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Serial Reader: Reading Schedule Builder

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Re: Serial Reader: Reading Schedule Builder

#11

Post by danielodievich »

izzydata wrote: post #10
danielodievich wrote: post #6

I am an avid reader, reading 2 or 3 books at a time, alternating between history and economics to fiction and fantasy, with detours into science and periodicals (like The Economist). I think I exceed this 50 books/year goal easily, but I never bother counting. I am also lucky to read in more than one language, for a nice variety. Incidentally, I read Moby Dick this year and found it a mixed experience, but more on a…

I find that part of the reason a book can feel so great is because of the time investment. If you could somehow read Count of Monte Cristo in 5 minutes and absorb all the information I don't think it would have the same impact. So basically you need the "dull" or at least more mundane parts of the story so that the climax can exist and actually feel climactic. Semi related, but I feel like this is one of the reasons…

Yes, that's right! In many ways a good book experience is like a really nicely made and presented dinner. Sure, you can wolf down a nicely made steak and drown a glass of wine quickly, but you would have missed out on a nice conversation and enjoyment.

Lots of modern literature for youths is all about crash boom bang getting right into it tiktokiness algorithm wise - hey if something isn't flipping on the screen quickly it's no good. I enjoy that occasionally, like at the beach or by the pool, but not always.

Re: Serial Reader: Reading Schedule Builder

#12

Post by Freak_NL »

The estimates seem a bit high, or perhaps unbalanced from book to book. The Count of Monte Cristo is slated for 208 days at twenty minutes per day!

I read mostly just in bed before going to sleep, averaging around 30 minutes. The Count of Monte Cristo took me three to four weeks (I don't keep notes on that, so it's an estimate), and I'm not a speed-reader. It's just a book that has aged well (i.e., a limited cognitive overhead) and is not particularly hard to read in the English translation.

On the other hand, it lists The Canterbury Tales for 64 days, which seems reasonable given that reading English that old really does take a lot more effort (and that's assuming an annotated edition), but way out of whack compared to Dumas' novel above. (Also The Canterbury Tales is not a work I read in one go; a couple of stories before moving to another book is sensible here in my opinion.)

Re: Serial Reader: Reading Schedule Builder

#14

Post by karaterobot »

I devote part of my time to rereading books, on the basis that you've read a book for the first time only on second read. One benefit is that I get a lot more out of them, another is that I remember more of them. This is useful when the book is complicated, or more is going on than is obvious at the surface: many classics benefit from this strategy.

Re: Serial Reader: Reading Schedule Builder

#15

Post by Freak_NL »

danielodievich wrote: post #6

I am an avid reader, reading 2 or 3 books at a time, alternating between history and economics to fiction and fantasy, with detours into science and periodicals (like The Economist). I think I exceed this 50 books/year goal easily, but I never bother counting. I am also lucky to read in more than one language, for a nice variety. Incidentally, I read Moby Dick this year and found it a mixed experience, but more on a…

> Yesterday we visited with friends and their 12 year old daughter was on chapter 3 of Count of Monte Cristo and was complaining that it was dull and when it was going to start being awesome. We (her parents and our family) were cheering her to stay with it because the epic tale of escape and revenge (served quite cold) is really good.

It is really good, but one thing I have learned to appreciate is that some books just don't work for many teenagers yet. Classics in particular! You need quite a large frame of reference (history, geography, societal issues and classes) to be able to appreciate a novel written in 1844 which takes place in France in the decades before that. If a book doesn't work at 12, just let it be and find something more accessible for her.

Nothing kills a long time habit of reading better than being forced to read novels that don't (yet) work for you.

Re: Serial Reader: Reading Schedule Builder

#16

Post by susam »

In 2021, I did an experiment to find out how long it takes to read classic technical books if we spend 40 minutes a day. It turned out that our small book club could read and understand a complete analytic number theory book in 120 days. The complete meetup logs are archived here: https://susam.net/club/meets/iant.html

I am currently doing a similar book club meetups for Mastering Emacs. If this sounds interesting to you, you are very welcome to join us. Meeting link, schedule, and other details are available here: https://susam.net/club/mastering-emacs/

Re: Serial Reader: Reading Schedule Builder

#17

Post by SpeedilyDamage »

Freak_NL wrote: post #12

The estimates seem a bit high, or perhaps unbalanced from book to book. The Count of Monte Cristo is slated for 208 days at twenty minutes per day! I read mostly just in bed before going to sleep, averaging around 30 minutes. The Count of Monte Cristo took me three to four weeks (I don't keep notes on that, so it's an estimate), and I'm not a speed-reader. It's just a book that has aged well (i.e., a limited cognitiv…

The unabridged Count of Monte Cristo is substantially longer than the more popular abridged version.

Re: Serial Reader: Reading Schedule Builder

#19

Post by mlschmitt23 »

danielodievich wrote: post #6

I am an avid reader, reading 2 or 3 books at a time, alternating between history and economics to fiction and fantasy, with detours into science and periodicals (like The Economist). I think I exceed this 50 books/year goal easily, but I never bother counting. I am also lucky to read in more than one language, for a nice variety. Incidentally, I read Moby Dick this year and found it a mixed experience, but more on a…

> Incidentally, I read Moby Dick this year and found it a mixed experience, but more on a pleasure side.

Same here! Enjoyed more than not, but not at all what I was expecting. Much funnier than I had thought it would be. I did get a chuckle at how quickly things wrapped up at the end and how I had completely forgot the narrator was actually a character on the ship.

Re: Serial Reader: Reading Schedule Builder

#20

Post by wazoox »

Freak_NL wrote: post #12

The estimates seem a bit high, or perhaps unbalanced from book to book. The Count of Monte Cristo is slated for 208 days at twenty minutes per day! I read mostly just in bed before going to sleep, averaging around 30 minutes. The Count of Monte Cristo took me three to four weeks (I don't keep notes on that, so it's an estimate), and I'm not a speed-reader. It's just a book that has aged well (i.e., a limited cognitiv…

> The estimates seem a bit high, or perhaps unbalanced from book to book. The Count of Monte Cristo is slated for 208 days at twenty minutes per day!

I've started reading Monte Cristo one day. I finished the 1800 pages of it in one long 48 hours sitting, hardly sleeping or doing anything else. That's how you read this book. It was a feuilleton, one page a day in the newspaper, and there is a cliffhanger at the last line of every frigging page. You just can't stop. It was certainly a big selling point for the journal publishing it back then :D

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