/lit/ - Literature

>>22016218
people basically just scan books for interesting parts like you would a thread and claim to have read it

>>22016256
Bitch, I recommend books I know only by title. Get on my level.

>>22016218
You have to look at reading as a leisure activity instead of a chore. Also nobody has ever read all of the books on a /lit/ chart, not even chartmakers.

>>22016218
If you read for an hour before bed even just 5 times a week, you'll be finishing over 30 books a year or more. Personally, I also read more on my days off and listen to audiobooks while cooking or exercising. I've been working through a list of all time classics at a pace of about 50 books a year.

>>22016218
What else are you going to do while shitting?

>>22016218
It's really not difficult. The average retard spends hours every day watching prolefeed on TV and streaming services. Just spend that time reading instead.

>>22016266
Surely, some people have read all the books, no?

As for the leisure argument, I find it silly. I enjoy reading but I wouldn't call it leisurely. I still have to focus and think critically. I'm unsure how I can view something that at times challenges the way I think as a walk in the park.

>>22016218
I went between studying and NEETing for 5 years and at first I was reading at least 2 books a month but I slowed down as I became a TV addict again.
I currently have a 9-5 office job and there's not always work to do so I have a lot of down time, I can murder a book a week with the amount of spare time I have.
What actually annoys me is that only 20% of the workforce actually bring in books to read. So a lot of people continually talk to me. I mean it's fine, I like socialising, but I have this unique opportunity to murder some novels I've been putting off for years and now I have all these NPCs who I keep telling to bring in books, complaining about being bored.

>>22016291
What if i do neither

>>22016293
Fair point.

>>22016277
I find it hard to soak up all the content if I just hear it. If there's something going on, I'll definitely miss a bunch of segments. But maybe it's still worth a try again. What are your go-to audiobook places?

I find that evenings I'm often rushing assignments or doing something with friends/gf. If I have to wake up early, that'll just cut into my sleeping. Do you just pushback on the social life?

>>22016291
Do you have a good way to motivate yourself to focus up and read a book instead of doom-scroll/watch?

>>22016314
get office job and read at work while pretending to work

>>22016300
What kind of job do you have? This sounds ideal. I want to just low-effort coast at work so I can study and read most of the time.

>>22016322
I was thinking that maybe after a couple years of gym, I could get a security guard position at some parking lot / cam-room where I can spend most of the day just reading.

>>22016314
I tend to listen to narrative driven fiction in audiobook format. Anything that is building a structured argument or presenting data from the real world is very difficult to follow accurately in audioboook form, that being said there are some exceptions. I get my audiobooks online from my local library and also by leeching off my dad's audible account lol

I personally have very little need for social time other than work and my gf (who I live with and spend time with almost every evening). Usually I play soccer on the weekend, but I like to maximize my alone-leisure time to play video games, watch shows and movies, and read. On a day off, if I can break into flow while reading, I can sit and read for 6+ hours at a time (depends if the book grabs me too, obviously).

>>22016366
I've never considered different genres being easier to audiobook.

I'm split on alone-leisure. If people are around, I'll always pull towards doing stuff with people but lately I have been wanting to become more recluse, but I definitely cannot just read it a book for 6+ hrs straight. Only for a deadline. Nevertheless, thanks for the insights.

>>22016434
>I've never considered different genres being easier to audiobook.
first person fiction is easiest to listen to

>>22016218
Nice, a chance to talk about myself.
>What's your daily routine and responsibilities?
The semester just ended so I'll tell you my current routine:
Wake up, browse /lit/, /sci/, looksmax.org, and the baki subreddit for the first hour of the day, shower, dress, eat, brush teeth second time, read until 6 taking breaks here and there, eat, then do whatever (usually think, write, screw around on youtube, read some more, etc.)
>Social life?
I have a friend group filled with normal people, and also another close friend. I hang out with that friend group sometimes as well.
>Is literature/phil your main hobby, and what motivates you?
Yes. What motivates me is the achieving of an extraordinary form of consciousness. Also, to not feel seperated from and excluded by beautiful scenes. Also, I've realized recently that my resting state is a state of pretty extreme intellectual exertion, it isn't lounging around like how most people stereotypically imagine heaven (this error nearly killed me stangely enough). Also, rationality is systematized winning so that's cool too. But I've thought a lot about this, and all of these reasons seem to be just approximations of something else.
>Are you all just pensioners who have nothing better to do?
No, I am a student at Uni in math.

