It's ironic that we live in an era when practically every great classic is available for free as an eBook, yet reading is down.
I think our constant use of smartphones has messed up our ability to focus for lengthy amounts of time. Every summer when the school year ends, I have to retrain myself to sit and read without feeling a need to check my email, newsfeeds, etc.
I think you’re probably right about the phone as a challenge. Instead of having a book with us, it’s easier to just keep our phone in our pockets—after all, we’ve already got it with us. And since reading is often an interstitial activity, scrolling through socials works just as well for a lot of folks.
What a lovely story about Pelzer. I’ve been faithfully keeping a commonplace book for years, but I use goodreads for my reading log, and have played with shifting to a paper log. This feels like excellent inspiration. And so much of making people want to read does start with modeling and conversation. I make asking if people have read anything good lately my go to small talk question (along with what do you do for fun/hobbies rather than what is your job) and it makes a difference. And we got rid of our TV when we moved and that has been huge in keeping ourselves and our kids more book focused. The screen temptation/easy way out is still there with computers, but it’s a lot less strong than when we had an actual TV. Would 100% recommend
Man. That quote from Andrew Tate is ridiculous! I really do worry about the modern loss of literacy. It is one of my greatest concerns for the future of humanity. If you don't read, it's hard to gain critical thinking skills and baseline knowledge. You will be tossed back and forth by the waves of popular opinion, viral videos and memes, and whatever most people seem to be doing. And sadly, at different periods of history, "whatever most people seem to be doing" may include acts of violence, fear mongering, or just being generally ignorant. I don't mean to be a doom spreader, but it really is easy to not be an idiot—just read more books—and most people seem unwilling to do that.
I deeply resonate with your concern. The idea that people have their own minds and are responsible to cultivate it seems quite unfashionable these days. It’s more like—at least it feels like—we’re parroting talking points from our various tribes and communities instead of actually thinking our own thoughts. Books offer a way to break out of the echo chamber, but only if we bother to read them and the habit is on the wane to some degree.
Count me in, too. Private library now totalling over 580 books; no TV cable subscription; no Cell Phone; no ear buds; no ChatGPT. I love my Substack! May it live on forever and become the place to find our collective sanity.
Wow! I'd say that's a life well lived! I used to keep a spreadsheet of all the books I'd read. It was somewhere between three and four hundred, I think, when it somehow got deleted.
Good stories always command attention no matter the media they are told through. When a movie goes well at the box office, sales of the book increase (assuming there is one). I think live sports and the accompanying stories, of players, of teams, cuts into available time by men. It will be interesting to see if the rise of women’s sports has a similar reading decline on women.
Lovely article. I have been keeping a reading log for the last few reads, giving each book a rating and synopsis, then a proper book review. I am quite a competitive reader and set myself a target to read for the year 🙄
I remember the summer book reading challenges when I was young. I never did win a prize, although I was a natural speed reader. I think it was because it was reading new books, and I frequently reread favourite books.
I can understand why Pelzer some years read few books - in the years that brought the greatest stress in my life, reading became too much. Even on days off, my brain was too tired to properly concentrate. So I consumed perhaps two new books a year, plus old favourites that didn't require so much attention. And I watched quite a lot of films/TV in those years, since I didn't need so much concentration for watching. It is often said modern life is far too fast paced - maybe that is the real culprit for why reading has decreased.
These days, my life is slower paced due to my health. My reading has resurged, and I've been tackling difficult books I would have previously avoided. I've kept a list in the last few years, and I've read an average of 60 new books a year, plus about 35 rereads. I don't set any numerical or subject goals, I just read what I find available to read.
I've kept a list of titles of the books 📚 I've read since 1998 or so, in a Badtz Maru notebook 📓. But I also log them on Goodreads, at least for this year, on Beanstack at the library, and on a Facebook page I belong to. The library and the FB page are reading challenges. I find it motivating, but I don't need extra incentive to read. It's what I would do with the proverbial extra hour. Luckily, I'm retired, and loving it, and can now read almost as much as I want to. I love participating in reading challenges at the library. They have fun prizes, and occasionally Tshirts.
This is great! I only got into reading about six years ago because our oldest son had intellectually past us in warp-speed time. I didn't want him to feel like conversing with his mom was equivalent to talking with the village idiot. So, I did something about that. Our other son won't touch a book with a ten-foot pole. Our daughter, on the other hand, should make a list like this fellow. She reads dozens of books every year. She has even decided to be homeschooled her last two years because she doesn't like the confinement and lack of study of her school's curriculum. Huzzah!
And let’s not forget Samuel Bankman Fried’s analysis of Shakespeare: he couldn’t have been the genius that he is acclaimed to be because the Bayesian priors aren’t good.
Many of my male friends are avid readers, but they mostly read classics and do not participate in book clubs. That is a very different pattern than what I see with many women readers.
I’m inspired to restart my Evernote book journal which I’m afraid that I’ve let lapse.
It's ironic that we live in an era when practically every great classic is available for free as an eBook, yet reading is down.
