I finally made it all the way through The Power Broker recently, which I've wanted to read for years, and am now on Jennifer Pahlka's really insightful Recoding America, which features heavily in the chapter "Govern" in Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's Abundance. The three are actually quite interesting to read back to back.
Audiobooks are definitely slower to get through than just reading, but I find that I can stick with them in a way that books just haven't allowed me to do in years.
For me I don't like audiobooks because its very slow and spoken stories should have a different cadence, velocity, set of dynamics, and diction than a book should (check out "the moth" to see what I'm talking about). I hold nothing against people who don't like to read or people who like audiobooks, or people who like slow things - Suum cuique.
Many authors are poor readers of their own work.
They are certainly good while you are on a long drive etc, because they entertain you while doing some another task which you wouldn't be able to do while reading. During lockdown, I could not read due to the constant stress and fear mongering, but I had to walk a lot every day and the audiobooks were a good way to accompany that.
The best audiobook I’ve ever listened to is Stephen Kings On Writing: A memoir of the Craft, read by the author. One of our times best storytellers, both when it comes to writing them and telling them.
I have a measure for all content I consume, quality/hr of reading/listening. If it's just a long video that has 2-3 questions that has caught my attention I'd be listening only those. If it's a long text that I might find something interesting I'll ask the LLM to summarize the main ideas as a filter before I decide to dive in.
Books, and their audiobooks version have on average much more bang per hour than random podcasts, because they're structured, authors had spend more time on them and you can cherry pick from a structure.
I also have caught myself using sloppy content as excuse not working on planned tasks with excuses like "this might be useful", or watching "productivity porn" videos. I think LLMs are good as a pre-filter for that.
Scott Adams' podcasts were different. He inserted very few commericials, and they were short enough there was no reason to skip forward. I tried many other podcasts after he passed away, and they all were largely long, boring commercials. Yuck. I now listen to Pandora or Soma FM instead.
As others have pointed out, libraries often have Libby access which can have pretty huge selections of audiobooks. There's a discovery feature that lets you search by vibe, which I am finding useful.
Your point is well taken and very reasonable though.
Reading does force you to slow down to let more enter your brain.
Audiobooks can do the same in a different way.
Either way, longer form content helps the brain unpack and retain bigger/longer picture things which is the kind of focus that many want to improve.
Reading also helps one be more articulate.
Articulation is a helpful skill in using AI.
I actually think this is about quality. Podcasts that take real effort (Hardcore History, Fall of Civilizations, Gastropod) are absolutely worth my time, but they're basically mini-audiobooks in their own right.
> This is probably the most difficult part. I had to remove all social media and streaming apps from my iPhone. I removed Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, etc. When I started, I found myself picking up the phone and immediately noticing that something was missing, since the only things left to do were check the weather, read boring emails, or see my bank account.
These past few months, I have more resolve than ever to cut the chains. Willpower is a practice, and there have been successful steps towards the goal.
First, blocking the real sucks (X, Reddit). Then news (Canadian, won't bore you with the list). And then an innocuous yet sticky set of apps that I would bounce to often, for little benefit or reason: weather, server stats, stocks. A new wrinkle? Inane conversations with LLMs. Blocked!
HN still because, well brothers and the rare sister, it's lonely out there and this place cracks me up. And not much longer.
Now on to entire devices. Desktop, laptop, destined for a locked-down iPad. Lobotomized iPhone, got a watch, and now, slowly, more and more reading.
What pushed me over the edge is the realization that I'm in grief. The Internet which once shaped my identity today, in no defensible way, resembles the silly place which once gave me solace. And yet, like a husk I cling to the teet of these manipulative networks and websites hoping for one last, satisfying drink.
It ain't comin'. Books, then. Like my mother.
It's _really_ hard to break the phone habit. I was in a good place for a few years but have recently been spending time on Reddit.
It's not the end of the world. Ultimately I think going back to Reddit is because I recently haven't had the patience to really read, reflect, etc.
