restreitinho

Any ideas of how to improve it are welcome. Thanks.

Yeah I had a great input about skipping that number and focusing on, say, 30% of the total book. 30 pages in a 1000 pages book is nothing. I also find that process of skimming the following pages to get a feel of it quite effective. That's how I "went through" Tim Ferriss's "4-hour workweek", which quite frankly is not a book for me. Not sure if there are fans here, no harm intended.

Ok, it's a very good argument. Of course we as readers also have to add something, and our background is important; the more we open our minds I believe the better our criteria of interestingness will be. Today I read stuff 3 years ago I would have no patience to read, it's also an exercise in which you evolve. But you're using an example of a classic while I tried to focus on online articles and other contemporary books, in an era where there's always another stimulum. I say in response to this we must make choices, and "what am I getting from this?" is the way I found to help filter all this information. I'm glad it's not a fixed set of rules, because as your story exemplifies exceptions make much better stories.

Still regarding choices: Dan Brown sure can hook us in the first 30 pages, but we are the ones who choose if we want to read Dan Brown in the first place. It's yet another layer of discussion to add to this.

PS: I'm glad this subject isn't dead and dry and sparks such discussion. Wasn't expecting this at all.

Ohh ok. Well I can't speak on behalf of programming, which I tried learning but realized it wasn't really my thing. :(

I think that's what makes the character so intriguing. 90% impossible arguments of why he does the things he does but still you don't fail to be amazed.

I found it quite entertaining from the very beginning. Still haven't read the second one but it's on the list.

Ok, thanks.

True. That's my issue with online filters, anyway. It kinda gets philosophical too because filters only act according to what we choose to filter. So a filter for the other side would be kind of a never-ending journey (but a very important one to achieve, regardless).

About emoticons and punctuation, I deal with that on a daily basis too. Ugh.

Ok. VERY good point! Hadn't though of that. Thanks!

Hence the filter bubble issue. When are we really open-minded if we always choose to what our minds are open for? I for instance can't deal with Zite's logic, trust me I've tried.

True, great analogy. But answering your question, I prefer the first of course. But you have a greater probability of finding your special someone if there's some initial chemistry, right? Again, the first date isn't everything. But first impressions matter a lot for what comes next.

Ahahah thanks. :)

I will not exclude the first sentence as a justification. Being as honest as I can get here. :)

But can you give me an example of the opposite? Say, an article or book which did not grab you at first but you found quite interesting. (being the keyword "interesting", a subjective concept to each and everyone of us, of course - myself included)

Sarcasm? :)

I don't want the first 30 pages to tell me everything. Nor should it be like that, it's just not healthy for the writer's imagination. But by then I should be hooked in any way, no?

Valid. But if the writer doesn't care about the reader to the point of wanting to make the idea stick by page 30, I choose not to continue reading. Of course this isn't a writer's problem per se, but there's just too many books and too little time to read everything. It's my way of having a filtering pattern without losing my mind.

Well the first one only works if you balance it with some variety. My point isn't to stop reading different stuff, but consciously choose what you want to read.

Yeah, "fall in love" isn't that concrete, I know. But again, it works for me if I manage to rotate the types of content I consume.

About the last topic, I give you that. But I'll choose reading a good article to watching trash TV or gossip news any time of the day.

Anyway thanks for taking to time to deconstruct some of the ideas I wrote. I think this topic has too few people writing and thinking about it.

I think the most positive outcome of Kindle and other digital reading platforms is the ability you suddenly gain to carry a whole library without effort. It's just there. Also, I find the notes functionality to be a lifesaver (I love taking notes of things I read but hate to write on books, so) and overall the reading experience is just very swift.

It's not from this year, but I have to say it: I read Rework quite a few months back and it honestly changed my life. Other than that, The Thank You Economy is a good one as well.

Reading this (excelent) post made me realize I made three very important decisions in 2011: 1) start carrying a notebook at all times; 2) stop reading so much stuff and filter my content sources; 3) start a blog.

The results? I feel more action-oriented, I have more free time, I feel my thoughts are more organized and I no longer feel the "feed stress" (you know, when you look at 1000 unread items and your heart starts pumping faster).

Overall, fantastic post, fantastic insights I fully support. Btw, sorry for the shameless autopromotion, in case you're interested I blog at http://restreitinho.com.