Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers

#11

Post by ericol » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 1:25 AM UTC

cgriswald wrote: post #8

lucidguppy wrote: post #5

I go through periods of intensive reading, then downtimes. These both span for months. Problem is a lot of it is dreck. Some books draw out a story for 1100 pages then stuff all the cool stuff in the last 200 pages. It feels dishonest. A lot of classics aren't. A lot of pulp is captivating and fast paced. I tried reading infinite jest - I had to return it. I finished fear an loathing in las vegas in a day. It's a cra…

It is a crapshoot. I’m fortunate in that my mother is a prolific reader. I am too, but she makes me look illiterate. She consumes a ridiculous number of books a year. Lots of it is crap. Some isn’t, and she’s always recommended those ones to me, keeping in mind my own interests. Over the years I’ve met a few others who I trust to recommend books. But most people, even professional reviewers, just don’t work for me. T…

I've devoured everything William Gibson's... up to a point. I really, really liked the first trilogy. The second one was also entertaining, although not as _*punk_ as the first one. I kind of enjoyed "Pattern Recognition" (mostly because it was the first in the "almost viable" trilogy. But "Spook Country" was, for me, unreadable. I don't think I made it past the 2nd chapter.

Can't quite put my finger on it; but I think it is that his style changed to what I'd call hyper-realism: He would go on taking 3 pages to describe a room. Seriously, for me the book unbearable boring.

Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers

#12

Post by musicale » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 1:31 AM UTC

I used to read constantly for fun and interest.

Then I entered "higher education" which involves a large amount of "required reading." Although I was able to complete the "required reading" and coursework, I no longer enjoyed reading the way I had before. Reading had become an unpleasant chore.

Now I seem to lack the motivation and attention span for "recreational" reading and when I try it I just don't enjoy it. Reading non-fiction for interest is a bit better, but it still feels too much like drudgery to be enjoyable.

Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers

#13

Post by cbanek » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 1:33 AM UTC

My kindle helped me fall in love with reading books. Plus, not having to worry about physical books (heavy, easy to damage), being able to borrow books from the library electronically, and control font size and lighting easily has turned me into a convert, and I couldn't be happier.

Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers

#14

Post by dgacmu » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 1:44 AM UTC

lone_haxx0r wrote: post #4

> They can be identified by their independent-bookstore tote bags, their “Book Lover” mugs, or—most reliably—by the bound, printed stacks of paper they flip through on their lap. They are, for lack of a more specific term, readers. Is there some hidden irony in the pointlessness of this paragraph?

Humor from the unexpected juxtaposition of an expository style usually used to describe something rare and unfamiliar with the commonness of the thing being described (plus the implication that reading is becoming unfortunately less common today - or at least acknowledging the fear that it may be so).

I found it cute. :)

Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers

#15

Post by mirimir » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 2:03 AM UTC

ericol wrote: post #11

cgriswald wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a crapshoot. I’m fortunate in that my mother is a prolific reader. I am too, but she makes me look illiterate. She consumes a ridiculous number of books a year. Lots of it is crap. Some isn’t, and she’s always recommended those ones to me, keeping in mind my own interests. Over the years I’ve met a few others who I trust to recommend books. But most people, even professional reviewers, just don’t work for me. T…

I've devoured everything William Gibson's... up to a point. I really, really liked the first trilogy. The second one was also entertaining, although not as _*punk_ as the first one. I kind of enjoyed "Pattern Recognition" (mostly because it was the first in the "almost viable" trilogy. But "Spook Country" was, for me, unreadable. I don't think I made it past the 2nd chapter. Can't quite put my finger on it; but I thi…

After a while, in my opinion, he just wrote the ~same novel, again and again. There's always the tough young woman. And the wimpy guy, typically a druggie. And often, the Case equivalent.

But I still like them well enough.

Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers

#16

Post by disabled » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 2:10 AM UTC

I was never in to reading as a kid, and it drove my dad crazy as I am wired personality-wise like him. Reading would become too hard after 3-4 paragraphs and I just thought I was always lazy. I found out I had a print-related disability when I was an adult, specifically severe convergence insufficiency, after I was diagnosed with a rare disease.

I use screen readers now for immersive reading, specifically Voice Dream Reader (iOS|Android) and Kurzweil 3000 (Windows|Mac|Web). I finally got in to reading habitually after reading some history books. It can still be physically painful for me to read, but it is worthwhile.

Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers

#17

Post by logicprog » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 2:16 AM UTC

I absolutely love reading. I can't make it through four seasons of TV (my most recent failure is Battlestar Galactica '04) and I can't seem to get myself to suffer through repeated failure at video gaming for more then thirty minutes at a time, but I absolutely love books. My trio of hobbies are coding, writing, and reading and it's a really happy and productive combination!

I prefer fiction, generally hard science fiction and high fantasy (less so the latter), but occasionally if I come across a truly exceptional historical fiction book I'll and that to my TBR list as well (Shogun, Silence, and Pillars of the Earth, for example). I also prefer longer books, since if I'm sitting down to read something I really want a lot of detail and meat there. Even irrelevant details are welcomed, I almost just enjoy the act of reading. When it comes to selecting books, I value some kind of novelty of uniqueness above almost anything else, but it also has to have a sense of craftsmanship.

I must confess I'm addicted to buying physical books, as well. I have quite a few books on Kindle, and do read them, but whenever feasible (and it isn't always) I prefer to buy books from Amazon. Specifically, Mass Market Paperbacks, which I find to be the perfect form factor (and cheaper than Kindle books, too).

Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers

#18

Post by alexhutcheson » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 2:18 AM UTC

lucidguppy wrote: post #5

I go through periods of intensive reading, then downtimes. These both span for months. Problem is a lot of it is dreck. Some books draw out a story for 1100 pages then stuff all the cool stuff in the last 200 pages. It feels dishonest. A lot of classics aren't. A lot of pulp is captivating and fast paced. I tried reading infinite jest - I had to return it. I finished fear an loathing in las vegas in a day. It's a cra…

The key is to just put it down and move on to another book if you’re not enjoying it. Many people have a completist attitude towards reading - they continue to slog through to the end of a book once they’ve started, even if they don’t like it. They’ll make slow progress, and it blocks them from picking up a new book.

Cut your losses early - your total reading throughput will be much higher, and most nonfiction books aren’t worth reading all the way to the end anyway.

Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers

#19

Post by vadansky » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 2:29 AM UTC

lucidguppy wrote: post #5

I go through periods of intensive reading, then downtimes. These both span for months. Problem is a lot of it is dreck. Some books draw out a story for 1100 pages then stuff all the cool stuff in the last 200 pages. It feels dishonest. A lot of classics aren't. A lot of pulp is captivating and fast paced. I tried reading infinite jest - I had to return it. I finished fear an loathing in las vegas in a day. It's a cra…

Same situation, and actually Infinite Jest also started a half a year long drought that was only broken by the Three Body Problem trilogy.

Agree with the cut your losses strategy.

Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers

#20

Post by gregmac » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 3:02 AM UTC

lucidguppy wrote: post #5

I go through periods of intensive reading, then downtimes. These both span for months. Problem is a lot of it is dreck. Some books draw out a story for 1100 pages then stuff all the cool stuff in the last 200 pages. It feels dishonest. A lot of classics aren't. A lot of pulp is captivating and fast paced. I tried reading infinite jest - I had to return it. I finished fear an loathing in las vegas in a day. It's a cra…

I find a similar thing happens with a lot of the non-fiction I've read (or tried to read): it's something that could have been a really good few-dozen-page essay, but as a couple hundred page book it's just protracted and repetitive.

As a result, for certain topics I can never bring myself to actually start reading. I have several books that have been on my shelf in this state for years now.