I’m struggling getting back into “serious” reading and feel like my physical posture and environment is hindering me.
I used to read a lot (have inhaled many a Brandon Sanderson books on release) but I can’t get into reading “hard” books. I read mainly in bed (with my kobo) but finding it tricky and I am turning into a hunchback. Audiobooks while cycling)/gym is great, but bit distracting for “hard” books.
How do ye do it?
- Do you have a fav chair (will accept pictures if you could share!) or environment (like a reading nook)?
- When and how do you make time to “digest” books?
- Do you take notes and if so, how?
- bonus question: what was a recent hard book that you enjoyed (and made you reframe stuff) and would recommend?
Thank you!
Yep this is all I came to the thread for
I only was using it as a category!
A few people are great friends of mine!! I like all people equally.
What is Hard Book for you ?
I tend to read political theories, feminist case studies or philosophy in silence or at least when I can have silence. If I’m tired I tend to put my earbuds on so I could cut the real world out
Reading academic papers is hard sometimes, some authors don’t have a good writing style (looking at you Deleuze). So in this case I read a little and alternate with an easier book
I found that reading hard book are like a muscle, it get easier
Do you actually want to read them, firstly? I can read “hard” books just fine when they’re on a topic I’m genuinely interested in and I actually want to read the book. But if I force myself to read a “hard” book on something I don’t care about, it’ll be painful.
I always highlight and annotate non-fiction with any thoughts/comments/etc, and if it’s a work I expect to find particularly valuable, I also take separate notes. Usually these are digital notes in the note-taking app of my choice (currently Notesnook), but for some books I get a physical notebook. It also helps motivate me if I get some nice highlighters and pens and take pretty notes.
I read pretty much only fiction, but I’ll pick up nonfiction occasionally if it’s a topic that really interests me, usually insects or spiders 😁
I sit too much already, so I’ve been reading on my feet more. I’ll usually walk a path around my living room table or through a couple of rooms. It’s made it easier for me to read more that way because I’m not slumped over and hurting my back. I don’t walk fast, just a slow casual stroll on a set path where I know I won’t trip. Sometimes I’ll pause at a corner and lean against the wall for a few minutes before I start walking again.
- bonus question: what was a recent hard book that you enjoyed (and made you reframe stuff) and would recommend?
A book I would recommend that made me reframe thoughts on autonomy was The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley. There were parts that were pretty brutal and difficult to read, but I think it’s a great thought experiment. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer is also great in this area.
My answer is different depending on if it’s fiction or non.
Also context I’m in academia which means I read constantly for work. This sadly means though that I don’t read much fiction or for fun. I do try and mediate that by reading poetry since they’re short !
But when I do read for fun I tend to read before going to bed so I’m laying down in bed.
For non fiction I will read lots of places. And I pretty much can’t digest the information unless I’m able to highlight and annotate what I’m reading. I try to read non fiction that is relevant to my research not before bed so as to retain the information a bit better.
Reading while taking a bath is nice !
Ooh haven’t taken a bath in years! Pray the book isn’t too interesting otherwise you’ll prune into old age.
Thanks for the input! If I may ask, where exactly do you do your academic reading? On your desk? And how do you make time/ritual for it?
Usually at a coffee shop. But I will also read at my home desk, at my office desk, in the bathtub haha, and sometimes outside on my porch.
The ritual thing is tricky for me because I’m kind of forced to make it routine. But I will say that you may want to think about when is your most alert focused time of the day. I try and force myself to start work as close to 930 as possible and have learned that I max out at deep focusing for reading and writing after like 2 - 3 hrs.
If I’m really not feeling it sometimes I’ll just put a timer on and tell myself I’ll just read even for five minutes! Five min is Better than no reading !
My biggest dilemma is that I have chronic pain issues in my neck and can’t figure out how to hold the book properly to not exacerbate my neck pain! Haven’t figured that one out.t hough
One word at a time.
Most of my reading is done via audiobooks these days, simply because I can listen while doing other tasks. I can wash the dishes, vacuum the house, etc, and those things would normally prevent me from reading. But with audiobooks, that isn’t a concern. Once I started listening to audiobooks, my annual book count went from ~12 to +60. Simply because I don’t have enough time to dedicate just to sitting in one spot staring at pages.
For visual reading, I tend to use my kobo. I got particularly lazy about bed-reading though. I got a gooseneck mount. It attaches to my headboard, and holds my kobo wherever I want. Combine that with a Bluetooth page-turn remote, and I can comfortably lay in bed and read without even needing to keep my hands on the ereader. In terms of comfort, the mount and remote are the two single greatest investments I ever made, and they fundamentally changed the way I think about reading in bed.
I feel like I’d be falling asleep with that setup! Hell as it is at least once a week I wake up because I dropped my book into my face.
I dont, I get audiobooks and listen to them on my commute.
I mostly read lounged on the couch, long ways. Sometimes in bed with pillows to prop me up.
I mostly read ebooks and highlight passages in them. For physical books sometimes I’ll take a picture of an important page I want to reference later.
Not sure what you mean by “hard books”. I do have a bad habit of reading too quickly and not fully retaining everything. The last book I (re)read was House of Leaves. A classic. Highly recommend.
In the words of the great Kirk Lazarus: what do you mean, you people?
- I usually sit on the couch sideways with two pillows in my back. I have a reading light now that I face towards the book. That made a big difference since I no longer have to stretch my neck to see the page.
Back in university I had to read two books a week, that was tough. To stay concentrated I would sit at a desk or table with bright lights on. - I mostly read at night now, after my boyfriend has gone to sleep. He’s sweet and all, but can be very loud and distracting, so reading is practically impossible if he’s around. It sucks, but hey.
- I rarely take notes, but if I do it’s in my note app on my phone. Which is kinda annoying, and might be why I don’t take many notes…
- I don’t have a recommendation, but what I noticed myself about reading difficult material is that I sometimes lack some prerequisite knowledge. The book itself usually doesn’t make this explicit of course, but it can help to read a summary of the book first or a Wikipedia page about the topic before going in.
- I usually sit on the couch sideways with two pillows in my back. I have a reading light now that I face towards the book. That made a big difference since I no longer have to stretch my neck to see the page.
Like so many others, I read constantly as a kid. Then I got older and had more to do, and then I got the internet on my phone and that was that.
Then I got a Kobo a few years back, because I really wanted to pick it back up again. It’s easily favourite device. Literally all it does is show me books. No distractions.
I tried cracking in to some longer, tougher reads, but found myself really struggling, so I decided to read a few young adult books instead, which helped enormously. Turns out that reasonably short books with relatively light plots are perfect for dialing the brain back in.
If you are turning into a hunchback try holding the book at eye level instead of where you have to look down. I like those stick on stands, usually the ring ones, on my devices so I can do it one handed
What stick on stands? Link?
Something like this
Oh, I thought those were just for your finger. where do you stand it to?
I use it hold on to the device more securely and so I only need one hand not as a stand to prop it up on a table or anything.
I don’t. One thing that makes it harder is I have bifocals now. I was near sighted my whole life but man far sighted is a bitch.
I read mainly in bed (with my kobo) but finding it tricky and I am turning into a hunchback
I do the same but it’s not uncomfortable or causes me to strain my back, I lay on my side and prop the ereader up with pillows
