Don't Worry about Reading More Books. Focus on Reading Better.

I spend an entire month reading a single poetry collection. Less than 100 pages. I spent days on just one poem, and every day it felt different. It’s worth it!

Wow: "Toxic productivity culture." Such a useful and precise phrase that can be applied to so many aspects of our lives. Thank you.

You’re now part of my commonplace book with the quote: “treat books as friends”. ❤

This was encouraging. I love reading. And I watch way too many Booktube channels. It's so silly, but I have started to wonder what's wrong with me that I can only read an average of 20 books a year, while so many people boast of at least double that. My best year was 42. But that was unusual. Am I such a slow reader? I am reading all the time! There are books piled everywhere around my apartment! What is wrong with me? But you're right. When I do fly through books, I can't remember what they're about. What's the point? I love reading long books that I savor and live with for weeks or months. When I take my time and read in different settings, I remember things more because I have physical "markers", if that makes sense. I remember reading The Return of the King and crying on the train. I remember going to babysit and it unexpectedly rained and my poor paperback copy of Jane Eyre got soaked and I put it on the kitchen table to dry. I am now remembering my reread of J.I. Packer's Knowing God on the train and during the walk from the train station to the church on Sundays. It works better with physical books, but I'm even starting to get better with ebooks. (I'm actually realizing these things as I am writing this out, so thank you!)

I'm currently trying to find where I am as a reader. Really I think that I like the idea and the aesthetic of being a reader. It's the idea that someone who loves books is well spoken, has strong evidence to support their own ideas and values, and overall is someone who is seen as intelligent. When you said that your best was 76 books I was astonished as my goal for the past few years has been 20 (a goal that is never reached), and I think that so many people are ahead of me. I try to read faster, or skip paragraphs that I think don't matter just for the sake of getting a book checked off the list. Then when someone asks me how I feel about the book.. I have nothing. I'm trying to use numbers to reach this idealized version of myself that will never exist, especially when the books I "read" never stick in my mind.

When I got sucked into the temptation of raising my goal to read more and more books every year, I found myself reading shorter books--kids picture books--and manga in order to meet the goal. Now, I do like manga, but I'm realizing the frenzy has kept me from being more intentional and letting myself tackle harder books. I would think, "Oh, that [insert classic] would take too long to read, I need a book that is easy to read so I can read more books." I will definitely start implementing this video's advice more.

Productivity and hustle culture is the worst. They only look on life as trying to improve every aspect, day by day. But they completely forget, the one big life lesson, that many people hardly realized throughout time. It's not about the goal, it's about the way. And although they tend to be on a good way through improvement, seeing only constant improvement is indeed toxic and full of bullshit. This tip is the best I ever heard. Since years, I read The Lord of the Rings and Song of Ice and Fire, as well as several other few books. I'm pretty slow in general, considering that I need so long to even finish one book. But when I read them, I tend to get sunk 8nto the story and love it. So that in itself is a nice experience for myself. I guess, when I take of the pressure by thinking I must read more, it gets even better.

My goal is to read more curriculum / academic (Mathematics, Physics) books, my interest in increasing my reading of other books : fiction and non-fiction has dipped over time. I’d be happy if I read an average of 6 to 12 non-academic books in a year. I too like to take physical notes from all nonfiction books to retain their important information. Nowadays reading fiction (Including comic books, graphic novels, etc) books is more of a guilty pleasure activity for me.

I whole heartedly agree! Reading should be more about pausing to reflect than grinding through pages.

You’re an absolute machine! Good for you for reading so much. I read about 10 books a year right now and slowly getting better. But wow! Thank you for the suggestion to read well, not fast. Because of the nature of my job, I only get a chance to read on my breaks, so I tend to read several pages at a time and then meditate on what I’ve read before I continue. I find it helps me digest things better. Like in eating, I try not to bite more than I can chew. Otherwise it becomes a lot to swallow at once. Thanks again for your content!

When I went to school, I had a teacher who taught us Spanish language (I am a Spanish speaker) and she would give us speed tests during a reading. She would put us on the desk in front of the whole class and literally make us read in front of everyone while she timed us. This caused me to have major reading comprehension problems for years and caused me to have trouble studying in general and concentrating on a reading. So encouraging speed in reading, I agree with you that in the end you are neglecting the main purpose of reading, which is comprehension. I feel that this type of tendencies are the ones that cause less critical thinking and less reasoning capacity. In my country, it has been shown that this type of reading habits have ended up causing big problems in the educational system, so, for some it may seem a trifle, but really, reading slowly and worrying about what you are reading, is more important than it seems!

"you want to actually turn these books into old friends that you revisit, that you miss when yo haven't read in a while" oh absolutely

Agreed. I caught myself too in the eye of this toxic productivity hurricane last year but I think in 2022 I’ve been so much more mindful of what reading really means to me. ❤

Thank you so much for this video. I’m so glad people also like to truly absorb the content and depth of a book, rather than it being a mere speed-reading contest.

Hey Jared, I really appreciate the grounding message you share of; don't focus on the numbers, but the quality of the experience you have + bringing awareness to the issue of toxic productivity - it crystalised some concepts in my mind. Thanks!

So happy to have come across this Channel. I struggle to sit down and read any book; I always feel so scatter brained or full of distractions. Thank you for your insights.

I truly enjoyed watching this video. It was a great and thoughtful reflection about reading better. Way to go!

Your passion for reading is really palpable in this video. You reminds me of all the reasons why I love literature.

I have been keeping a journal like this, with the addition of genre, since the early 90s. It's fascinating to go back and see what your interest are and by where you were at emotionally by topics read. Librarything is a good site if you want to keep an electronic diary. I'm happy to see other people are doing this.

I rarely comment on YT but you have definitely touched a nerve with me (in a positive way). I can’t tell you what a breath of fresh air it is to hear your critique of modern culture with its emphasis on productivity and metrics. I work in education and I despise the approach that continues to be all the rage with standardized testing, for precisely the reasons you touched on. Metrics of learning stuff is not a method for creating well-rounded students who can apply a small measure of critical thinking to their lives. Thank you for this video. You just earned a new subscriber today. Keep up the good work. You’re on the right path.