Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers
theatlantic.com
Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers
1–10 of 79 posts
Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers
#2>a chief factor seems to be the household one is born into, and the culture of reading that parents create within it.
Aye, my mother regularly took us to the biggest public library within driving distance. Every few weeks. And we didn't just grab and go, we would spend some time browsing the stacks.
As her mother did before her. It was inexpensive entertainment for those that weren't well off.
I developed very wide interests in everything imaginable, just from stumbling upon really good books.
Mind you though, I didn't develop an appreciation for fiction for a long time. To some, "readers" are those who are always reading fiction.
Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers
#3>a chief factor seems to be the household one is born into, and the culture of reading that parents create within it. Aye, my mother regularly took us to the biggest public library within driving distance. Every few weeks. And we didn't just grab and go, we would spend some time browsing the stacks. As her mother did before her. It was inexpensive entertainment for those that weren't well off. I developed very wide i…
Aside from having literally a room or two full of books at home, the regular trip to the library was literally a highlight of my childhood. Piling up the books to take back, and then running around and choosing a new stack to take out, it was a great time.
It's literally free entertainment for children that lets them effectively supervise themselves, and god knows as a parent one can use entertainment for young children.
Plus its an actual constructive skill.
We live in the time with the most access to the most information available and almost no one wants it. I'm constantly blown away that the default position isn't: "Why isn't the human race just constantly reading?".
Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers
#4> They can be identified by their independent-bookstore tote bags, their “Book Lover” mugs, or—most reliably—by the bound, printed stacks of paper they flip through on their lap. They are, for lack of a more specific term, readers.
Is there some hidden irony in the pointlessness of this paragraph?
Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers
#5I go through periods of intensive reading, then downtimes. These both span for months.
Problem is a lot of it is dreck.
Some books draw out a story for 1100 pages then stuff all the cool stuff in the last 200 pages. It feels dishonest.
A lot of classics aren't.
A lot of pulp is captivating and fast paced.
I tried reading infinite jest - I had to return it.
I finished fear an loathing in las vegas in a day.
It's a crap shoot.
Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers
#6>a chief factor seems to be the household one is born into, and the culture of reading that parents create within it. Aye, my mother regularly took us to the biggest public library within driving distance. Every few weeks. And we didn't just grab and go, we would spend some time browsing the stacks. As her mother did before her. It was inexpensive entertainment for those that weren't well off. I developed very wide i…
> Aye, my mother regularly took us to the biggest public library within driving distance. Every few weeks. And we didn't just grab and go, we would spend some time browsing the stacks.
I have very fond memories of spending time at the library growing up. My mom is an avid reader. I just never picked it up. I remember as a kid thumbing through mostly reference books to imagine up projects I didn't have the money or resources to carry out. Maybe I just never got into fiction and reference books were only as-needed?
Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers
#7>a chief factor seems to be the household one is born into, and the culture of reading that parents create within it. Aye, my mother regularly took us to the biggest public library within driving distance. Every few weeks. And we didn't just grab and go, we would spend some time browsing the stacks. As her mother did before her. It was inexpensive entertainment for those that weren't well off. I developed very wide i…
Aside from having literally a room or two full of books at home, the regular trip to the library was literally a highlight of my childhood. Piling up the books to take back, and then running around and choosing a new stack to take out, it was a great time. It's literally free entertainment for children that lets them effectively supervise themselves, and god knows as a parent one can use entertainment for young child…
Even with all of the content of the Internet, I often still look for a book when I'm digging into a new topic and need to be shown the basics A-Z. It's just too hard to get a complete picture from the tiny snippets people organized for free online. Books paid someone to write something with a specific audience in mind. Often, for things like gardening or pottery, a recent book isn't necessarily more relevant than an old book. Libraries are amazing for things like this.
Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers
#8I go through periods of intensive reading, then downtimes. These both span for months. Problem is a lot of it is dreck. Some books draw out a story for 1100 pages then stuff all the cool stuff in the last 200 pages. It feels dishonest. A lot of classics aren't. A lot of pulp is captivating and fast paced. I tried reading infinite jest - I had to return it. I finished fear an loathing in las vegas in a day. It's a cra…
It is a crapshoot. I’m fortunate in that my mother is a prolific reader. I am too, but she makes me look illiterate. She consumes a ridiculous number of books a year. Lots of it is crap. Some isn’t, and she’s always recommended those ones to me, keeping in mind my own interests.
Over the years I’ve met a few others who I trust to recommend books. But most people, even professional reviewers, just don’t work for me.
That said, I’ve only read a handful of books that I’ve finished and thought, “I wish I hadn’t read that.” I can usually get something out of it, whether it’s a classic, pulp, overrated, whatever. It took me many attempts to make it through Dune by Frank Herbert. Part of it I attribute to being a child for my first attempts, but part of it is the style. It’s dry, slow, and political. It’s now one my short list of favorite books. On the other hand, William Gibson’s Neuromancer has gotten about as many attempts from me, but that one I’ve never finished.
Interestingly (to me anyway), I generally find the books recommended by random HN posters worthy reads, both fiction and non-fiction.
Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers
#9I go through periods of intensive reading, then downtimes. These both span for months. Problem is a lot of it is dreck. Some books draw out a story for 1100 pages then stuff all the cool stuff in the last 200 pages. It feels dishonest. A lot of classics aren't. A lot of pulp is captivating and fast paced. I tried reading infinite jest - I had to return it. I finished fear an loathing in las vegas in a day. It's a cra…
There are so many true classics, and so many non-fiction classics, and so many great pulp and genre, that just sticking to awarded works, respected top-X lists, gives you enough books to last 2-3 lifetimes of reading 2 books per week (that's still less than 10K books in total).
Plus following the thread of an author you like gives you easily 3-10 books of them, and 10-20 books of similar style you know you enjoy of those who inspired them/succeeded them.
It's hardly a "crap shot", except if you buy random books...
Re: Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers
#10With mobile devices if you count reading articles etc most people are gonna be life long readers