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 even worse, imo, was when nanowrimo was big and people were sharing their tips for hitting the word count that made the product completely unreadable. Adding five to ten extraneous adjectives per sentence, lengthy recaps of the plot so far, having characters mishear dialogue for no reason other than to have it repeated. Just a complete misunderstanding of the point of writing
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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 @RalphBassfeld I did the 52 books in one year thing once. Just to have done it. I agree with Joan's post!
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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 is like a tobacco junkie needing to smoke 3 packs each 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 just because it can be quantified does not mean that it should be quantified. Is this another case of trying to make the measurable important? Or assuming that measurable things are a good proxy for important things (reading and thinking in this case)?
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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 No. The worst thing the internet did to reading was shortening ideas to the length of a social media post. You are in rarefied circles if the people you a surrounded by are competitively reading. The people I'm around brag, BRAG, about how few books they've read. Social posts from other semiliterates is high literature to these- and most- folks.
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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 why are you pissed at TikTok and not GoodReads? They started this crap with their challenges
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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: And think about them for longer than a TikTok video.And it is OK to read the same book again because you are older, wiser, more open to ideas, whatever, and might learn something new. The number of times I have pulled a book of the shelf, re-read it, and thought "Huh, they changed some of the words." is significant. Spoiler alert - the book has been sitting on my shelf for a decade, the only thing that changed is me.
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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’m not sure when we decided, as a society, to have to quantify and measure everything.
Being early Gen X (the best generation) I can remember when having fun didn’t involve a calendar and an agenda.
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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@mastodon.social tbf I grew up with Book It!, so I encountered competitive reading as a corporate-sponsored activity in, like, elementary/middle school
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I've gotten used to it. If a show doesn't hold my interest past episode 3 or 4, it's done for me. It's why I've never watched much beloved shows who take 3 seasons to get good like DS9. I got better shit to do then slog through multiple seasons of "it's fine I guess" when there's so much else to watch.
@JessTheUnstill @nazokiyoubinbou @Nicovel0 @Daojoan
Same. I drop books, walk out of movies, turn off music. If it sucks? My opinion should matter to me. And my time matters to me and others.
Being judicious is a life skill.
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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 Hard agree. And I think talking about reading totals can be dispiriting to people who really struggle to read.
Also, is reading one YA novel equivalent to reading Don Quixote? Not that there’s anything wrong with YA novels (I’m reading one now).
But a “book” is a poor unit of measure.
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@Daojoan you can even stop reading a book you don’t enjoy, or read a book you like several times.
Mad I know. -
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 Wow, that is well said and so true. Thank you
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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
