30-45 minutes daily... these days I'm not that consistent but usually yes!
Ask HN: How much time do you spend reading books?
21–27 of 27 posts
Re: Ask HN: How much time do you spend reading books?
#22A few hours almost every evening that I’m home.
Mostly pulpy fiction, though. I rarely have mental energy to spare by that time for books that require thought.
Re: Ask HN: How much time do you spend reading books?
#23I read books all the time, every day. I don't watch TV, I don't use Youtube much, most of my activity online is reading.
I disagree that you 'need to build the habit of reading to improve your cognitive skills'. There is nothing inherently healthy about reading, I know plenty of people who've been reading fiction for their entire lives and they aren't more informed than people not reading books.
The reason you should read books is because if you look hard enough for good books, the content you can find in them is more interesting, more relevant, more engaging than almost any other form of media. I read books all the time because every other form of media is trash, because they teach me esoteric things about the world around me, that you can't get from Ted Talks or other superficial forms of media. But the interest has to be there, if you aren't interested in engaging, intellectual content then just stick to Youtube and be happy.
Re: Ask HN: How much time do you spend reading books?
#24~None - with fiction I used to have a bit of a problem and had to quit, except when I'm on vacation. Non-fiction/reference books I find to usually be too drawn-out or broad, and I'd rather do a project to learn a skill. Sometimes they're extremely useful but it would be rare for me to read one cover-to-cover.
Re: Ask HN: How much time do you spend reading books?
#25I was able to read books in double digits in 2021 and 2022. I have some I want to read but I cannot. It simply boils down to distractions. I need to have nothing to do. It does not even have to be something imminent. Just knowing I have things to do is enough. Then I am able to read every day with no issues.
But I started working on Gethly platform, and have not been able to find time for books for 3 years now. I am currently finishing a big feature for the platform but after that, I think I might be able to be distraction-free as I do not plan to spend as much time working on it as I did until now, as most things I wanted to implement will be done. So I am looking forward to it.
tl;dr it is about not being distracted and having the time to focus solely on one thing. Also the books must be intriguing. People usually think they do not like reading books when in reality is that they are not sufficiently interested in specific books. If you find some that get you excited, those are easy to read.
Re: Ask HN: How much time do you spend reading books?
#26I read books all the time, every day. I don't watch TV, I don't use Youtube much, most of my activity online is reading. I disagree that you 'need to build the habit of reading to improve your cognitive skills'. There is nothing inherently healthy about reading, I know plenty of people who've been reading fiction for their entire lives and they aren't more informed than people not reading books. The reason you should…
> because every other form of media is trash
Not trying to be controversial, but do you also think forums such as this one are trash?
Re: Ask HN: How much time do you spend reading books?
#27I read books all the time, every day. I don't watch TV, I don't use Youtube much, most of my activity online is reading. I disagree that you 'need to build the habit of reading to improve your cognitive skills'. There is nothing inherently healthy about reading, I know plenty of people who've been reading fiction for their entire lives and they aren't more informed than people not reading books. The reason you should…
> because every other form of media is trash Not trying to be controversial, but do you also think forums such as this one are trash?
I wasn't really thinking of forums when I made that comment. TV, movies, short form video, journalism. Youtube has merit but compared to books the level of quality isn't even close.
Finding the right forum is exactly how you find good books.