To your point in the intro, just because someone is on their phone doesn’t mean they’re not reading, especially on a plane. I prefer to read on the Kindle app on my phone on a plane so I can use the motion sickness setting, or I’ll listen to an audiobook. I can’t read a physical book on a plane or in a car. I read over 100 books a year for the past 6 years I’ve been tracking on Goodreads by the way.
100 percent. And...when I glanced over folks shoulders while walking the aisles, I didn't see too many kindle-texts. I saw a lot of TIkTok and Reels...
I think it’s a point in theory. When ever you see people swiping down or to the left constantly, you know they’re not reading. Some, of course, read online news but I bet more than half scroll IG or TT.
Same here, Anna. Kindle on phone, if there's no internet. iPad if there is. Plus, I'm not a video guy, short or long. Guess that's probably because I'm an old fart.
Almost every day I'm amazed how much people get lost in the 5.3" screen. If only people time traveled from the 1980's, they'd think we'd gone mad. Let's fix it, one book at a time.
I just spent a week on Lake Michigan (annual vacation). We all read during the day (finished 5 great books myself!) and play games at night. Our teen always says he feels so rested when we head home. Trying to instill the love of reading while we can!
Reading on a phone or Kindle is convenient, but give me a real book any day. Opening it, turning those first few pages and, yes, even smelling it! There’s just something magical about it.
We just got back from a few weeks in Europe with Overseas Adventure Travel in the Alps and Dolomites. It's harder to take a break from the Internet than I thought. I always say I can do it but what I really mean is I’ve done it for short periods of time. Really short. I spent 3 days without WiFi and therefore disconnected because my Global plan through Boost Mobile was a joke. I pulled out my old paperback copy of Frankenstein and enjoyed reading in my spare time. Once I got past the initial withdrawal from my fitness apps like Coros and Strava, I enjoyed the break immensely. At the same time, I got to run in Chamonix on the UTMB course!
This makes me so sad for the world - I am a voracious reader and it is one of my lifelong favorite things in the world.
The other area reading also helps with is increasing empathy for others - which our world can use more of!
My small contribution to fighting this good fight is trying to start and keep alive book clubs - in my town, in my work, and in my community. I hope we can turn the tide!
I feel similarly about writing - I have been spending a significant amount of time on LinkedIn as I am currently unemployed and searching for a new role. I started following people in my field and the “thought leadership” articles they are posting are entirely generated by ChatGPT - they all have the same cadence, structure, format, and tone. I decided to start writing my own and I actually write them myself, rather than asking AI to take a few thoughts I had and compose an article. I admit to having used it in my most recent job in order to generate content quickly, and although I could create a lot more resources in a fraction of the time, the process of taking highly complex information and trying to present it into more user friendly language put me in a flow state and brought me a tremendous amount of satisfaction. When I stopped doing it ‘manually’ and using AI, I felt like I was just completing wrote mindless tasks rather than producing deep cognitively challenging work.
When I write my personal substack, I tend to spend a better part of a day editing and each time I hit publish I get the same feeling I get when I cross the finish line of a race. Where am I going with this…when I first started reading the articles in my field on LinkedIn, I did so with the intent of trying to gain more knowledge and understanding of best practices and industry trends. Instead I found myself reading the same old regurgitated slop that told me nothing. So now I write my own pieces, with my own analogies, and include anecdotes and stories that only I can relay, not something that can be generated by ChatGPT.
To your point in the intro, just because someone is on their phone doesn’t mean they’re not reading, especially on a plane. I prefer to read on the Kindle app on my phone on a plane so I can use the motion sickness setting, or I’ll listen to an audiobook. I can’t read a physical book on a plane or in a car. I read over 100 books a year for the past 6 years I’ve been tracking on Goodreads by the way.
100 percent. And...when I glanced over folks shoulders while walking the aisles, I didn't see too many kindle-texts. I saw a lot of TIkTok and Reels...
Fair point! It's a tool that can be used in a brain positive way, for sure.
