movie instead of reading a script. There's nothing wrong with either of those things, but they're not reading.
Audiobooks are someone else's (i.e. not your) interpretation of a work. Kind of like how you might go watch a play or a movie instead of reading a script. There's nothing wrong with either of those things, but they're not reading.
> There's nothing wrong with either of those things, but they're not reading.
Why are you compelled to defend that (in my view) meaningless distinction? Why does it matter? I’m asking genuinely, so I can understand why we’re having this conversation.
Why are you compelled to defend that (in my view) meaningless distinction? Why does it matter? I’m asking genuinely, so I can understand why we’re having this conversation.
Defend what? That reading and listening are two different skills?
I dont know you about you, but the reason I read is to learn and retain -- many studies havnt shown audiobooks are much worse than reading for retention.
Example: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247504935_They_Hear...
Example: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247504935_They_Hear...
The "havnt" is letting you down.
> I dont know you about you, but the reason I read is to learn and retain
Millions of people read for entertainment. If you ask the people who read Fifty Shades and other erotic novels¹, how many do you think would say they do it “to learn and retain”? In fact, not retaining is something I would like to do with certain pieces of media, so I could reexperience their impact.
Have you ever listened to a good audiobook for a fictional story? There are fantastic versions of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett stories where the voice acting really brings them to life in a way many readers cannot with their internal voice (see, for example, aphantasia). How about a book written by a comedian, read by the author? Having them read the funny bits with the intended delivery and in their own voice feels like you’re enjoying another of their stand-ups. They sometimes even go slightly off-script and make jokes not in the written book. Again: Consume books however you like and let others do the same. Why does it concern you how other people enjoy their books?
¹ No judgement. Smut is a big market and you do you as long as you’re not hurting anyone else.
Millions of people read for entertainment. If you ask the people who read Fifty Shades and other erotic novels¹, how many do you think would say they do it “to learn and retain”? In fact, not retaining is something I would like to do with certain pieces of media, so I could reexperience their impact.
Have you ever listened to a good audiobook for a fictional story? There are fantastic versions of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett stories where the voice acting really brings them to life in a way many readers cannot with their internal voice (see, for example, aphantasia). How about a book written by a comedian, read by the author? Having them read the funny bits with the intended delivery and in their own voice feels like you’re enjoying another of their stand-ups. They sometimes even go slightly off-script and make jokes not in the written book. Again: Consume books however you like and let others do the same. Why does it concern you how other people enjoy their books?
¹ No judgement. Smut is a big market and you do you as long as you’re not hurting anyone else.
I only read non-fiction, maybe my situation is unique.
Ryan Holiday is a stoic influencer who happens to have written a lot books, most of them not good.
For me, as an avid reader of non-fiction books, for learning, i'm starting to question the value of reading them, compared to a good in-depth discussion with an LLM about a subject, together with reading academic papers and long articles/blog posts.
I understand what you mean but there is a depth of thought that is hard to capture outside a book.
The main problem is that so many books are really just essays or papers that get stretched to 300 pages because that is what the publisher wants. A great book I don't think has this problem.
I don't see a separation though between books, LLMs, papers and audiobooks. I would add youtube lectures in there too. They are all valued friends in learning to me.
The main problem is that so many books are really just essays or papers that get stretched to 300 pages because that is what the publisher wants. A great book I don't think has this problem.
I don't see a separation though between books, LLMs, papers and audiobooks. I would add youtube lectures in there too. They are all valued friends in learning to me.
Can you recommend any specific "great" books?
Why not both?
Because using the other methods of learning, possible coupled with having a search environment inside the chat for the future, or creating memorization material for the stuff i specifically want to memorize - seems more efficient and effective.
Two things here. First, you have to know what to ask an LLM. A book on a subject is already organized with all the information that could be returned by the same prompts that would lead to it. The prompting effort was essentially already done by the author and publisher.
Second, you’re getting a more compressed and lossy form of that information from an LLM, unless you go to such efforts that it’s be easier to just read the book. It’s akin to a conversation where a friend asks you about a book in finer and finer detail until you either recite the book for them word for word or direct them to just go read the book.
So, I don’t think LLMs are replacements for reading books. They’re complimentary.
Second, you’re getting a more compressed and lossy form of that information from an LLM, unless you go to such efforts that it’s be easier to just read the book. It’s akin to a conversation where a friend asks you about a book in finer and finer detail until you either recite the book for them word for word or direct them to just go read the book.
So, I don’t think LLMs are replacements for reading books. They’re complimentary.
Yeah I'm trying the same thing, I have an e-reader which is compact enough to have with me. Reddit is entertaining but it's only good for like half an hour a day at best, after which point you start to scrape the bottom of the barrel / niche posts and a lot of repeats. At one point I realised I was reading the same posts three times a day hoping for something new, but that's not how it works.
Reading it is.
Reading it is.
I wrote about this a few years ago [0]
It's _really_ hard to break the phone habit. I was in a good place for a few years but have recently been spending time on Reddit.
It's not the end of the world. Ultimately I think going back to Reddit is because I recently haven't had the patience to really read, reflect, etc.
[0]: https://sjer.red/blog/2023/screen-time/
It's _really_ hard to break the phone habit. I was in a good place for a few years but have recently been spending time on Reddit.
It's not the end of the world. Ultimately I think going back to Reddit is because I recently haven't had the patience to really read, reflect, etc.
[0]: https://sjer.red/blog/2023/screen-time/
>What pushed me over the edge is the realization that I'm in grief. The Internet which once shaped my identity today, in no defensible way, resembles the silly place which once gave me solace.
ooof. I'm 56. I got an Internet email address before most people knew email existed (1987). I belonged to virtual communities on usenet and listservs well before the web as we know it took root.
Consequently, I feel your comment in my bones.
ooof. I'm 56. I got an Internet email address before most people knew email existed (1987). I belonged to virtual communities on usenet and listservs well before the web as we know it took root.
Consequently, I feel your comment in my bones.
A Kindle really helps me. I don't do anything else other than read with it.
As does Goodreads and reviewing, for myself, every book I read.
Logging out of social media on phones is a good idea.
As does Goodreads and reviewing, for myself, every book I read.
Logging out of social media on phones is a good idea.
You reminded me of the 10 years I spent loading up Achewood every week after it was functionally ended. (Although recently I discovered Onstad has a Patreon, and is regularly drawing new comics again behind the paywall). Most of the internet feels the same way, but there are still pockets of creativity. If you can tolerate a podcast (or a radio play, if you prefer), I really enjoyed listening to the first season of Valley Heat last year. Very silly. A friend linked it to me, and I surprised myself by actually giving it a try; I am glad that I did.
Pre-2023 books I presume?
I collect books, but have decided to omit the post 2023 ones.
How do you trust anything written after 2023 or so to not be slop? Or even trust the claims that it was written before 2023?
I wouldn't blindly trust a brand new author in 2026, but it's very easy to trust an author that has put out good writing in years past. Not hard to find, there has been plenty of great books written after 2023.
New authors however will certainly have to earn trust for a few years now I think.
It's similar with music, if someone puts out their first album in 2026 and has no singles or EPs, no YouTube presence, etc., it's probably slop. If they have a body of work that goes back a few years, easy to trust.
New authors however will certainly have to earn trust for a few years now I think.
It's similar with music, if someone puts out their first album in 2026 and has no singles or EPs, no YouTube presence, etc., it's probably slop. If they have a body of work that goes back a few years, easy to trust.
I don't understand caring about 'slop' in creative media. Its pressingly more important in programming because there are a lot of bugs linters, complicated language models and even fuzzy sandbox searches can't catch. Even if they did, coding is collaborative work and maintaining vibecoded infra is a genuine hassle. However, none of these apply to music or books. AI or not, humane feelings always shapes a piece to its last form and its entirely up to you to determine if you like it or not. AI generally fails to capture this, and if it didn't - a fluke -, why not enjoy the piece?
There's only so much time we have. If I can filter out a category of music (slop) I know from experience I'm 99% likely to not enjoy I'd like to be able to.
why not enjoy the piece>> The theft.
I for one can't enjoy a piece of creative media made by AI because I know it only exists so that a handful of losers can profit off the wholesale theft of actual human creativity. Other people don't share these qualms (they are also losers) and that's their choice. Honestly, I could give a fuck if AI tanks coding because I think the internet as we now know it is a mistake of capitalism and if using the plagiarism machine causes codebase maintenance to be harder, aww shucks sucks to suck, guess that's your job now? IDK, I'm married to an artist/writer and was a cook for most of my 20s so I have become a neo-luddite in my middle age when it comes to this specific topic.
Weird how "where you are in the world" affects your view of things, right?
I for one can't enjoy a piece of creative media made by AI because I know it only exists so that a handful of losers can profit off the wholesale theft of actual human creativity. Other people don't share these qualms (they are also losers) and that's their choice. Honestly, I could give a fuck if AI tanks coding because I think the internet as we now know it is a mistake of capitalism and if using the plagiarism machine causes codebase maintenance to be harder, aww shucks sucks to suck, guess that's your job now? IDK, I'm married to an artist/writer and was a cook for most of my 20s so I have become a neo-luddite in my middle age when it comes to this specific topic.
Weird how "where you are in the world" affects your view of things, right?
self-evident quality
Why does it matter whether the writing is AI generated or not?
You should always be critical of everything you read. I have stopped reading plenty of books after a few chapters when I realized there was little value in it for me.
You should always be critical of everything you read. I have stopped reading plenty of books after a few chapters when I realized there was little value in it for me.
We read books because the words convey meaning, not because they appear to.
Yet a good enough reader can distinguish between appearance and content. Better yet, everyone has their own type of favourite content. Maybe someone out there enjoys a 300 page Claude essay, you never know. Therefore the 'books after 2023?' argument is senseless sans the purchase part in which the contents may not be immediately obvious.
So you're implying AI is incapable of producing meaningful output? Have you not used models from the last few years?
They may have been implying it; I'll say it.
Token prediction machines do not produce meaningful output.
It is much more likely that they will regurgitate, without attribution, something meaningful that a human wrote (in their plagiarism/training data).
Meaningful "output" is only meaningful if the author understood the meaning, instead of predicting words in sequence.
Token prediction machines do not produce meaningful output.
It is much more likely that they will regurgitate, without attribution, something meaningful that a human wrote (in their plagiarism/training data).
Meaningful "output" is only meaningful if the author understood the meaning, instead of predicting words in sequence.
In what way does a human author "understand the meaning" that AI does not?
Just because a brain is made from organic material rather than silicon, doesn't make it less of a prediction machine.
Just because a brain is made from organic material rather than silicon, doesn't make it less of a prediction machine.
Wow, you are drinking the corporate kool-aid eagerly.
The brain understands concepts. I can say, for example, "a penny saved is a penny earned" and understand that I'm talking about money and savings in general. I've felt the satisfaction of a full bank account and the panic of a near-empty one.
The AI knows that someone once wrote the words "a penny saved is a penny earned" in that order. It has ingested volumes of wise sayings and economic texts to facilitate the statistically accurate words which will follow previous words in the conversation.
The brain understands concepts. I can say, for example, "a penny saved is a penny earned" and understand that I'm talking about money and savings in general. I've felt the satisfaction of a full bank account and the panic of a near-empty one.
The AI knows that someone once wrote the words "a penny saved is a penny earned" in that order. It has ingested volumes of wise sayings and economic texts to facilitate the statistically accurate words which will follow previous words in the conversation.
I read 189 books last year, mostly due an accidental discovery.
I have a lot of trouble reading in noisy places, since I get distracted easily. My habit would be to put on some very minimal / low-information ambient music like Stars of the Lid and it worked well.
Then one day I randomly decided to put the audiobook on while reading and it was a revelation. After adjusting the audio rate to match my reading speed (usually between 2-3x depending on narrator / subject) it allowed me to totally lock in. Both "inputs" seem to reinforce each other. I researched and apparently people call this "immersive reading".
I find I can (just) listen to (easy) non-fiction like biographies, memoirs etc since they don't usually require much deep thought. But for fiction or harder/denser non fiction I read and listen at the same time.
I have a lot of trouble reading in noisy places, since I get distracted easily. My habit would be to put on some very minimal / low-information ambient music like Stars of the Lid and it worked well.
Then one day I randomly decided to put the audiobook on while reading and it was a revelation. After adjusting the audio rate to match my reading speed (usually between 2-3x depending on narrator / subject) it allowed me to totally lock in. Both "inputs" seem to reinforce each other. I researched and apparently people call this "immersive reading".
I find I can (just) listen to (easy) non-fiction like biographies, memoirs etc since they don't usually require much deep thought. But for fiction or harder/denser non fiction I read and listen at the same time.
I think I might have trouble with that approach for "harder/denser non-fiction" because for such reading I might well want to stop and think from time to time -- maybe there's an argument I'm not convinced by and want to reason through step by step, maybe there's a mathematical calculation with a non-obvious step, maybe there's a clever observation that I want to think about the implications of, maybe I've just realised that I lost focus and haven't really taken in the last page, etc. -- and I'd expect the extra friction of pausing and restarting the audiobook to get in the way a bit.
I assume you don't find that; is that because you very rarely feel the need to stop and think, or because it turns out that doing so isn't significantly impeded by having an audiobook playing?
(More generally I'd expect that sort of book to have easier and harder bits and I'd likely want to read them at different speeds. But I could believe that the advantages of doing this are enough to make up for it being harder to do that.)
Disclaimer: I basically never listen to audiobooks, so my guesses at what might or might not work well for me are (1) sheer guesswork and (2) not very interesting except in so far as other people have the same sort of experience I'm guessing I would.
I assume you don't find that; is that because you very rarely feel the need to stop and think, or because it turns out that doing so isn't significantly impeded by having an audiobook playing?
(More generally I'd expect that sort of book to have easier and harder bits and I'd likely want to read them at different speeds. But I could believe that the advantages of doing this are enough to make up for it being harder to do that.)
Disclaimer: I basically never listen to audiobooks, so my guesses at what might or might not work well for me are (1) sheer guesswork and (2) not very interesting except in so far as other people have the same sort of experience I'm guessing I would.
Oh for sure. I listen with wireless buds with a huge button (Jabra Elite 4, sadly no longer made) so pausing/unpausing takes almost zero effort.
For particularly dense passages I'll just slow down the audio as needed as well.
Even for fiction I find myself starting more slowly as I get to know the characters, and then speeding up as I want to.
For particularly dense passages I'll just slow down the audio as needed as well.
Even for fiction I find myself starting more slowly as I get to know the characters, and then speeding up as I want to.
Regarding the button control, if others are looking for similar, I found that a bluetooth audio control device intended for mounting to motorcycle handlebars (so, water resistant, big buttons) works well while I'm doing dishes to manage audio going to my bluetooth hearing aids.
I'd wondered if something like this existed, wanted it on my last roadtrip. Thanks!
That is diametrically opposite to how I read non-fiction. Its designed on how I approach a new codebase effectively.
first is skimming and context. table of contents, the preclude, intro etc. Then author (interviews, actual work done, other books, friends, enemies) to build a picture of who it is that's talking and what the topic is. 70% books fail this filter.
then the book itself, i usually pick 2 (sometimes 3) books on the topic fed by the research I just did. and i'd build a picture of the main points. skimming through the pages to see what the structure is and what stands out for all books.
now comes the actual reading. i now start reading in chunks. that make me question things, clear out my understanding and the picture of events, groups and people involved in the subject. this is the most time consuming and usually where i lose interest. i make notes in a few index cards or binder leaves or a text file for when I want to revisit.
this format of consumption has proved vastly superior to reading books start to end. I can usually see where the author is biased, pushing agenda or trying to please or oppose some one. and this works amazingly well for old texts (art in 1500s, finance in 1800s, history, programming languages, etc)
first is skimming and context. table of contents, the preclude, intro etc. Then author (interviews, actual work done, other books, friends, enemies) to build a picture of who it is that's talking and what the topic is. 70% books fail this filter.
then the book itself, i usually pick 2 (sometimes 3) books on the topic fed by the research I just did. and i'd build a picture of the main points. skimming through the pages to see what the structure is and what stands out for all books.
now comes the actual reading. i now start reading in chunks. that make me question things, clear out my understanding and the picture of events, groups and people involved in the subject. this is the most time consuming and usually where i lose interest. i make notes in a few index cards or binder leaves or a text file for when I want to revisit.
this format of consumption has proved vastly superior to reading books start to end. I can usually see where the author is biased, pushing agenda or trying to please or oppose some one. and this works amazingly well for old texts (art in 1500s, finance in 1800s, history, programming languages, etc)
What you’re describing sounds more like studying / reading textbooks and is totally valid, but not the type of reading I’m talking about, which is mostly for curiosity and entertainment.
I've tried this with information dense podcasts, reading the transcript while listening. That works really well for me, but I hadn't considered doing the same with books. Honestly seems like a great idea, I'll give this a go.
> I read 189 books last year, mostly due an accidental discovery.
How is this possible?
I tried reading while listening to an audio book and I had to stop after a few books because sometimes I want to re-read a sentence or paragraph or go back to a previous part of the book, and it just messes up my momentum.
I now no longer use audiobook and I just read the book.
I've read 16 books thus far this year.
