Read Fewer Books
theschooloflife.com
Read Fewer Books
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Re: Read Fewer Books
#2 > ...answer to the question of why we read, there is only one response that will ever be encompassing and ambitious enough: we read in order to know everything
I believe the above has been amplified due to the false dichotomy of information technology vs good ol' books.
Re: Read Fewer Books
#3> ...answer to the question of why we read, there is only one response that will ever be encompassing and ambitious enough: we read in order to know everything Anecdotally, there's a large amount of people who will read a book wholly for the purpose of being able to say they've read it. Whether it's a sense of elitism, vanity or bits of both -- it's strikingly obvious when you ask deeper questions about a book and th…
> it's strikingly obvious when you ask deeper questions about a book and they can only respond with basic one sentences you could infer from the synopsis.
When I watch movies with some people they will be "I think I didn't see this one before". And then half way in, they are like "oh I remember this, I did watch it after all". Some people are just forgetful.
Re: Read Fewer Books
#4A book is a somewhat large time investment. Often it is worth it but often it isn't. The main problem is the sheer amount of books out there. Deciding what to read next is a non-trivial decision problem. Currently I'm basing my decisions on ratings, recommendations from friends and book clubs.
It would be nice if sites like Goodreads kept statistics on ratings for second/third/... reading (maybe they do?). Such information could help readers identify books that are exceptional regarding second/third/... reading.
Re: Read Fewer Books
#5Please forgive me the pretentiousness of what I'm about to share, but this is so great:
"You complain that in your part of the world there is a scant supply of books. But it is quality, rather than quantity, that matters; a limited list of reading benefits; a varied assortment serves only for delight. He who would arrive at the appointed end must follow a single road and not wander through many ways. What you suggest is not travelling; it is mere tramping." - Seneca, Letters to Lucilius, #45
This is such a powerful idea to me, from about 2000 years ago, that reading everything is like drifting aimlessly never arriving anywhere; it's just so recognizable.
Re: Read Fewer Books
#6Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.
Re: Read Fewer Books
#7The School of Life infuriates me for many reasons, but I will restrain myself and talk just about this specific post.
Perhaps the small libraries of historic figures has more to do with the availability of books than it does their minimalism. I agree that people should not be reading every new self-help or business book that gets published. The majority of new books are bad. History acts as a great filter, which is why focussing on old books is a strong heuristic to find good books. I also agree with Nassim Taleb, who says that you should try to read the works from people who have actually done something (opposed to modern pseudo-philosophers like Alain de Botton, who is just trying to capitalise on the religion-shaped hole in western morality). I am not a religion apologist, but his videos and lectures are structured exactly the same way as sermons. He even feigns a false pastor modesty. Ugh I am beginning to rant now.
As a civilisation I still believe that we are not reading enough. I can feel my reading habit eroded and tugged by modern media. I feel fulfilled after reading in a way that YouTube or Netflix cannot provide.
Re: Read Fewer Books
#8All those "Oh, I have read sooooo many books this year!"-thing is just another elitist posture.
It's pretty much like the minimalists who run around and tell people that they only own a MBP and an iPhone XPro+ (or whatever the maxed out version is) and two potted plants. Most people will not have enough disposable income to buy a full-fletched MBP and that iPhone.
You need to be rich (kind of) to be able to have a minimalist lifestyle. The same goes with reading.
Most people will just try to make ends meet, juggle with bringing job, familiy, friends, sports/staying healthy under one hat and in the evening they don't want to process any more information from a book.
Their everyday life is SO packed with everything, there's no time to sit back, relax and read 25 books a year.
So, yeah, read two books a year and call it a day.
Re: Read Fewer Books
#9>To follow the depiction by Antonello da Messina, St Jerome appears to be the proud owner of about ten books in all!
It's a fictional depiction some thousand years after the life of St. Jerome. How is this supposed to be an argument?
From what we know St. Jerome spent much of his life traveling between ancient libraries, collecting, reading and comparing a large number of different gospels (both canonical and apocryphal). He also had access to texts which are now considered lost, like the Gospel of the Hebrews.
Re: Read Fewer Books
#10The School of Life infuriates me for many reasons, but I will restrain myself and talk just about this specific post. Perhaps the small libraries of historic figures has more to do with the availability of books than it does their minimalism. I agree that people should not be reading every new self-help or business book that gets published. The majority of new books are bad. History acts as a great filter, which is w…
> I am not a religion apologists, but his videos and lectures are structured exactly the same way as sermons. He even feigns a false pastor modesty
I highly recommend Jacques Ellul's "Les nouveaux possédés." (translated in English as "The New Demons" [1]) an analysis written back in 1973 describing this exact process you're describing, i.e. modern stuff (rock stars among others) trying to fill the hole of the disappearing religion. Ever since I've read the book I cannot attend a big music concert or a crowded football match without thinking about it (before this pandemic started, of course).
[1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1362676.The_New_Demons