Don't read what everyone else reads

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5 points·enigmatic02··3 comments

I read a fair amount and am often frustrated that nobody o talk to had read the same stuff as me, and I can't really discuss it with them, or even make allusions in conversation to any effect. Meanwhile, I don't really participate in pop culture, so when people are talking about a popular tv show (or one of the few mainstream books like Harry Potter), I have nothing to say and can't participate.

I'd say, if you want to have common ground with people, make sure to at least stay abreast of the popular stuff. And of course keep reading stuff that is interesting to you, just make sure you're doing it for yourself.

I'd argue if you take away nothing unique from reading something that everyone else also read, that's its own problem.

I have the opposite issue, I tend to think a little differently which makes it hard to be a good communicator some times, but I have had some luck seeing things a new way when working on some problems.

I think you shouldn't avoid reading something just because others do unless your plan is to just parrot some lesser-known author, pushing their thoughts off as your own. Gather all the data you can from all available sources and think critically. Anticonformity IS conformity.

I'd probably rephrase the original statement in the title as "Don't only read what other people are reading." I do agree that there is some value in getting "off the beaten path" from time to time, and I see that as being something of a feedback loop with what you're talking about. I believe that a lot of what a reader takes away from a Work A (which everyone reads) involves what is in the reader initially, which may be related to their having read Work B (something pretty much no one reads).

Anticonformity IS conformity.

Well said.

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