/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.11932382]

How the fuck do people read several books a week? I can't even read more than 50-60 pages a day. I enjoy reading but I can't do it that much. The Internet has fucking ruined me

[Anonymous No.11932390]

The only people who read multiple books are people who work in think tanks and skim nonfiction

[Anonymous No.11932393]

>>11932382
Don't be afraid to bring audiobooks in the mix too, especially if you're reading the classics of which free audiobooks are available (e.g. from librivox.org). Sometimes I'll read a chapter or two, and then listen to the next few chapters while I'm cleaning the house or something.

[Anonymous No.11932417]

>>11932382
you are alright

[Anonymous No.11932420]

there is no reading benchmark
I can get through a pleb book in half a day, while reading philosophy is 3 times as much time consuming.

[Anonymous No.11932426]

>>11932382
That's okay. You're in no hurry. Just go at your own pace, no one is timing you. The important thing is that you're reading.

[Anonymous No.11932504]

>>11932417
>>11932426
I should probably mention that 50 pages a day is the absolute highest. Usually I only read 15-30 pages a day, one chapter of multiple books

[Anonymous No.11932535]

>>11932382
Do you know how many pages the average normie reads a day? Zero. Normies do not read. Even if you were only reading one page a day, that would still put you ahead of the average normie. Just keep reading and don't beat yourself up.

[Anonymous No.11932541]

>>11932382
if you're not self-conscious about your reading speed, you're self-conscious about how well-read you are. If you're not self-conscious about that, then you're self-conscious about never achieving that WISDOM. If you're not worried about that, then you're worried about your looks or your social life. If not that, then a job. If not that, then you're overall purpose or impact. If not that, then a girl. If not that, then back pain. If not that, if not that, if not that. To solve this? Read, talk to others, and give and get hugs. And although it's almost impossible for an effect to kick in when telling someone in grief that they have no reason to worry, I can ASSUREDLY tell you, like every single anon has already in this thread, that reading slow is okay.

[Anonymous No.11932611]

>>11932504
Dude same here. For me, uni takes up a ton of time and I spread my reading out very very thin. (currently in reading 4 books, not including poetry) At most I get to 50 pages per day, but I think I'm fine with that. Some people read quickly, but I think its because they've been doing it their whole lives.

[Anonymous No.11932628]

>>11932417
Not OP but thank you. I hope you're doing well.

[Anonymous No.11932652]

>>11932541
>you're self-conscious about how well-read you are.
Fucking fuck. Thanks anon.

[Anonymous No.11932785]

If you're using the internet then you're reading every day.

[Anonymous No.11932787]

People who read multiple books a week couldn't tell you what they read a couple weeks later.

[Anonymous No.11932798]

>>11932382
I don’t even know how someone could finish a book a week. The only time I did was because I literally had nothing else to do for that week.

[Anonymous No.11932810]

If you can reading one per week you are better off than 99.99% of the human population. most people haven't read 52 books in their entire lives,and most people here do not have more than like 10 books on their entire bookshelf lol 1 GOOD book per week is great speed.

[Anonymous No.11932825]

I am willing to bet that a lot of people are just plain bullshitting about how many books they read. Just simple one-upmanship. People are silly that way on the internet. On another note, you may want to try reading short fiction for a change to get that satisfaction of finishing something in a small time frame.

[Anonymous No.11932836]

>>11932382
Stop masturbating.
Stop having sex.
Stop getting aroused. Remove all sexual stimuli from your environment and purge all sexual thoughts.
Focus.

[Anonymous No.11932846]

>>11932382
when i come across something i like i do literally nothing but read it. I read Moby Dick in two days for example, and the entire 2 volumes of Decline of the West in about 4 days.

If I am not enraptured then I can't even read 10 pages a day of whatever it is

[Anonymous No.11932856]

>>11932846
Do you not have other things to do, or are you just strapped to an IV bag and reading all day?

[Anonymous No.11932861]

>>11932856
>Do you not have other things to do
usually not no. Sometimes i get a job but it never lasts very long

the only things I do every day are workout a bit and then get drunk at night

[Anonymous No.11932874]

>>11932810
But I don't usually read one a week, now I read multiple books at a time but when I read one at a time I finished Lolita in two weeks and Steppenwolf in one because a flight got delayed. Now, taking into account that I read more than one book at a time so I don't read a particular book every day, Brave New World took me just under a month.
>>11932825
By short fiction do you mean short stories or novellas? I could easily reread Catcher In The Rye, The Curious Incident... or Of Mice And Men in a day if I tried, but Notes From Underground took me two weeks (reading alongside Dubliners which took me a month) although I could probably reread that in a day too.
I realise my post probably seems rambling and may not make much sense but I'm in a bit of a weird state of mind rn (about to go to bed) so just use those stats to know my reading speed. Its less about me reading slowly I think and more about me not reading much at a time. I don't fucking know. I'm sorry you wasted your time reading this

[Anonymous No.11932883]

Why does this thread have such an unusual amount of niceposts?