>>22016444
the difference between a first person audiobook and a youtube video is getting smaller and smaller at a worrying pace

less think
more read

>>22016218
I'm just old

>>22016566
Nice, a fellow math-major. Never heard of looksmax.org. First thread I see is of teens in puberty wanting to take growth-hormones, nice x2.

>a state of pretty extreme intellectual exertion
kek, huge ego but I guess this is /lit/ after all.

Sounds like you have it pretty light on responsibilities. Here a couple follow-up questions:
>How much reading do you get done during the academic semester?
>How do you avoid getting into a youtube doom-scroll?
>How are you balancing reading math vs. reading lit?

>>22016583
words to live by

>>22016218
Over a very long time. It's easily possible if you just keep reading from the age of 20 to 30. And further beyond. Your entire life.

>>22016599
I knew there was some geezers in here. I will eat your brain and literally physically digest the books you have read.

On a more serious note, I don't know how the hell you tolerate all the psuedo zoomies (like me) on this board. I commend you for your service and may god will you to make more posts.

>>22016218
Being on /lit/ for 10 years, going to grad school instead of working, reading regularly, being motivated by existential need to understand things, being highly philosophically minded, being disinterested in social events, etc.

>>22016321
If I'm reading something good, I don't need to.

>>22016321
Pomodoro technique works well for me. 25 minutes read/5 minute break x 4 cycles

>>22016730
I have heard of this, but I always struggled with taking a break for just 5 mins. What do you that's just 5 minutes long?

>>22016746
NTA but do some good stretching. Come on man theres always something you could do

>>22016746
Just whatever, usually ill think of something when reading, 5 minutes is a decent amount of time if you are productive. the point of the break being short is so you don't get caught scrolling mindlessly. the 3rd or 4th cycle I might do something other than reading like work on music or educational vids (language learning, lectures) to break the monotony.
also theres a 30 minute break after 4 cycles (i use an app called focuskeeper)

>>22016751
I'm not saying there isn't. I just get carried away usually, so those 5min will become 30min. Maybe I'll try stretches or just setting a timer.

>>22016776
I'll check the app out. Maybe I'll make a list of small chores for the breaks.

Never let yourself agree with an argument you've read or heard, their always too beautiful to be real

>>22016218
Back when I was a college student I practically lived in the library between classes.
Only really went home for showers and porn.
So during that time I read probably a lifetime worth of books.

Now that I have less free time and not drugged up on Adderall, I "read" audiobooks. Which is fantastic for narrative books and books written for entertainment. Books I neglected most of my life but now have a tremendous appreciation for.
Seriously, a good fantasy or horror audiobook transports me into another world for a few hours. I think I might like them more than normal books when it comes to books for entertainment.

They suck for serious study though.

>>22016266
>Also nobody has ever read all of the books on a /lit/ chart, not even chartmakers.
I doubt
in 2 years I checked about 30 books from the top 100 charts (depends on which year you pick), and probably double or triple that amount in books that are no where to be found there allegedly none of the big boys, I'm still preparing my anus for them
now imagine some loser who has no friends, and has been frequenting this board for 5-10 years
he might as well have read all of those, and way more than that because he has nothing better to do
plus think about it from a pre internet and television era perspective
most of the intellectuals fucking devoured books for the same reason as said loser
but again, even if the guys who fucking finished reading all of those books are losers, they still are so versed in literature that they can put even an average college teacher in the corner
imagine being an absolute failure at life and still toying with "learned" people
can you get any more based than that?
tl;dr: it's possible if you have no life

>>22016691
Thank you. I appreciate you as well.

