How I Consume Books
mubaris.blog
How I Consume Books
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Re: How I Consume Books
#2>his knowledge is small compared to non-fiction. Rest of the book is for your entertainment. And fiction does a good job of presenting the idea. To absorb the idea, it doesn’t require a thorough reading of the book (sometimes it does). For the same reason, I find audiobooks are a better medium for consuming fiction. By doing so, you also save your time.
this is such a horrible take on fiction that I've seen popup in recent times. 'Consuming' fiction as a sort of pokemon card collection and to 'acquire knowledge'.
Better read a few works of fiction deeply and genuinely for their own sake rather than trying to vacuum up books in the name of some shallow self improvement. This post reminds me of the guy with the lamborghini and the bookshelf in his garage.
Re: How I Consume Books
#3My mother was a librarian for 30 years and I gained a love of books from her; I just I wish I had more time to read.
Between my day job in Fin Tech, my sideline business in my handmade leather goods and with two children at primary school, I basically have ten minutes before I fall asleep in bed at the end of the day to squeeze in a few pages.
Re: How I Consume Books
#4I was honestly looking forward to an explanation of what utensils to use, and what sort of wines to pair them with. As it turns out, lignin is not especially nutritious to human beings, so perhaps “read books” would be a more helpful choice of words. Obviously the implication is that you only read a book once, but I’m not sure I can get on board with that.
I think I’ll go reread Red Dragon, which has a lot to say on the topic of consuming.
Re: How I Consume Books
#5>his knowledge is small compared to non-fiction. Rest of the book is for your entertainment. And fiction does a good job of presenting the idea. To absorb the idea, it doesn’t require a thorough reading of the book (sometimes it does). For the same reason, I find audiobooks are a better medium for consuming fiction. By doing so, you also save your time. this is such a horrible take on fiction that I've seen popup in…
Exactly. Reading any good book and fully understanding it takes a lot more than a simple once-through hearing. Sure, you might catch the themes and be able to have a water cooler conversation, but the best books are the ones that aren't page turners; ones that you spend all night on, and only make it through 20 pages.
Besides, when I read something really good, like Hitchhiker's Guide, I usually flip it over and start it again!
Re: How I Consume Books
#6I disagree heavily with the author's understanding of fiction and absorption of ideas in fiction. Fiction IMO is best viewed as an exploration into a concept and not a presentation the way non-fiction is. In the way nonfiction describes the shape of a phenomenon, and is excellently riveting in its placement of the reader in the backdrop of whatever it describes- fiction walks the reader through edge cases and underbellies of the same world.
As an avid reader of nonfiction and fiction equally, the two cannot be read with the same eye to gain the most. If one were to continue with the consuming metaphor- it's very possible to eat fried rice with a shallow, metal spoon- but some authenticity is lost in the experience of eating even when it still reaches your mouth and your gullet just the same.
Re: How I Consume Books
#7My mother was a librarian for 30 years and I gained a love of books from her; I just I wish I had more time to read. Between my day job in Fin Tech, my sideline business in my handmade leather goods and with two children at primary school, I basically have ten minutes before I fall asleep in bed at the end of the day to squeeze in a few pages.
If you can ever work it in, I recommend making an event out of it. I try to, at least once a month, head down to a cafe I haven't been to yet and read something I've been putting off. It's really cathartic for me at least, and gets me out of the house; I find that what little free time I have at the house outside my busy schedule usually gets squandered doing ???.
Re: How I Consume Books
#8Any tips on how to handle reading through more technical books?
Re: How I Consume Books
#9The author tried to advocate a "practical view" of fiction books. When your sole aim is to extract some useful idea, why not read the abbreviated version or community reviews on Goodreads?
Re: How I Consume Books
#10My mother was a librarian for 30 years and I gained a love of books from her; I just I wish I had more time to read. Between my day job in Fin Tech, my sideline business in my handmade leather goods and with two children at primary school, I basically have ten minutes before I fall asleep in bed at the end of the day to squeeze in a few pages.
> I just I wish I had more time to read.
When I started working two days a week a colleague of mine said he was jealous and wished he could do the same. While he agreed that objectively there was absolutely no reason he couldn't actually do the same.
Isn't it about setting priorities? What stops you from for example spending less time on your side business and more time reading? Please don't take it as judgemental, I am really curious.