I read hundreds of books per year, almost entirely fiction but not what I would call low brow fiction, i.e. any book you can buy at Target would be low brow, and certainly nothing that would be considered reading at an 8th grade level. I read authors like Ayn Rand, Patricia Highsmith, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Ellroy, and Fuminori Nakumara(Japanese authors are fantastic, read a book last year called Lady Joker that was about blackmailing a beer distributor, easily one of the best books I've read). How do I find time to read so many books? Simple, I wake up 30-60 minutes before I need to and start my morning by reading while drinking my coffee. The only non fiction I read anymore involves quantum physics and the akashic fields, other than that I no longer see the point in reading someone else's opinion on whatever topic a book may be about, self help books are written by snake oil salesman to loot the savings of the misguided public. Your brain is a muscle and needs to be worked out like it's a bicep or tricep, reading books is taking your brain to the gym thus this is why we have an absolutely feeble minded society.
My quibble with people reading fiction aren't those like you but adult women who read exclusively young adult novels. You are correct about people not treating their brains like a muscle that needs exercise...and neither do many people treat their actual muscles this way. Once I started reading in the morning I found my anxiety far more manageable.
Thank you for writing and sharing this. Oddly enough, I woke up this morning and finally "started" on my goal to read at least 10 pages of something substantial - from an actual book - every day, instead of looking at my phone. An hour later, I read your essay (on my tablet, and not phone, I feel the need to add). I missed it when you first posted it, but seeing it today reminded me that good things can't find you until you're ready to see them.
That is a great way to start. Cal Newport whose video I had in the post suggests setting a timer for 15 minutes. If you can consistently read for 15 mins without interruption (he also says to put your phone FAR away), you can gradually increase the time, because the point is to train the concentration. Glad you found it valuable!
Intellectual snob? No, that didn’t come through at all. Sincerely l mean that. Thank you for this piece. It resonates with me. I enjoyed the reminders, the Rob Henderson excerpts and your honesty. More please.
Why thank you, I am inclined to just state the possible criticisms outright because I’ve been so conditioned by over a decade of arguing with people who love ad hominems…
Any recommendations for a good non-fiction reading list? I’m skeptical of things like the NYT best sellers lists and some of the modern non-fiction pseudo science stuff. I never stopped reading but shifted to mindless fiction for the past several years as a non stressful non tv relaxation alternative and need a kick start to get back on non fiction.
I've been so happy to see so many of my friends and acquaintances, especially women, starting to get really excited about reading lately. Many of them are like you described yourself: they used to read voraciously but, for whatever reason (phones), stopped for a long time before rediscovering it and falling back in love with it.
I did this, too. I read constantly as a child and teenager (fiction, mostly, of course), then once I got older, I consumed every nonfiction book I could get my hands on about every topic I was interested in, and from every perspective of said topic. I learned a great deal, and my writing from that era shows it. Then I got a smart phone, lol.
I started reading more again a few years ago when I was working at a tiny post office with very little business, about a 45 minute drive away. I had a lot of downtime. I started with an audiobook of an old book I'd read years prior for my commute, then I was so engrossed that I re-bought the Kindle version to keep reading after I got to work and couldn't listen anymore. That pretty much broke my brain and reset me. I read 70 books last year. I feel... so much better, honestly! I haven't fully done away with the phone (I read this post from it) but I finally have my long-form reading brain back and that makes me happy. As a result, I naturally just don't gravitate toward the same apps with the short, dumb ideas and memes, preferring this space to the rest of them when I do.
Because this comment isn't long enough already, I'll add that during the years I want reading, I also wasn't writing. Since I started reading again a few years ago, I immediately wanted to write again. And here I am, doing it all the time!
I noticed that as soon as I started reading my brain was forming connections that led to writing, naturally. I have built up hundreds of ideas to explore while reading, it’s all because I have read so much non fiction. I changed my mind on so much because of books, and reading philosophy in particular helped a lot with mental health. I wish this sort of reading was common, because it does make you better able to think.