[Anonymous No.11932898]

>>11932846
OP here (so is >>11932874), I've had books that completely took me like Catcher in the Rye and Catch 22 but some books that I know I love like Lolita and Notes From Underground (and at the moment Ficciones) take me longer. The books that I blaze through like the two I mentioned at the beginning of my post and The Curious Incident... are the ones with 'invisible prose'. Once I reread Gulliver's Travels in one sitting but when I reread it recently it took me much longer. I don't know why I'm telling you lot all this nobody cares I should get to sleep

[Anonymous No.11932913]

>>11932898
idk m8 it's 4chan we are all just blogposting let's be real. have a good sleep

i know what you mean about books that you 'savor'. War and Peace is one for me, a Hero of our times is another

[Anonymous No.11932944]

>>11932382
Get a low intensity manual labor job, something like being a groundskeeper, tree planter, or janitor. Then listen to audio-books for 8 hours a day while you work.

I used to clear 3 books a week on average trimming pot, because I'd constantly have audio-books running in the background. Sometimes I'd spend two weeks or so on some door-stopper, but it's very doable. Throw in podcasts, lectures, think tank discussions, etc. and being the night shift janitor is a pretty good gig.

If you're a snob who only reads paperback, get night shift at a hotel.

[Anonymous No.11932980]

>>11932944
>Audiobook
disregarded

[Anonymous No.11933097]

>>11932382
It's ok. Take your time and be less anxious about your own hobbies. It's not a competition.
Chill, those anxious thoughts are made up by society. I suggest you to think more about the roots of those thoughts and if they make sense.

[Anonymous No.11933114]

>>11932944
I was a tree planter for a while and it was horrible. Non stop work from 8:00am-4:00am. Painfully exhausting.

[Anonymous No.11933120]

>>11932836
That's dumb af

[Anonymous No.11933228]

>>11933114
Ignore this low energy anon

[Anonymous No.11933268]

>>11932382
I make sure to get everything out of it before I finish it, might read a sentence and think about it for a while, no hurry mate read and enjoy

[Anonymous No.11933349]

>>11933268
When I read Lolita I would reread the same paragraph over and over just because it was so well written. Same with the last pages of The Dead

[Anonymous No.11933374]

Is AceReader worth a try or am I just insecure?

[Anonymous No.11933411]

>>11932382
>50-60 pages a day
that's fine
i generally won't read more than that unless it's fiction, in which case i can generally double that (possibly more if it's breezy or i get really into it)

[Anonymous No.11933433]

>>11932382
are you reading meme shit that this board recommends? if so, then thats a problem.

[Anonymous No.11933450]

>>11932382

That's normal anon. Just keep doing it every day for several years and you'll become well-read.

[Anonymous No.11933486]

>>11933411
>>11933450
But that's the upper limit, I usually read more like 10-25 pages

[Anonymous No.11933602]

>>11932382
>I can't even read more than 50-60 pages a day
So? There's no reason to read more than you enjoy. Books are important, but it's not important to read as many as you possibly could. Be picky about what you choose to read, instead.

[Anonymous No.11933604]

>>11932382
OP... That's normal

[Anonymous No.11933643]

>>11932846
do you shower, make your own meals, clean up, go buying supplies? readingg Moby Dick in 2 days sounds absolutely retarded

[Anonymous No.11933655]

>>11932883
non readers patting themselves

[Anonymous No.11933674]

>>11932535
Not OP, but this made me feel better about my reading. Thanks Anon

[Anonymous No.11933703]

>>11932861
What's your living situation?

[Anonymous No.11933864]

>>11932382
The internet did the opposite for me.

When I start reading a book - I just don't stop until I finish it non-stop.

[Anonymous No.11933867]

sometimes I can't read more than five pages, others I can read 50
it depends on the book, find things you like

[Anonymous No.11933928]

>>11932535
This, I always feel like I don't read as much as a should. But then I remember that most normies haven't picked up a book since high school or college.

[Anonymous No.11933956]

>>11933486
and sometimes i read less too (i'm >>11933411)

it's not a race unless youre doing classwork with a deadline
if you're not engaged and end up forcing it you probably won't absorb much anyway

[Anonymous No.11934688]

>>11932382
You can't "read" a book in a week, everyone that claims they can is lying to themselves.