How is this possible?
I tried reading while listening to an audio book and I had to stop after a few books because sometimes I want to re-read a sentence or paragraph or go back to a previous part of the book, and it just messes up my momentum.
I now no longer use audiobook and I just read the book.
I've read 16 books thus far this year.
I basically replaced all forms of entertainment with reading. I find there is also less of a barrier to start since the audio part makes it feel slightly more passive.
I still watch movies / tv / YouTube occasionally but I’m much more selective.
As for pausing and rereading, I find a good pair of earbuds helps me do that pretty effortlessly, and I tend to do it often towards the beginning of a book.
I still watch movies / tv / YouTube occasionally but I’m much more selective.
As for pausing and rereading, I find a good pair of earbuds helps me do that pretty effortlessly, and I tend to do it often towards the beginning of a book.
oh man-- that seems peak, except for the part that my reading level is dynamic between "i wasnt actually paying attention" to "my brain is @ 5x and i am flying through the material"... very interesting idea, though-- kinda like a pace setter at a marathon or bike race or whatever. i endeavor to try this for myself.
Indeed it keeps me on pace and paying attention.
Finding the right speed takes some experimentation. Too slow and my mind will wander, too fast and I can't absorb the material / don't have enough time to ponder.
Finding the right speed takes some experimentation. Too slow and my mind will wander, too fast and I can't absorb the material / don't have enough time to ponder.
agree with all the above. i usually throw on brown noise/moving water youtube videos since the frequencies cancel out most distracting noises. one of my fav ambient music channels is obsidian soundfields on youtube.
another trick recommended by Huberman is wearing a hoodie and reading in front of a blank wall. this will will restrict your visual field and not get distracted by passing cars, light reflections, etc.
i think the biggest "trick" to follow through with reading is the screening process at the outset. ask yourself - why do i want to read this? what do i hope to learn from it/get out of it/etc? am i reading it just because other people are talking about it? answering some of these questions should help you follow through when you 'get stuck' or lose interest, which you can then review the initial reasons why you picked it up in the first place. should also make it easier to put down/ DNF
another trick recommended by Huberman is wearing a hoodie and reading in front of a blank wall. this will will restrict your visual field and not get distracted by passing cars, light reflections, etc.
i think the biggest "trick" to follow through with reading is the screening process at the outset. ask yourself - why do i want to read this? what do i hope to learn from it/get out of it/etc? am i reading it just because other people are talking about it? answering some of these questions should help you follow through when you 'get stuck' or lose interest, which you can then review the initial reasons why you picked it up in the first place. should also make it easier to put down/ DNF
Yeah I noticed when I'm reading in a place with a lot of other stuff going on I usually need to go more slowly due to ambient distractions.
As for screening I've never consciously asked myself what I wanted to get out of it but I like the idea.
As for screening I've never consciously asked myself what I wanted to get out of it but I like the idea.
This sounded weird to me at first until I realized that this exactly what I do when watching a movie with subtitles.
Yes, it feels very similar. Except speeding up a movie seems absolutely insane to me, whereas with a book it just feels like matching my mental ingestion rate.
I did this the last time I tried reading Gravity's Rainbow and it definitely helped. Still required more prolonged focus that I have readily available though :P
wait audiobooks is = reading? Do you find the retention of info as valid? I have a hard time focusing at least in my experience haven't tried audiobooks in a long time.
At least for me the effort of scanning, reading, and thinking about the authors perspective and the grind is where the knowledge sinks in for me.
At least for me the effort of scanning, reading, and thinking about the authors perspective and the grind is where the knowledge sinks in for me.
OP reads a book while listening to the audio version of it at the same time. It's super-retention!!
> wait audiobooks is = reading?
If you're reading along with the audio like OP, then definitely.
But even by itself I think there's a case to be made. Retention for some people (especially those with ADHD can be higher with listening than reading if they listen while doing a low-mental-effort task). If you absorb the material, I think it counts personally.
If you're reading along with the audio like OP, then definitely.
But even by itself I think there's a case to be made. Retention for some people (especially those with ADHD can be higher with listening than reading if they listen while doing a low-mental-effort task). If you absorb the material, I think it counts personally.
so you have to buy the book and the audiobook?
I use Libby and I have a few library cards and an audible subscription.
There are also other less ethical ways that I use, though to compensate I buy the books I really like in physical form.
There are also other less ethical ways that I use, though to compensate I buy the books I really like in physical form.
I have an almost-four year old child and not a lot of downtime. I used to listen to podcasts when I was doing dishes, cleaning the house, walking the dog, etc. I've mostly abandoned podcasts in favor of audiobooks. It didn't feel like they were benefiting me in any meaningful way—almost like they were just empty calories for my ears.
I finally made it all the way through The Power Broker recently, which I've wanted to read for years, and am now on Jennifer Pahlka's really insightful Recoding America, which features heavily in the chapter "Govern" in Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's Abundance. The three are actually quite interesting to read back to back.
Audiobooks are definitely slower to get through than just reading, but I find that I can stick with them in a way that books just haven't allowed me to do in years.
I finally made it all the way through The Power Broker recently, which I've wanted to read for years, and am now on Jennifer Pahlka's really insightful Recoding America, which features heavily in the chapter "Govern" in Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's Abundance. The three are actually quite interesting to read back to back.
Audiobooks are definitely slower to get through than just reading, but I find that I can stick with them in a way that books just haven't allowed me to do in years.
Audiobooks are just a different medium. I don't think people should pretend that an audiobook is a book. You process the two in completely different ways. This doesn't imply one is better than the other either.
For me I don't like audiobooks because its very slow and spoken stories should have a different cadence, velocity, set of dynamics, and diction than a book should (check out "the moth" to see what I'm talking about). I hold nothing against people who don't like to read or people who like audiobooks, or people who like slow things - Suum cuique.
For me I don't like audiobooks because its very slow and spoken stories should have a different cadence, velocity, set of dynamics, and diction than a book should (check out "the moth" to see what I'm talking about). I hold nothing against people who don't like to read or people who like audiobooks, or people who like slow things - Suum cuique.
The fact that people say "I've read 30 books last year" when they heard the book is absurd to me. It is a completely (and honestly quite interesting) medium. I've heard and then read a few books and the experiences are completely different. Also, one of mine biggest things for reading is to completely focus on the text, and the audio book is almost the antithesis of this, because most people like them so they can do chores/driving _and_ listen. Two completely different ways of experiencing the text.
I agree that it’s a pretty different experience for fiction, where the subjective experience is everything and the narrator can color your experience a lot.
For nonfiction, I think the two mediums are virtually the same depending on the density of the book. Most differences come down to the fact that you’re more susceptible to distraction. Most nonfiction books are light and repetitive enough that I don’t think it’s a big deal
For nonfiction, I think the two mediums are virtually the same depending on the density of the book. Most differences come down to the fact that you’re more susceptible to distraction. Most nonfiction books are light and repetitive enough that I don’t think it’s a big deal
I used to have a 45 minute driving commute each way to and from work. I listened to many non-fiction audio books (on cassette!)during that time and would often listen to them over and over many times. 20 years later I can still quote long portions of those books from memory. I can't do that with any print books. Definitely easier for me to listen to an audio book several times in a row than a print book.
Personally I like to highlight certain passages (non-fiction) for future reference, and this only works on ebooks.
You can also bookmark audiobooks depending on the platform/playback application.
Works on print too, no?
In a limited fashion, yes. But ebooks mean you can search highlights, categorize them, see summaries of them, etc if using calibre, zotero, or similar.
I also don’t think people realize how often they zone out while listening to audiobooks and miss important details. You can zone out while reading books too but with audiobooks there usually another stimulus by design.
> Audiobooks are just a different medium.
When I read I build internal voices of the characters or narrators through the pages as a part of my imagination engaging with the words of the book. With audiobooks this never happens.
When I read I build internal voices of the characters or narrators through the pages as a part of my imagination engaging with the words of the book. With audiobooks this never happens.
Agree. I'll listen to nonfiction because it just feels like a long podcast. Fiction I always read. But in general I'm not a huge fan of audiobooks.
A good non fiction book should take a year to "read" though. Because you'll need to stop, reread, scribble, look up online for other help. It should be a challenge!
Depends highly on the subject matter
You can always speed up audiobooks. I tend to listen on average to most at 1.5x speed.
>I don't think people should pretend that an audiobook is a book. You process the two in completely different ways.
Is this attitude a holdover from encouraging small children to read for themselves? I don't know if this is quite the right framing but are you... hearing-illterate to some degree?
Some voice actors definitely add a layer of interpretation, and some are distractingly bad, but otherwise it could not be any more of an equal experience absorbing a book through my eyes or my ears. Unless there was a need to physically interact with the book, quickly flipping between sections or keeping notes in the margin, which I rarely do.
"I didn't really get the full experience until I read it on the page instead of listening" is an absurd statement to me, but maybe people's brains work differently.
There are things missing from text that can be conveyed over audio or with body language in person certainly so those experiences can't be directly translated from real life to the page.
Is this attitude a holdover from encouraging small children to read for themselves? I don't know if this is quite the right framing but are you... hearing-illterate to some degree?
Some voice actors definitely add a layer of interpretation, and some are distractingly bad, but otherwise it could not be any more of an equal experience absorbing a book through my eyes or my ears. Unless there was a need to physically interact with the book, quickly flipping between sections or keeping notes in the margin, which I rarely do.
"I didn't really get the full experience until I read it on the page instead of listening" is an absurd statement to me, but maybe people's brains work differently.
There are things missing from text that can be conveyed over audio or with body language in person certainly so those experiences can't be directly translated from real life to the page.
It's not a maybe. People's brains work differently.
For one thing, in the written version, it's way easier to scan backwards precisely to a point in the text to clarify missed details.
Sometimes I like to stop reading for a moment and take in the scenery. With an audiobook, the narrator has already decided to blurt out the next line. Or I'd have to quickly pause it and lose my train of thought. With reading I'm fully in control of when the next bit of information will be introduced.
Audiobooks are great for dialog-heavy stories, but sometimes I want to spend a little bit longer on a particular page when the author is building imagery... what's the equivalent of that in an audiobook, slowing the speech down? Except it's not about speed, it's about soaking in the particular meaning of a word (or string of words) before going onto the next.
I don't think this even scratches the surface of how different they are as mediums of storytelling.
For one thing, in the written version, it's way easier to scan backwards precisely to a point in the text to clarify missed details.
Sometimes I like to stop reading for a moment and take in the scenery. With an audiobook, the narrator has already decided to blurt out the next line. Or I'd have to quickly pause it and lose my train of thought. With reading I'm fully in control of when the next bit of information will be introduced.
Audiobooks are great for dialog-heavy stories, but sometimes I want to spend a little bit longer on a particular page when the author is building imagery... what's the equivalent of that in an audiobook, slowing the speech down? Except it's not about speed, it's about soaking in the particular meaning of a word (or string of words) before going onto the next.
I don't think this even scratches the surface of how different they are as mediums of storytelling.
Fair enough, I understand the UX/interacting with the medium argument. Regarding the processing in the brain, there's claims that "The Representation of Semantic Information Across Human Cerebral Cortex During Listening Versus Reading Is Invariant to Stimulus Modality", see: https://www.jneurosci.org/content/39/39/7722
The study has issues but at least the hypothesis of representing information independent of the modality you consumed it in seems like a decent default to me.
The study has issues but at least the hypothesis of representing information independent of the modality you consumed it in seems like a decent default to me.
Yes, this is where the disagreement between the two camps arises. Some people view reading holistically while others are only concerned with the end result. If only the end result matters, it doesn't matter much how you got there.
This isn't a perfect comparison (since I believe there may be some underlying mechanical difference), but it's like how it's possible to get your nutritional needs met with liquid nutrition or eating whole foods. They have the same end result nutritionally, but some people find liquid nutrition to be horrible.
I think it's especially the case for harder-to-read books that I prefer the textual version. Some books are highly referential. They may take place in a country I'm not familiar with. Take The Stranger by Camus. I have never been to Algiers (or Algeria for that matter), so I want to get a feel for the beach in Algiers. Sometimes the author will refer to a flower I've never heard of, so I will look it up. Stuff like this is important to me for experiencing the story, but for others, it's not important. They use context clues to determine "it's a flower" and just fill in whatever flower they feel like putting there.
This isn't a perfect comparison (since I believe there may be some underlying mechanical difference), but it's like how it's possible to get your nutritional needs met with liquid nutrition or eating whole foods. They have the same end result nutritionally, but some people find liquid nutrition to be horrible.
I think it's especially the case for harder-to-read books that I prefer the textual version. Some books are highly referential. They may take place in a country I'm not familiar with. Take The Stranger by Camus. I have never been to Algiers (or Algeria for that matter), so I want to get a feel for the beach in Algiers. Sometimes the author will refer to a flower I've never heard of, so I will look it up. Stuff like this is important to me for experiencing the story, but for others, it's not important. They use context clues to determine "it's a flower" and just fill in whatever flower they feel like putting there.
I am sure people are very different in this area.
I love books and audiobooks and I experience absolutely no difference between the two but that is contingent on liking the voice actor's voice.
This year I have really moved to listening to all books read by the synthetic af_heart model. I love that voice so much. #1 Robertson Dean, #2 af_heart.
I love books and audiobooks and I experience absolutely no difference between the two but that is contingent on liking the voice actor's voice.
This year I have really moved to listening to all books read by the synthetic af_heart model. I love that voice so much. #1 Robertson Dean, #2 af_heart.
> it could not be any more of an equal experience absorbing a book through my eyes or my ears.
With stories, probably. With nonstories, and depending on what kind of nonstory book, I might jump around a lot. I might like to skim quickly (e.g. chapters/sections, starting sentences of every few paragraphs, etc.), then skim more thoroughly (e.g. recheck paragraphs of a chapter to get a general flow of it and how they connect, etc.), then read thoroughly on some sections and less others. You just can't do that with audiobooks. You don't have the same level of control.
Depending on how thought-provoking something is, my mind may stray on thinking of implications. Then, it's easier for my eyes to dart back by the time I notice and reread x or y, than rewinding, listening a little bit, rewind some more, etc. I might just stare at some words sometimes. You can't stare at sound.
Memory in relation to sight and sound is probably different, too. With sight you can kind of make more associations. You read an idea, and you can associate that with the location of where you're reading it (what part of the page, around how many pages have been turned in the chapter, what chapter, thickness of pages on left and right side of the spine). With sound, it's just a single stream. You're not staring at the timestamp location in the file of everything you're hearing and there isn't like this hierarchical location structure.
With stories, probably. With nonstories, and depending on what kind of nonstory book, I might jump around a lot. I might like to skim quickly (e.g. chapters/sections, starting sentences of every few paragraphs, etc.), then skim more thoroughly (e.g. recheck paragraphs of a chapter to get a general flow of it and how they connect, etc.), then read thoroughly on some sections and less others. You just can't do that with audiobooks. You don't have the same level of control.
Depending on how thought-provoking something is, my mind may stray on thinking of implications. Then, it's easier for my eyes to dart back by the time I notice and reread x or y, than rewinding, listening a little bit, rewind some more, etc. I might just stare at some words sometimes. You can't stare at sound.
Memory in relation to sight and sound is probably different, too. With sight you can kind of make more associations. You read an idea, and you can associate that with the location of where you're reading it (what part of the page, around how many pages have been turned in the chapter, what chapter, thickness of pages on left and right side of the spine). With sound, it's just a single stream. You're not staring at the timestamp location in the file of everything you're hearing and there isn't like this hierarchical location structure.
I often pause and reflect. Or replay a couple pages or start over with a chapter. Not totally alien to what you’re describing, but most people aren’t so hands on with audio controls, sure. Though you can choose to be with the right tools for it.
Yeah, the benefit of audiobooks is being able to do it while doing chores or being out and about. The medium's ideal for being hands-off.
Audiobooks are heavily dependent on the reader. In one case, I had an audiobook where the translator was the reader. She is an excellent translator but a poor reader.
Many authors are poor readers of their own work.
They are certainly good while you are on a long drive etc, because they entertain you while doing some another task which you wouldn't be able to do while reading. During lockdown, I could not read due to the constant stress and fear mongering, but I had to walk a lot every day and the audiobooks were a good way to accompany that.
Many authors are poor readers of their own work.
They are certainly good while you are on a long drive etc, because they entertain you while doing some another task which you wouldn't be able to do while reading. During lockdown, I could not read due to the constant stress and fear mongering, but I had to walk a lot every day and the audiobooks were a good way to accompany that.
+1
The best audiobook I’ve ever listened to is Stephen Kings On Writing: A memoir of the Craft, read by the author. One of our times best storytellers, both when it comes to writing them and telling them.
The best audiobook I’ve ever listened to is Stephen Kings On Writing: A memoir of the Craft, read by the author. One of our times best storytellers, both when it comes to writing them and telling them.
I've a soft spot for that book because it saved me from two days of very long and dreary jury service. (They kept us sitting around all that time.) I think I read at least a third of it in there. The only court stuff I heard was for about ten minutes and incredibly unexciting.
