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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

#291

Post by leoplct »

It is certainly possible that the sheer quantity of online content available on the internet today has led to a saturation of information, making it difficult for individuals to find articles and blog posts that are truly worth their time. Additionally, the fast-paced, scrollable format of most online content can make it less engaging and immersive than traditional print reading.

On the other hand, books are often seen as a more immersive and satisfying reading experience, and it is possible that the perceived "deeper" or "more valuable" reading experience that they offer is leading to a resurgence in their popularity. It is also important to note that reading habits are different for people and their preference can change over time and also varied with life stage and personal circumstances.

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

#292

Post by peepee1982 »

30minAdayHN wrote: post #191
CodeIsMyFetish wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't agree more. And with tools such as Photoshop, it's much more efficient to learn as you go after being able to understand enough to navigate around the tool and its basic associated terminology.

I thought similarly about those books. But I was proven wrong after I read Scott Kelby's Lightroom book. The added value was understanding one author's workflow and also knowing what all features exist. Of course, one might say we can just google for all the features of Lightroom - but I personally never did that and book helped me learn all the superset of features. After that, I never referred to the book - I just…

If it's a good book, it's a good book. I was talking in general terms and using a random example.

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

#293

Post by peepee1982 »

tester457 wrote: post #217
CodeIsMyFetish wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't agree more. And with tools such as Photoshop, it's much more efficient to learn as you go after being able to understand enough to navigate around the tool and its basic associated terminology.

Definitely if it's not your job and it's just a hobby. Just like how a hobbyist coder can get by without reading any books or learning about design patterns, etc. But if it is your job to use photoshop on a daily basis it's worth going deep into that tome.

It wasn't my intention to speak ill of good books on photoshop. I was just trying to think of an example. I'm aware that there are probably great books on Photoshop, and that probably most are.

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

#294

Post by firemelt »

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…

>A huge time-saver has been reading the article versions of stuff that has been turned into a book.

like what? any example?

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

#295

Post by namaria »

dpkrjb wrote: post #71
woolion wrote: post #9

I think formats are better suited to express certain types of ideas than others ("the medium is the message"). Blogposts tend to be ideal to express fairly short, singular ideas. Books should develop an entire thought system and connect various ideas, which take much longer, both in producing and consuming. The range of what you can express is also much more expanded, since you need the person to be in the right stat…

The trap in hyperlink rich blogs is clicking every link the moment you come upon it and essentially depth first read your way through an idea.

Clicking links in order is hardly equivalent to a depth-first traversal. Blog posts are not a data format.

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

#296

Post by namaria »

NikolaNovak wrote: post #37

Depends how you define "Blog Post". There are web pages / articles I still read - I'll check out things by Derek Sivers, Patrick McKenzie/Bits About Money, Money Stuff by Matt Levine, all by local HN recommendations. Similarly, I find a lot of good one-off recommendations on HN; is the hit ratio 100%, or even 50%, goodness no. But signal-to-noise ratio is still worth my time. I will read Thom Hogan on photography mor…

I'd think having less time available to read would make this time more valuable and thus nudge you towards more dense, higher quality long form reading. Seems to be a trap: I have less time so I will read these low effort, short texts instead. So you spend more of a limited resource on a lower yield activity.

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

#297

Post by odysseus »

DavideNL wrote: post #288
odysseus wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree with your second paragraph, but for some books, I've gotten too used to being able to look up words/topics directly from the ebook. I find myself annoyed I can't long press a word with a physical book. I then end up grabbing my phone and looking up the word/topic, and then it's back to the electronic device that I was trying to get away from with the paper book.

Read on a Kindle (/KOreader) and put your phone far enough so it becomes annoying to go grab it :-) The solution with these addicting things is always to create some kind of barrier…

I've tried this, but I find the screen refresh of e-ink displays very distracting. I also prefer scrolling text when reading vs. flipping virtual pages - which limits me to non e-ink displays.

I just created a Reading Focus mode on my iPhone that automatically limits the number of apps available / notifications visible when I'm reading. We'll see how this works.

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

#298

Post by odysseus »

BanzaiCharge wrote: post #257
odysseus wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree with your second paragraph, but for some books, I've gotten too used to being able to look up words/topics directly from the ebook. I find myself annoyed I can't long press a word with a physical book. I then end up grabbing my phone and looking up the word/topic, and then it's back to the electronic device that I was trying to get away from with the paper book.

Something that's helped me with this is having my phone nearby so I can use voice commands to get word definitions. No need to touch the device and get sucked in but all the ease of an ebook. Of course this only works in more private locations I suppose.

Good idea, but I think it might work better if you had an Android device. Siri is not great at definitions and you often have to literally spell things out for her. (if she hears you at all and doesn't start randomly calling your aunt instead of providing a definition)

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

#300

Post by dredmorbius »

dredmorbius wrote: post #286
molly0 wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You explained it very well, and “The Book” looks interesting. But… Apart from being nice to look at, a (very big) bookshelf is such a waste of space I wish there where something in between a real book and an ebook.

The storage density differential between paper/print and digital storage is ... staggering. One of my favourite illustrations is that of the Central Social Institution of Prague. From photos of it, you'll understand where Futurama got its flying desks from: https://www.vintag.es/2020/01/central-social-institution-pra... > I've guestimated the total possible data storage capacity at about 500 GB, with a likely achieve…

And for the curious / Future Me, that image is the one headlining this article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/15/style/richard-macksey-lib...>

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/01/16/fashion/VIRAL-LIB...>

It shows the home library of Johns Hopkins professor Dr. Richard Macksey in Baltimore. The full collection size of 51,000 volumes would be somewhat more, I estimate about 10,000 are visible in the image as composed.

To a rough approximation, that image shows the number of documents that fit on my e-book reader.

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