>>22016666
Nice digits.
I went from ugly to goodlooking because of that website, but that's not very useful still because I am obviously autistic.
It's not ego. though I do have an ego. Being bombarded with compliments about "OMG ur so smart!!" thousands of times will do that to you and it sorta gets old. In the last week I have, for instance:
finished the CPR,
finished Peirce's lectures on pragmatism,
three chapters from Jaynes' book on probability,
started and finished first book of Eliezer's sequences as well as half of the second,
besides that around 400 more lesswrong posts (started and finished So8res sequence too, I recommend),
started and finished another book,
secondary papers on Peirce and practical truth,
half of a longer complexity theory applied to philosophy paper,
as well as 50 pages each from two other books.
I don't know what you consider extreme intellectual exertion, but that is pretty dizzying.

>How much reading do you get done during the academic semester?
Most of the academic semester I was extremely sad and uncomfortable. I nearly killed myself. I still read, but at a very slow pace and wrote more. Close to the end of the semester, I realized my mistakes and my efficiency massively increased. I read nearly all of Plato's dialogues, a book by William James, a book by Thomas Reid, a book on Kant's philosophy in relation to Schopenhauer, the Prolegomena, half of Rorty's most famous work, and more in two weeks on top of school. Then exams came after that.
>How do you avoid getting into a youtube doom-scroll?
I don't, it happens all the time. But I don't really like it because the content is so disconnected and it makes me feel disgusting.
>How are you balancing reading math vs. reading lit?
I hardly ever read math.

>>22016972
Thanks for the info, and I'm sorry to hear about your suicidal stint, but it does sound like you are doing better.

That does seem like an impressive amount of material in a short timeframe. Especially, if you're able to actively use that information.

>>22016265
>Bitch, I recommend books I know only by title. Get on my level.
I don't even recommend, get on my level bitch

>>22016218
I am 34 and have been reading at least an hour a day, most days for 15 years

>>22016329
It was advertised as a call center job but after doing that for a bit, I just do data entry. Today I worked for 5 hours then had 2 hours of down time to just read while waiting for more work to be sent through.

>>22016218
im a neet loser

my time is comprised of:
33% Suicidal ideation, 33% Reading and 33% sleep.

>>22016218
Some people read books the way you scroll memes, read for fun so that's why some people read a lot. Also curiosity. One book ends. Another starts.

>>22016218
Zoomers spend 6+ hours a day on average browsing social media and watching garbage netflix and then claim they have no time to read or excercise. Pathetic stuff

>>22016218
I ask chatgpt for a summary and pretend to have read it

>>22018081
So whats the remaining 1%?

>>22016218
I read at work, and on transport

>>22016284
Shitting takes 5 min max

>>22018281
I have a theory as to why you smell bad

>>22018136
Masturbation. Though I meant to imply a recurring .3 at the end of each of those 33s, meaning many infinitely small moments where I jerk my infinitesimally small cock.

>average anon spends 10 hours a day reading the same bot created threads over and over
>how do you guys read so many books

>>22016218
I don’t watch TV and don’t have much of a social life.

>>22016218
My main book I read before bed for an hour or two each night
My secondary book I read on the shitter.
I listen to slop audiobooks while I drive.

Read 20 pages everyday despite everything. That's my mantra now. I am a semi-tard yet i will not be broken by my limitations. Fuck you.

>>22018296
Well it's definitely not from using the bidet

>>22016218
Ez. I am magician maxxing. The archetype of magician has been heightened epigenetically within both sides of my family for a couple gens now. Combine this with an easily pocketable 6" ereader and boom I read about 24 books a year. Also being a NEET opiate addict helps.
These days its like I crossed the threshold to the minds Infinite Library™ and I come across as enlightened easily when talking to people. Its hilarious.

i have no job

>>22016813
please stop calling me a loser

>>22018399
kek

>>22016218
I'm an english major about the same age as you, I'm about to transfer to my junior year, so I have a decent grasp on what you should do. For me if I count everything I read for 2 semesters I read about 25 books worth of stuff, give or take. Just a few years before college I maybe read 8-9 books of differing page counts a year. So I would say its fine to read less than 12 books a year, and you shouldnt be so hung up on it. Maybe just set a goal to read 4-6 books in 6 months, doesnt matter on the page count just make it a decent challenge to get rid of whatever mental block you have for reading. If you can just keep up a constant pace for reading a small amount of books every 6 months than eventually you'll be able to read 20+

>>22016218
You forget that most prople here are older than you. You don't need to read an insane amount as long as you do it consistently over the years you will amass quite a catalog

>>22018050
Honestly office job is just comfy when you're competent. All these neets fearmongering about work conditions demoralize a lot of people and shaped the modern perception of "a boring dystopia" for neets out there, just send resumes and try it for atleast three months. Its pretty comfy.

