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Posted by silcoon 10 hours ago

How to read more books(scotto.me)
255 points | 145 commentspage 6
wannabebarista 9 hours ago|
For staying motivated to read, I like to set up and read small clusters of books then write about them. Being able to put a bow on a reading project is easier to stick with than reading X books in a year.
lanfeust6 2 hours ago||
All I had to do to read more was reserve time specifically for it. On week days that will be late evening, on the weekend I can sneak in extra time in the am. I haven't had to "block" anything, but I don't use my phone for much, just my laptop.
ForgotMyUUID 9 hours ago||
I did something similar two years ago : I set up MacroDroid such that it opens CoolReader every time I unlock my phone
blcknight 8 hours ago||
I adore my XTEink 4 with the crosspoint firmware. Best small form factor ereader
krystalgamer 8 hours ago|
been thinking about buying one, but the whole debacle with locking down the fw put me off for a bit.
blcknight 8 hours ago|||
Oh I didn't hear about this. That sucks. The stock firmware is terrible. CrossPoint makes it usable.
ryanar 8 hours ago|||
they have a partnership with crosspoint now i think its fine now
dredmorbius 4 hours ago||
I'd split this question into a set of parts:

- Why to read?

- How to read (from a literary / skills perspective)?

- What to read: authors, topics, books, etc?

- How to read (practice / technology)?

Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book addresses most of the first three questions, and ... would be a good book to read itself. For an overview of it:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Read_a_Book> (Wikipedia)

<https://archive.org/details/howtoreadabook1940edition/page/n...> (Fully online copy, 1940 edition).

Adler starts of with the whys: entertainment, information, understanding, and syntopical (mastery). I'd add to his list reading for reading, whether that's to build the habit itself, or to increase your own skills in your first or additional languages. To which I'd only add: understand why you want to read, or are reading, and if you wish to remain with that motivation or seek others.

In how he discusses the different types and levels of reading, from skimming to deep analysis. These both suit different goals (whys), and demand very different levels of intention and attention.

For both these sections I'd strongly recommend you read Adler's own discussion, though there's a good overview in a Farnham Street blog post on the book: <https://fs.blog/how-to-read-a-book/> (itself discussed briefly at HN <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26450303>).

As to what to read, beyond the extent to which that's addressed in the "why" and "how" discussion, Adler includes a list of 300 or so significant works which would make a good starting ground for general background.

For myself, I've used various sets of recommendations, including literary awards and recommendations at websites, as well as starting with a question, looking for books on those topics, and then heavily mining bibliographies and citations (the former: works cited by what I'm reading, the latter citations of the work I've read) for further exploration. Past a point, finding material worth reading actually does become a challenge, despite the tremendous volume of published works (hundreds of thousands to a million or more books through much of the 20th century and beyond).

On how to read: I'm fond of physical books, but a bookreader (e-ink if possible) is an excellent way to carry a large (thousands or more volumes) of books, and audiobooks are quite accessible. I've had mixed experiences with Onyx BOOX --- the displays are wonderful, but as with most e-book readers on device organisation of a large library is ... poorly supported. Physical device reliability and support through the vendor have been more recent frustrations. And I'm increasingly not a fan of Android in any form (the BOOX devices run a de-Googled Android). I'm not aware of anything markedly better, unfortunately. I would recommend the largest device you can comfortably carry, with 8--10" probably being the sweet spot. Smaller devices are more portable, but really don't support written material particularly well.

For audiobooks, Librivox (https://librivox.org/), public library apps such as Libby and Hoopla, and government-supported programmes such as the US Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS/BARD: <https://www.loc.gov/nls/> and <https://www.loc.gov/nls/services-and-resources/catalog-and-b...>) are all excellent options. The NLS/BARD service is free to qualified individuals, and includes not only over 300,000 audiobook titles (plus Braille), but free apps (iOS, Android) and physical e-book readers. If you or someone you know has visual or reading disabilities, and you live in the US or a territory, do check it out. A medical professional (doctor, optometrist, nurse, or other) can provide an eligibility statement. See <https://www.loc.gov/nls/services-and-resources/catalog-and-b...>.

Upshot: figure out why you want to read and what. Adler's a good source on the how (there are other guides, including similarly titled ones). Books are all over, in meatspace, libraries, online, etc. Figure out how you prefer to (or need to) read. And then just get into it.

carlosjobim 2 hours ago|
> Past a point, finding material worth reading actually does become a challenge, despite the tremendous volume of published works (hundreds of thousands to a million or more books through much of the 20th century and beyond).

Where does that point arrive? I'm right now at a point where my to read list is increasing faster than I can read, because I keep adding books mentioned in the other books I''m reading.

dredmorbius 1 hour ago||
To an extent it depends on what your interests are, what your research skills are, and how well you can articulate what it is you're looking for. That last especially if you're dependent on others to find materials of interest.

For someone reading for distraction, with narrow interests and tastes, who's covered most of the obvious canon (Great Books, literary prizes/awards, etc.), coming up with useful recommendations gets challenging.

Mind: I'm describing others, not myself, for whom the situation is similar to what you describe. I am getting better at realising that many of the works I'm referred to by the means mentioned earlier (references and citations) aren't especially illuminating, though at least for now, many others are. More books than time is still my status.

The problem as stated derives largely from what I've heard of trying to keep a very literary visually-disabled person with refined and/or narrow tastes "in books". A few thousand titles in, and much of the low-hanging fruit is harvested, and recommendations (friends, book reviews, AI/LLM) tend to either replicate books already read or come up with inappropriate / unsatisfactory recommendations.

firemelt 7 hours ago||
but this is means reads only to read

sometime for books that I choose I nred something like a table and chair pen a paper to really read the text that written

otar 9 hours ago||
I’m not as avid a reader as the author, but I can still offer one piece of advice: remembering what you read is important.

https://world.hey.com/otar/remembering-what-you-read-8b70cf6...

lilerjee 9 hours ago||
Use reading book to replace reading phone is a good habit or strategy.

Not only read book, but also thinking them is a must thing.

Sometime you want to go outside from your home to see the real world.

Don't forget the real world, reading book lets you absorb the knowledge, but most time they are not right, accurate, or you don't understand them, the real world can tell you the real knowledge.

nephihaha 8 hours ago|
Watching TV as well. I find I get more out of books than binge watching series. Books require more active use of your imaginative faculties.
65 8 hours ago|
I've found my reading picked dramatically since I started using LLMs for programming. Waiting for a prompt to finish is a great time to read.
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