I've been building a little app on the side that allows me to primarily read my books in epub, mobi or pdf -> text format but generate readouts on demand for only the bits I want (highlight, paragraph, page, chapter) so that I can continue while I'm on the go, without having to bifurcate between apps - this might already exist but I made mine
Naturally, I also added the ability to highlight, leave notes and ... ask questions (via API)
Even with incredible models, it's a decent amount of work to get this to work nicely
Naturally, I also added the ability to highlight, leave notes and ... ask questions (via API)
Even with incredible models, it's a decent amount of work to get this to work nicely
When I write a character, I picture not just the character but the voice, same with reading, and going from a paper or eBook to an audio book usually breaks both. Books I write rarely include characters from Manchester (UK), so reading voices with my strong accent would definitely break a lot of my books. It is also the reason I sometimes don't enjoy movies if I have read the book. It is not a one way street though, some really good narrators can improve the experience a lot, same with good directors.
There is also another benefit to books, on average they are much better than a random 3 hour podcast.
If you care about what you read, you'd be getting something that the author has spend a lot of time, skill and energy to write, the editor would have spend a lot of time and skill to improve with the author.
I have a measure for all content I consume, quality/hr of reading/listening. If it's just a long video that has 2-3 questions that has caught my attention I'd be listening only those. If it's a long text that I might find something interesting I'll ask the LLM to summarize the main ideas as a filter before I decide to dive in.
Books, and their audiobooks version have on average much more bang per hour than random podcasts, because they're structured, authors had spend more time on them and you can cherry pick from a structure.
I also have caught myself using sloppy content as excuse not working on planned tasks with excuses like "this might be useful", or watching "productivity porn" videos. I think LLMs are good as a pre-filter for that.
I have a measure for all content I consume, quality/hr of reading/listening. If it's just a long video that has 2-3 questions that has caught my attention I'd be listening only those. If it's a long text that I might find something interesting I'll ask the LLM to summarize the main ideas as a filter before I decide to dive in.
Books, and their audiobooks version have on average much more bang per hour than random podcasts, because they're structured, authors had spend more time on them and you can cherry pick from a structure.
I also have caught myself using sloppy content as excuse not working on planned tasks with excuses like "this might be useful", or watching "productivity porn" videos. I think LLMs are good as a pre-filter for that.
I gave up on podcasts because of the excessive insertion of commercials, and the execrable user interface of the iphone podcast app.
This is a frustration for me as well. A few useful tricks, and some areas I'm looking to explore:
- AntennaPod (Android: https://antennapod.org/about/) doesn't specifically block ads, but does make skipping them fairly painless. I'm not familiar with the iOS app space.
- Seek out, and add a classification tag for ad-free podcasts. When you're not in the mood for dealing with ads, play these.
- Protip: if you learn, or want to learn, German, Deutschlandfunk (and a number of other German-language broadcasters) have a set of excellent, ad-free, podcasts. This includes a number of podcasts for learning German (generally through the Goethe Institute or Deutsche Welle).
- If your podcast app permits it, set your forward-skip to 30 or 60 seconds (the length of most ad beds), and backwards to 5 seconds. You'll be able to navigate past most ad blocks more easily. You can also set begin/end skip periods for start/end of episode advertising.
- I've thought of manually editing episodes from a desktop session using audio editing software (Audacity or similar). That's ... a bit of additional overhead, but as with other mise en place techniques, you incur the overhead once and don't have to worry about the interruptions when you're in the middle of listening to an episode. Audacity shows sound signatures and I'm expecting that most ad blocks will be readily apparent. I also suspect AI tools might be able to remove ads fairly reliably, though haven't looked into this yet.
I've definitely noticed that I deliberately avoid listening to podcasts which have ads when I don't have the bandwidth / freedom to deal with them (e.g., doing other tasks, walking etc.). And advertising has become more pervasive, longer, more intrusively inserted, and annoying with time.
Other ad-free English-language pods: Tech Can't Save Us, History of Philosophy (Without Any Gaps), and Philosophy Bites (and several affiliated podcasts). All are highly informative, well-produced, don't fixate on current events and politics (which ... I find maddening). And several of those would appreciate any support as well.
- AntennaPod (Android: https://antennapod.org/about/) doesn't specifically block ads, but does make skipping them fairly painless. I'm not familiar with the iOS app space.
- Seek out, and add a classification tag for ad-free podcasts. When you're not in the mood for dealing with ads, play these.
- Protip: if you learn, or want to learn, German, Deutschlandfunk (and a number of other German-language broadcasters) have a set of excellent, ad-free, podcasts. This includes a number of podcasts for learning German (generally through the Goethe Institute or Deutsche Welle).
- If your podcast app permits it, set your forward-skip to 30 or 60 seconds (the length of most ad beds), and backwards to 5 seconds. You'll be able to navigate past most ad blocks more easily. You can also set begin/end skip periods for start/end of episode advertising.
- I've thought of manually editing episodes from a desktop session using audio editing software (Audacity or similar). That's ... a bit of additional overhead, but as with other mise en place techniques, you incur the overhead once and don't have to worry about the interruptions when you're in the middle of listening to an episode. Audacity shows sound signatures and I'm expecting that most ad blocks will be readily apparent. I also suspect AI tools might be able to remove ads fairly reliably, though haven't looked into this yet.
I've definitely noticed that I deliberately avoid listening to podcasts which have ads when I don't have the bandwidth / freedom to deal with them (e.g., doing other tasks, walking etc.). And advertising has become more pervasive, longer, more intrusively inserted, and annoying with time.
Other ad-free English-language pods: Tech Can't Save Us, History of Philosophy (Without Any Gaps), and Philosophy Bites (and several affiliated podcasts). All are highly informative, well-produced, don't fixate on current events and politics (which ... I find maddening). And several of those would appreciate any support as well.
Late add: the German-originated ad-free podcasts include several English-language channels as well, covering not only language-instruction but culture, news, technology, science, and other topics.
Other national English-language broadcasters (NPR, PBS, CBC, ABC (Australia), etc.) have podcast channels, but most have succumbed to advertising. That isn't to say they don't have good programming, but don't expect ad-free listening. For a number of cultural reasons, Germany seems to have incorporated the idea that advertising itself has deep costs and its avoidance strong benefits.
Other national English-language broadcasters (NPR, PBS, CBC, ABC (Australia), etc.) have podcast channels, but most have succumbed to advertising. That isn't to say they don't have good programming, but don't expect ad-free listening. For a number of cultural reasons, Germany seems to have incorporated the idea that advertising itself has deep costs and its avoidance strong benefits.
There are other apps too, such as Overcast, and ads on podcasts are really easy to skip.
Yeah, I can skip forward 30 sec, then back up, blech. It's just not worth it when you constantly have to interact with the podcast app.
Scott Adams' podcasts were different. He inserted very few commericials, and they were short enough there was no reason to skip forward. I tried many other podcasts after he passed away, and they all were largely long, boring commercials. Yuck. I now listen to Pandora or Soma FM instead.
Scott Adams' podcasts were different. He inserted very few commericials, and they were short enough there was no reason to skip forward. I tried many other podcasts after he passed away, and they all were largely long, boring commercials. Yuck. I now listen to Pandora or Soma FM instead.
> Yeah, I can skip forward 30 sec, then back up, blech. It's just not worth it when you constantly have to interact with the podcast app.
Fortunately this can be done much more easily now, with headphone-based controls and smartwatch-based controls. It takes maybe 1-3 seconds for me to get through an ad break and be back to listening.
Fortunately this can be done much more easily now, with headphone-based controls and smartwatch-based controls. It takes maybe 1-3 seconds for me to get through an ad break and be back to listening.
Comparing a podcast to a book is like comparing a 30-minute TV episode to a 3 hour Scorsese movie. Similar mediums with completely different goals.
It really depends on the podcast as well.
There are podcasts which are just free-association rambling (or worse), others which are very closely scripted and edited.
I very much prefer the latter, and the best of those approach books in structure and/or value, if they don't directly produce books themselves (e.g., Peter Adamson's History of Philosophy, which is both a podcast and a book series).
There are podcasts which are just free-association rambling (or worse), others which are very closely scripted and edited.
I very much prefer the latter, and the best of those approach books in structure and/or value, if they don't directly produce books themselves (e.g., Peter Adamson's History of Philosophy, which is both a podcast and a book series).
For me audiobooks are okay for non fiction but for fiction I need to read it to be able to immerse in the story and imagine the characters.
Also no all non fiction it's okay either, for philosophy that's a little complicated I need to read it too.
Fiction read by a skilled actor (voice or performance) can be a real insight. My reading voice is quite distinct from what such an actor can bring to a work.
Not all narrators are actors, and depending on the narration you may or may not gain from this.
For a good set of examples, I'd recommend Selected Shorts (Symphony Space), which is a set of podcasts and broadcasts voiced by stage and screen actors. They're usually at least good, and often excellent.
<https://symphonyspace.org/selected-shorts>
Recent episodes: <https://www.symphonyspace.org/selected-shorts/episodes>
Two personal all-time faves:
- "The Appropriation of Cultures", by Percival Everett, read by Ruben Santiago Hudson.
- "The Smoker", by David Schickler, read by Robert Sean Leonard: <https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=5XbSI5swx1E>.
Not all narrators are actors, and depending on the narration you may or may not gain from this.
For a good set of examples, I'd recommend Selected Shorts (Symphony Space), which is a set of podcasts and broadcasts voiced by stage and screen actors. They're usually at least good, and often excellent.
<https://symphonyspace.org/selected-shorts>
Recent episodes: <https://www.symphonyspace.org/selected-shorts/episodes>
Two personal all-time faves:
- "The Appropriation of Cultures", by Percival Everett, read by Ruben Santiago Hudson.
- "The Smoker", by David Schickler, read by Robert Sean Leonard: <https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=5XbSI5swx1E>.
This is interesting, as I imagine the opposite is true for many - at least with popular fiction audiobooks, the production values can be quite high.
A notable example of this is Project Hail Mary. The audiobook was so incredible that the movie let it down somewhat.
A notable example of this is Project Hail Mary. The audiobook was so incredible that the movie let it down somewhat.
I used to do that when my children were little. However, in another 3 years your child will not require you as much anymore and your downtime duration will improve.
My problem has been that once I started doing the audiobooks/podcasts, it has been really hard to reclaim my focus to read. I used to be able to power through books. Now, there always seems to be a distraction at hand.
My problem has been that once I started doing the audiobooks/podcasts, it has been really hard to reclaim my focus to read. I used to be able to power through books. Now, there always seems to be a distraction at hand.
I'll echo this too. I've liddles in the house and books are a no go right now. If they even let me the minutes to read, that would be great. But I know from repeated experience that books are too fragile for them to have around, let alone the stains and stickiness that young children affect on every surface.
Audiobooks have been a god send and then the Libby app manna from upon high. Free, high quality, adult-level infotainment?! I'll never go back.
One thing if do is up the reading speed. It takes time but I'm comfortable at 2.6x these days, even on the fragmented sleep a teething toddler grants you. For really in depth stuff I'll slow it down a lot, but a Stephen King dime store novel or John Grisham thriller? Oh yeah, speed it up no worries
Audiobooks have been a god send and then the Libby app manna from upon high. Free, high quality, adult-level infotainment?! I'll never go back.
One thing if do is up the reading speed. It takes time but I'm comfortable at 2.6x these days, even on the fragmented sleep a teething toddler grants you. For really in depth stuff I'll slow it down a lot, but a Stephen King dime store novel or John Grisham thriller? Oh yeah, speed it up no worries
Audiobooks are great if one likes the sound, tone, speed, etc, etc of the narrator. Not very easy to land at this combination.
"Avoid even audiobooks. Big corporations want to grab your attention by trying to market audiobooks as books for busy people, but don’t fall for the trap. A book is just boring black text on a white page because that’s how it’s meant to be consumed, and it requires your entire attention. Listening to audio while cooking or cleaning or whatever you do is not the same thing; you are not 100% concentrated on the content. "
----
I disagree with the author of this post. Audiobooks are fantastic in certain settings. e.g. Driving, or any form of transit if you're prone to motion sickness. Yes, listening is different from reading, but you're still getting information into your brain. There are definitely books that don't work as audiobooks (e.g. Anything with equations), but there are also books that are, perhaps, best consumed as audiobooks. Homer was passed down orally for generations before being written down. Anyone who poopoo's an audiobook of Homer deserves to be ridiculed.
----
I disagree with the author of this post. Audiobooks are fantastic in certain settings. e.g. Driving, or any form of transit if you're prone to motion sickness. Yes, listening is different from reading, but you're still getting information into your brain. There are definitely books that don't work as audiobooks (e.g. Anything with equations), but there are also books that are, perhaps, best consumed as audiobooks. Homer was passed down orally for generations before being written down. Anyone who poopoo's an audiobook of Homer deserves to be ridiculed.
I would audiobook 24/7 with the open ear headphones (Shokz etc) but I don't think I could afford to pay for that much that was worth listening too / low maintenance.
https://www.openculture.com/freeaudiobooks
As others have pointed out, libraries often have Libby access which can have pretty huge selections of audiobooks. There's a discovery feature that lets you search by vibe, which I am finding useful.
As others have pointed out, libraries often have Libby access which can have pretty huge selections of audiobooks. There's a discovery feature that lets you search by vibe, which I am finding useful.
Use the library
Libraries certainly have great apps for borrowing ebooks, audio books and more.
I only even heard about Jennifer Pahlka from Tyler Cowen's podcast, I think there are still some podcasts worth listening to.
Your point is well taken and very reasonable though.
Your point is well taken and very reasonable though.
I got a Libro.fm sub when my son was born last year and am finding the same.
I actually think this is about quality. Podcasts that take real effort (Hardcore History, Fall of Civilizations, Gastropod) are absolutely worth my time, but they're basically mini-audiobooks in their own right.
I actually think this is about quality. Podcasts that take real effort (Hardcore History, Fall of Civilizations, Gastropod) are absolutely worth my time, but they're basically mini-audiobooks in their own right.
Hardcore History is phenomenal. It’s a bummer the release cadence is so slow, but I understand why
After a long reading hiatus, audiobooks helped me pick up speed. I read faster with audiobook than without. For a few books, I combined regular and audiobook, so the audiobook forces me to keep reading, and hearing what I'm reading gives me something to hold on to, and helps a bit to prevent my thoughts from distracting me. But I don't have an audiobook for all the books I want to read.
Wow, listening to the Power Broker now, about 1/3 of the way through.
Audiobooks completely changed things for me... in the past 2 years, 'read' about 40 books, almost entirely listened to on my daily runs. The prior 2 years? Only 3 or so.
Audiobooks completely changed things for me... in the past 2 years, 'read' about 40 books, almost entirely listened to on my daily runs. The prior 2 years? Only 3 or so.
Same. Though for me I just can’t and don’t want to sit for hours. I still read 15-30min to go to bed, but with an audiobook I can listen for hours to amazing content while doing everything else I want to do in life like exercise and cook.
Now it’s at the point where I can’t wait to go for a run or do the dishes because it means I’ll get farther in a great book. Finally a real life hack.
Now it’s at the point where I can’t wait to go for a run or do the dishes because it means I’ll get farther in a great book. Finally a real life hack.
I cannot ever manage audiobooks, because I tend to wander while I'm reading, thinking about what I just read, processing it, mulling it over, or exploring it in some other way. With a book,
I just go back to where I stopped reading when ready and carry on. But with an audiobook, it keeps going while I'm thinking and not listening, and I miss it and have to rewind an unknown amount, over and over.
Agreed, there's no one medium fits all in all stages of their life and a lot of the takes rooted in such a perspective can lead people to seek convenience (scrolling) instead of engaging.
Reading does force you to slow down to let more enter your brain.
Audiobooks can do the same in a different way.
Either way, longer form content helps the brain unpack and retain bigger/longer picture things which is the kind of focus that many want to improve.
Reading also helps one be more articulate.
Articulation is a helpful skill in using AI.
Reading does force you to slow down to let more enter your brain.
Audiobooks can do the same in a different way.
Either way, longer form content helps the brain unpack and retain bigger/longer picture things which is the kind of focus that many want to improve.
Reading also helps one be more articulate.
Articulation is a helpful skill in using AI.
> Avoid even audiobooks. Big corporations want to grab your attention by trying to market audiobooks as books for busy people, but don’t fall for the trap. A book is just boring black text on a white page because that’s how it’s meant to be consumed, and it requires your entire attention. Listening to audio while cooking or cleaning or whatever you do is not the same thing; you are not 100% concentrated on the content. Also, reading is faster than listening, so use your time wisely.
I do not agree with his take on audio books. I find having a book with me and reading at all times as suggested a bit impractical, however for audio books it is way more feasible. I have long-ish commutes of 5h every couple of weeks and listening to audio books on the drive is great. I also listen to audiobooks when I vacuum, clean, grocery shop. Always unabridged versions and I research quite a bit what I want to listen to. I usually "hybrid" listen/read so I'll continue reading the physical book later in the evening.
I keep notes in a physical notebook but keep it super light. I read mostly fiction so it's usually plot points of each chapter and then when I'm done some quick thoughts. I enjoy this and it satisfies my analytical brain to think about things I really liked that an author did or reappearing structures and so on.
