How do I gain such power
There’s a couple of effective strats for reading 10 books a month:
- manic phase
- grad student time crunch
- picture books
- read words but don’t bother comprehending them (great for doorstops/abstruse texts: this is how I read gravity’s rainbow, house of leaves, and infinite jest all in 1 week)
- make shit up for the internet
- ai blockchain technology reads them for you
- hot chip, twerk, be bisexual, lie
Hope this helps! Happy reading!
gravity’s rainbow, house of leaves, and infinite jest all in 1 week
wtf. thats scary
I had a notebook when I read Gravity’s Rainbow and even drew up my own flowchart of the characters to keep track of things. At times I’d only get through 5 pages in a lunch break. Reading one of these books that fast would do a shit in my brain
I wish I still had my notes from Gravity’s Rainbow. A friend’s dad still had his legal pad with his notes from when he read it in a file somewhere and he trusted me with it. I cribbed his flowcharts for myself. Something that dense you take all the help you can get. And like you said, 5 pages a day was an achievement.
Infinite Jest I got halfway through before I decided I had enough. Enjoyed it, not invested enough in the story to finish it. I only know House of Leaves by reputation.
Infinite Jest I got halfway through before I decided I had enough
Same. Gravity’s Rainbow too but I eventually listened to the absurdly well produced abridged German audio play.
The only way you could actually do this is to loosen up your definition of “reading” wide enough that it becomes meaningless.
I read Gravity’s Rainbow a long time ago. I had to take notes to keep track of what was happening.
At some point you trade speed for comprehension. Other comrades have given sincere (and thoughtful!) answers to OP’s question. I’m giving wrong answers. There is an upper limit to how much information one can meaningfully assimilate in any given amount of time and if you’re breezing through dense prose you’re probably missing something in the process.
I never understood counting books this way. It would make sense if all books took the same time and effort. But you can read 30 modern novels in the same time and effort that would cost you in reading perhaps 1 book by, say, Hegel or Kant. I’m not saying that the easiest reads are useless or bad but they are different. Even in novels some are easy to get through and I might read one in 3 days or so, while some can take me a month to parse. Unless you are speaking of a specific kind of books requiring roughly the same effort, the measuring of number of books doesn’t convey much information.
I’m reading like 1 novel/pop sci text a month and that’s including audiobooks so the bar is low and I’m struggling to clear it
log off
This is the secret answer to everything
I think ten isn’t that hard depending on word count, your average novel being around 300-400 pages.
For instance I read the black company series and a few other novels in under a month but then I slow down on more dense books or books that can be more a challenge for my dyslexia. Energy levels and setting time aside to read factors in too
Its not “hard” but I wouldnt enjoy reading 10 average page count (even if good) books in a month. I think at least I wouldnt enjoy it.
Like at most I usually read 2 books a month cause I take breaks between reading. If I really wanted I could do 4 ( 1 per week)
10 would be totally possible but not “fun” I imagine.
At least for me. Im sure there are people who read 10 or more books a month but Im not such an avid reader.
I find it fun to read a good book or get into a series. That’s not to say it can’t be a slog getting through a book you don’t enjoy for whatever reason.
Really depends on how much enjoyment you get out of the things you read. I vary my reading between various genres and fiction/non fiction. Some theory or history can vary in density which can be good to mix up with some fun stuff as a palate cleanser. I can go through periods of not reading for playing the odd game. It can vary.
Lemme phrase it this way. I could probably do it if it’s a series I REALLY enjoy, but my enjoyment level usually goes up and down with books. So, say, after book 4, I’d probably take a two-week break or something (I assume, at least).
OK then, since you’re a nerd and read a lot (unlike me, who is a dumb brute :^)
Gimme some books that kept you going ? That you thought were really enthralling.
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By reading mostly :)
Actual answer I think is just learning what you like and reading that. Currently working on getting better about reading myself, though I have kinda slowed down (outside of a gay romance webnovel I’m obsessed with)
You should meet my queer platonic partner. They go through 200 page books like it’s eating a bag of chips. My dyslexic ass was looking at one of them and they went “what it’s really big text!” and the text was smaller then this.
Read in your free time as a hobby.
Alternatively, start commuting using public transit and read while you’re waiting for/riding the bus.
I try doing that but it always feels like a chore. Like I’d rather be playing video games but I have to read bc it’s good to think and to learn
If reading feels like a chore, it will be a chore. If you can find something to read that you enjoy, whatever it is, read it! I forget where I read (or heard) this but if you didn’t like reading growing up/it didn’t ever click for you, then it’s going to be an ordeal. You have to build a relationship with reading stuff that is enjoyable for you, whatever that looks like. Reading out of obligation (is that fair?) sucks any joy there might be right out of it.
Legit I might just have to go back to basics and restart with The Very Hungry Caterpillar or some shit 😭
If you enjoy reading it, then read it! Whatever it is. If you can make it a communal thing it can help you start having some fun with it too. Whatever works. At whatever pace.
Talk to Kat Williams, he says he reads 1000 books a year
Bring a book with you where ever you go and whenever you find yourself at a time that you would be looking at your phone, pull out a book instead.
Doesn’t seem too outlandish. I started reading books again recently, and I usually read two books at a time so I always have some variety, finishing a book in about 10 days (so ≈6 books/month). If I were to read a bit longer per day, a bit faster (I like to take my time to digest things), or just read more fiction, I think I could hit 10/month.
But I agree with others that targeting a specific number doesn’t seem useful or particularly meaningful, since more complicated texts will require more rumination. I’m mostly on cruise control reading these books (generally non-fiction but not highly technical/abstract), whereas if I were grappling with Capital or something it would be counterproductive to try to cram it all in at once without taking notes, re-reading difficult sections, and giving myself time to get comfortable with the concepts.
