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I don't read web articles anymore, but I read books

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Re: I don't read web articles anymore, but I read books

#241

Post by nicbou »

runjake wrote: post #125

I feel the opposite. I'm reading fewer non-fiction books and more articles and blog posts. Non-fiction books are bloated with fluff to increase the page count to increase the perceived marketability of the book. A lot of the ideas presented in those books could be adequately presented in a 10th of the number of pages. A huge time-saver has been reading the article versions of stuff that has been turned into a book. Y…

Non-fiction books really shine when it's okay to take it slow.

For example, The Secret Life of Trees or pretty much anything by Bill Bryson or Antony Beevor. The goal is not to pick up a new skill, but to enjoy a few hours with someone who knows a lot of trivia.

Re: I don't read web articles anymore, but I read books

#242

Post by nicbou »

sibeliuss wrote: post #144

For me its easy: Sitting on the computer reading makes me feel depressed. Reading books makes me feel happy. And so I've gradually reduced my footprint on the internet to basically zero -- no social media, only a few sites (mostly HN) bookmarked -- in an effort to make the internet less of a thing. It's working. Sometimes I'm staring at my screen and I have no clue what to even do or where to go, and I close it and t…

This is why I love my iPad Mini so much. I use it to read articles I have saved in Pocket. It's otherwise disconnected from everything else and never recieves notifications.

Re: I don't read web articles anymore, but I read books

#243

Post by jvans »

runjake wrote: post #125

I feel the opposite. I'm reading fewer non-fiction books and more articles and blog posts. Non-fiction books are bloated with fluff to increase the page count to increase the perceived marketability of the book. A lot of the ideas presented in those books could be adequately presented in a 10th of the number of pages. A huge time-saver has been reading the article versions of stuff that has been turned into a book. Y…

> Non-fiction books are bloated with fluff

You can usually tell in the first few pages if it's written in that cookie cutter "must make it to 350 pages so I'll stuff it with 200 pages of fluff" style. It is really annoying though. I love books but this drives me crazy

Re: I don't read web articles anymore, but I read books

#244

Post by aflag »

runjake wrote: post #125

I feel the opposite. I'm reading fewer non-fiction books and more articles and blog posts. Non-fiction books are bloated with fluff to increase the page count to increase the perceived marketability of the book. A lot of the ideas presented in those books could be adequately presented in a 10th of the number of pages. A huge time-saver has been reading the article versions of stuff that has been turned into a book. Y…

That's true of bad books. But bad blog posts are even worse: they are trying to get maximum SEO. Both good posts and books are useful. When I'm getting introduced to a subject, I like books. The slower pace allows me to gradually become more familiar with the ideas and concepts. Also, good authors will put a lot of effort in writing something that's pleasant to read and that still goes through editors so that the end result is pure joy. Blog posts can be good, but I don't think they ever get to the same level of quality of a good book.

However, blog posts often has more up to date information and they are, by necessity, more direct. They are good when you are closer to a master in the subject, I feel like. They are akin to research papers, but for engineers.

Re: I don't read web articles anymore, but I read books

#245

Post by camoufleur »

distrill wrote: post #188
runjake wrote: post #125

I feel the opposite. I'm reading fewer non-fiction books and more articles and blog posts. Non-fiction books are bloated with fluff to increase the page count to increase the perceived marketability of the book. A lot of the ideas presented in those books could be adequately presented in a 10th of the number of pages. A huge time-saver has been reading the article versions of stuff that has been turned into a book. Y…

Books are also stuck in time. I like Ben Thompson's position here (Stratechery) - his ideas are moving so quickly that he doesn't want to have them stuck in time in a book. He publishes a lot of content and regularly goes back and posts updates to his ways of thinking. I guess you can approximate this with new book editions, but there will always be outdated published versions in circulation without updated context.…

"Stuck in time" is a positive. Why should I pay attention to a writer who's constantly changing their mind and retracting their work?

