4 ms·
Fuck reading a book a week. No one can read that fast. Let me repeat that -NO ONE CAN FUCKING READ THAT FAST. Finally someone has the courage to tell the truth
by kafkaesq 10y ago
Fuck reading a book a week. No one can read that fast. Let me repeat that -NO ONE CAN FUCKING READ THAT FAST.
Finally someone has the courage to tell the truth. I mean, I get the part about the necessary skimming one has to to do not just get through school, but be a practical, working academic (as described in the HBR article). Or the way that techies need to skim lots of tech books to stay ahead in one's career.
But that's not reading (in the sense of works meant to be read and not just "understood" -- that is, fiction, or high-quality non-fiction). Which means getting in the author's head; making their language your own (to the point of it sometimes actually does become the language you use, in ordinary speech and writing); getting to know their characters to the point where they have at least a partial feeling of tangible reality to them (like people you actually do know from the physical word); and their stomping grounds, to a point where they feel like places you've actually live in.
That's why it often takes me weeks, sometimes months (and multiple readings) to "read" a book. Very part-time, mind you -- I suppose I could make it go faster, if I made a "system" about it. Yeah, I suppose if I put my mind to it, I could get through a good-sized book in a week or so.
But then I would probably just end up "understanding" the book. Not reading it.
- cardigan 10y agoSorry that's not the truth, I read about a book a week. This week I've read 3 and started another 2. The secret is to read for enjoyment, a lot, and eventually you get fast. If it feels like a chore, you're not reading the right books: read something else. If you're enjoying it, it's easy to get carried away and read for many hours at a time.
- kafkaesq 10y agoYeah, I get the "enjoyment" part. What it comes down to is that some people just like to read (certain kinds of things) more slowly, even though they could be reading them more quickly. Guiding principle being: it's not the number of words (or the number of books read in a year), but the intensity of the experience that they're after.
- staticelf 10y agoI only do audiobooks and then I can easily complete one book in a week. Although, I think most books are uninteresting so I don't listen to one each week. I hate reading books. It's the worst advice anyone can give me.
- copperx 10y ago> I think most books are uninteresting so I don't listen to one each week. What kinds of books are you reading? I assure you, there's something out there for everyone. I think your statement is a cop out. There's no better way to get a greater understanding of the world out thereb
- staticelf 10y agoI've listened to REWORK and REMOTE recently, which I liked. I think I will listen to "How to win friends and influence people" but I much rather listen to podcasts. Well I read a lot of articles, listens to a lot of podcasts and watch a lot of documentaries so I disagree. Books in general only has one point of view and doesn't reflect the real world.
- nekopa 10y agoI read incredibly fast. Reading a book a night is no problem for me. I think it is genetic, as my mother could read at a pace that astounded even me, and she could recall everything from the book too. A 500 page novel would take her about 2-3 hours to get through, then she could recite the book back to you - scenery, dialogs the works. Now this is talking about novels. If I'm reading to learn then you have to I must interact with the book, stop and think, go back and make connections, try something out etc. This is where I like the statement in the book "How to read a book" about reading as fast as is necessary to complete the task you want to accomplish - fast for a quick read through maybe, then slower on another read through for making notes. So I can read a novel a night, or a pop Sci book in a day, but I've been going through a math book for the last 2 months, and of course, I've been reading the first chapter of TAOCP for about 15 years (hence the math books now :)
- elviejo 10y agoWhat I do is to "average" a book a week. I mean, I listen to 3 books on audible (pretty easy to do). Light entertaining books like Predictable Irrational, Toyota Kata, etc. At the same time the whole month I'm working / doing exercises of a difficult math or programming book. Therefore 4 books in a month an average of 1 a week.