if it brings you any comfort, derrida believed most people to be overly hasty readers. he thought it was chomsky’s fatal flaw, and was able to poke holes in his thinking thusly. derrida would want you to take your sweet time and enjoy it, which of course only matters if you care what he thinks, but he’s a smart guy. i always forget that reading is a skill which, like any skill, takes practice. wishing you much good luck!!
I'm going through the same thing! I'm a serial short story reader and haven't been ambitious enough to pick up a "Big Book" in forever (working on it). Recently I was reading this book about Whit Stillman (male Jane Austen worshipper) and got discouraged because I wasn't satistfied using context clues and moving along when I didn't know a word so I resigned to googling words every couple paragraphs. This is obviously bad because you put the book down and pick your phone up, but to make the experience more "educational" and engaging for myself, when I was done reading I wrote the words and their definitions down elementary school style in an effort to retain them and feel more accomplished with my reading I guess? I'm not an underliner really so I also wrote down references of books and movies so I wouldn't forget to engage with them sometime. After that I naturally just started journaling about what I read and I feel like it was a nice way to focus on the act of reading and kept me from just immediately returning to my phone. Thanks for sharing this it is nice to not be the only one.
deciding what to do with the vocabulary is so real... having to stop to look things up totally does take me out of it, but then sometimes i feel like im not fully understanding what im reading, it's really a lose-lose. a friend of mine recently mentioned she wanted to start hosting spelling bee parties and i thought that was a wonderful idea. bringing back vocab sheets, spelling bees, and chapter discussions in 2024.
love this!!! and found it super relatable. i think another thing is that hard work ≠ unpleasant chore every single time. sometimes work feels good. i started reading history books again last yearish (my favorites were "fear city: new york's fiscal crisis and the rise of austerity politics" by kim philips-fein and "blood in the water: the attica prison uprising of 1971 and its legacy" by heather ann thompson, the latter of which is a total masterclass in research). it was euphoric to literally FEEL my brain knitting itself back together as it made new connections and recognized causes and effects.
i've had a lot of conversations with people who share the sentiment of wanting to get back into reading, and at the end of the day you just have to Actually Do It. like you said, it takes effort and practice. this is also such a good point: "I let myself reread sections quite a bit and give myself grace for the things I miss." giving yourself that grace is important! it doesn't all come back instantly. there was a post i saw ages ago that was like, what's the point of making things harder for yourself than they need to be? who's going to check you?
thank you for such lovely thoughtful words. and so true about the refrigerator magnet philosophy... :')
The timing of this is amazing because I've been trying to get back into reading, again. Just yesterday, as I was reading on my Kindle, I realized how difficult it was to stay focused and zoned in, even with what should have been an “easy” read (a modern romance novel, “Happy Place”, lol!). It seems easier to read with my eyes than with my mind lately. What I love about this piece is how the practice of reading can be relevant to other aspects of our lives. My favorite part that I found to be motivating: “I would rather believe that I can introduce discipline into my life to make the steady progress toward my goals, than continue to flounder.."
thanks for reading julie! i find that reading on a flat surface like a kindle or my phone especially prevents me from diving in or feeling immersed - i wonder why that is. i think i also enjoy flipping between pages, which the kindle doesn't quite enable you to do. in my opinion i reading sort of flimsy or cute romance novels is a fantastic way to get back into the habit. it reduces friction. when i wanted to kickstart my reading habit, i actually started with graphic novels and audiobooks. it really helped! now i'm in a phase where i'm trying to up the ante but facing similar roadblocks. inshallah we will have gigantic mega brains full of immaculate vocab and we will be regaled with epic stories 🙏📿🐬
if it brings you any comfort, derrida believed most people to be overly hasty readers. he thought it was chomsky’s fatal flaw, and was able to poke holes in his thinking thusly. derrida would want you to take your sweet time and enjoy it, which of course only matters if you care what he thinks, but he’s a smart guy. i always forget that reading is a skill which, like any skill, takes practice. wishing you much good luck!!
you know what - great point! running with this fully and going to savor it.
I'm going through the same thing! I'm a serial short story reader and haven't been ambitious enough to pick up a "Big Book" in forever (working on it). Recently I was reading this book about Whit Stillman (male Jane Austen worshipper) and got discouraged because I wasn't satistfied using context clues and moving along when I didn't know a word so I resigned to googling words every couple paragraphs. This is obviously bad because you put the book down and pick your phone up, but to make the experience more "educational" and engaging for myself, when I was done reading I wrote the words and their definitions down elementary school style in an effort to retain them and feel more accomplished with my reading I guess? I'm not an underliner really so I also wrote down references of books and movies so I wouldn't forget to engage with them sometime. After that I naturally just started journaling about what I read and I feel like it was a nice way to focus on the act of reading and kept me from just immediately returning to my phone. Thanks for sharing this it is nice to not be the only one.
deciding what to do with the vocabulary is so real... having to stop to look things up totally does take me out of it, but then sometimes i feel like im not fully understanding what im reading, it's really a lose-lose. a friend of mine recently mentioned she wanted to start hosting spelling bee parties and i thought that was a wonderful idea. bringing back vocab sheets, spelling bees, and chapter discussions in 2024.
love this!!! and found it super relatable. i think another thing is that hard work ≠ unpleasant chore every single time. sometimes work feels good. i started reading history books again last yearish (my favorites were "fear city: new york's fiscal crisis and the rise of austerity politics" by kim philips-fein and "blood in the water: the attica prison uprising of 1971 and its legacy" by heather ann thompson, the latter of which is a total masterclass in research). it was euphoric to literally FEEL my brain knitting itself back together as it made new connections and recognized causes and effects.
i've had a lot of conversations with people who share the sentiment of wanting to get back into reading, and at the end of the day you just have to Actually Do It. like you said, it takes effort and practice. this is also such a good point: "I let myself reread sections quite a bit and give myself grace for the things I miss." giving yourself that grace is important! it doesn't all come back instantly. there was a post i saw ages ago that was like, what's the point of making things harder for yourself than they need to be? who's going to check you?
thank you for such lovely thoughtful words. and so true about the refrigerator magnet philosophy... :')
I'm also having the same experience right now, so thank you for putting it into words!
The timing of this is amazing because I've been trying to get back into reading, again. Just yesterday, as I was reading on my Kindle, I realized how difficult it was to stay focused and zoned in, even with what should have been an “easy” read (a modern romance novel, “Happy Place”, lol!). It seems easier to read with my eyes than with my mind lately. What I love about this piece is how the practice of reading can be relevant to other aspects of our lives. My favorite part that I found to be motivating: “I would rather believe that I can introduce discipline into my life to make the steady progress toward my goals, than continue to flounder.."
thanks for reading julie! i find that reading on a flat surface like a kindle or my phone especially prevents me from diving in or feeling immersed - i wonder why that is. i think i also enjoy flipping between pages, which the kindle doesn't quite enable you to do. in my opinion i reading sort of flimsy or cute romance novels is a fantastic way to get back into the habit. it reduces friction. when i wanted to kickstart my reading habit, i actually started with graphic novels and audiobooks. it really helped! now i'm in a phase where i'm trying to up the ante but facing similar roadblocks. inshallah we will have gigantic mega brains full of immaculate vocab and we will be regaled with epic stories 🙏📿🐬