I also enjoy the meta-level of reading. Watching review videos on Youtube, thinking about what to read next and finding "hidden gems", so basically the hobby aspect of it.
I keep notes in a physical notebook but keep it super light. I read mostly fiction so it's usually plot points of each chapter and then when I'm done some quick thoughts. I enjoy this and it satisfies my analytical brain to think about things I really liked that an author did or reappearing structures and so on.
I also enjoy the meta-level of reading. Watching review videos on Youtube, thinking about what to read next and finding "hidden gems", so basically the hobby aspect of it.
In your examples you are always doing something else while listening to an audio book. This was the authors point. Reading is the activity - and I definitely agree - I still listen to audio books, but for a different purpose, to avoid boredom when exercising, etc but I don’t consider this reading. I really think most people can learn quite a bit, especially in this age of instant gratification, by sitting down and performing just the task of reading. For me it is a huge boon for my mental health to engage in this way. I think you could do it with audio books too, but I don’t know a single person who engages with them in that solitary way, it is always an addition to some other activity.
There are activities that are quite autopilot, like vacuuming, washing dishes etc. Such activities have always allowed for listening to language, typically in a group.
Of course this is not for difficult math textbooks or dense philosophy.
Of course this is not for difficult math textbooks or dense philosophy.
Listening to audiobooks for me is a learned skill. when I started my mind used to wander off and I couldn't tell you what I just listened to. Now for autopilot activities I'm hyper focused on the books. I have increased the speed to roughly 1.3x which seems to be the sweetspot for my brain. Faster sounds like robot-voices to me and slower made me wander off.
I completely agree with the "mental health" boon to taking time, slowing down and focusing on an activity. This can be done with audiobooks, too. I sometimes sit on my couch and listen to an audiobook, too.
I completely agree with the "mental health" boon to taking time, slowing down and focusing on an activity. This can be done with audiobooks, too. I sometimes sit on my couch and listen to an audiobook, too.
I still want to try audiobooks more, but I agree that cutting your mind and diving into the words is something quite special. And I was convinced that ebook readers or tablets or whatever from the 2010s would be able to top that but so far I never saw it getting close. Weird.
> but I don't know a single person who engages with them in that solitary way,
We exist. You won't know because it's solitary. You have to ask, and I doubt you've asked people specifically if they "engage with them" in that way.
I also think it depends on what you are reading. I read for enjoyment using audio books. I read to learn using real books. If you equate the two and assume someone using audio books is using them for non-fiction to learn something, I really think you are out of touch.
We exist. You won't know because it's solitary. You have to ask, and I doubt you've asked people specifically if they "engage with them" in that way.
I also think it depends on what you are reading. I read for enjoyment using audio books. I read to learn using real books. If you equate the two and assume someone using audio books is using them for non-fiction to learn something, I really think you are out of touch.
I actually have asked many people, because it's something that's frequently on my mind (I had a bit of a revival with reading and do have some strong opinions about how it's helped me). Are you suggesting that you listen to audio books while sitting silently in a chair at your home? That's great! I just don't think that is true for the majority of people. The benefit by and large, as far as I can gather, for most people, is being able to consume something while doing something else. And like I said, that's fine - and I use it myself when exercising - but I just don't consider it reading - and think of it as a separate type of activity that doesn't require the level of engagement that reading a physical book does.
Some audiobooks can add to the experience - for instance in both Flowers for Algernon and Stranger in a Strange Land the main character evolves in ways the performer encapsulates in their voice that most readers probably did not do as well - I read both in print about 40 years ago and listening to the audiobooks recently was a revelation. There’s also A Confederacy of Dunces - this has multiple American accents that I bet no non native speaker could capture and possibly escapes most Americans as well. Another example is Infinite Jest - some people like the going back and forth with the footnotes but i preferred the audiobook incorporating the footnotes with a second narrator of different gender than the main one with an audio cue.
i never managed to pay attention fully to an audio book. i always have to go back 30 seconds every now and then cause i lose the plot. i am the same with books. i never read it linearly. i jump back a lot and reread a page or two. and jumping back is just way easier with text. and it’s easier with a physical book than on a kindle. on my big android tablet i can scroll fast back if it’s a pdf. but it’s not always fun to read on a tablet
I had the same problem, playing with the speed helped for me. Similar to meditation, I also learned to focus more on the listening. I completely agree that text is better for jumping and audio might also not be perfect for everybody. For fiction audio it also depends a lot on the narration for me. It needs to be top notch or I "check out".
Maybe it's not your problem, but I realized I can only fully pay attention to audiobooks in my native language. Arguably not even then, when there are interruptions, obviously, but listening in any other language I can't even tell why I lost track - I just find myself in some unknown place and I have to rewind. This of course limits a lot the fun, because it's a hassle to constantly have to rewind some literature (also less availability in the first place). Luckily it's less of a problem for a course or technical article where I'd rewind often anyway to think better about some aspect.
Get a long book, a timeless classic, and read one chapter a night.
I grew up reading all the time. About 20 years ago, I found myself reading less and less. I decided to read "The Count of Monte Cristo" again. I decided I would read one chapter a night, before going to bed, regardless of how late it was, how busy, etc, By the time I finished, reading before going to bed was a habit. I read 30-60 minutes every night before going to bed. (Read plenty of other times, too; but, no matter how the day has been, I read ever night.)
I grew up reading all the time. About 20 years ago, I found myself reading less and less. I decided to read "The Count of Monte Cristo" again. I decided I would read one chapter a night, before going to bed, regardless of how late it was, how busy, etc, By the time I finished, reading before going to bed was a habit. I read 30-60 minutes every night before going to bed. (Read plenty of other times, too; but, no matter how the day has been, I read ever night.)
I like doing this if I can’t sleep, although there have been occasions where I ended up staying awake to finish the whole thing.
I don’t read in bed unless I’m on my own, or we’re both reading, as I’ve not found any satisfying book lights and I don’t use an e-reader. Also probably better for sleep hygiene and, as I get older, ergonomics to have a cosy spot somewhere else. Younger me could read folded in half, older me doesn’t want the back trouble.
I don’t read in bed unless I’m on my own, or we’re both reading, as I’ve not found any satisfying book lights and I don’t use an e-reader. Also probably better for sleep hygiene and, as I get older, ergonomics to have a cosy spot somewhere else. Younger me could read folded in half, older me doesn’t want the back trouble.
Use an e-reader. They are great. Incredibly cheap and sturdy. The screen light on e-readers do not interfere with sleep and hormones, as they're shone on the page instead of blasted into your eyes. After some time with an e-reader you will consider it one of the best purchases you've ever done.
Reading boring/difficult but important books is the best solution when you can't sleep. Either they're the best sleeping pill, or you're learning something important.
Reading boring/difficult but important books is the best solution when you can't sleep. Either they're the best sleeping pill, or you're learning something important.
> I also tend to read multiple books at the same time. Sometimes it happens that I get so into a book that I put the rest on pause because the story is grabbing all my attention, but in general I like to have a few books that I read in parallel. Having only a single option can become boring. I generally mix fiction and non-fiction to have a broader choice.
This is actually one of the best ways to reinforce knowledge, if that's what you're reading for. Especially if you are reading about different, but related, topics. The idea is that you do a little bit of forgetting between reading sessions of a book and then have to force some recall of where you were at when you pick up the book a few days later, which reinforces the memory of what you've read.
WRT reading multiple books on different but related topics, you're giving yourself more material to build a working mental model of something, so if you're trying to teach yourself calculus, you'll probably learn it much better when you're reading it along with, say, a book on the history of rocketry, and/or a book on astronomy. The topics reinforce and integrate nicely with one another because of the big overlap with the mental models used -- learning something in rocketry or astronomy gives you a place to tie in something you learn from calculus, for instance. They're also different enough to give your mind a break so you have to practice some recall of what you've already gone over when you pick up your calculus book again.
Also from personal experience, rotating through a few books helps to keep you reading constantly. When I used to focus on a single book I'd put off reading if I was in an especially dry spot. Being able to pick up another book allows me to avoid the dry section for a while, while also preventing me from doing something less worthwhile like look at my phone.
This is actually one of the best ways to reinforce knowledge, if that's what you're reading for. Especially if you are reading about different, but related, topics. The idea is that you do a little bit of forgetting between reading sessions of a book and then have to force some recall of where you were at when you pick up the book a few days later, which reinforces the memory of what you've read.
WRT reading multiple books on different but related topics, you're giving yourself more material to build a working mental model of something, so if you're trying to teach yourself calculus, you'll probably learn it much better when you're reading it along with, say, a book on the history of rocketry, and/or a book on astronomy. The topics reinforce and integrate nicely with one another because of the big overlap with the mental models used -- learning something in rocketry or astronomy gives you a place to tie in something you learn from calculus, for instance. They're also different enough to give your mind a break so you have to practice some recall of what you've already gone over when you pick up your calculus book again.
Also from personal experience, rotating through a few books helps to keep you reading constantly. When I used to focus on a single book I'd put off reading if I was in an especially dry spot. Being able to pick up another book allows me to avoid the dry section for a while, while also preventing me from doing something less worthwhile like look at my phone.
I have gained so much by reading comments on Hacker News, articles, lurking in groups and forums, watching YouTube videos. Reading books is important because they have knowledge that is not accessible in another format. It is an efficient way to condense information and pass it around. At least it used to be, when paper was more scarce. Now books get fluffed up for padding. A lot of people should be writing articles instead of books. Those who are reading a large volume of books are most certainly reading a large volume of garbage. I have gained more from reading comments on here than I would have otherwise by reading junk self-help books, romance novels, and other kinds of YA. You should be reading the right books. The classics, the culturally relevant, the historically significant, the hallmarks of a domain or expertise, etc. The medium of publishing used to be a marker of quality, a filter, a selection mechanism. But as publishing became more accessible, the amount of investment required also plummeted. And just as it allowed many creatives and geniuses access to the medium, it also introduced a large volume of cheap material that can be easily dismissed as irrelevant noise, as you should.
Don't take this the wrong way, but it sounds like you've become addicted to instant gratification and you've rationalized it. Up is down, down is up, and low value social media comments are actually better than reading a book by an expert.
Of course, I'm just projecting. That's what's happened to me, and I'm miserable about it.
Of course, I'm just projecting. That's what's happened to me, and I'm miserable about it.
I gain the most by reading books from about 1920 to about 1979.
What I don't bother reading anymore is a non-fiction, New York Times bestseller that always has the form of something like "Robustness - The new science of blah blah blah".
There is always a better book on the topic that goes much deeper and that form is the dumb version meant to sell books.
What I don't bother reading anymore is a non-fiction, New York Times bestseller that always has the form of something like "Robustness - The new science of blah blah blah".
There is always a better book on the topic that goes much deeper and that form is the dumb version meant to sell books.
I get what you mean about a great deal of books being fluff but are you sure you're not just looking at the self-help and bestseller section? Because this was my problem too, but I eventually figured out that if I really wanted to learn something or survey a subject, I'd end up with a college reference textbook. Or, audit a class and watch videos in Coursera or some other open education platform.
The irony of your getting this advice from an HN comment isn't lost on me, but if you're so concerned about fluff, I'd have thought that comments in the internet would be the first thing you'd rule out because it's so full of noise and non-expert hot takes.
The irony of your getting this advice from an HN comment isn't lost on me, but if you're so concerned about fluff, I'd have thought that comments in the internet would be the first thing you'd rule out because it's so full of noise and non-expert hot takes.
Some of the books containing the most important insights and knowledge are plagued by mountains of fluff. Having important things to say unfortunately doesn't always correlate with being a great or good author.
Everything read on this website is entirely forgotten in two weeks time.
> I always have a book with me when I go out with my partner, even if I don’t usually end up reading it. If she has to run an errand and I have to wait, I don’t waste my free time with nothing to read. I have become good at walking my dog while reading — I even got complimented for that by a stranger — and I make sure I never go to the bathroom without a book.”
This does not sound an improvement over using a phone. We don't have to occupy ourselves every waking moment. It's okay to not do something for a minute.
This does not sound an improvement over using a phone. We don't have to occupy ourselves every waking moment. It's okay to not do something for a minute.
> It's okay to not do something for a minute.
Not doing anything and being totally idle for a while is nothing to sneeze at. Especially in this day and age.
Not doing anything and being totally idle for a while is nothing to sneeze at. Especially in this day and age.
> First of all, you don’t have to make time to read. What you need to do is read every single time you are not doing something else.
Mmh I’m not sure about that. I prefer to read for 1-2 hours rather than read 2 minutes here and 5 minutes there, especially for books that require some concentration to read, like dense stories and/or books not in my native language.
Mmh I’m not sure about that. I prefer to read for 1-2 hours rather than read 2 minutes here and 5 minutes there, especially for books that require some concentration to read, like dense stories and/or books not in my native language.
Who asked what you prefer? That has nothing to do with reading more books. Personally I have pages from books projected onto the walls, so that if I ever accidentally look up from the book that I'm reading, I read part of another book. Also I hire a mercenary soldier to watch me at all times, and if I try to stop reading even for a moment he jumps at me with a combat knife and pushes an open book into my face.
In this way I read more books, which is necessary because ... ah, I almost started discussing why to read more books, that's a different question.
In this way I read more books, which is necessary because ... ah, I almost started discussing why to read more books, that's a different question.
Neither the author, you or me have to wait for someone to ask us; we just share our thoughts with strangers in the hope to bring something positive into the conversation.
You mean you haven't installed screens to the inside of your eyelids so you can micro-read whenever you blink? Amateur hour...
This "serious reader" expression makes my skin crawl.
Like if it was something of a sport with olympics where people compete in their own weight and it is measured in the end to the hundredths of seconds in front of spectators in a stadion shaped library cheering READ, READ, READ! Quality is mentioned, remotely, through selection, but still, the mental picture remains the same. The post smells like a training guide from a large gym franchise for readers. It's name is 'Serious Readers!'
Like if it was something of a sport with olympics where people compete in their own weight and it is measured in the end to the hundredths of seconds in front of spectators in a stadion shaped library cheering READ, READ, READ! Quality is mentioned, remotely, through selection, but still, the mental picture remains the same. The post smells like a training guide from a large gym franchise for readers. It's name is 'Serious Readers!'
I don't think serious reader is a cringe term. Reading is a skill like any other and we use terms like "serious golfer" or "serious painter". The flip side of serious is causal. It's okay to structure your life so that reading is a big part of it.
I've noticed there is extremely common, profound insecurity among a substantial portion of online commenters around the concept of reading. People will come out of the woodwork whenever anyone claims to read more deeply than YAF or Sci-Fi and declaim them as pretentious / a loser / cringe. Some people just like reading frequently or reading hard books, and that's okay!
Only one mercenary? Are you even book-maxxing?
Author here. Yes, I agree that reading for two minutes here and there is not that effective, but in my opinion, as little as 10 minutes of reading helps me make progress. The story is already loaded in my recent memory, so it's quick to switch context and immerse myself back in the book, even if I only have a short amount of time.
Reading multiple books at the same time helps with this. The level of concentration required varies by book and personal experience. I can set aside a larger span of time for more complex books and read more lightweight stories for the rest of the day.
Reading multiple books at the same time helps with this. The level of concentration required varies by book and personal experience. I can set aside a larger span of time for more complex books and read more lightweight stories for the rest of the day.
Yes. In my experience, I need to at least read a book for 1-2 hours to really enter the story, and then I can read for 10 minutes here and there. The issue is if I start reading the book 10 minutes by 10 minutes I never really enter the story and it takes me more time to finish it.
If squirrels drank coffee and could read, I imagine they'd read like the author. It sounds horrible to me, but everyone is different I guess.
I have a checklist to go _back_ to reading 30-odd books a year, and right now the top 5 items are:
1. Stop messing about with AI
2. Stop doomscrolling/interacting on social networks (HN is within my 15m allocation)
3. Stop watching _any_ Youtube video that doesn't teach me anything
4. Gloss over my 200 RSS feeds, don't be a completionist
5. Put on classical music, not indie or radio
It almost works. Almost.
1. Stop messing about with AI
2. Stop doomscrolling/interacting on social networks (HN is within my 15m allocation)
3. Stop watching _any_ Youtube video that doesn't teach me anything
4. Gloss over my 200 RSS feeds, don't be a completionist
5. Put on classical music, not indie or radio
It almost works. Almost.
> Stop messing about with AI
I see a few comments about wasting time with AI. I'm curious what the gist of those conversations is about?
I've found AI to be incredibly useful as a tool to nurture intellectual curiosity.
It even improves my book reading experience. Before, when I didn't fully understand a technical detail the author had glossed over, I usually had to skip it, hoping it wasn't critical for understanding later topics. Now, I can get precise explanations for anything I didn't understand in whatever level or detail I require.
I see a few comments about wasting time with AI. I'm curious what the gist of those conversations is about?
I've found AI to be incredibly useful as a tool to nurture intellectual curiosity.
