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Ode to skimming: On reading and our attention spans

the-tls.co.uk

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Re: Ode to skimming: On reading and our attention spans

#11

Post by rimliu »

lethologica wrote: post #2

I skim because most non fiction books, especially those published in recent years, simply aren't worth reading word for word. Most books I've found can be condensed to a blog post at most.(Fiction can have similar issues. Epic fantasies are the worst offenders of this which sometimes have entire BOOKS of useless filler) I also feel an internal pressure to make the absolute most out of my time spent doing activity x.…

    "Good morning," said the little prince.

    "Good morning," said the merchant.

    This was a merchant who sold pills that had been invented
    to quench thirst. You need only swallow one pill a week,
    and you would feel no need of anything to drink.

    "Why are you selling those?" asked the little prince.

    "Because they save a tremendous amount of time," said the
     merchant. "Computations have been made by experts. With
     these pills, you save fifty-three minutes in every week."

    "And what do I do with those fifty-three minutes?"

    "Anything you like..."

    "As for me," said the little prince to himself, "if I had
     fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked, I should walk at
     my leisure toward a spring of fresh water."

Re: Ode to skimming: On reading and our attention spans

#12

Post by jhoechtl »

lethologica wrote: post #2

I skim because most non fiction books, especially those published in recent years, simply aren't worth reading word for word. Most books I've found can be condensed to a blog post at most.(Fiction can have similar issues. Epic fantasies are the worst offenders of this which sometimes have entire BOOKS of useless filler) I also feel an internal pressure to make the absolute most out of my time spent doing activity x.…

Books are contracted often by number of pages. The essential information would fit onto a fraction of pages but printing houses order a certain amount of pages because otherwise the price couldn't be justified.

Re: Ode to skimming: On reading and our attention spans

#15

Post by bamboozled »

lethologica wrote: post #2

I skim because most non fiction books, especially those published in recent years, simply aren't worth reading word for word. Most books I've found can be condensed to a blog post at most.(Fiction can have similar issues. Epic fantasies are the worst offenders of this which sometimes have entire BOOKS of useless filler) I also feel an internal pressure to make the absolute most out of my time spent doing activity x.…

I find (while not arguing you should do this too), I’ve given up attaching an expectation to reading.

This is because some of the most useful material I’ve read, I had to struggle though it and deal with the boredom. In hindsight, I really appreciate the fact I didn’t skim through it and persevered to grasp it all.

I find if open the book without looking for some kind of amazing or fun / exciting experience, it helps me to read more and feel less disappointed and bored if I’m not having a blast.

Sometimes I feel like reading a “good and enjoyable book” for fun, in that case, I would be disappointed if I wasn’t enjoying it and just find something else.

Re: Ode to skimming: On reading and our attention spans

#19

Post by magwa101 »

So many news articles start with "the big narrative"™. The authors seem like burgeoning/frustrated writers who are just practicing on us. I skim to get the details and toss all the narrative fluff. So many books are full of this fluff, you have to skim or its boring. The "respect" for the novel is a past time. When everyone can blog/cast/self publish people are not so impressed by the existence of a book. It is taken as a starting point, not a be-all-end-all.

This article is great.

Re: Ode to skimming: On reading and our attention spans

#20

Post by wry_discontent »

To counter what most people seem to be saying here, I definitely skim most things I read because I have a short attention span. This is especially true of online materials, which I'm fine with, but I don't like when I'm reading in my spare time and find myself doing the same thing. I try to do the opposite of a speed reader and ensure I have some subvocalization. It helps me remember what I read.
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