I read hundreds of books per year, almost entirely fiction but not what I would call low brow fiction, i.e. any book you can buy at Target would be low brow, and certainly nothing that would be considered reading at an 8th grade level. I read authors like Ayn Rand, Patricia Highsmith, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Ellroy, and Fuminori Nakumara(Japanese authors are fantastic, read a book last year called Lady Joker that was about blackmailing a beer distributor, easily one of the best books I've read). How do I find time to read so many books? Simple, I wake up 30-60 minutes before I need to and start my morning by reading while drinking my coffee. The only non fiction I read anymore involves quantum physics and the akashic fields, other than that I no longer see the point in reading someone else's opinion on whatever topic a book may be about, self help books are written by snake oil salesman to loot the savings of the misguided public. Your brain is a muscle and needs to be worked out like it's a bicep or tricep, reading books is taking your brain to the gym thus this is why we have an absolutely feeble minded society.
My quibble with people reading fiction aren't those like you but adult women who read exclusively young adult novels. You are correct about people not treating their brains like a muscle that needs exercise...and neither do many people treat their actual muscles this way. Once I started reading in the morning I found my anxiety far more manageable.
Thank you for writing and sharing this. Oddly enough, I woke up this morning and finally "started" on my goal to read at least 10 pages of something substantial - from an actual book - every day, instead of looking at my phone. An hour later, I read your essay (on my tablet, and not phone, I feel the need to add). I missed it when you first posted it, but seeing it today reminded me that good things can't find you until you're ready to see them.
That is a great way to start. Cal Newport whose video I had in the post suggests setting a timer for 15 minutes. If you can consistently read for 15 mins without interruption (he also says to put your phone FAR away), you can gradually increase the time, because the point is to train the concentration. Glad you found it valuable!
Intellectual snob? No, that didn’t come through at all. Sincerely l mean that. Thank you for this piece. It resonates with me. I enjoyed the reminders, the Rob Henderson excerpts and your honesty. More please.
Why thank you, I am inclined to just state the possible criticisms outright because I’ve been so conditioned by over a decade of arguing with people who love ad hominems…
“micro-canceled me.” Funny.
if you can have "micro-aggressions", you can have micro-cancellations :P
Any recommendations for a good non-fiction reading list? I’m skeptical of things like the NYT best sellers lists and some of the modern non-fiction pseudo science stuff. I never stopped reading but shifted to mindless fiction for the past several years as a non stressful non tv relaxation alternative and need a kick start to get back on non fiction.
Absolutely. If you tell me your topics, I can rattle off some books. Feel free to DM.
I've been so happy to see so many of my friends and acquaintances, especially women, starting to get really excited about reading lately. Many of them are like you described yourself: they used to read voraciously but, for whatever reason (phones), stopped for a long time before rediscovering it and falling back in love with it.
I did this, too. I read constantly as a child and teenager (fiction, mostly, of course), then once I got older, I consumed every nonfiction book I could get my hands on about every topic I was interested in, and from every perspective of said topic. I learned a great deal, and my writing from that era shows it. Then I got a smart phone, lol.
I started reading more again a few years ago when I was working at a tiny post office with very little business, about a 45 minute drive away. I had a lot of downtime. I started with an audiobook of an old book I'd read years prior for my commute, then I was so engrossed that I re-bought the Kindle version to keep reading after I got to work and couldn't listen anymore. That pretty much broke my brain and reset me. I read 70 books last year. I feel... so much better, honestly! I haven't fully done away with the phone (I read this post from it) but I finally have my long-form reading brain back and that makes me happy. As a result, I naturally just don't gravitate toward the same apps with the short, dumb ideas and memes, preferring this space to the rest of them when I do.
Because this comment isn't long enough already, I'll add that during the years I want reading, I also wasn't writing. Since I started reading again a few years ago, I immediately wanted to write again. And here I am, doing it all the time!
I noticed that as soon as I started reading my brain was forming connections that led to writing, naturally. I have built up hundreds of ideas to explore while reading, it’s all because I have read so much non fiction. I changed my mind on so much because of books, and reading philosophy in particular helped a lot with mental health. I wish this sort of reading was common, because it does make you better able to think.