It even improves my book reading experience. Before, when I didn't fully understand a technical detail the author had glossed over, I usually had to skip it, hoping it wasn't critical for understanding later topics. Now, I can get precise explanations for anything I didn't understand in whatever level or detail I require.
as a consumate obsidian note taker i've found that as asking questions to a quick model and have it challenge me with leading questions has helped me refine my writing to be more useful and driven. when my note is done, i'll pass it through to see if any jargon is a crutch with my prompts are about forcing me to explain it "as simple as possible and no more".
in other situations feed it notes, bookmarked articles, generate syllabuses for something you want to learn more about, and generate create html/css "interactive textbooks". the ability to have an infinitely deep tutor always around feels revolutionary.
in other situations feed it notes, bookmarked articles, generate syllabuses for something you want to learn more about, and generate create html/css "interactive textbooks". the ability to have an infinitely deep tutor always around feels revolutionary.
well, I created https://github.com/rcarmo/piclaw, and as a result of that I have several permanently running agents and entirely too many projects going at once. That's _my_ "messing with AI"...
Good article! I want to share my story about how I improved my reading, even though I used to dislike reading long passages.
Back then, whenever I read a book, it felt like I was just moving through the words and lines. Nothing happened in my mind. I had no reaction, no reflection, nothing. Because of that, I avoided learning from books and mostly watched videos instead.
While watching videos, I always read the comments. Reading comments from real people felt different. I reacted to them, reflected on them, and stayed engaged. I think it was because comments are short, simple, and easy to read.
After that, I discovered Reddit, forums, and especially Hacker News. In my opinion, Hacker News is one of the best forums on the internet because it's almost entirely text. Reading those discussions helped me get used to longer and more thoughtful writing.
Over time, my reading improved a lot. I can now read long-form, detailed writing with much better focus and reflection. I still want to improve, but I'm in a much better place than before, when I barely read at all.
Final personal note:
Reading should feel reactive and reflective in your brain. When you read short comments on social media, you can feel the full range of emotions, from happiness to anger to sadness. A good book can create the same experience. It's like highly precise commentary that makes you think, reflect, and react.
Back then, whenever I read a book, it felt like I was just moving through the words and lines. Nothing happened in my mind. I had no reaction, no reflection, nothing. Because of that, I avoided learning from books and mostly watched videos instead.
While watching videos, I always read the comments. Reading comments from real people felt different. I reacted to them, reflected on them, and stayed engaged. I think it was because comments are short, simple, and easy to read.
After that, I discovered Reddit, forums, and especially Hacker News. In my opinion, Hacker News is one of the best forums on the internet because it's almost entirely text. Reading those discussions helped me get used to longer and more thoughtful writing.
Over time, my reading improved a lot. I can now read long-form, detailed writing with much better focus and reflection. I still want to improve, but I'm in a much better place than before, when I barely read at all.
Final personal note:
Reading should feel reactive and reflective in your brain. When you read short comments on social media, you can feel the full range of emotions, from happiness to anger to sadness. A good book can create the same experience. It's like highly precise commentary that makes you think, reflect, and react.
A lot of things in this article made me go "wait, are you me?", it's fascinating.
The strategy for swapping whatever you do on your phone whenever you have 2 free minutes with reading helped my reading a lot, too. I initially swapped scrolling Reddit with short-form reading https://pokerfacowaty.com/blog/reddit-heroin and then swapped that for my ebook reader, reading books and a weekly newspaper. The latter also helps being less angry at news when you're not reading them in the form of rage bait tweets.
As for highlights, I now have hundreds of handwritten ones on my books, no sensible support for it in open source apps is the only thing keeping my Kobo on its stock firmware (unfortunately).
The strategy for swapping whatever you do on your phone whenever you have 2 free minutes with reading helped my reading a lot, too. I initially swapped scrolling Reddit with short-form reading https://pokerfacowaty.com/blog/reddit-heroin and then swapped that for my ebook reader, reading books and a weekly newspaper. The latter also helps being less angry at news when you're not reading them in the form of rage bait tweets.
As for highlights, I now have hundreds of handwritten ones on my books, no sensible support for it in open source apps is the only thing keeping my Kobo on its stock firmware (unfortunately).
Two observations: one - return to the library. After years of not visiting, I started going back. My favorite spot are the new books and librarian's choice sections. I'm not into going thru the catalog or the aisles, so I just go to the new/recommended shelves and grab 3. Figure at least one of them will be good.
Two: I think the internet is shortening everyone's attention span. Reading a whole book helps address that. At least for me, its helping.
Two: I think the internet is shortening everyone's attention span. Reading a whole book helps address that. At least for me, its helping.
> So an effective way is to replace the time you spend in front of a screen... I removed Instagram, YouTube...
Really great advice. Last week I configured my wifi router at home to block youtube entirely. I literally feel like a different person in just a week. I have so much more free time and I am so much less anxious.
> Avoid even audiobooks.
Controversial. I suppose I used to not have an opinion at all on this topic, until I saw an interview with Salman Rushdie after the failed attempt on his life. He said he since the attack, and loosing his right eye, he reads with enormous fonts on an ipad, or yes, he even listens to audio books now.
If audiobooks are good enough for a seven time nominee of the Booker prize, who am I to quibble?
Really great advice. Last week I configured my wifi router at home to block youtube entirely. I literally feel like a different person in just a week. I have so much more free time and I am so much less anxious.
> Avoid even audiobooks.
Controversial. I suppose I used to not have an opinion at all on this topic, until I saw an interview with Salman Rushdie after the failed attempt on his life. He said he since the attack, and loosing his right eye, he reads with enormous fonts on an ipad, or yes, he even listens to audio books now.
If audiobooks are good enough for a seven time nominee of the Booker prize, who am I to quibble?
Reading more books is a stupid goal, there were years were I read 40 books but didn't absorb anything. Reading needs multiple passes and some time to think about what you've just read.
The chase of more and more books because of my Goodreads friends’ goals is what got me reading 70 books a year, and abhorring the experience. What a joyless hunger to get through books FAST.
I stopped counting, and with a toddler I find bits of time to read about 20 books.
Don’t obsess about reading more. Yeah, get off your phone, but get into books to enjoy them. You don’t remember most of what you read, might as well derive pleasure from it.
I stopped counting, and with a toddler I find bits of time to read about 20 books.
Don’t obsess about reading more. Yeah, get off your phone, but get into books to enjoy them. You don’t remember most of what you read, might as well derive pleasure from it.
I highly recommend getting a super small eReader you always carry with you. I personally use this one: https://www.xteink.com/products/xteink-x3 (it attaches to the back of my phone using magsafe even) and flashed this custom firmware: https://crosspointreader.com/
The most important habit, like the author of the blog post says, is looking at a book every time you would look at your phone. Its still not great that we arent really bored anymore, but this is already much better than being on twitter.
The most important habit, like the author of the blog post says, is looking at a book every time you would look at your phone. Its still not great that we arent really bored anymore, but this is already much better than being on twitter.
I love listening to Audiobooks if I've already read the book. I find it great for rereading, because even if I loose attention in between, it is okay. I know the story, but I still get to enjoy it.
Lately I've been using RSVP (rapid serial visual presentation) speed reading, where you see a single word at a time, reading at 400-600wpm. You have to pay attention or you miss the words, so the distraction questions are mostly moot. On the downside, it's a lot harder to think about what you're reading, so I'm questioning whether it even counts as having read the book. I haven't loved any books I've read this way, which could be bad luck with the content but may be more about how I'm consuming it.
While I like the idea of using small pockets of time for reading a few pages here and there, the practice I find more difficult. I need these few minutes for my brain to stop braining momentarily. I have tried carrying a book with me, but when I did crack it open I typically read a paragraph, reread that paragraph, and then conceded that I don't recall what I just "read".
Likely it's a me problem, but I'm mentally so tired that I simply cannot maintain an uninterrupted stream of tasks even if the interstitial spaces are filled with something I enjoy like reading.
Likely it's a me problem, but I'm mentally so tired that I simply cannot maintain an uninterrupted stream of tasks even if the interstitial spaces are filled with something I enjoy like reading.
One thing that changed reading for me was Readwise. One of my favorite products. Super simple concept, I just highlight quotes I like, then I get a daily email of random things I've highlighted. Great way to retain info from non-fiction books, and to retain the feeling of special parts of fiction ones.
Loved this blog, the simplicity with which they explained. I have been meaning to get back to reading but have not been able to. Having read this, I feel motivated enough to get back into the game and start reading a book from tomorrow. Thanks, Elia!
Good advice about not enjoying a book and putting it down isn’t a failure on your part. Same for the part about reading multiple books. This blocked me for a while, if I decided to start a book I HAD to read that book and I HAD to finish it. It’s a great way to kill something you’d otherwise enjoy.
One thing that irked me wrong was the part about audiobooks and attention:
> Listening to audio while cooking or cleaning or whatever you do is not the same thing; you are not 100% concentrated on the content. Also, reading is faster than listening, so use your time wisely.
First of all, sometimes you are not concentrating a 100% on something and that is fine. I listen to podcasts while driving, I often miss sentences or longer bits because there’s more traffic that I focus on. That’s fine. I can either go back or accept it.
Second, this is coming from the person that said:
> I read a book when I cook lunch or dinner, and I read a book when eating breakfast.
> I have become good at walking my dog while reading
Edit: formatting
One thing that irked me wrong was the part about audiobooks and attention:
> Listening to audio while cooking or cleaning or whatever you do is not the same thing; you are not 100% concentrated on the content. Also, reading is faster than listening, so use your time wisely.
First of all, sometimes you are not concentrating a 100% on something and that is fine. I listen to podcasts while driving, I often miss sentences or longer bits because there’s more traffic that I focus on. That’s fine. I can either go back or accept it.
Second, this is coming from the person that said:
> I read a book when I cook lunch or dinner, and I read a book when eating breakfast.
> I have become good at walking my dog while reading
Edit: formatting
For me, reading books depends a lot on the space - the place, the setting. I can't read anywhere and everywhere.
I can regularly work in noisy places. I can even routinely sleep in such places. At least after adjusting for a while, or when I am too tired, or travelling. But I cannot routinely read if the place isn't calm and doesn't feel cosy. I say "routinely" because when I am travelling, I can read just fine even at the bus and train stations (both are mad noisy where I live) - the brain somehow knows or adjusts. But I just can't in a house that is near a traffic hell, or above a noisy market. I just can't read there. That's one of the reasons I my house hunts become so daunting and stressful in this godforsaken city where "older bachelors" are double-whammied.
Train journeys are very productive for my reading and sleeping.
And as the author notes, abandoning books helped my reading. Though most often I don't truly dump them - I skip-read them, I speed-read them, if I am sure I may never pick them again. Then there are books that I may find they are not worth "my" time (might be great books to others), I don't even bother to speed/skip read them. I just let go of them.
I can regularly work in noisy places. I can even routinely sleep in such places. At least after adjusting for a while, or when I am too tired, or travelling. But I cannot routinely read if the place isn't calm and doesn't feel cosy. I say "routinely" because when I am travelling, I can read just fine even at the bus and train stations (both are mad noisy where I live) - the brain somehow knows or adjusts. But I just can't in a house that is near a traffic hell, or above a noisy market. I just can't read there. That's one of the reasons I my house hunts become so daunting and stressful in this godforsaken city where "older bachelors" are double-whammied.
Train journeys are very productive for my reading and sleeping.
And as the author notes, abandoning books helped my reading. Though most often I don't truly dump them - I skip-read them, I speed-read them, if I am sure I may never pick them again. Then there are books that I may find they are not worth "my" time (might be great books to others), I don't even bother to speed/skip read them. I just let go of them.
Audiobooks is the magic trick.
I listen them in the gym between sets, I listen them in the car, in the plane, in taxi, doing chores at home and in any other place where you cannot do more useful things, and you cannot read as well.
Five minutes here, ten there and it adds quite fast.
[1] I cannot consume every book as audiobook, some are so dense in material, that it requires actual reading.
[2]Not every book exists as audio book and not every book has a good narrator, which is quite important.
but:
[1] Quite often, you can listen them in parallel to other activities. [2] When you are driving with someone, listening audiobook together adds plenty of interesting topics to discussions after the drive + bonding experience (you are doing something together, you are focussing on the same thing together) [3] You can listen with various speeds, and for me, so far it went up to 1.5x on some books, which speeds up the process.
--- I do not have a problem to find books to read or listen as author of the post. My "To Read" list grows much faster than the information I consume.
I listen them in the gym between sets, I listen them in the car, in the plane, in taxi, doing chores at home and in any other place where you cannot do more useful things, and you cannot read as well.
Five minutes here, ten there and it adds quite fast.
[1] I cannot consume every book as audiobook, some are so dense in material, that it requires actual reading.
[2]Not every book exists as audio book and not every book has a good narrator, which is quite important.
but:
[1] Quite often, you can listen them in parallel to other activities. [2] When you are driving with someone, listening audiobook together adds plenty of interesting topics to discussions after the drive + bonding experience (you are doing something together, you are focussing on the same thing together) [3] You can listen with various speeds, and for me, so far it went up to 1.5x on some books, which speeds up the process.
--- I do not have a problem to find books to read or listen as author of the post. My "To Read" list grows much faster than the information I consume.
Is anybody able to do this using mobile? It's hard to carry books everywhere. Mobile phone is always there.
One of my main takeaways from this article is that the author ADORES Umberto Eco.
Which is understandable.
Which is understandable.
Well, yes ;-)
I'm a bit surprised that the concept of the Antilibrary makes no appearance, however:
<https://www.themarginalian.org/2015/03/24/umberto-eco-antili...>
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antilibrary>
I'm a bit surprised that the concept of the Antilibrary makes no appearance, however:
<https://www.themarginalian.org/2015/03/24/umberto-eco-antili...>
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antilibrary>
While I do agree that reading is really important especially when it comes to good books. BUT simply consuming something for the sake of consumption is rarely a good idea.
I know of people that read books and consome them like food everyday, and wont learn anything thing from them. Their content becoming a distant memory as time passes. What is the point of reading something if you forget it 2 weeks later?
You may read something but the katharsis is still missing. I recommend when reading something. Take your time with it. You dont need to fetish saying you read 500 books in the last 5 years. I read "Gödel, Escher, Bach" and "Negative Dialectics" and it will take many many more months maybe years to full graps them.
I read them from beginning to end but still have so much to learn from them! Disregarding a good book for another might be a grave mistake.
I know of people that read books and consome them like food everyday, and wont learn anything thing from them. Their content becoming a distant memory as time passes. What is the point of reading something if you forget it 2 weeks later?
You may read something but the katharsis is still missing. I recommend when reading something. Take your time with it. You dont need to fetish saying you read 500 books in the last 5 years. I read "Gödel, Escher, Bach" and "Negative Dialectics" and it will take many many more months maybe years to full graps them.
I read them from beginning to end but still have so much to learn from them! Disregarding a good book for another might be a grave mistake.
No offense, but you are just aren't that well read if you are mentioning Godel, Escher, Bach as proof of how much you are going to learn.
This post is irony at a base level.
You ultimately have to sift through a lot of books to get past popular books like Godel, Escher, Bach and on to something like Philosophical Foundations of Neuroscience.
This post is irony at a base level.
You ultimately have to sift through a lot of books to get past popular books like Godel, Escher, Bach and on to something like Philosophical Foundations of Neuroscience.
I dont understand the point your comment is making. Are you being facetious or genuine?
Schopenhauer made a similar point in his essay "On Reading and Books".
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_Books_and_Reading
https://fs.blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Arthur-Schopenhau...
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_Books_and_Reading
https://fs.blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Arthur-Schopenhau...
Huge fan as well of Schopenhauer's "On Authorship":
<https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Literature/On_Auth...>
<https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Literature/On_Auth...>
I always have two books going. An important one I read at home in peace and one I can read on public transport because I don't have to / want to concentrate on it too hard.
Reading in public transport has helped me to read more often at home too
Reading in public transport has helped me to read more often at home too
I agree with everything this guy said and yet I still have a totally different take. Some of my friends and I started a book dedicated to reading books in the public domain (https://b00k.club). We began with Ancient Greece and it took as a few years but we're almost starting Rome. It's been slow but also incredibly thorough.
The thing is none of it has been difficult or even time consuming, and yet everything adds up as weeks turns into months which turn into years. Then suddenly we've looked back and realized that we've kind of read a lot of things, all primary sources, and we all have pretty educated opinions on these topics. Of course one could always go further, but that's hardly the point. We did this by doing one meeting a week.
The other thing is the result has been immensely positive for all of us--like, actually useful knowledge which we apply in our daily lives--and at least one of us is matriculating in the fall to study Ancient Greek. The total commitment has been a few hours spread throughout the week, but none of it ever really felt like work.
Basically, less focus on the number of books, reading with the idea in mind that you have to explain what you understood to other people (so, slowly), and just forgetting about goals and instead just enjoying the process. Little by little this all adds up, but the main benefit is the knowledge. You only really get that from working through the text, arguing, presenting theories... basically doing it in a social way. At the end of day, knowledge != data, and you really can't download what the book wants to tell you.
The thing is none of it has been difficult or even time consuming, and yet everything adds up as weeks turns into months which turn into years. Then suddenly we've looked back and realized that we've kind of read a lot of things, all primary sources, and we all have pretty educated opinions on these topics. Of course one could always go further, but that's hardly the point. We did this by doing one meeting a week.
