101–108 of 108 posts
This is really missing the point, IMO. The difference between paper print vs digital "print" is not the issue. The problem is more that TV, movies, social media and YT have created a post-literate culture where the primary model of communication is visual and emotional, not textual and abstracted. That culture is extroverted rather than introverted, geared towards triggering simplistic emotional responses rather than…
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As someone with ADHD I can absolutely identify with that. I've tried ebooks in the past but due to distractions tend to come away with very little comprehension of what I've just read. Dead tree books are a lifesaver, I'm able to completely unplug and can consume multiple chapters in a single sitting.
It'd be worth trying out a proper ereader. I picked up a Kobo Libra so I could get back into reading and away from audiobooks a bit. I've read studies that the brain can't tell between the two, but I was halfway through an audiobook recently and realized I had no clue what was going on. I bought this as my summer project -- basically, 'Steve, let's retrain your brain to focus on long form reading again.' What I like…
This article is the epitome of "back in the day, everything was better". There are no links to back up claims or credentials, and lots of relative facts without context. Paraphrasing "rich kids are more literate than poor kids despite both having a lot of screentime" doesn't prove anything about books and literacy. This is a pure opinion piece with cherry picked facts.
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It'd be worth trying out a proper ereader. I picked up a Kobo Libra so I could get back into reading and away from audiobooks a bit. I've read studies that the brain can't tell between the two, but I was halfway through an audiobook recently and realized I had no clue what was going on. I bought this as my summer project -- basically, 'Steve, let's retrain your brain to focus on long form reading again.' What I like…
I still find a huge difference between ereader and physical book myself. I have a Kindle Fire, which I keep constantly in airplane mode and use no apps except Scribd on, but I find myself reading much faster on it, and also remembering much less of what I actually do read. And I can barely read pdfs on my mac, even with airplane mode and other distraction-reducing things turned on. I just don't like the format. I've…
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I still find a huge difference between ereader and physical book myself. I have a Kindle Fire, which I keep constantly in airplane mode and use no apps except Scribd on, but I find myself reading much faster on it, and also remembering much less of what I actually do read. And I can barely read pdfs on my mac, even with airplane mode and other distraction-reducing things turned on. I just don't like the format. I've…
are kindle fires eink? If not, you should check out some eink -- its so much better than an LED/LCD etc screen.
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Russia was literally still a medieval feudal society in much of the 19th century, so not really representative of civilization at the time. 19th century Britain was home to the "penny dreadful" (cheap books often with a horror or romance angle designed to attract the working class reader) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_dreadful
My point is that literature will be just fine without the participation of the 90%. Penny Dreadful existed because Netflix wasn't there. So it will be gone - again, is this a huge loss to the civilization? I don't think there's a sadness that people aren't reading more literature of the Penny Dreadful kind. And as I said, it's not a slippery slope: you don't need the 90% for great literature to exist. Most people wil…
It is the people who need a great thing to inspire/guide them.
To paraphrase you,
Great literature doesn't need the masses, the masses (present and future) need great literature.
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are kindle fires eink? If not, you should check out some eink -- its so much better than an LED/LCD etc screen.
They're not unfortunately, but the Scribd app also doesn't work on the e-ink readers either (Scribd is really the only reason I have a Fire over e-ink). Lately my Fire has been having issues, so I'll likely switch over to e-ink next time I purchase one and give it a shot. But I think it's just something about physically holding a book that helps me retain more from it -- I've found this to be true even when I'm readi…
I had an old Kindle Keyboard (wifi.) I struggled reading off of that thing -- whereas this new Kobo Libra actually looks like paper and is a breeze to read off of, which may also be a placebo. :)
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My point is that literature will be just fine without the participation of the 90%. Penny Dreadful existed because Netflix wasn't there. So it will be gone - again, is this a huge loss to the civilization? I don't think there's a sadness that people aren't reading more literature of the Penny Dreadful kind. And as I said, it's not a slippery slope: you don't need the 90% for great literature to exist. Most people wil…
A thing doesn't need people to be great. It is in itself. It is the people who need a great thing to inspire/guide them. To paraphrase you, Great literature doesn't need the masses, the masses (present and future) need great literature.
We'll have both plenty of readers and great writers even if most people primarily turn to mediums other than books for entertainment.
Dispute this.