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Comment by franl | Hacker News Reader

I tend to feel the same as you regarding the body of the book being gone after a while. However, I do feel like every book I’ve read colors in my view of the universe just a bit more. Over time, I think it adds up to more than we might think. Also, I would imagine that our subconscious minds are gobbling up a lot of the major points of these readings, to be used at a later date. It’s all going into the intuition mill!

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I hear you, but I also fear that these sort of intangible benefits that we think ought to exist might not exist after all. When I read a book I definitely feel that I have accomplished something. I even take notes. I certainly acquire bragging rights! But when I actually try to pin down exactly what I have learned from the book after a few months, I am mostly lost except for a grand overview of the subject.

I think I might retain only around 10% (if that) of a good book that I read. I wonder if I might have been better off reading just the 10% in the first place (provided I can get the right 10% somehow). You could cover 10 times the number of books at that pace with nothing lost!

For sure! At best I’ll usually be able to recall the main idea of the book, and a few supporting examples. I still think it seeps into our minds in other ways :)

Sounds like you might enjoy Blinkist. It’s a paid app that gives you the highlights of a book. I tried it and thought it was interesting, however, I actually enjoy reading entire books. So it felt like I was doing CliffsNotes for stuff I enjoyed reading about. Also, you’re depending on the service to pick out what’s important. What resonates with them vs what resonates with you could be two different things.

I think we get too hung up on trying to wring every last drop out of life. If you like reading, read. The important themes you come across in different books will naturally reinforce and connect amongst themselves.

I totally agree with you and have been on a similar mental journey on the last few years. I used to read phenomenal amounts.

But I’ve found myself very disillusioned by the reading of books, to the point that I don’t actually do much of it anymore.

I’m too distracted by the fact that it seems pointless. Or I’m dispirited by the thought that to make it not be pointless requires large amounts of school-like study (notes, self testing, regular revision etc.)

I’m not sure what to do about this. I don’t think not reading is a viable life strategy, I just don’t quite get it right now.

Perhaps it might help to deflate your expectations. I look at books, like I look at tv shows or movies. The long term usefulness of consuming might be questionable but that does not make the act of watching / reading any less worthwhile. I actually think that reading less is good if you were reading prodigious amounts. When I read A LOT it's usually an indication of a lack of balance in some aspects of my life that I try to correct. If you want to ease back into reading without taking it too seriously go for the fluffy page turners. There's tons of non-fiction books too which are engaging and quite readable. Anytime somebody tells me they don't read a lot, it's usually because they are not reading anything that interests them.

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