3 ms·

> I think there is a lot of elitism about reading and the intellectualism around it. … Don't play the game. If you don't like reading books and don't get much o

by JadeNB 2y ago

> I think there is a lot of elitism about reading and the intellectualism around it. … Don't play the game. If you don't like reading books and don't get much out of it, don't do it. I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that it's good to get your knowledge wherever you enjoy getting it, as long as it's from a reliable source and you're checking them when possible for any claims you intend to rely on. With that said, I think that: > Genuinely I cannot remember the last time I read a book. I read absolute crap-tons of interesting stuff online, but books? Those out-of-date, read-only, closed-perspectives from people with something they're trying to say? Nope. may go too far the other direction in implying that books have nothing valuable to offer, which I think isn't true. (I'm also curious about the "from people with something they're trying to say" line, which, coming after the others, sounds like it's meant to be criticism. Surely that's true of wherever else you get your information, too? I can't imagine wanting to read the writing, in any form, or watch the videos or listen to the podcasts or whatever, of someone who isn't trying to say something.)

mattlondon 2y ago
> can't imagine wanting to read the writing, in any form, or watch the videos or listen to the podcasts or whatever, of someone who isn't trying to say something.) There is too much "agenda" in most things I read. If you get to the stage of getting a publishing deal, then you likely have "something to say" that is advancing that agenda. Grass-roots publishing online has people trying to push their own agendas too of course, but you don't need to have an "edge" that publishers need to put up your own website or blog or whatever. You can put up something entirely dull and mundane. And the crucial thing IMHO that the internet has that books don't have is the intangible and throw-away nature. How many times have you read a book all the way to the end even though you are not enjoying it or not getting anything out of it? I've found you'll often feel you must finish a book simply because you physically have the copy and that perhaps you spent real money on it too, so it feels like the right thing to do. Online you close the tab the moment you decide it's not what you want, and you don't keep on consuming the author's agenda just because you have the tab open in the same way people feel compelled to finish a book. You can open many tabs at once, scan over hundreds of sources, discarding what you don't need etc in a matter of minutes ... meanwhile with a book you've just got past the preface and you'll keep on donating your limited time alive to read through to the end of the book often even if you don't want to (obviously some people do just abandon a book mid-way through, but I've found that very often most people don't)

by JadeNB 2y ago

mattlondon 2y ago

> can't imagine wanting to read the writing, in any form, or watch the videos or listen to the podcasts or whatever, of someone who isn't trying to say something.) There is too much "agenda" in most things I read. If you get to the stage of getting a publishing deal, then you likely have "something to say" that is advancing that agenda. Grass-roots publishing online has people trying to push their own agendas too of course, but you don't need to have an "edge" that publishers need to put up your own website or blog or whatever. You can put up something entirely dull and mundane. And the crucial thing IMHO that the internet has that books don't have is the intangible and throw-away nature. How many times have you read a book all the way to the end even though you are not enjoying it or not getting anything out of it? I've found you'll often feel you must finish a book simply because you physically have the copy and that perhaps you spent real money on it too, so it feels like the right thing to do. Online you close the tab the moment you decide it's not what you want, and you don't keep on consuming the author's agenda just because you have the tab open in the same way people feel compelled to finish a book. You can open many tabs at once, scan over hundreds of sources, discarding what you don't need etc in a matter of minutes ... meanwhile with a book you've just got past the preface and you'll keep on donating your limited time alive to read through to the end of the book often even if you don't want to (obviously some people do just abandon a book mid-way through, but I've found that very often most people don't)