I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport.
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I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
@Daojoan saw someone having read 93 books in 2 months on fable!!! And their goal is 365 books. I was so amazed
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@hugoestr @Daojoan I've been doing several "slow reads" lately. Either by reading a chapter a week - currently doing Carl Sagan's Cosmos for that. Or a little each day for really long books. I recently finished the audiobook of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which I started in December and listened to about 30 minutes a day most days. And it worked really well like that. I felt had had time to absorb and remember stuff, rather than rushing onwards and forgetting.
@Daojoan @beecycling Nice! I should read Cosmos. The TV show had a strong impact on me when I was a kid
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I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
@Daojoan this is some of the best advice about reading books https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm8oXab3zSk
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I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
@Daojoan wait, it;s not enough just to buy them? /s
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Full ack. It always enrages me when my e-book reader announces that I have been on a reading streak. I would have been on a reading streak without this "nudging", but I feel that trying to keep me doing something I would have done anyway out of inclination is trying to devalue my reading. Sort of "you are (only) reading to stay in the reading streak, and we know it's hard for you, so we try to help you by telling you 'good boy'".
Also: I I haven't read for a day, maybe I have been thinking? So WTF, e-book reader.
@glitzersachen
That's the sort of thing that would make me look for another eBook reader, honestly.
@Daojoan -
I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
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I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
@Daojoan even a single book read is better than none
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I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
@Daojoan I think book clubs convinced people of that before the internet X-D
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I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
RE: https://mastodon.social/@Daojoan/116159038233549644
@Daojoan I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was Amazon.com.
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I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
@Daojoan even reading getting commodified
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I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
Not that I have ever felt reader guilt for my completed-reads count, but I take forever to finish most novels, The good thing is I am always reading---I think this is most important.
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I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
@Daojoan I absolutely agree.
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I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
@Daojoan The funniest bit is that people go "omg this book was so great and I'm a huge fan of it", then you ask them a question and they go "huh????"...
They went over it so fast, they didn't really understand the book beyond the surface level... -
I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
@Daojoan I think the urge to gamify activities is older than the Internet - but it certainly hasn't gotten better since.
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I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
@Daojoan And write about them, whether it be in a personal journal or Medium/Substack, a blog, or wherever else.
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I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
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@Daojoan @briankrebs I love this
I do think it can be beneficial to see reading & thinking as a practice - until recently I had fallen out of reading books & had a fear that I was somehow left behind. Especially when seeing lists and recommendations that seemed so far beyond what I had time or energy for.
Lately I've been reading whatever makes me keep reading, and I'm not focused on a number of books, rather I want reading to be something I do most days and something I do to relax.
@amypotato @Daojoan @briankrebs I spent a couple decades trying to “balance” my reading by alternating fiction and nonfiction. I gave up last year and decided to read as much fiction as I wanted with nonfiction when I felt like it. I probably read about the same amount, but I am SO much happier.
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@Daojoan Now with AI we all can pretend like we read a book every day.
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I genuinely think the worst thing the internet did to reading was convince people that finishing books is a competitive sport. You don't need to read 52 books a year. You just need to read. Books you like. At your own pace. And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.
@Daojoan not even books. Read magazines, newspapers, wikipedia, audiobooks, whatever. Reading is a pleasure, and it all adds to our perspective. Just choose something that is human-written and honest. Medium is far less important.
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@hugoestr @Daojoan I've been doing several "slow reads" lately. Either by reading a chapter a week - currently doing Carl Sagan's Cosmos for that. Or a little each day for really long books. I recently finished the audiobook of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which I started in December and listened to about 30 minutes a day most days. And it worked really well like that. I felt had had time to absorb and remember stuff, rather than rushing onwards and forgetting.
@beecycling @hugoestr @Daojoan I *loved* Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. I saw the tv series first, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book. I get you about absorbing more when you slow down.
I highly recommend The Trotter Nama for a long book to spend time with. A real joy of a book.
https://archive.org/details/trotternamachron00seal
The Goodreads reviewers didn’t seem to get it. Anil Srivastava’s review is a good one and will give you a sense of whether you would enjoy it. It would be lovely to hear as well as read, but a quick search didn’t yield an audiobook version.
