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Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

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Re: Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

#151

Post by njarboe »

lozenge wrote: post #97
criddell wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think fiction can be shrunk down, but I think lots of non-fiction books can. I'm thinking specifically of some books that I've read in the past couple of years that include: * Deep Work * Influence * Thinking Fast and Slow * Predictably Irrational * Getting Things Done * How to Win Friends and Influence People I think all of these books suffer from the common pattern of present an idea then a bunch of example…

I believe Amazon found people tend to leave a non fiction book 100 pages from the end, so commissioned books 100 pages shorter than usual. A lot of it is about the books looking good and justifying its own price on the bookstore shelf.

It is nice when the spline is wide enough to have the title of the book on it in a decently big font. Probably a 3/4 inch book would working in most cases. I think many books are padded to reach a certain thickness. For non-fiction the publishers should just use thicker pages or put a bunch of blank pages at the back. Or just print the whole book over again.

Re: Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

#152

Post by sevensor »

criddell wrote: post #73
chki wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've recently been shown a lot of ads for a service called "blinkist" where the idea is to provide short summaries of non-fiction books and I think your comment captures why that is a very bad idea. Reading and capturing an idea takes time; it can't be properly substituted by a few minutes of "listening to crucial insights from leading thinkers while you’re on the go." Their business model is in a way the complete op…

I don't think fiction can be shrunk down, but I think lots of non-fiction books can. I'm thinking specifically of some books that I've read in the past couple of years that include: * Deep Work * Influence * Thinking Fast and Slow * Predictably Irrational * Getting Things Done * How to Win Friends and Influence People I think all of these books suffer from the common pattern of present an idea then a bunch of example…

What I find about general-interest nonfiction is not that it's longer than it needs to be to make its point, but that its point is often shallow or even wrong. Take Freakonomics. I thought it was a great read, but on reflection I think "there's a hidden economic reason for everything" is not a particularly useful observation. Indeed, it might be better stated that "there's no realm of human behavior that economists won't study." Or to take an older example, Dow 36,000: The New Strategy for Profiting From the Coming Rise in the Stock Market. Published in 1999. Or The Great Depression of 1990, published in 1985. Or consider pretty much any book of diet advice. If it was published more than 15 years ago, it's very unlikely to agree with our current understanding of healthy diet. If it was published less than 15 years ago, we haven't debunked it yet.

Re: Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

#154

Post by nabnob »

LandR wrote: post #112

The thing I find is hardest about sitting and reading a book is the quietness and being essentially alone with my own thoughts. If I'm sitting watch a film / netflix etc, there is noise and that seems to distract my brain from going to dark places. It's like I'll be reading a page and then by the end of the page I've taken nothing in and my brain is forcing me to think about stuff I don't want to think about. Intrusi…

I have the same problem. It's definitely the worst effect of information overload - being alone with my own thoughts is anxiety inducing.

I've also noticed that on the days I spend too much time scrolling through Reddit and skimming the news, I have this background feeling of restlessness.

I'm trying to fix this by resisting the urge to look at my phone whenever I have a spare moment - like waiting in line, or when taking the elevator. Boredom shouldn't feel scary.

Meditation and going for walks (without bringing my phone) also help.

Re: Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

#155

Post by drinfinity »

LandR wrote: post #112

The thing I find is hardest about sitting and reading a book is the quietness and being essentially alone with my own thoughts. If I'm sitting watch a film / netflix etc, there is noise and that seems to distract my brain from going to dark places. It's like I'll be reading a page and then by the end of the page I've taken nothing in and my brain is forcing me to think about stuff I don't want to think about. Intrusi…

Dude, this is not normal. Don't think you have to accept that. Talk to somebody.

Re: Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

#156

Post by drinfinity »

procinct wrote: post #71
the_af wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never understood audiobooks to begin with. To me, reading is an intimate, personal thing. Listening to some narrator is more like being the spectator in some piece of performance art. When I read, I want to be left alone with my thoughts. I don't hear a voice when reading (like some people do, apparently) and I definitely don't want to hear some guy or gal actually speaking the words! More importantly, I want to re…

It’s very interesting to me that you read without hearing a voice in your head reading each word. I tried to read your comment without requiring the voice in my head but I wasn’t able to do so. Can you elaborate a little more on what reading is like for you with no voice in your head?

I do this too. In fact, I get very bored when I (sub)vocalise the words. Reading without voice is way less tiring and usually faster. It's like you just absorb the raw concepts, the feelings, the nuances uh.. just like when you read something aloud, but then you eh.. don't do that?

Re: Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

#157

Post by criddell »

rsanheim wrote: post #130
vinceguidry wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Books, sliced by chapter, in an RSS feed reader. So I can read, say, a NYT article, then chapter one of a book, then maybe a blog post, then chapter one of a different book, then a long-form article, then chapter two of the first book.

you are missing the point of reading anything long form

I see what he's getting at.

Last night I watched an episode of True Detectives. Tonight I'll look for a hockey game on TV. Tomorrow I might watch some Game of Thrones. I also have a couple episodes of Better Call Saul on my DVR. I watch (and read) the thing that appeals to me at the time I want it.

Re: Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

#158

Post by pault »

cf498 wrote: post #93
pault wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is called hyperfocusing (AKA the zone) and it's a typical characteristic of people with ADD. I have it pretty bad and I almost flunked out of school because I would spend all day reading enormous serial fantasy novels (wheel of time FTW!).

OT, but is there by any chance a series similar to wheel of time, or that captured you in a similar way, which you would recommend? Havent found anything quite like it, but that might be because of nostalgia and my fond memories of reading it as a teen.

When I was a teenager I loved the series that started with sword of shanarra, but going back and reading those novels as an adult mostly makes me cringe. :)

Re: Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

#159

Post by ddeokbokki »

everythingswan wrote: post #10

I've come to love books intensely. Not only because I enjoy learning--before I read books, I found blogs to be great educators. I love books because they create time and space to be alone with a thought. It gives me time to consider things that I normally have no space for. I remember Seth Godin saying once that every business book can be summarized in just a few pages but the book itself is a story. I think it goes…

How do you learn from a book, genuinely?

Do you sit down and try to read and understand as much as you can? Or do you just read during your downtime?

Re: Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

#160

Post by vinceguidry »

criddell wrote: post #157
rsanheim wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you are missing the point of reading anything long form

I see what he's getting at. Last night I watched an episode of True Detectives. Tonight I'll look for a hockey game on TV. Tomorrow I might watch some Game of Thrones. I also have a couple episodes of Better Call Saul on my DVR. I watch (and read) the thing that appeals to me at the time I want it.

Another benefit would be the same UX for all text content consumption.
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