Man, can I ever relate to this! I started using social media as part of my business, but now it feels like social media is using me. I, too, used to be a voracious reader and can't seem to get that spark back. But I will keep trying, and will power through, as you suggest here. Books are magical and engage our brains like nothing else. We can't afford to lose that spark.
As terrible as this is, I am relieved to know it’s not just me. I listened to the same Ezra Klein podcast you referenced. The guest mentioned revisiting Hesse’s The Glass Bead Game, which I had also recently tried to reread, and had had the same experience: it seemed slow and plodding, which was not how I remember the experience when I lapped it up in my 20s. Sadly, it is not the text that has aged poorly but my ability to enjoy. Like you, I hope to recover my ability to deep read. Thanks for the tips on how one might approach that effort!
I never thought how the digital Era has impacted me this way. I used to love reading. I have books on my bedside stand from.2 years ago, still waiting to be read.
I have all your books, and Ive read parts of all of them. Hope you don’t mind that I haven’t read them straight through from cover to cover. But they’re wonderful for dipping in for a moment of inspiration.
I have recently had trouble focusing on a book because of my phone. Before November, I had never had a social media account of any sort. I'm now on Linkedin and spend an absurd amount of time on Substack, neglecting my newsletter while reading and commenting on others’. I need to make a change. My phone use has gone from 45 minutes daily to 4-5. It’s bad.
Agreeing and it helps to spend time with readers! I imagine some of my brain working too hard and some of it asleep all at the same time and will it wake up if it isn’t exercised? I read while on the treadmill today and looking forward to more of that and hoping it spills into more time for reading from books. Thank you for raising awareness Grant and for sounding the alarm!
Struggling to read
Man, can I ever relate to this! I started using social media as part of my business, but now it feels like social media is using me. I, too, used to be a voracious reader and can't seem to get that spark back. But I will keep trying, and will power through, as you suggest here. Books are magical and engage our brains like nothing else. We can't afford to lose that spark.
As terrible as this is, I am relieved to know it’s not just me. I listened to the same Ezra Klein podcast you referenced. The guest mentioned revisiting Hesse’s The Glass Bead Game, which I had also recently tried to reread, and had had the same experience: it seemed slow and plodding, which was not how I remember the experience when I lapped it up in my 20s. Sadly, it is not the text that has aged poorly but my ability to enjoy. Like you, I hope to recover my ability to deep read. Thanks for the tips on how one might approach that effort!
I never thought how the digital Era has impacted me this way. I used to love reading. I have books on my bedside stand from.2 years ago, still waiting to be read.
I have all your books, and Ive read parts of all of them. Hope you don’t mind that I haven’t read them straight through from cover to cover. But they’re wonderful for dipping in for a moment of inspiration.
I have recently had trouble focusing on a book because of my phone. Before November, I had never had a social media account of any sort. I'm now on Linkedin and spend an absurd amount of time on Substack, neglecting my newsletter while reading and commenting on others’. I need to make a change. My phone use has gone from 45 minutes daily to 4-5. It’s bad.
Agreeing and it helps to spend time with readers! I imagine some of my brain working too hard and some of it asleep all at the same time and will it wake up if it isn’t exercised? I read while on the treadmill today and looking forward to more of that and hoping it spills into more time for reading from books. Thank you for raising awareness Grant and for sounding the alarm!
Hard relate.