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Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

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Re: Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

#171

Post by ChanderG »

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.

If you are looking for sheer scale, can recommend Steven Erikson's Malazan family (around 36 novels set in the same world; starting with the Malazan Book of the Fallen) though the atmosphere is much bleaker.

Another recommendation would be Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere multi-series (Mistborn, Stormlight Archive), currently in progress, closer to WoT thematically.

Re: Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

#173

Post by criddell »

rsanheim wrote: post #170
criddell wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Of course, but if you are lost in a good book, you don't notice when one chapter ends and another beings. You are lost for hours, and don't think about changing to some other article or paper.

Sure. And with the Netflix model you can binge on episode after episode. There are a lot of similarities.

Re: Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

#174

Post by ataturk »

criddell wrote: post #141
whatusername wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree completely about non-fiction books. There are certainly some fiction books that could use some shrinking down (For Exhibit A: Crossroads of Twilight -- book 10 of the Wheel of Time)

Now that you mention it, when I was reading Snow Crash I started skipping all the parts about ancient Sumerian language. All that he needed to do was establish that it worked as some kind of low-level system of the brain that could be tinkered with. Instead it felt like he spent 4 months researching ancient Sumer and by God he was going to not let that work go to waste.

I don't remember that part of Snow Crash. Did you mean Cryptonomicon? That book was a huge disappointment to me, so unbelievably tedious to read.

Re: Reading in the Age of Constant Distraction

#175

Post by Bijal13 »

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…

I completely agree re: non-fiction. This is why I started creating 15 minute shorts that summarise the key concepts for busy, time-conscious readers for less.

https://www.booktherapy.io/collections/15-minute-shorts

I also think there is a lot of therapeutic power embedded in literature (fiction and nonfiction) and I've created some 15 minute literary guides too for lots of different issues and interests: https://www.booktherapy.io/collections/literary-guides

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