The other thing is the result has been immensely positive for all of us--like, actually useful knowledge which we apply in our daily lives--and at least one of us is matriculating in the fall to study Ancient Greek. The total commitment has been a few hours spread throughout the week, but none of it ever really felt like work.
Basically, less focus on the number of books, reading with the idea in mind that you have to explain what you understood to other people (so, slowly), and just forgetting about goals and instead just enjoying the process. Little by little this all adds up, but the main benefit is the knowledge. You only really get that from working through the text, arguing, presenting theories... basically doing it in a social way. At the end of day, knowledge != data, and you really can't download what the book wants to tell you.
Audiobooks and tracking. I still watch a lot of YouTube and other social media so I haven't had to cut anything out yet I have many audiobooks on my phone loaded up that I listen to at 2x+ speed as well as have a spreadsheet of what I'm reading and how long it takes. Before anyone comments, yes I can understand it just fine as I've acclimated myself over years to do so, it's similar to blind people being able to understand at very high speeds too after years of practice.
Audiobooks for me as well. I read voraciously when I was young, but never seemed to be able to when much older.
Simply listening to an audiobook while driving to work let me "read" a lot more than I thought it would. At the time, my commute was only 10 minutes, but I still managed to read a book per month and listen to my favorite podcasts!
Definitely would not recommend higher speed for fiction, though. For fiction, you're listening to a performance. It'd be akin to watching a movie at 2x.
Simply listening to an audiobook while driving to work let me "read" a lot more than I thought it would. At the time, my commute was only 10 minutes, but I still managed to read a book per month and listen to my favorite podcasts!
Definitely would not recommend higher speed for fiction, though. For fiction, you're listening to a performance. It'd be akin to watching a movie at 2x.
That's funny because for some shows with a lot of filler I do watch them at higher speeds, not movies though. I disagree fiction audiobooks at high speeds are the same as movies at high speeds though, once you acclimate to the narrator it doesn't matter whether it's fiction or not, there's no timing like there is in movies.
> Once you acclimate to the narrator it doesn't matter whether it's fiction or not, there's no timing like there is in movies.
Depending on the novel, there definitely can be timing in the movies.
Furthermore, there's a reason the narrator performs voice acting. It adds to the experience. Speeding it up takes some of it away.
As for watching shows at high speed ... meh. If I feel the urge to do it, it's a sign I shouldn't be watching it anyway.
Depending on the novel, there definitely can be timing in the movies.
Furthermore, there's a reason the narrator performs voice acting. It adds to the experience. Speeding it up takes some of it away.
As for watching shows at high speed ... meh. If I feel the urge to do it, it's a sign I shouldn't be watching it anyway.
I've never felt the difference for books at least to be honest. As for shows, you'd be surprised, some actually get better the higher speed you watch them at, such as sitcoms with laugh tracks, where the higher speed means no pauses for the audience to then laugh, it feels more like a modern show.
Great note about how public transit gives us time back from the commute. When I moved to the city after college I first lived a 12 minute train ride from the office and tried reading but the trip was too short to make much new progress in my books. Now that it's a 40-minute trip I have plenty of time to read, follow up on texts, and do my crossword.
I am a big Twitter user and recently gave it up for lent as an exercise in "resisting temptation" (for lack of a better term).
I found myself reading a LOT more (mostly via the Kindle app on my phone).
It actually inspired me to get an actual Kindle which does help cut down on the "let me flip to social media" when reading.
I found myself reading a LOT more (mostly via the Kindle app on my phone).
It actually inspired me to get an actual Kindle which does help cut down on the "let me flip to social media" when reading.
Also, if you are just getting started then read easy books. You know the 100 classics from highschool. And you after you finish a book, you can find some great analysis of those books online.
One thing I learned is often when you are excited about those easy books, voracious readers are quick to tell you how much the book sucks. "Read this by an obscure author instead". Ignore that until you have read a whole lot of books in your list.
One thing I learned is often when you are excited about those easy books, voracious readers are quick to tell you how much the book sucks. "Read this by an obscure author instead". Ignore that until you have read a whole lot of books in your list.
I’m doing something similar though some of these 100 classics are going to be a bit difficult for those with shorter attention spans, Austen and Dickens come to mind as requiring a high level of attention from me to keep track of all the self referential clauses, also with Homer, for those of us out of school for a long time, Stephen Fry’s four book overview of the underlying myths give a necessary background to fully appreciate Homer. I find for many of the classics I have to reference Wikipedia to understand the historical contexts and some of the archaic practices.
> I removed Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, etc.
I'm always in front of my PC both at work and off the clock. I could set up a proxy/filtering software to block them, but the thing is I need to access them at work as well.
Another thing is, when I "waste" time with websites like HN, sometime I learn something new like this post. Maybe much less often than what books would teach me though.
I'm always in front of my PC both at work and off the clock. I could set up a proxy/filtering software to block them, but the thing is I need to access them at work as well.
Another thing is, when I "waste" time with websites like HN, sometime I learn something new like this post. Maybe much less often than what books would teach me though.
> I still remember having abandoned Siddhartha by Herman Hesse at least three times at the first few pages.
For me it was Catch 22. I think I read the first chapter a half dozen times over a few years. Then one time I just couldn't put it down. Read the whole book, then went back and read it again. I can't even remember what I didn't like about it.
Still for me the issue is this: as a programmer, after spending all day reading or writing words on a screen I just don't energy to put more words into my brain through my eyes. So I'd rather watch a movie.
I listen to a lot of audiobooks because I can do that while I'm doing chores or walking my dog, even though I recognize it's not the same as reading, I seem to retain the information similarly. Mostly fiction though. My two most recent listens: The Diamond Age (the narrator is excellent) and The Vanished Birds. Working on Bel Canto but it's not holding my attention.
For me it was Catch 22. I think I read the first chapter a half dozen times over a few years. Then one time I just couldn't put it down. Read the whole book, then went back and read it again. I can't even remember what I didn't like about it.
Still for me the issue is this: as a programmer, after spending all day reading or writing words on a screen I just don't energy to put more words into my brain through my eyes. So I'd rather watch a movie.
I listen to a lot of audiobooks because I can do that while I'm doing chores or walking my dog, even though I recognize it's not the same as reading, I seem to retain the information similarly. Mostly fiction though. My two most recent listens: The Diamond Age (the narrator is excellent) and The Vanished Birds. Working on Bel Canto but it's not holding my attention.
I read 150 books (mostly short and accessible) in a year a while back. It was one of the happiest times of my life after a very dark period.
https://rory.codes/150-books-in-a-year/
https://rory.codes/150-books-in-a-year/
I find it very hard to find books worth reading. It’s so difficult to separate Signal from noise - there are just too many books and too few reliable curators. Amazon ratings, goodreads, some book awards, best seller lists - they all are sometimes hit, mostly miss for me.
Depends on what you want to read. For fantasy and sci-fi fiction I really like the Youtube community. I did not expect this at all but there are a lot of great "Booktubers" in the 3-5k subscriptions range. Tiktok and Instagram have a lot more "vanity" people and it feels like more of a "look how much I read har-har" kinde of vibe and I avoid them completely.
It is indeed an odd challenge to find good books because I hate to be spoiled and that limits the search options quite a bit.
It is indeed an odd challenge to find good books because I hate to be spoiled and that limits the search options quite a bit.
I really enjoyed the article, particularly the admission of leaving the books unfinished. If reading may be seen as a rational activity, the choosing of a book I think, should be mostly istinctive, and so should deciding to abandon it.
I always have a book with me in case I ever need to wait or have some time to spare, but I still manage to read only about 10 books per year, and that's only because I try to read more; before, it was maybe one or two.
My wife and oldest son can read books in a few hours. My son (17) has read Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. I'm a slow reader. I take forever, find it hard to focus, and often my thoughts distract me from the words on the page.
My youngest son (11) has dyslexia and barely reads. I used to read for him before going to bed, but eventually stopped because I figured he was old enough to read by himself, but he doesn't. So I started again. Now I'm reading Lord of the Rings to him before bedtime. The ritual helps us get through it at a steady pace, but I'm still terribly slow at reading my own books.
My wife and oldest son can read books in a few hours. My son (17) has read Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. I'm a slow reader. I take forever, find it hard to focus, and often my thoughts distract me from the words on the page.
My youngest son (11) has dyslexia and barely reads. I used to read for him before going to bed, but eventually stopped because I figured he was old enough to read by himself, but he doesn't. So I started again. Now I'm reading Lord of the Rings to him before bedtime. The ritual helps us get through it at a steady pace, but I'm still terribly slow at reading my own books.
I used to read a lot when I was small but then fell out of the habit. Rekindled it with my first child. With them I spent a lot of time walking around at all hours of the day to get them to sleep. That were perfect reading opportunities, and I have continued to always carry a book. As TFA says, that is key.
coincidently, I too have started to avoid my phone and reach for my kindle instead. I remind myself I don't need to read about the news everyday. I'd prefer to read a novel/non-fiction than other stuff on the internet.
I do love listening to youtube talks about tech so I try to make space for that though.
When I do read a good book - I do try to makes notes of it. But I haven't had much time for it these days with a little one. (This is for non-fiction books). But even for fiction I keep a list and give a one liner of the plot and a rating. Its for my own personal use.
Writing down notes helps with later recall of the information - being handed the notes by others helps less with recall than doing it yourself.
I do love listening to youtube talks about tech so I try to make space for that though.
When I do read a good book - I do try to makes notes of it. But I haven't had much time for it these days with a little one. (This is for non-fiction books). But even for fiction I keep a list and give a one liner of the plot and a rating. Its for my own personal use.
Writing down notes helps with later recall of the information - being handed the notes by others helps less with recall than doing it yourself.
The most distracting app for me is Telegram with numerous channels, which I find myself doomscrolling too often, and at the same with numerous crucial personal contracts.
Really sad modern phones don't allow to set app's budget for custom interval, like 5 minutes in an hour.
Really sad modern phones don't allow to set app's budget for custom interval, like 5 minutes in an hour.
I've ditched all Telegram channels and only kept a few I'm quite fond of (they post rarely anyway)
You could try ScreenZen or a similar app that help control nd reduce the time you spend on certain apps.
Nowadays, you can such apps in a few prompts and some minor tweaks :)
You could try ScreenZen or a similar app that help control nd reduce the time you spend on certain apps.
Nowadays, you can such apps in a few prompts and some minor tweaks :)
Thanks. Honestly, I am somewhat concerned with all those 3rd party apps obtaining some control of my phone. Personally, would be so much nicer to have the same service provided by system. Vibecoding one is really an option.
Thanks. Honestly, I am somewhat concerned with all those 3rd party apps obtaining some control of my phone. Personally, would be so much nicer to have the same service provided by system
I did a similar thing a few years ago, I deleted reddit, social media, and other time-wasters from my phone, and now I keep a queue of books in an e-reader app. When I have a few idle moments somewhere, my options are to sit and think (sometimes a nice option), or read some book.
I get through about 2 books per month this way. I haven't noticed eye strain issues, but I tend to keep the brightness low and the font size reasonable. If you struggle with eye strain, you might benefit from an e-book phone case (e.g., https://www.inkcase.com/inkcase-for-iphone/) if you don't want to carry a separate device.
I get through about 2 books per month this way. I haven't noticed eye strain issues, but I tend to keep the brightness low and the font size reasonable. If you struggle with eye strain, you might benefit from an e-book phone case (e.g., https://www.inkcase.com/inkcase-for-iphone/) if you don't want to carry a separate device.
$0.02: the way to read more books is with a really good pair of earbuds.
The Libby app (with Audible to fill in the blanks) makes it incredibly easy to train up your listening speed dramatically, making it possible to finish several books per week for free, while doing your morning rituals, commuting, washing the dishes.
The thing you have to absorb is that reading more does not come at the cost of doing other things, unless those other things are podcasts or recorded music.
You just have to be somewhat assertive about realizing that if you shave for 3-4 minutes, that's 1% of a novel at 2.5x speed. All of those interstitial moments in your day add up, fast.
The Libby app (with Audible to fill in the blanks) makes it incredibly easy to train up your listening speed dramatically, making it possible to finish several books per week for free, while doing your morning rituals, commuting, washing the dishes.
The thing you have to absorb is that reading more does not come at the cost of doing other things, unless those other things are podcasts or recorded music.
You just have to be somewhat assertive about realizing that if you shave for 3-4 minutes, that's 1% of a novel at 2.5x speed. All of those interstitial moments in your day add up, fast.
I think audio books are to reading as e-bikes are to biking. Yes, in some sense they are the same. But in some important ways they aren’t.
I have probably upset two groups of people and sorry for that. I don’t want to yuck your yum, I just think the differentiation between these categories matters.
I have probably upset two groups of people and sorry for that. I don’t want to yuck your yum, I just think the differentiation between these categories matters.
I'll defer to John Green, here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80SCl6n0TEo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80SCl6n0TEo
That's a very shallow understanding of reading, especially coming from an author.
No, reading is not just about getting the idea from the author. It's an experience in and of itself, and the lack of something makes the experience just as much as the presence of something.
It's almost like saying a comic and an animation are the same thing, or that an animation is better, since it has more possibilities.
There's this tendency to treat things as if they're the same, otherwise one is inferior. But that's just not the case. Two things can be both different and valuable in their own way.
No, reading is not just about getting the idea from the author. It's an experience in and of itself, and the lack of something makes the experience just as much as the presence of something.
It's almost like saying a comic and an animation are the same thing, or that an animation is better, since it has more possibilities.
There's this tendency to treat things as if they're the same, otherwise one is inferior. But that's just not the case. Two things can be both different and valuable in their own way.
Personally I am incapable of maintaining concentration on an audiobook while doing even mundane chores. I can only listen to audiobooks on longer drives or road run/bike rides. So I stick with podcasts around the house where attention lapsing for a minute less likely to cause you to lose the whole thread.
I'm the same way for fiction, but there's a certain class of non-fiction audiobooks (memoirs, (auto)biography, essays, etc) that works very well for me even when doing light chores.
It's made me much more selective about what podcasts I listen to, since I've realized just how information-poor most of them are.
I do still enjoy a good interview, or even just the para-social pleasure of "hanging out" with hosts I like, but I'm now doing so consciously and not by default.
It's made me much more selective about what podcasts I listen to, since I've realized just how information-poor most of them are.
I do still enjoy a good interview, or even just the para-social pleasure of "hanging out" with hosts I like, but I'm now doing so consciously and not by default.
It is a skill that you can develop.
I have an old iPad, which doesn't seem to run anything other than the default apps, hence it is distraction free in a sense. The only thing I use it for is to read, works quite well and I have managed to accomplish reading quite a few books.
I've read 31 novels since January, far more than I'd read in the last 30 years.
Easy: I read 50 pages every night when I go to bed, instead of screens.
I started with short novels, 150 pages or fewer (chatgpt gave me a reading list).
It quickly became a habit, and it's lovely.
Easy: I read 50 pages every night when I go to bed, instead of screens.
I started with short novels, 150 pages or fewer (chatgpt gave me a reading list).
It quickly became a habit, and it's lovely.
That's crazy speed!
I recommend readera. It is a non ugly app with can sync to Google drive which prevents you from losing your ebooks when you delete them which can also happen by accident. I can't describe how other apps on Android is so ugly.
I’ve been leaning into audiobooks for the past two years and it’s completely revitalized my intellectual life. I feel alive in ways I’d forgotten. And it extends beyond audiobooks too. I started carrying a paperback around with me, reading philosophy and history again. I even got a subscription to the NY Review of Books! Someone I know got me into neo-pragmatism and I fell in love with Richard Rorty. There’s something qualitatively different about sticking with a person who goes really deep into a topic, and benefitting from their years of reflection and research.
I love this blog, I appreciate the author.
I want to add one thing : Reading for the right purpose is more important than just reading as fast as possible.
I want to add one thing : Reading for the right purpose is more important than just reading as fast as possible.
I find it so hard to read with two toddlers. But find your tips inspiring tbh.
Having books on several devices makes reading more convenient. DRM-Free books make that easy, so you can read whether you have your phone, tablet, or PC. For a list of DRM-free authors and publishers: https://frequal.com/Perspectives/DrmFreeAuthors.html
- get books you want to read
- choose a time (in the evening)
1. after that time, screens become forbidden
2. read until you're sleepy
3. sleep
- choose a time (in the evening)
1. after that time, screens become forbidden
2. read until you're sleepy
3. sleep
From when I learned to read up to the end of my 20s I read much more than one book per week. Whoever after 30 or maybe a bit before I started to read less and less, until now where I read vert rarely (usually on plane).
I don't know why. Maybe it's psychological. Maybe it's just ageing. Maybe it's my brain fried first by internet then by the smartphone.
I still buy more books than I read, probably unconsciously hoping that one day the flame that pushed me to devour so many books will get ablaze again
I don't know why. Maybe it's psychological. Maybe it's just ageing. Maybe it's my brain fried first by internet then by the smartphone.
I still buy more books than I read, probably unconsciously hoping that one day the flame that pushed me to devour so many books will get ablaze again
Do those time ranges align with the rise of smartphones perhaps?
It indeed started when I had ADSL (quite late) and increased when I got a smartphone
> Maybe it's my brain fried first by internet then by the smartphone.
