Staying Awake (2008)
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Staying Awake (2008)
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Re: Staying Awake (2008)
#2Does reading books have intrinsic value, or is it just a specific (archaic?) way of transmitting information? Socrates would be a podcaster today
Re: Staying Awake (2008)
#3Does reading books have intrinsic value, or is it just a specific (archaic?) way of transmitting information? Socrates would be a podcaster today
Ever heard about imagination?
Re: Staying Awake (2008)
#4Does reading books have intrinsic value, or is it just a specific (archaic?) way of transmitting information? Socrates would be a podcaster today
writing well is really hard. other mediums are other mediums.
sure the new mediums have reach going for them, but im not sure socrates would’ve enjoyed or optimized for popularity.
Re: Staying Awake (2008)
#5> Over the years, books kept in print may earn hundreds of thousands of dollars for their publisher and author. A few steady earners, even though the annual earnings are in what is now dismissively called “the midlist,” can keep publishers in business for years, and even allow them to take a risk or two on new authors. … To get big quick money, the publisher must risk a multimillion-dollar advance on a hot author who’s supposed to provide this week’s bestseller. These millions—often a dead loss—come out of funds that used to go to pay normal advances to reliable midlist authors and the royalties on older books that kept selling. Many midlist authors have been dropped, many reliably selling books remaindered… Is that any way to run a business?
Does this still occur? It seems shortsighted in that wonderful ‘management’ ‘business’ way that we’ve all seen. Yet we hear of self-published books getting deals and Amazon and other catalogues make the most rare of books accessible for purchase. Wouldn’t today be ideal for midlist authors?*
Re: Staying Awake (2008)
#6Does reading books have intrinsic value, or is it just a specific (archaic?) way of transmitting information? Socrates would be a podcaster today
I think specific, but not archaic. The written word can be beautiful like any other form of art - it's not only about transmitting information but transmitting emotion. Sorta like a photograph, painting, or song.
Re: Staying Awake (2008)
#7[dead]
Re: Staying Awake (2008)
#8Does reading books have intrinsic value, or is it just a specific (archaic?) way of transmitting information? Socrates would be a podcaster today
writing well is really hard. other mediums are other mediums. sure the new mediums have reach going for them, but im not sure socrates would’ve enjoyed or optimized for popularity.
> writing well is really hard
I think because good writing is easier to read and understand than bad writing, there's almost an inverse relationship between how easy writing seems and how easy it is to read. So you read something and think "well, this is obvious" but the magic trick is how much work went in to making it so.
Re: Staying Awake (2008)
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
writing well is really hard. other mediums are other mediums. sure the new mediums have reach going for them, but im not sure socrates would’ve enjoyed or optimized for popularity.
> writing well is really hard I think because good writing is easier to read and understand than bad writing, there's almost an inverse relationship between how easy writing seems and how easy it is to read. So you read something and think "well, this is obvious" but the magic trick is how much work went in to making it so.
That's true for a lot of things. Skilled people make difficult things look easy.
Re: Staying Awake (2008)
#10Does reading books have intrinsic value, or is it just a specific (archaic?) way of transmitting information? Socrates would be a podcaster today
Yes, I think so. When you read a book you spend a long time with the ideas it contains. You think about the book when you go about your day: primed by what you're reading, you see new connections. You are in conversation with the book. Maybe parts of the book seep into your dreams. Years later, you might remember what you were doing when you read a particular passage.
Much of this is because reading a book takes time.