Ask HN: How to Read More Books? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How to Read More Books?

#21

Post by kingkongjaffa » Fri, May 06, 2022, 10:03 PM UTC

mindcrime wrote: post #18

leetcode rather than reading which is not going to give any benefit. Secondly, books are overly verbose Sounds to me like you have some pretty rather odd beliefs. It's not clear, based on this, that you really even want to read more books. I'm very unsure what to tell somebody who seems to basically be saying "I don't find reading valuable, but I want to read more." Ya get what I mean? It might be time to work on ref…

How do I downvote this?

Since when did HN posters start talking to each other like this

>Sounds to me like you have some pretty fucked up beliefs

Re: Ask HN: How to Read More Books?

#22

Post by specproc » Fri, May 06, 2022, 10:03 PM UTC

My reading ebbs and flows, but the big motivation for me is that big pile of books I've bought that I've not read yet.

Just buy books at every opportunity. Second hand ones are dead cheap. Get anything you like the look of.

Reading is also social. Pass books around with your friends. Lend/give ones you like to people who might like them. They'll recommend you stuff and reciprocate.

Re: Ask HN: How to Read More Books?

#23

Post by millzlane » Fri, May 06, 2022, 10:20 PM UTC

kingkongjaffa wrote: post #21

mindcrime wrote: post #18

leetcode rather than reading which is not going to give any benefit. Secondly, books are overly verbose Sounds to me like you have some pretty rather odd beliefs. It's not clear, based on this, that you really even want to read more books. I'm very unsure what to tell somebody who seems to basically be saying "I don't find reading valuable, but I want to read more." Ya get what I mean? It might be time to work on ref…

How do I downvote this? Since when did HN posters start talking to each other like this >Sounds to me like you have some pretty fucked up beliefs

Keep posting constructive comments that contribute to the discussion at hand. You will get there eventually. For now, flag what you think should be flagged and move on.

Also, if you have better advice for the Poster. Feel free to post your own comment.

Re: Ask HN: How to Read More Books?

#24

Post by mindcrime » Fri, May 06, 2022, 10:21 PM UTC

kingkongjaffa wrote: post #21

mindcrime wrote: post #18

leetcode rather than reading which is not going to give any benefit. Secondly, books are overly verbose Sounds to me like you have some pretty rather odd beliefs. It's not clear, based on this, that you really even want to read more books. I'm very unsure what to tell somebody who seems to basically be saying "I don't find reading valuable, but I want to read more." Ya get what I mean? It might be time to work on ref…

How do I downvote this? Since when did HN posters start talking to each other like this >Sounds to me like you have some pretty fucked up beliefs

I edited my comment to soften the tone a bit, while preserving the overall gist of what I wanted to say. Thanks for helping keep me honest.

Re: Ask HN: How to Read More Books?

#25

Post by ozzythecat » Fri, May 06, 2022, 10:27 PM UTC

posharma wrote: post #3

thfuran wrote: post #2

Why do you think leetcode is more useful than books?

Keeping your coding skills sharp always helps with interviewing when changing jobs.

Leetcode might help with interviewing, but I’d say that’s about it. I don’t think I’d optimize my general learning and discovery with trying to pass arbitrary interviews.

Real world coding has very little to do with leet code problems. Debugging, problem solving, diving deep into legacy code and reducing or skillfully dealing with complexity. That’s more like real life.

Re: Ask HN: How to Read More Books?

#26

Post by skydhash » Fri, May 06, 2022, 10:52 PM UTC

bszupnick wrote: post #15

I know you wrote you prefer physical books to digital devices but....I recently got a Kobo ([Libra 2]( https://us.kobobooks.com/products/kobo-libra-2 )) and just by virtue of creating the habit of always having it on my person, I've been reading a ton more. Phone, wallet, keys, Kobo. That habit was a much easier lift than the guilt-inducing "must read X pages/hours per Y" demands on myself, and it led to more reading…

Same. I have a Kindle Basic (great for reading, bad for pretty much everything else). It can fit my back pocket, so I put it there whenever I go out. Every waiting moment is an occasion to read a few pages of my current book. I've also disable cellular internet on my phone, so it's always the best distraction instead of going to Twitter or Whatsapp status.

Re: Ask HN: How to Read More Books?

#27

Post by charleshan » Fri, May 06, 2022, 11:36 PM UTC

> each time I pick up a book I think I can probably do a little bit of work or practice some interviewing skills like leetcode rather than reading

> I tend to read 10 min summaries

You mentioned two things you prefer doing over reading books. Why do you want to read books? Which book do you want to read? What have you tried?

Re: Ask HN: How to Read More Books?

#28

Post by Zababa » Sat, May 07, 2022, 12:21 AM UTC

Find book that interest you. A good way to tell is when you can't put down the book and would rather not sleep than stop reading.

Re: Ask HN: How to Read More Books?

#29

Post by greenyouse » Sat, May 07, 2022, 12:32 AM UTC

You could rip digital books into audio format and listen to them on walks. I did that during the last couple years of quarantine and found it nicer than reading physical books. It works for soft reading but dense, technical subjects were still easier to cover by hand.

The basic idea is: [digital book format] => text => espeak => wav file

Otherwise normal audiobooks are decent too but voice actor skill varies.

Re: Ask HN: How to Read More Books?

#30

Post by Pooge » Sat, May 07, 2022, 1:19 AM UTC

Ever since I bought an ereader, I notice I've read more. I finished The Pragmatic Programmer and The Effective Engineer - recommended on HN - very recently. With it, I've only read technical books, and am currently reading Rust for Rustaceans, but when I feel like it I intend to read fiction.

You can blame yourself all you want for not practicing skills that will increase your salary, but at the end of the day even the most successful people have hobbies and free time, and you should enjoy it! You probably spend more time at work every week than doing a hobby (because you cook, eat, sleep, shower, commute, ...).

I guess that's a long comment to basically say that you sometimes should read things just for your personal pleasure, and it's completely fine!