Same. I started to read significantly less once I had a PC with Internet access. Also stopped playing video games. Then, with smartphones, I stopped reading books altogether.
Same. I started to read significantly less once I had a PC with Internet access. Also stopped playing video games. Then, with smartphones, I stopped reading books altogether.
This would not work for me. I cannot read fast so a book a week is not feasible for me. I also do not agree about audio books. It depends how you consume them. I have read a book and listened to the audio, for me audio is quicker; for either I get the same experience.
The above is obviously personal. Also is only related to fiction for me. If I'm learning something I prefer a physical book everytime.
The above is obviously personal. Also is only related to fiction for me. If I'm learning something I prefer a physical book everytime.
In several countries, you can find Little Free Libraries, a non-profit with a registry of small libraries like the book boxes in front of homes described in the article: https://littlefreelibrary.org/about/
No discussion of what books and why. It's just taken as granted that it's good to read lots of books, to be a reader.
I'm not necessarily disagreeing. But I also want to think critically about why I read books. I don't want to read books just so I can tell people I read lots of books.
I've concluded that I read for entertainment, to understand other people, and for community - to have something in common with other readers of that book. Three recent books:
The most recent book I read was Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett. Very much in the entertainment category, but also for community: it's nice to have something in common, shared reference points, something to talk about with all the nice people loving these books, including family.
Then a book Norwegian book called "Men who hate local history", which I bought because I was traveling alone with limited other entertainment, and had heard about it and wanted to know what it was about (understanding people). But its entertainment value was questionable, and by god, it has more "serious Norwegian literature" clichés than "genre books" (what these authors absolutely do not want to get associated with) have "genre clichés". It IS a genre, just not a very entertaining one. Put it down, unsure if I will finish this one.
I tried to read Stefan Zweig, "The world of yesterday". That was strictly "understanding people". "Famous Jewish playwrights of the final days Austro-Hungarian empire" are not people I would think I have much in common with, and I don't, and it at times makes it downright alienating reading. Like, I can see he was absolutely starstruck by the art and culture of his time and place, and I can see that this time and place was hugely influential and had profound impacts on our world today (I've seen it claimed you could theoretically meet Hitler, Stalin, Tito, Trotsky etc. on the street in Vienna in these years, as well as Freud and all the art world celebrities Zweig obsessed over). But I just can't say I feel that sense of wonder myself and man, is it bleak reading. I put it down indefinitely.
I'm not necessarily disagreeing. But I also want to think critically about why I read books. I don't want to read books just so I can tell people I read lots of books.
I've concluded that I read for entertainment, to understand other people, and for community - to have something in common with other readers of that book. Three recent books:
The most recent book I read was Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett. Very much in the entertainment category, but also for community: it's nice to have something in common, shared reference points, something to talk about with all the nice people loving these books, including family.
Then a book Norwegian book called "Men who hate local history", which I bought because I was traveling alone with limited other entertainment, and had heard about it and wanted to know what it was about (understanding people). But its entertainment value was questionable, and by god, it has more "serious Norwegian literature" clichés than "genre books" (what these authors absolutely do not want to get associated with) have "genre clichés". It IS a genre, just not a very entertaining one. Put it down, unsure if I will finish this one.
I tried to read Stefan Zweig, "The world of yesterday". That was strictly "understanding people". "Famous Jewish playwrights of the final days Austro-Hungarian empire" are not people I would think I have much in common with, and I don't, and it at times makes it downright alienating reading. Like, I can see he was absolutely starstruck by the art and culture of his time and place, and I can see that this time and place was hugely influential and had profound impacts on our world today (I've seen it claimed you could theoretically meet Hitler, Stalin, Tito, Trotsky etc. on the street in Vienna in these years, as well as Freud and all the art world celebrities Zweig obsessed over). But I just can't say I feel that sense of wonder myself and man, is it bleak reading. I put it down indefinitely.
- I had the exact same thought as you: “No discussion of what books and why.” But while reading your comment, I realized that I am actually fine with that. I really do not want to think critically about why I read books. Over the years, I have come to feel that many of the things I find worthwhile are somewhat self-evidently worthwhile (appreciating art comes to mind). Do you really want to think critically about why you enjoy spending time with people you like? Also, part of the joy of reading, for me, is precisely that it helps me get outside my own head and avoid that kind of critical thinking.
- Regarding "The World of Yesterday", I should say that it was one of the most impressive books I have ever read. I still often remember particular passages and the emotions they evoked. There is also a certain irony in your saying that you cannot relate to it, because part of what makes the book so fascinating is that it describes a time that is chronologically quite close to our own, yet also profoundly different, beautiful, and completely gone. My two cents: please give it another try!
- Regarding "The World of Yesterday", I should say that it was one of the most impressive books I have ever read. I still often remember particular passages and the emotions they evoked. There is also a certain irony in your saying that you cannot relate to it, because part of what makes the book so fascinating is that it describes a time that is chronologically quite close to our own, yet also profoundly different, beautiful, and completely gone. My two cents: please give it another try!
I do want to think critically about why I read specific books. It doesn't take away from my enjoyment if the answer is just "I really enjoy the writing". And when the answer is about other people, then I think it's good to be aware of it - so you can say, for instance, "I'm glad I have all these books as a shared experience with all my fellow Terry Pratchett fans" --- or maybe, "Why do I care about what these people think?".
About "The World of Yesterday", I can only say that e.g. Zweig speaking about how he was moved to tears by some piece of art feels a bit alienating, when the art has no such effect on me. What you say
> it describes a time that is chronologically quite close to our own, yet also profoundly different, beautiful, and completely gone.
IS why I find the book interesting, there's just an asterisk by "beautiful" for me, since clearly Zweig thought it a lot more beautiful than I do. I can't feel what he's feeling just from him describing it, since recent as it may be, his background was completely different from my own in most ways I can think of. I do think it's likely I'll pick it up again, but I can't relate well to it on a personal level.
About "The World of Yesterday", I can only say that e.g. Zweig speaking about how he was moved to tears by some piece of art feels a bit alienating, when the art has no such effect on me. What you say
> it describes a time that is chronologically quite close to our own, yet also profoundly different, beautiful, and completely gone.
IS why I find the book interesting, there's just an asterisk by "beautiful" for me, since clearly Zweig thought it a lot more beautiful than I do. I can't feel what he's feeling just from him describing it, since recent as it may be, his background was completely different from my own in most ways I can think of. I do think it's likely I'll pick it up again, but I can't relate well to it on a personal level.
This is advice from someone who went from 10 books/year to 52 (1 book/week as described).
I think practical tips for someone already a frequent reader are probably different that for someone who reads 'a bit', a few a year at most. I'd be very happy if I got to 10/year consistently. But that would a) be more than 5.2x-ing; b) be a harder initial curve than the 10 to 52 region, I imagine.
I think practical tips for someone already a frequent reader are probably different that for someone who reads 'a bit', a few a year at most. I'd be very happy if I got to 10/year consistently. But that would a) be more than 5.2x-ing; b) be a harder initial curve than the 10 to 52 region, I imagine.
It's like lifting weight. Start with 10 pages a day every day. And then it will become too easy. Then move to 15 pages a day. Etc.
Read books you enjoy.
Read books you enjoy.
This past year I've been reading more again, and in the past four or five months I've had the goal of reading every day. No fixed number of page or chapters, just read. It's also incredibly depended on the book if you can read 100 pages or just 10. But you're right, it becomes easier and it over time becomes your default entertainment, presumably because you brain sees it as the easy choice.
One thing that have made it easier for be though has been the decline of everything else. As someone pointed out, the internet isn't the internet we grew up with, TV shows mostly suck now and are all designed for binge watching which leaves me feeling physically ill. Same with e.g. YouTube, there are still creators who's content I enjoy, but the YouTube algorithm seems to force me out of a tangent and preferably into Shorts. Much of this algorithmicly pushed content makes me feel ill, so I try to steer clear of it.
So now I buy used books, most happens to be published in the 1970s for some reason. There are so many out there that I'll never run out of things to read and at €1-2 per books, it's cheap.
One thing that have made it easier for be though has been the decline of everything else. As someone pointed out, the internet isn't the internet we grew up with, TV shows mostly suck now and are all designed for binge watching which leaves me feeling physically ill. Same with e.g. YouTube, there are still creators who's content I enjoy, but the YouTube algorithm seems to force me out of a tangent and preferably into Shorts. Much of this algorithmicly pushed content makes me feel ill, so I try to steer clear of it.
So now I buy used books, most happens to be published in the 1970s for some reason. There are so many out there that I'll never run out of things to read and at €1-2 per books, it's cheap.
> First of all, you don’t have to make time to read. What you need to do is read every single time you are not doing something else.
(Proceeds to describe how they made time for reading by removing other distractions.)
I'm trying to read more books, but I easily fall into the trap of staying up late reading good books, and I have trouble recovering from sleep deficit these days.
(Proceeds to describe how they made time for reading by removing other distractions.)
I'm trying to read more books, but I easily fall into the trap of staying up late reading good books, and I have trouble recovering from sleep deficit these days.
Lots of good advice here. I also read one book a week and wanted to add my POV. I don't put any special effort into reading books during my downtime, as the OP describes here. I just read when I feel like it and before bed.
I found reading during meals allowed me to dramatically increase the number of books I got through. It gives about 40 minutes per day, that can sometimes extend to a couple hours if the book is good, schedule allowing.
To me, having these blocks of times sound better than trying to read a sentence or two in the white space around other activities.
To me, having these blocks of times sound better than trying to read a sentence or two in the white space around other activities.
"Avoid even audiobooks. Big corporations want to grab your attention by trying to market audiobooks as books for busy people, but don’t fall for the trap."
What nonsense. I doubled my number of books by using audiobooks. Audiobooks slow you down as well, so you can enjoy fiction at a slower pace since x3 is the fastest you can go (plus silence trimming for extra speedup). Even at slower speed I more than doubled the number because of how much dead time exists in our lives.
Maybe if you are rich, have servants and can spend any amount of time you want reading then you can stick to paper.
What nonsense. I doubled my number of books by using audiobooks. Audiobooks slow you down as well, so you can enjoy fiction at a slower pace since x3 is the fastest you can go (plus silence trimming for extra speedup). Even at slower speed I more than doubled the number because of how much dead time exists in our lives.
Maybe if you are rich, have servants and can spend any amount of time you want reading then you can stick to paper.
> Another secret is to not be scared of quitting a book. I definitely start way more than I finish. But I don’t consider an uncompleted book a failure or a bad book. I think that sometimes books have a certain time to be fully appreciated. So if I don’t finish a book today, I might try reading it again in the future.
Well said. On a related note, I think the idea of coming back to books later is essential to reading non-fiction, as I've personally found it much more productive to read until I think I've "got it", and then revisit it a few months later with a new (ideally better informed) perspective.
Well said. On a related note, I think the idea of coming back to books later is essential to reading non-fiction, as I've personally found it much more productive to read until I think I've "got it", and then revisit it a few months later with a new (ideally better informed) perspective.
Good post. Reading when you're not doing something else - this is a good mindset. I've found that the more that I enjoy a book, the more time I have "not doing something else".
The key is getting immersed in a book in the same way that you might get immersed in a movie or a genre of music or some other thing that gets you in a zone. Fall into the rabbit hole. Joining r/bookclub or some other online book discussion group helps me fall deep into the rabbit hole. In lieu of an online book discussion group, chatting with my/your preferred LLM is a good tactic. I recommend finishing a chapter, then going to your LLM and saying "I just finished chapter 1 of Heller's Catch 22" ... that's pretty much enough of a prompt to get it to give you a synopsis with some questions to help you reflect on what you read.
The key is getting immersed in a book in the same way that you might get immersed in a movie or a genre of music or some other thing that gets you in a zone. Fall into the rabbit hole. Joining r/bookclub or some other online book discussion group helps me fall deep into the rabbit hole. In lieu of an online book discussion group, chatting with my/your preferred LLM is a good tactic. I recommend finishing a chapter, then going to your LLM and saying "I just finished chapter 1 of Heller's Catch 22" ... that's pretty much enough of a prompt to get it to give you a synopsis with some questions to help you reflect on what you read.
Because success is an end unto itself, my plan to succeed at reading more books will begin by reading zero books.
Obviously the longer I spend reading no books, the greater my success will be. Time to install TikTok to the homescreen.
Zero to One, Baby.
Obviously the longer I spend reading no books, the greater my success will be. Time to install TikTok to the homescreen.
Zero to One, Baby.
I adore my XTEink 4 with the crosspoint firmware. Best small form factor ereader
been thinking about buying one, but the whole debacle with locking down the fw put me off for a bit.
I agree it's an annoyance. However, the only thing that's locked on those is USB flashing. It is still possible to flash from an SD card.
I recently bought a locked Xteink X4 and installed Crosspoint. It's great! (And I've been reading a lot more.)
https://github.com/crosspoint-reader/crosspoint-reader#usb-l...
P.S. Their official site, https://xteink.com, seems to sell unlocked devices.
I recently bought a locked Xteink X4 and installed Crosspoint. It's great! (And I've been reading a lot more.)
https://github.com/crosspoint-reader/crosspoint-reader#usb-l...
P.S. Their official site, https://xteink.com, seems to sell unlocked devices.
Oh I didn't hear about this. That sucks. The stock firmware is terrible. CrossPoint makes it usable.
they have a partnership with crosspoint now i think its fine now
Personally: make a reading app the only app icon on your home screen on your phone. When reading is the easiest action, you choose it fairly often.
I started a habit to read during my lunch/dinner breaks. I wear headphones, put on some lo-fi beats or jazz, and read a chapter or two until I'm done eating.
I really enjoy it and it's a nice reprieve especially at work.
I really enjoy it and it's a nice reprieve especially at work.
Got recommendations for specific songs / groups for Lo-Fi beats & jazz? What I've found is that many lo-fi playlists contain songs that have a lot of distracting noises (voices, distorted guitar twang, rain drops, record crackle, etc) - so I've been slowly-but-surely making playlists of study/reading songs.
Thanks!
Thanks!
No recommendations to fix that, I usually just look up some lo-fi playlist on Spotify. I actually listen to lots of video game music (i.e. Diablo 4, Final Fantasy, etc.) as well.
You want to read more? Miss phone calls, meals, breaking news; forego an hour or two of rest; work on your core; replace all clocks indoors with sundials. Print. Scan. Pirate. Dig the crates. Sail the seas. It's not a technological problem. It's not a device problem. It's you. You don't want it enough. You don't want to read.
Maybe you should take up cycling. Maybe you need to write more. Maybe you aren't eating enough fruit. Maybe you need a little caffeine. Maybe it's the air quality. We don't think it's microplastics.
Your friends who read. Maybe it's their fault. They're not printing enough. Or sending enough screenshots. Why haven't you caught them outside on street medians reading out loud? To whoever. They're not setting for you the right example.
Audio books won't cut it. Hey big guy why don't stick one a them foam feet thingies in between ya toes while ya at it huh! And cut some cucumbers to recess the bags under ya eyes so people wont mistake ya for a guy who actually reads his books and will not following the family to their trip to Monaco this summer, no, sorry Donna, I'll be here at home with the books. The dog will have to learn to fend on its own as will the plants, your niece and nephew.
Maybe you should take up cycling. Maybe you need to write more. Maybe you aren't eating enough fruit. Maybe you need a little caffeine. Maybe it's the air quality. We don't think it's microplastics.
Your friends who read. Maybe it's their fault. They're not printing enough. Or sending enough screenshots. Why haven't you caught them outside on street medians reading out loud? To whoever. They're not setting for you the right example.
Audio books won't cut it. Hey big guy why don't stick one a them foam feet thingies in between ya toes while ya at it huh! And cut some cucumbers to recess the bags under ya eyes so people wont mistake ya for a guy who actually reads his books and will not following the family to their trip to Monaco this summer, no, sorry Donna, I'll be here at home with the books. The dog will have to learn to fend on its own as will the plants, your niece and nephew.
For staying motivated to read, I like to set up and read small clusters of books then write about them. Being able to put a bow on a reading project is easier to stick with than reading X books in a year.
Replacing phone use with reading is good, but making every waking moment productive by reading is sad (_I don’t waste my free time with nothing to read_), in my opinion. Jesus, even reading while walking. I would suggest anybody reading this to enjoy some time of total idleness, which I think it is much more necessary than reading more in today's hectic world.
I am curious how it works for people with ADHD.
I mean, I would love to read more books (and I have a very long backlog), but very rarely I find them stimulating enough to sustain attention. And if they do... well, then time flies and other commitments are missed.
Sure, everyone's ADHD is different and I know quite a lot of people, for whom book are go-to. For me there is a narrow bar between not enough stimulated to start, and too stimulated so in my own words of a thousand thoughts.
I mean, I would love to read more books (and I have a very long backlog), but very rarely I find them stimulating enough to sustain attention. And if they do... well, then time flies and other commitments are missed.
Sure, everyone's ADHD is different and I know quite a lot of people, for whom book are go-to. For me there is a narrow bar between not enough stimulated to start, and too stimulated so in my own words of a thousand thoughts.