[Anonymous No.11934714]

>>11932382
It's called skimming and it's not reading.

[Anonymous No.11934733]

>>11932382
Really fast reading speed, whats impressive is people who can read a book in a day and recall 200 things that happened in each chapter.

[Anonymous No.11934775]

yeah bro I read 3 books a week it's really enriched my life dude
just the other day I read 12 rules for life, I'm reading guns, germs and steel now and Stephen Pinker is my favourite writer

[Anonymous No.11934859]

>>11932944
>lectures, think tank discussions

Can you give recs? I tried podcasts but most turned out to be shit

[Anonymous No.11935571]

>>11932541
thank you

[Anonymous No.11935605]

>>11932382
I don't read fast I read as much as I can be invested and comprehend. I don't give a shit,.

[Anonymous No.11935607]

>>11932382
Quantity has quality in itself - Joseph Stalin. He also made sure that the guy who was sending kids grown in small villages and fed communist propaganda as cannon fodder to clean mine fields is forever marked in russian history as brilliant strategist. The guy also believed that terror against ''proletar'' is natural course of ''historical development'' while drinking wine in his vila and molesting his kids. What I am getting at is that if you are one of the people who cant distinguish the two, quality and quantity, you probably lack experience in general and have some mental deficencies. Value over numbers, action over visual presentation. Or do whatever, see where it takes you.

[Anonymous No.11935617]

>>11932382
Same boat. Start listening to audio books. It makes it a lot easier. Especially if you’re a fantasy fag like me where the books are unnecessarily long. An audio book really helps trim the fat.

[Anonymous No.11935705]

>>11932382
Kindle® Word Runner® really changed my mediocore normie reading lifestyle. Now I can read a book like TV!

[Anonymous No.11935756]

>>11932420
>while reading philosophy is 3 times as much time consuming
this

[Anonymous No.11935871]

>>11932382
60 pages is literally nothing. Sounds like you don't want to read in the first place, don't blame it on the internet or whatever else.
For me, it's cyclic, in that I can't read continuously and have a habit of taking long breaks and meditating on the last work I read.
>>11932944
When did this meme that listening to a book be narrated is equivalent to reading it come about? Do people really tell themselves it's a substitute for reading? At best, it's pure consumption.

[Anonymous No.11935934]

>>11935871
It removes only a really thin layer of the experience of reading. Not only is it still more or less just as fulfilling, it's just a good way to transition back into reading regularly as everyone who doesn't used to at some point. I don't know why people get so intense about audiobooks. I love listening to them before going to sleep, it's better than reading because I don't have to deal with light sources or physical discomfort.

[Anonymous No.11935947]

>>11932420
>while reading philosophy is 3 times as much time consuming.
Yep. Just spent like 15 minutes on 3 pages of Aristotle

[Anonymous No.11935975]

>>11932382
>How the fuck do people read several books a week?
Easy when you call skimming John Green's books "reading".

[Anonymous No.11936065]

>>11934859
The World Affairs Council of Dallas Fort Worth is GOAT.

The Council on Foreign Relations and CSIS Curated Conversations are both decent as well.

Forging Ploughshares has a great episode on Rene Girard. Their other stuff is eh.

The Institute of Catholic Culture is fantastic. Highly recommend their piece on leisure.

Intelligence Squared is always fun.

Mira lo que te traje is a good show if you're learning Spanish, great way to find music

Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad has a lot of good lectures online you can download and listen to. Sulayman Nyang. is less appreciated on here, but also good.

Focault's lecture series "the culture of self" is fantastic.

All the Bryan Magee interviews are a necessity to have.

Since you seem like a guy who likes cool stuff, here's an unrelated youtube video that I enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUkFgr4hizk

[Anonymous No.11936073]

>>11935871
Frankly it's the superior format for most fiction. If you're reading for the prose or plot, then audiobooks preserve the flow and articulate the verbal play much better than written word.

Also it's a great way for someone working full time to get through more books in a week than you do in a month. Get your head out of your ass.

[Anonymous No.11936161]

>>11932541
thanks dfw

[Anonymous No.11936224]

>>11935871
>60 pages is literally nothing

Just fuck off

[Anonymous No.11936277]

Block out time and dont worry about the page count.