>>22016218
It's simple.

I'm a loser and a NEET, I literally have nothing else to do. In the past people read because their occupation was to write, and or they were rich. NEETs are the modern intellectual artistrocrats.

Or they would be if most weren't addicted to imageboards, pornography, movies, video games, etc... Myself, none of those things give me any satisfaction anymore. So I read to pass the time, having too much of it and nothing else.

>>22016218

Heres the thing, you could EASILY read about 5 books a month or more if you wanted to. All you need to do to achive this is quit your other leisurly activites like:

>Social media (4chan included)
>Video games
>Watching anime
>Watching tv shows
>Jerking off to porn

I dont care if you have a 9 to 5. You can still easily read 5 a month if you replace your other habits with reading. Even if you have a 9 to 5 a lot of people could still listen to audiobooks while working.
Saying you cant do this is a cope.

>>22021898
Based. I fucking wish I was born to money so I could neet it up for the rest of my shitty life without ever being intimidated into getting a horrid job.

Life's so shitty and unfair desu.

>>22022134
I live on welfare and pirate all my books, I just don't care.

>>22016218
Here's how I both made and make time for reading:

Read 2 Pages
> Wake up in the morning
> Before going to sleep
> Before leaving home for any reason
> When you return home
> When you arrive at any destination
> Before leaving anywhere

That could be at least a dozen pages if you leave and return home in one day. Do that for a week and you read 84 pages.

Work on that habit and then increase that to 4 pages. 24 pages a day, 168 pages per week. All of it comprised of low time commitments.

Want to step it up? Make the time to read for just 5 minutes a day on top of that. That's another 35 pages per week. Dial that up over time. By the time you are reading for a quarter of an hour per day that adds up to 105 pages per week. If you combine that with the above method then you could easily exceed 273 pages in one week (168 + 105). That's >540 pages in two weeks, >1080 pages in one month.

Just eat the elephant one bite at a time.

>>22016218
Oh, and if you watch a lot of YouTube grab a pen and a notepad. Write down how many seconds each video that you actively watch is. For every 300 seconds of YouTube that you watch commit to reading for 2 minutes.

>>22016218
I mostly read when I entered university. When you read like 30-40 of the cannon you are free to choose what books you want to branch out to.

>>22016218
You just read for an hour or 2 everyday, it builds up pretty quickly if you're consistent

>>22016321
Read the first few pages out loud. Use different voices for characters, add inflections and accents, etc. It engages you and makes you focus.

>>22022192
I've been doing this while playing video games. When matchmaking, I read even just a single page, but in a night of gaming, it means I'll have also read quite a bit too

>>22022774
what's this theatre kid bullshit?
You only read outloud continental philosophy so you can quickly identify words that aren't use with the casual meaning and to pretend you're a tenured professor fucking his TAs

>>22016218
1. Pick up a book
2. Read for 30 mins
3. Repeat

>>22016218
It's mostly gatekeeping, "let none who do not understand geometry enter here" sorta thing. It was supposed to filter the plebs but then someone spilled the beans that most people haven't actually read them all, which is probably for the better, breaking the psueds I mean. I just read on my lunch and smoke breaks.

>>22018281
tits or gtfo

>>22021870
This. It's great having money to spend and I actually feel good driving in 5pm traffic because I feel this oneness with the rest of society. That said, it's definitely something you shouldn't do for too long. I'm going to bail when I get 10 months in (6 months atm) and find some outdoor work to keep things varied.

>>22023228
Reading out loud is a good way to practice pronunciations and annunciations of words. It also gives a different perspective on the writing. Sometimes, words seem great on the page, but once you read them out loud, you get a better sense of the prose and quality/realism of the dialogue.

>>22016218
It's quite simple really. I don't have sex and don't try to.