New authors however will certainly have to earn trust for a few years now I think.
It's similar with music, if someone puts out their first album in 2026 and has no singles or EPs, no YouTube presence, etc., it's probably slop. If they have a body of work that goes back a few years, easy to trust.
You should always be critical of everything you read. I have stopped reading plenty of books after a few chapters when I realized there was little value in it for me.
I grew up reading all the time. About 20 years ago, I found myself reading less and less. I decided to read "The Count of Monte Cristo" again. I decided I would read one chapter a night, before going to bed, regardless of how late it was, how busy, etc, By the time I finished, reading before going to bed was a habit. I read 30-60 minutes every night before going to bed. (Read plenty of other times, too; but, no matter how the day has been, I read ever night.)
I don’t read in bed unless I’m on my own, or we’re both reading, as I’ve not found any satisfying book lights and I don’t use an e-reader. Also probably better for sleep hygiene and, as I get older, ergonomics to have a cosy spot somewhere else. Younger me could read folded in half, older me doesn’t want the back trouble.
Mmh I’m not sure about that. I prefer to read for 1-2 hours rather than read 2 minutes here and 5 minutes there, especially for books that require some concentration to read, like dense stories and/or books not in my native language.
In this way I read more books, which is necessary because ... ah, I almost started discussing why to read more books, that's a different question.
Like if it was something of a sport with olympics where people compete in their own weight and it is measured in the end to the hundredths of seconds in front of spectators in a stadion shaped library cheering READ, READ, READ! Quality is mentioned, remotely, through selection, but still, the mental picture remains the same. The post smells like a training guide from a large gym franchise for readers. It's name is 'Serious Readers!'
Back then, whenever I read a book, it felt like I was just moving through the words and lines. Nothing happened in my mind. I had no reaction, no reflection, nothing. Because of that, I avoided learning from books and mostly watched videos instead.
While watching videos, I always read the comments. Reading comments from real people felt different. I reacted to them, reflected on them, and stayed engaged. I think it was because comments are short, simple, and easy to read.
After that, I discovered Reddit, forums, and especially Hacker News. In my opinion, Hacker News is one of the best forums on the internet because it's almost entirely text. Reading those discussions helped me get used to longer and more thoughtful writing.
Over time, my reading improved a lot. I can now read long-form, detailed writing with much better focus and reflection. I still want to improve, but I'm in a much better place than before, when I barely read at all.
Final personal note:
Reading should feel reactive and reflective in your brain. When you read short comments on social media, you can feel the full range of emotions, from happiness to anger to sadness. A good book can create the same experience. It's like highly precise commentary that makes you think, reflect, and react.
1. Stop messing about with AI
2. Stop doomscrolling/interacting on social networks (HN is within my 15m allocation)
3. Stop watching _any_ Youtube video that doesn't teach me anything
4. Gloss over my 200 RSS feeds, don't be a completionist
5. Put on classical music, not indie or radio
It almost works. Almost.
I see a few comments about wasting time with AI. I'm curious what the gist of those conversations is about?
I've found AI to be incredibly useful as a tool to nurture intellectual curiosity.
It even improves my book reading experience. Before, when I didn't fully understand a technical detail the author had glossed over, I usually had to skip it, hoping it wasn't critical for understanding later topics. Now, I can get precise explanations for anything I didn't understand in whatever level or detail I require.
in other situations feed it notes, bookmarked articles, generate syllabuses for something you want to learn more about, and generate create html/css "interactive textbooks". the ability to have an infinitely deep tutor always around feels revolutionary.
Easy: I read 50 pages every night when I go to bed, instead of screens.
I started with short novels, 150 pages or fewer (chatgpt gave me a reading list).
It quickly became a habit, and it's lovely.
I'm always in front of my PC both at work and off the clock. I could set up a proxy/filtering software to block them, but the thing is I need to access them at work as well.
Another thing is, when I "waste" time with websites like HN, sometime I learn something new like this post. Maybe much less often than what books would teach me though.