Just Read the Book Already
slate.com
Just Read the Book Already
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Re: Just Read the Book Already
#2just don't post anything from slate, there is no way to opt-out from their tracking shit
Re: Just Read the Book Already
#3For fiction I read e-books.
However for all technical books, things like O’Reilly, No Starch, etc, I always buy physical. The decision to do that has very much 10x my learning. Even when it comes to long documentation (MySQL is an astounding 5,000+ pages) I’ll usually print out portions to cover if it’s reasonable.
I don’t know why this has increased my learning so much. The best I can come up with is that memory is based on some kind of spatial geography + other stuff. As I’m working on something, like configuring a CentOS server to a lengthy CIS Security Benchmark, I can recall in books what the page looked like, where I was when I read it, the feel of the page, and the part of the text I underlined in pen. Very strange.
Re: Just Read the Book Already
#4just don't post anything from slate, there is no way to opt-out from their tracking shit
Re: Just Read the Book Already
#5Is it possible that losing one's taste for Hesse is simply a result of age and career choice? Critics, professional readers, have a very different mission than casual readers like me. It's their job to sift through great piles of words to find what's important. I have no such burden -- I've found that time and exposure to the internet have made me more interested in challenging books, not less.
Re: Just Read the Book Already
#6For fiction I read e-books. However for all technical books, things like O’Reilly, No Starch, etc, I always buy physical. The decision to do that has very much 10x my learning. Even when it comes to long documentation (MySQL is an astounding 5,000+ pages) I’ll usually print out portions to cover if it’s reasonable. I don’t know why this has increased my learning so much. The best I can come up with is that memory is…
I'm the same.
I still buy textbooks to this day because I find it far easier to absorb technical information from that medium.
Re: Just Read the Book Already
#7Nothing too revelatory here, but I can certainly agree with the ideas presented. So many of us are used to a constant, reliable dopamine drip while reading things on the internet that larger texts bore us. The conclusion at the end of the piece is right, though--it just takes willpower.
Choosing delayed gratification in the form of good, rich, long-form writing is a lot like choosing a balanced diet. The benefits of traipsing through difficult texts may not be readily apparent but doing so invariably pays dividends for years to come.
Re: Just Read the Book Already
#8Re: Just Read the Book Already
#9I think she has a very valid point, since I didn't finish the article at all, and merely hopped over various phrasea in the first couple of paragraphs before feeling compelled to post here, and then move on to other stuff.
Semantic dyslexia, perhaps.
Re: Just Read the Book Already
#10For fiction I read e-books. However for all technical books, things like O’Reilly, No Starch, etc, I always buy physical. The decision to do that has very much 10x my learning. Even when it comes to long documentation (MySQL is an astounding 5,000+ pages) I’ll usually print out portions to cover if it’s reasonable. I don’t know why this has increased my learning so much. The best I can come up with is that memory is…
In my current job I have a lot of downtime, which means I can do whatever I want for a few hours a day. I try to read but I find it so difficult. I don't know what it is about reading ebooks but I can't hold my attention on them for more than a few minutes at a time. I have a few physical books in my desk that I can focus on very well, but they aren't the ones I need right now. Considering ebooks are typically half the cost of physical books (also that most ebooks can be obtained for 'free' through some medium), it's hard to pull the trigger on getting a physical copy.