For me, I read one hour of fiction, one hour of non fiction, one hour of technical (could be computer science, sailing manual, flamenco guitar, anything) , and then on top of that I could be reading another hour+ in my "writing" time if I need to research

Im able to do all of this while going to uni, working, weightlifting etc because I wake up at 5am and try as hard as I can to stick to a schedule

Yes, a routine isnt very romantic but if you plot your day out you might be surprised how much free time you have

[Anonymous No.11936325]

>>11936277
this board is 18+

[Anonymous No.11936406]

>>11932382
8am now I couldn't sleep all night and I read 3 books. They where lightest of light reading though.

[Anonymous No.11936412]

>>11932535
This is unironically true. 20 pages a day qualifies you as a reader

[Anonymous No.11936600]

There's no real trick to it other than reading multiple books at a time to maintain a high interest in each of them. Other than that you read often.

[Anonymous No.11936621]

>>11933655
shut the fuck up cuntpleb

[Anonymous No.11936864]

I've read about 60 books this year. Mostly because I had a bullshit job where I listened to audiobooks all day. It was torture in all other regards, though, so don't get too jealous.
At home I only browse 4chan and watch anime or read manga. If not I could probably double that.
Idk how people with real jobs do it.

[Anonymous No.11937394]

>mfw people here think that 60 pages a day is a lot
the absolute state of /lit/

[Anonymous No.11937738]

>>11935934
>It removes only a really thin layer of the experience of reading
It completely changes the medium. Just because the content is the same doesn't mean the experience is. Reading is a learned skill, and this is proven on brain scans in terms of what areas of the brain have to work together to process words, while senses such as hearing are inherent and thus require no skill and no effort, and are in many cases completely passive.

You're not reading. It's simply not reading. The audiobook could just as well be narrating any other medium, like a film. It's not a substitute for anything other than consumption, which you point out very well but perhaps don't even realize. Do whatever you want, but don't call or conflate it with reading and literature when it's not.

[Anonymous No.11937791]

>>11937738
Hearing is inherent but understanding a language isn't, it's also a learned skill. If you were raised by wolves, you hearing a human conversation wouldn't help you understand it.

[Anonymous No.11937844]

>>11932836
You dont have to be a fucking puritan but yes, moderation is key.

[Anonymous No.11937865]

>>11937394
60 pages a day is a lot you shitcunt

[Anonymous No.11937876]

>>11937738
yeah well I don't read for the experience of a specific neurological process, I read for the contents of what I'm reading.
For instance, if I'm curious about the history of bottled water, I could listen to an audiobook, and obtain the knowledge.

[Anonymous No.11937901]

>>11937876
>For instance, if I'm curious about the history of bottled water, I could listen to an audiobook, and obtain the knowledge.
Yes, and it's not reading. It's not the same medium, just the same content transplanted. You "listen", but didn't read anything. So why tout otherwise?

[Anonymous No.11937955]

>>11937901
Gonna have to agree with this one

[Anonymous No.11937960]

Just don't give yourself an inch. Say you have a 600 page book that you want finished in a week - set a goal of 100 pages per day. Read on break at school or work, before bed, at home to relax instead of watching TV or spending time doing fuck all on your phone (don't even pick up your phone unless you have to or it's already over). Squeeze in a few pages every hour or two. If you enjoy the book, you'll find it manageable. Keep it up and eventually you'll find it so enjoyable and easy that you'll prefer it to other ways you used to spend your time. This is just what I used to do to shift gears.

[Anonymous No.11938031]

>>11936065
Late response I know but if you see this know I appreciate the list. Thank you Anon

[Anonymous No.11938046]

>>11932426
> no one is timing you
I am.

[Anonymous No.11938057]

>>11932382
speed-reading with no vocalization and you can plow through a lot of nonfiction
not good for philosophy tho

[Anonymous No.11938071]

>>11932382
too much obsession with number of books you have read is unhealthy. read right, not just for the sake of increasing your read book list

[Anonymous No.11938172]

>>11936073
>If you're reading for the prose or plot, then audiobooks preserve the flow and articulate the verbal play much better than written word.
Imagine actually believing this. You can't even see individual spelling of words, much more any prose. Everything is lost in pronunciation and articulation. If anything, this argument applies to non-fiction only, as there you frequently care solely about the content and nothing else. But even then, written word is far superior for comprehension than narration of any kind - I doubt you can comprehend a truly technical piece through an audiobook.
>it's a great way for someone working full time to get through more books
Way to prove the post you're replying to. Literature is more than just a means to and end. If you only care about consuming work after work while bypassing written word, you can't possible claim to care about the medium. Certainly you can't ever appreciate it.

[Anonymous No.11938235]

>>11938057
>speed-reading with no vocalization and you can plow through a lot of nonfiction
how much do you actually remember after some time though?