I think our constant use of smartphones has messed up our ability to focus for lengthy amounts of time. Every summer when the school year ends, I have to retrain myself to sit and read without feeling a need to check my email, newsfeeds, etc.
I think you’re probably right about the phone as a challenge. Instead of having a book with us, it’s easier to just keep our phone in our pockets—after all, we’ve already got it with us. And since reading is often an interstitial activity, scrolling through socials works just as well for a lot of folks.
What a lovely story about Pelzer. I’ve been faithfully keeping a commonplace book for years, but I use goodreads for my reading log, and have played with shifting to a paper log. This feels like excellent inspiration. And so much of making people want to read does start with modeling and conversation. I make asking if people have read anything good lately my go to small talk question (along with what do you do for fun/hobbies rather than what is your job) and it makes a difference. And we got rid of our TV when we moved and that has been huge in keeping ourselves and our kids more book focused. The screen temptation/easy way out is still there with computers, but it’s a lot less strong than when we had an actual TV. Would 100% recommend
Yes, I was delighted to discover his story. Getting rid of television is a wonderful idea. We’ve gone without for long periods—and they were great.
Man. That quote from Andrew Tate is ridiculous! I really do worry about the modern loss of literacy. It is one of my greatest concerns for the future of humanity. If you don't read, it's hard to gain critical thinking skills and baseline knowledge. You will be tossed back and forth by the waves of popular opinion, viral videos and memes, and whatever most people seem to be doing. And sadly, at different periods of history, "whatever most people seem to be doing" may include acts of violence, fear mongering, or just being generally ignorant. I don't mean to be a doom spreader, but it really is easy to not be an idiot—just read more books—and most people seem unwilling to do that.
I deeply resonate with your concern. The idea that people have their own minds and are responsible to cultivate it seems quite unfashionable these days. It’s more like—at least it feels like—we’re parroting talking points from our various tribes and communities instead of actually thinking our own thoughts. Books offer a way to break out of the echo chamber, but only if we bother to read them and the habit is on the wane to some degree.
Yeah. :/
Well, here's hoping your book does some good!
Count me in, too. Private library now totalling over 580 books; no TV cable subscription; no Cell Phone; no ear buds; no ChatGPT. I love my Substack! May it live on forever and become the place to find our collective sanity.
Wow! I'd say that's a life well lived! I used to keep a spreadsheet of all the books I'd read. It was somewhere between three and four hundred, I think, when it somehow got deleted.
Ack! So sorry to hear that. I keep my log in Apple Notes. I better figure out a backup.
Good stories always command attention no matter the media they are told through. When a movie goes well at the box office, sales of the book increase (assuming there is one). I think live sports and the accompanying stories, of players, of teams, cuts into available time by men. It will be interesting to see if the rise of women’s sports has a similar reading decline on women.
Lovely article. I have been keeping a reading log for the last few reads, giving each book a rating and synopsis, then a proper book review. I am quite a competitive reader and set myself a target to read for the year 🙄
I remember the summer book reading challenges when I was young. I never did win a prize, although I was a natural speed reader. I think it was because it was reading new books, and I frequently reread favourite books.
I can understand why Pelzer some years read few books - in the years that brought the greatest stress in my life, reading became too much. Even on days off, my brain was too tired to properly concentrate. So I consumed perhaps two new books a year, plus old favourites that didn't require so much attention. And I watched quite a lot of films/TV in those years, since I didn't need so much concentration for watching. It is often said modern life is far too fast paced - maybe that is the real culprit for why reading has decreased.
These days, my life is slower paced due to my health. My reading has resurged, and I've been tackling difficult books I would have previously avoided. I've kept a list in the last few years, and I've read an average of 60 new books a year, plus about 35 rereads. I don't set any numerical or subject goals, I just read what I find available to read.
I've kept a list of titles of the books 📚 I've read since 1998 or so, in a Badtz Maru notebook 📓. But I also log them on Goodreads, at least for this year, on Beanstack at the library, and on a Facebook page I belong to. The library and the FB page are reading challenges. I find it motivating, but I don't need extra incentive to read. It's what I would do with the proverbial extra hour. Luckily, I'm retired, and loving it, and can now read almost as much as I want to. I love participating in reading challenges at the library. They have fun prizes, and occasionally Tshirts.
How cool to have that notebook! What a tremendous personal history.
This is great! I only got into reading about six years ago because our oldest son had intellectually past us in warp-speed time. I didn't want him to feel like conversing with his mom was equivalent to talking with the village idiot. So, I did something about that. Our other son won't touch a book with a ten-foot pole. Our daughter, on the other hand, should make a list like this fellow. She reads dozens of books every year. She has even decided to be homeschooled her last two years because she doesn't like the confinement and lack of study of her school's curriculum. Huzzah!
And let’s not forget Samuel Bankman Fried’s analysis of Shakespeare: he couldn’t have been the genius that he is acclaimed to be because the Bayesian priors aren’t good.
Many of my male friends are avid readers, but they mostly read classics and do not participate in book clubs. That is a very different pattern than what I see with many women readers.
I’m inspired to restart my Evernote book journal which I’m afraid that I’ve let lapse.