I did something similar two years ago : I set up MacroDroid such that it opens CoolReader every time I unlock my phone
> Another secret is to not be scared of quitting a book. I definitely start way more than I finish. But I don’t consider an uncompleted book a failure or a bad book. I think that sometimes books have a certain time to be fully appreciated. So if I don’t finish a book today, I might try reading it again in the future.
Well said. I think this is especially true for non-fiction, as I personally find it much more productive to read until I think I've "got it", and then revisit it a few months later with a new (ideally better informed) perspective.
Well said. I think this is especially true for non-fiction, as I personally find it much more productive to read until I think I've "got it", and then revisit it a few months later with a new (ideally better informed) perspective.
> I have become good at walking my dog while reading — I even got complimented for that by a stranger — and I make sure I never go to the bathroom without a book.
Come on now, what is this Monty Python?
Come on now, what is this Monty Python?
Street Libraries are the best! +1 from Aus
I’m not as avid a reader as the author, but I can still offer one piece of advice: remembering what you read is important.
https://world.hey.com/otar/remembering-what-you-read-8b70cf6...
https://world.hey.com/otar/remembering-what-you-read-8b70cf6...
Use reading book to replace reading phone is a good habit or strategy.
Not only read book, but also thinking them is a must thing.
Sometime you want to go outside from your home to see the real world.
Don't forget the real world, reading book lets you absorb the knowledge, but most time they are not right， accurate, or you don't understand them, the real world can tell you the real knowledge.
Not only read book, but also thinking them is a must thing.
Sometime you want to go outside from your home to see the real world.
Don't forget the real world, reading book lets you absorb the knowledge, but most time they are not right， accurate, or you don't understand them, the real world can tell you the real knowledge.
Watching TV as well. I find I get more out of books than binge watching series. Books require more active use of your imaginative faculties.
but this is means reads only to read
sometime for books that I choose I nred something like a table and chair pen a paper to really read the text that written
sometime for books that I choose I nred something like a table and chair pen a paper to really read the text that written
I don't want to read more books though. I want to gain more skill and knowledge. Reading a book is a vehicle, but aiming for X books read is likely to mean not comprehending everything. I like to mull on ideas. Also some books are meh and you want to skip over chapters.
I mean, why do people stress a lot about reading more books?
I'd split this question into a set of parts:
- Why to read?
- How to read (from a literary / skills perspective)?
- What to read: authors, topics, books, etc?
- How to read (practice / technology)?
Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book addresses most of the first three questions, and ... would be a good book to read itself. For an overview of it:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Read_a_Book> (Wikipedia)
<https://archive.org/details/howtoreadabook1940edition/page/n...> (Fully online copy, 1940 edition).
Adler starts of with the whys: entertainment, information, understanding, and syntopical (mastery). I'd add to his list reading for reading, whether that's to build the habit itself, or to increase your own skills in your first or additional languages. To which I'd only add: understand why you want to read, or are reading, and if you wish to remain with that motivation or seek others.
In how he discusses the different types and levels of reading, from skimming to deep analysis. These both suit different goals (whys), and demand very different levels of intention and attention.
For both these sections I'd strongly recommend you read Adler's own discussion, though there's a good overview in a Farnham Street blog post on the book: <https://fs.blog/how-to-read-a-book/> (itself discussed briefly at HN <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26450303>).
As to what to read, beyond the extent to which that's addressed in the "why" and "how" discussion, Adler includes a list of 300 or so significant works which would make a good starting ground for general background.
For myself, I've used various sets of recommendations, including literary awards and recommendations at websites, as well as starting with a question, looking for books on those topics, and then heavily mining bibliographies and citations (the former: works cited by what I'm reading, the latter citations of the work I've read) for further exploration. Past a point, finding material worth reading actually does become a challenge, despite the tremendous volume of published works (hundreds of thousands to a million or more books through much of the 20th century and beyond).
On how to read: I'm fond of physical books, but a bookreader (e-ink if possible) is an excellent way to carry a large (thousands or more volumes) of books, and audiobooks are quite accessible. I've had mixed experiences with Onyx BOOX --- the displays are wonderful, but as with most e-book readers on device organisation of a large library is ... poorly supported. Physical device reliability and support through the vendor have been more recent frustrations. And I'm increasingly not a fan of Android in any form (the BOOX devices run a de-Googled Android). I'm not aware of anything markedly better, unfortunately. I would recommend the largest device you can comfortably carry, with 8--10" probably being the sweet spot. Smaller devices are more portable, but really don't support written material particularly well.
For audiobooks, Librivox (https://librivox.org/), public library apps such as Libby and Hoopla, and government-supported programmes such as the US Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS/BARD: <https://www.loc.gov/nls/> and <https://www.loc.gov/nls/services-and-resources/catalog-and-b...>) are all excellent options. The NLS/BARD service is free to qualified individuals, and includes not only over 300,000 audiobook titles (plus Braille), but free apps (iOS, Android) and physical e-book readers. If you or someone you know has visual or reading disabilities, and you live in the US or a territory, do check it out. A medical professional (doctor, optometrist, nurse, or other) can provide an eligibility statement. See <https://www.loc.gov/nls/services-and-resources/catalog-and-b...>.
Upshot: figure out why you want to read and what. Adler's a good source on the how (there are other guides, including similarly titled ones). Books are all over, in meatspace, libraries, online, etc. Figure out how you prefer to (or need to) read. And then just get into it.
- Why to read?
- How to read (from a literary / skills perspective)?
- What to read: authors, topics, books, etc?
- How to read (practice / technology)?
Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book addresses most of the first three questions, and ... would be a good book to read itself. For an overview of it:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Read_a_Book> (Wikipedia)
<https://archive.org/details/howtoreadabook1940edition/page/n...> (Fully online copy, 1940 edition).
Adler starts of with the whys: entertainment, information, understanding, and syntopical (mastery). I'd add to his list reading for reading, whether that's to build the habit itself, or to increase your own skills in your first or additional languages. To which I'd only add: understand why you want to read, or are reading, and if you wish to remain with that motivation or seek others.
In how he discusses the different types and levels of reading, from skimming to deep analysis. These both suit different goals (whys), and demand very different levels of intention and attention.
For both these sections I'd strongly recommend you read Adler's own discussion, though there's a good overview in a Farnham Street blog post on the book: <https://fs.blog/how-to-read-a-book/> (itself discussed briefly at HN <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26450303>).
As to what to read, beyond the extent to which that's addressed in the "why" and "how" discussion, Adler includes a list of 300 or so significant works which would make a good starting ground for general background.
For myself, I've used various sets of recommendations, including literary awards and recommendations at websites, as well as starting with a question, looking for books on those topics, and then heavily mining bibliographies and citations (the former: works cited by what I'm reading, the latter citations of the work I've read) for further exploration. Past a point, finding material worth reading actually does become a challenge, despite the tremendous volume of published works (hundreds of thousands to a million or more books through much of the 20th century and beyond).
On how to read: I'm fond of physical books, but a bookreader (e-ink if possible) is an excellent way to carry a large (thousands or more volumes) of books, and audiobooks are quite accessible. I've had mixed experiences with Onyx BOOX --- the displays are wonderful, but as with most e-book readers on device organisation of a large library is ... poorly supported. Physical device reliability and support through the vendor have been more recent frustrations. And I'm increasingly not a fan of Android in any form (the BOOX devices run a de-Googled Android). I'm not aware of anything markedly better, unfortunately. I would recommend the largest device you can comfortably carry, with 8--10" probably being the sweet spot. Smaller devices are more portable, but really don't support written material particularly well.
For audiobooks, Librivox (https://librivox.org/), public library apps such as Libby and Hoopla, and government-supported programmes such as the US Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS/BARD: <https://www.loc.gov/nls/> and <https://www.loc.gov/nls/services-and-resources/catalog-and-b...>) are all excellent options. The NLS/BARD service is free to qualified individuals, and includes not only over 300,000 audiobook titles (plus Braille), but free apps (iOS, Android) and physical e-book readers. If you or someone you know has visual or reading disabilities, and you live in the US or a territory, do check it out. A medical professional (doctor, optometrist, nurse, or other) can provide an eligibility statement. See <https://www.loc.gov/nls/services-and-resources/catalog-and-b...>.
Upshot: figure out why you want to read and what. Adler's a good source on the how (there are other guides, including similarly titled ones). Books are all over, in meatspace, libraries, online, etc. Figure out how you prefer to (or need to) read. And then just get into it.
> Past a point, finding material worth reading actually does become a challenge, despite the tremendous volume of published works (hundreds of thousands to a million or more books through much of the 20th century and beyond).
Where does that point arrive? I'm right now at a point where my to read list is increasing faster than I can read, because I keep adding books mentioned in the other books I''m reading.
Where does that point arrive? I'm right now at a point where my to read list is increasing faster than I can read, because I keep adding books mentioned in the other books I''m reading.
To an extent it depends on what your interests are, what your research skills are, and how well you can articulate what it is you're looking for. That last especially if you're dependent on others to find materials of interest.
For someone reading for distraction, with narrow interests and tastes, who's covered most of the obvious canon (Great Books, literary prizes/awards, etc.), coming up with useful recommendations gets challenging.
Mind: I'm describing others, not myself, for whom the situation is similar to what you describe. I am getting better at realising that many of the works I'm referred to by the means mentioned earlier (references and citations) aren't especially illuminating, though at least for now, many others are. More books than time is still my status.
The problem as stated derives largely from what I've heard of trying to keep a very literary visually-disabled person with refined and/or narrow tastes "in books". A few thousand titles in, and much of the low-hanging fruit is harvested, and recommendations (friends, book reviews, AI/LLM) tend to either replicate books already read or come up with inappropriate / unsatisfactory recommendations.
For someone reading for distraction, with narrow interests and tastes, who's covered most of the obvious canon (Great Books, literary prizes/awards, etc.), coming up with useful recommendations gets challenging.
Mind: I'm describing others, not myself, for whom the situation is similar to what you describe. I am getting better at realising that many of the works I'm referred to by the means mentioned earlier (references and citations) aren't especially illuminating, though at least for now, many others are. More books than time is still my status.
The problem as stated derives largely from what I've heard of trying to keep a very literary visually-disabled person with refined and/or narrow tastes "in books". A few thousand titles in, and much of the low-hanging fruit is harvested, and recommendations (friends, book reviews, AI/LLM) tend to either replicate books already read or come up with inappropriate / unsatisfactory recommendations.
I'm just reading for my own pleasure, and if any other book which seems interesting is mentioned in a book, or any person of interest, or place of interest, then that's another one to the list. Of course it's hit-or-miss, but fairly soon into a new book you know if it's worth continuing.
If you've covered most of the obvious canon, then that person has read a lot and must have developed their tastes and curiosity into new paths, where there again is an endless variety. Unless there's a more urgent need for real life living instead of books.
If you've covered most of the obvious canon, then that person has read a lot and must have developed their tastes and curiosity into new paths, where there again is an endless variety. Unless there's a more urgent need for real life living instead of books.
cool
1. Open book.
2. Point face at page.
3. Wait.
4. Turn page.
5. When last page, close book.
6. Acquire new book.
7. Repeat.
2. Point face at page.
3. Wait.
4. Turn page.
5. When last page, close book.
6. Acquire new book.
7. Repeat.
I've found my reading picked dramatically since I started using LLMs for programming. Waiting for a prompt to finish is a great time to read.
My setup is read a few pages while taking a bath, after walking the dog. I listen to the audio book verision (libravox app) while walking the dog. Since I walk the dog every day for an hour. It adds up. Large earmuff / noise cancelling headphones helps with the voice clarity. I also take my m4/3 camera with 14-140mm lens (28-280mm equivalent) with me. So I managed to get quite nice photos/clips of lots of birds/insects on my trail walks. Have a camera sling bag from national geographic (explorer bag) thats small and swings around so I can open it without taking it off. And have the dog on a leash tied to my belt, to keep my hands free. So can even get some runs / interval training in if I want to. So In one hour, I usually get about 2 miles in, walk the dog, listen to audio book and do some bird photography. I also sometimes take a dji neo 2 drone, can even capture beautiful sunsets. Pretty cheap and efficient setup. Can recommend.
All I had to do to read more was reserve time specifically for it. On week days that will be late evening, on the weekend I can sneak in extra time in the am. I haven't had to "block" anything, but I don't use my phone for much, just my laptop.
As long as you realize reading more books is like getting a higher score in a game.
There are books written on how to be better at chess, even though no human can beat their phone at chess.
As long as you know that that's what you're doing.
There are books written on how to be better at chess, even though no human can beat their phone at chess.
As long as you know that that's what you're doing.
A big strategy not mentioned is to pick smaller books. If you have a bunch of books that are only 30-50 pages long you can read much more books than full length novels.
I'm surprised carrying my kindle in a small day sling gets it more read than pulling out my phone or scrolling.
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47295304
I used to be able to read a lot while commuting. Unfortunately, many other passengers now delight in either yapping loudly on their phone or playing utter shit on its speakers. It takes me out of it...
In the UK there are "quiet coaches" which sometimes work. Sadly, though, our social conventions are crumbling. British people don't like confrontation and use the "tut" as a sign of strong disapproval. This is understood by fellow Brits as they'll lose at least a week of sleep if a tut is applied, but it's not understood by others in our society.
I live in the UK. I give those people more than a tut.
I really appreciate the writing style. It’s human written. A breath of fresh air in an ocean of AI slop.
The question is why? Why do you think reading books is a more valuable use of your time than reading posts or watching video essays. Anybody can look at an immature medium and write it off as a waste of time. In 100 years parents will tell children to scroll tiktok instead of playing on the Zorp, don't you want to be part of that rather than the footnote, 'Oh yeah people were still writing scrolls in the 1700s'. Books are random access, if we apply your structural idea we would say book authors and readers are under the tyrannical rule of indices, chapters, back/forward references and CYOAs
One could make the same fallacious "form affects content" argument against books, but in reality authors rarely write stories for people randomly flipping pages, at most the author will tell them or explain why they might want to turn to a particular page. Similarly most content on the web doesn't assume you are jumping to links and coming back, but instead uses them as an index of references.
There are style problems of course, too much surface area, over-reliance on and under-appreciation of sources. There is nothing pure about text. Any form requires training on the part of the consumer to appreciate the "depth". From what I can see people don't care about the content, they don't even care about comparing the trade-offs from one form to another beyond format prestige and convenience.
Please look at how books actually make money rather than assuming a priori that they optimize for "lifetime value" instead of some platonic ideal book that exists in your head. Now if you're more adept at a particular medium due to practice that's a valid reason to stick with it, but it's not one to spread vile propaganda about a medium and convince its consumers to turn off their brains because the medium's difficulty matrix applied to thought patterns is different.
If you disagree, fine, feel free to write software like this [1] and pray that the problem doesn't naturally require indirection. Code is just another medium, yes the inclusion of abstractions is poison for deep thought, but not every problem is best solved by deep thought. "Study long, study wrong."
[1] https://cbarrete.com/carmack.html
One could make the same fallacious "form affects content" argument against books, but in reality authors rarely write stories for people randomly flipping pages, at most the author will tell them or explain why they might want to turn to a particular page. Similarly most content on the web doesn't assume you are jumping to links and coming back, but instead uses them as an index of references.
There are style problems of course, too much surface area, over-reliance on and under-appreciation of sources. There is nothing pure about text. Any form requires training on the part of the consumer to appreciate the "depth". From what I can see people don't care about the content, they don't even care about comparing the trade-offs from one form to another beyond format prestige and convenience.
Please look at how books actually make money rather than assuming a priori that they optimize for "lifetime value" instead of some platonic ideal book that exists in your head. Now if you're more adept at a particular medium due to practice that's a valid reason to stick with it, but it's not one to spread vile propaganda about a medium and convince its consumers to turn off their brains because the medium's difficulty matrix applied to thought patterns is different.
If you disagree, fine, feel free to write software like this [1] and pray that the problem doesn't naturally require indirection. Code is just another medium, yes the inclusion of abstractions is poison for deep thought, but not every problem is best solved by deep thought. "Study long, study wrong."
[1] https://cbarrete.com/carmack.html
This comment is all the proof you need that people should read more books
> This is probably the most difficult part. I had to remove all social media and streaming apps from my iPhone. I removed Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, etc. When I started, I found myself picking up the phone and immediately noticing that something was missing, since the only things left to do were check the weather, read boring emails, or see my bank account.
These past few months, I have more resolve than ever to cut the chains. Willpower is a practice, and there have been successful steps towards the goal.
First, blocking the real sucks (X, Reddit). Then news (Canadian, won't bore you with the list). And then an innocuous yet sticky set of apps that I would bounce to often, for little benefit or reason: weather, server stats, stocks. A new wrinkle? Inane conversations with LLMs. Blocked!
HN still because, well brothers and the rare sister, it's lonely out there and this place cracks me up. And not much longer.
Now on to entire devices. Desktop, laptop, destined for a locked-down iPad. Lobotomized iPhone, got a watch, and now, slowly, more and more reading.
What pushed me over the edge is the realization that I'm in grief. The Internet which once shaped my identity today, in no defensible way, resembles the silly place which once gave me solace. And yet, like a husk I cling to the teet of these manipulative networks and websites hoping for one last, satisfying drink.
It ain't comin'. Books, then. Like my mother.