I think it’s a point in theory. When ever you see people swiping down or to the left constantly, you know they’re not reading. Some, of course, read online news but I bet more than half scroll IG or TT.
Same here, Anna. Kindle on phone, if there's no internet. iPad if there is. Plus, I'm not a video guy, short or long. Guess that's probably because I'm an old fart.
Almost every day I'm amazed how much people get lost in the 5.3" screen. If only people time traveled from the 1980's, they'd think we'd gone mad. Let's fix it, one book at a time.
Articulation is a muscle.
Borrowed thinking (writing with AI) is a self-created injury that prevents you from growing that muscle. Add that to zero reading. A disgrace.
Not good. However, for those who chart a different path, there will be vast benefits, I think.
Anecdotally, the resistance is building. I see more people out and about in my neighborhood reading physical/paper books than I have in years.
Love to hear this.
Good thing we have Substack
I just spent a week on Lake Michigan (annual vacation). We all read during the day (finished 5 great books myself!) and play games at night. Our teen always says he feels so rested when we head home. Trying to instill the love of reading while we can!
Keep going!
Reading on a phone or Kindle is convenient, but give me a real book any day. Opening it, turning those first few pages and, yes, even smelling it! There’s just something magical about it.
Thank you Brad, I thought this was excellently done and thoroughly enjoyed reading.
I always have a big bag or rucksack to carry a hard copy book. I love the smell, the feeling of a physical book. I will never stop doing that.
Love this, Brad! And we are starting The Book Club for Men soon! https://comealittlefurther.substack.com/p/lets-read
Reading is like race training but for life. You’re living other lives when you read, but you learn how to live yours better in the process.
We just got back from a few weeks in Europe with Overseas Adventure Travel in the Alps and Dolomites. It's harder to take a break from the Internet than I thought. I always say I can do it but what I really mean is I’ve done it for short periods of time. Really short. I spent 3 days without WiFi and therefore disconnected because my Global plan through Boost Mobile was a joke. I pulled out my old paperback copy of Frankenstein and enjoyed reading in my spare time. Once I got past the initial withdrawal from my fitness apps like Coros and Strava, I enjoyed the break immensely. At the same time, I got to run in Chamonix on the UTMB course!
Counterculture becomes mainstream.
Reading might just be on the way back in :)
I created this whole moment around “logging off, spreading love, and being greater.”
I even have a piece titled Offline is the New Counterculture:
https://iamgarrett.substack.com/p/be-greater-003-offline-is-the-new?r=3ubajv&utm_medium=ios
This makes me so sad for the world - I am a voracious reader and it is one of my lifelong favorite things in the world.
The other area reading also helps with is increasing empathy for others - which our world can use more of!
My small contribution to fighting this good fight is trying to start and keep alive book clubs - in my town, in my work, and in my community. I hope we can turn the tide!
In the future you will be paid to read, not to write.
I feel similarly about writing - I have been spending a significant amount of time on LinkedIn as I am currently unemployed and searching for a new role. I started following people in my field and the “thought leadership” articles they are posting are entirely generated by ChatGPT - they all have the same cadence, structure, format, and tone. I decided to start writing my own and I actually write them myself, rather than asking AI to take a few thoughts I had and compose an article. I admit to having used it in my most recent job in order to generate content quickly, and although I could create a lot more resources in a fraction of the time, the process of taking highly complex information and trying to present it into more user friendly language put me in a flow state and brought me a tremendous amount of satisfaction. When I stopped doing it ‘manually’ and using AI, I felt like I was just completing wrote mindless tasks rather than producing deep cognitively challenging work.
When I write my personal substack, I tend to spend a better part of a day editing and each time I hit publish I get the same feeling I get when I cross the finish line of a race. Where am I going with this…when I first started reading the articles in my field on LinkedIn, I did so with the intent of trying to gain more knowledge and understanding of best practices and industry trends. Instead I found myself reading the same old regurgitated slop that told me nothing. So now I write my own pieces, with my own analogies, and include anecdotes and stories that only I can relay, not something that can be generated by ChatGPT.