Re: I don't read web articles anymore, but I read books

#246

Post by groby_b »

dvirsky wrote: post #222
runjake wrote: post #125

I feel the opposite. I'm reading fewer non-fiction books and more articles and blog posts. Non-fiction books are bloated with fluff to increase the page count to increase the perceived marketability of the book. A lot of the ideas presented in those books could be adequately presented in a 10th of the number of pages. A huge time-saver has been reading the article versions of stuff that has been turned into a book. Y…

I feel the same way about a lot of non fiction, but not all. First, there's entertaining/pop non-fiction, like, say, Malcom Gladwell's stuff, which has a lot of fluff but at least you enjoy the reading. There are history books and memoirs that are just interesting - for example I've recently went through the entire series of Churchill's WWII memoirs, they're mostly awesome, though I did skip a couple of less interest…

TBF, Malcolm Gladwell is more fiction that is "inspired by a true story". It's fun to read only if you aren't familiar with the subject. Otherwise, you just want to yell.

This has soured me on the genre of pop-nonfiction in general, because my trust is absolutely zero at this point (it's not like Gladwell is the only confabulist there) - and if I have to cross-reference every single fact, I might as well just skip to the bibliography section. If there is one.

That has, in fact, become my criterion for most non-fiction I buy directly (without reference/recommendation) - does it have a bibliography section. I recommend it, because at the very least it gives you a great shopping list for round two on the subject :)

Re: I don't read web articles anymore, but I read books

#247

Post by aflag »

makeitdouble wrote: post #75
elias94 wrote: post #36

Books are curated content that has been reviewed by editors and are usually well written. Better if the books is printed by a relevant publishing company and even better if the book has been translated which usually means is relevant. Also there are so many books and so many topics to read that is impossible to get bored. Articles are easy to produce and publish, there's no review and often are just another way to do…

> Books are curated content that has been reviewed by editor This is a very low bar. Lower than having a podcast fact checked on NPR or a research paper on peer reviewed publication. Think business books, biographies, testimonies of popular events, self help and diet books. The bar to pass is not if it´s remotely true or helpful, it will be if it sells. Review and edition will be on the style and writing, not on cont…

It's not a bar. It's a process. Good authors + good editors are a great process to create good content. A single author + no editors is a significantly worse process.

Re: I don't read web articles anymore, but I read books

#248

Post by int_19h »

hyperjeff wrote: post #197
sibeliuss wrote: post #144

For me its easy: Sitting on the computer reading makes me feel depressed. Reading books makes me feel happy. And so I've gradually reduced my footprint on the internet to basically zero -- no social media, only a few sites (mostly HN) bookmarked -- in an effort to make the internet less of a thing. It's working. Sometimes I'm staring at my screen and I have no clue what to even do or where to go, and I close it and t…

Same experience for me. Viewing screens, with their unnatural light and uncanny hyperrealism, rattle my nervous system, and I can feel a subtle internal fight in my brain about what I’m doing. Somehow it’s also easy to get trapped, like you get magnetized. I see this in everyone. It can sometimes cause arguments trying to get someone to break the spell and have them reengage with the world. It’s not just the normal a…

I've been "magnetized" by paper books many times as a kid. I also don't observe any difference between the degree of engagement between paper and ebooks.

I do, however, read mostly from devices that I very specifically configure to be optimized for reading - and that includes blocking all notifications.

Re: I don't read web articles anymore, but I read books

#250

Post by int_19h »

rodolphoarruda wrote: post #63

I'm 70% into the 6th book of Dune Chronicles. I've never read so much literature like now. On the same token, I completely lost passion for non-fiction and mainstream news. The latter became so unbearable to me that I can't even scroll pages anymore. I do enjoy reading some blogs though, which I visit frequently for new insights. I've learned about most of them via HN.

This service is very nice if you want to still have general awareness of what's going on in the outside world without it dominating your full attention. One text per day, summarizing the most important news in 1-2 informative sentences each.

https://thenewpaper.co/

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