Reading off line seems like it makes a ton of sense. I also need to work off line, but I'm terrible at that.
As for books, I read so much less than I used to BUT I just finished Tana French's latest -- The Hunter -- and I got so sucked in I actually stayed up late to read it, which I haven't done in years.
I have never read a single Tana French book and yet she's been recommended to me many a time, so - OK, that's going to be my first one of hers. I'm on it. (Without spoilers: why did you find it so good?)
It's so good because is perfectly marries literary fiction with a great plot that really grips you with hardly a wasted word. Her characters are incredibly complex, utterly believable, and compelling. And she creates an amazing sense of place that really makes you feel like you're in rural Ireland.
I apologise for the graphic nature of that GIF, Graham.
But Nick Offerman is actually on Substack - https://nickofferman.substack.com/ - so if you want to start legal proceedings against that GIF, he should be your first port of call. I'm sure he gets it all the time from traumatised phone-users.
No mountains out of molehills here, Mike, and thanks for your response. I found the "Gif" a distraction to my reading pleasure, but, unfortunately, there was no way to stop it. We are powerless to stop violence in so many quarters these days that, like in that case, the default remedy is simply to walk away.
That's a classic! Superb choice of reading there. It's a bit dated now in the details, but it's still highly relevant with what's going on (with a few caveats - I've read some interesting critiques of his approach that I didn't disagree with). I gather he has a new book out too: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/office-space/its-time-to-embrace-slow-productivity
This was so interesting! My ability to read is back now, but I do think that working in publishing has kind of broken me. I feel a huge obligation to get though masses of books, and I am a terrible skimmer and skipper. My reading can get quite task-orientated and I think it's the only part of my life in which I experience FOMO. Writers' guilt: all those wonderful books, and so little time.
I loved all of this but broetry is the word that will stay with me, that perfection of urban slang to call out what is everywhere but until you name it, you don't see it. ;)
Reading offline... what a brilliantly dumb (and perfect) solution! I bought two books yesterday, which means approximately 278 Substack emails must be sacrificed for these two paperbacks.
I've become good friends with the "Reader Mode" Button on my browser. It reduces everything to a simple, calm layout, removes adds - love it. (Some pages sadly aren't available in Reader Mode.)
I'd love to get a plugin though that removes all links from articles and puts them at the bottom as sources: read the article first and at the end decide if and what you want to follow up on. That would create a still calmer and more focused reading experience.
Airplane mode, what a good idea. I just spent a weekend without wifi in a place with very spotty cell phone coverage so feel like I might be a step ahead in implementing this. I didn’t spend much time reading but did spend lots of time hiking and talking and eating, all acceptable alternatives.
As a former psychology/neuroscience student, I knew absolutely everything you said about how reading works... yet I found what you wrote so terribly fascinating. Thanks for always putting things into words in the most interesting way possible
One tab at a time - that's my 'reading online' rule. I will finish reading this one thing and then, if I want to click on the links, I will one at a time, read them, close them, open something else. Almost like a newspaper used to be.
(Didn't expect my tweet to make a comeback - thank you for that hahaha. Blast from the past, especially since I've since left Twitter/X)
I learned about saccades a few years ago because I got a concussion in a car accident and started to have trouble reading (especially aloud for voiceover work), difficulty with focus and concentration, and got migraines from sitting in front of a screen for too long, among other things. After 11 months of struggling and not realizing why, I stumbled on an educational PBS YouTube video about how we read and learned about saccades. That led me to seeing an eye specialist and finding out the accident that caused the TBI also caused me to develop oculomotor and binocular dysfunction. It's so weird that a dysfunction in my eyes causes me to stumble when trying to read a script for voiceover work, but once I learned what is happening, it makes sense, as do so many other things I struggle with, almost all of which link back to the acquired vision issues.
Anyhow, I also learned it's really not good for any of us to be looking at screens so much. It's very noticeably worse for me now, but reading on a screen tires all of us out mentally about four times faster than if we consumed the same content on the old fashioned paper page. I read paper books now, and if there's something digital, I might be inclined to print it if it's very long rather than read the digital version.
Side note: folks should always take with a grain of salt any trite factoid Microsoft throws into their content or presentations. I used to work there (as a contractor) and once saw an oft-repeated falsehood in one of the training videos they had me working on. I was embarrassed on their behalf that they had been repeating this same misinformation for likely many years before I questioned the source. In fact, pretty much every company I have worked for has been lazy about regurgitating things easy to fact check, from Johnson & Johnson to Harvard Business Publishing. Also, take anything Elle Griffith says with a grain of salt, too.
Love your pointer for reading 'offline'! I will have to give it a try. One thing I recently implemented was turning off all notifications on all apps on my phone. It has been a game changer. Not quite as offline as your method, but the feeling of playing whac-a-mole with my notifications has subsided and I have felt much more in control of my time and attention.
I downloaded a color-by-number app recently, with the theory that it might help stop my brain when it's stuck on something unpleasant. Not only does it do a pretty good job of that, it's also increased my attention span for online stuff! The difference is most noticeable for me with videos - I used to catch myself wanting to click away after maybe ten seconds - but it's helped with reading, too. I don't know why, but it's definitely made me curious!
One of the weird quirks of my life is that I've had to hone an ability to read on screens while also being online, because that is where my copy editing work has happened since about 2010. I don't love it. I get eyestrain headaches from the screen. But I *have* to focus. Copy editors can't skim. Or, we can, but we're unlikely to get hired again if we do so.
That said, I refuse to read online otherwise unless I absolutely have to, and by "online" I mostly mean "on a screen." It is such a relief to read a printed page with all my devices turned off. And keeping up ... well, we'll all die with unanswered emails and a boatload of unread newsletters. It's impossible.
Also: I love your long emails! It's delightful conversation.
I have a tech free room in my house, which is also where I keep my books. I go there in the early mornings with a cup of coffee, before everyone else is awake and before I my day accretes an increasingly brittle carapace of tasks and responsibilities whichi must perform for other people.
This combination of solitude, quiet, and my favourite psychostimulant quietly addicts me to that space and I require little encouragement to return at any opportunity.
Reading off line seems like it makes a ton of sense. I also need to work off line, but I'm terrible at that.
As for books, I read so much less than I used to BUT I just finished Tana French's latest -- The Hunter -- and I got so sucked in I actually stayed up late to read it, which I haven't done in years.
I have never read a single Tana French book and yet she's been recommended to me many a time, so - OK, that's going to be my first one of hers. I'm on it. (Without spoilers: why did you find it so good?)
It's so good because is perfectly marries literary fiction with a great plot that really grips you with hardly a wasted word. Her characters are incredibly complex, utterly believable, and compelling. And she creates an amazing sense of place that really makes you feel like you're in rural Ireland.
Really enjoyed this article and persisted to keep my attention and get through reading the whole article actually! Quite amazing
Cheers, Lina! Then I am happy that I more or less hit the mark there. Thanks for letting me know. :)
I'm sorry, I had to stop reading, I found the phone bashing too much, and I couldn't stop it. It's very upsetting, Mike, sorry.
I apologise for the graphic nature of that GIF, Graham.
But Nick Offerman is actually on Substack - https://nickofferman.substack.com/ - so if you want to start legal proceedings against that GIF, he should be your first port of call. I'm sure he gets it all the time from traumatised phone-users.
No mountains out of molehills here, Mike, and thanks for your response. I found the "Gif" a distraction to my reading pleasure, but, unfortunately, there was no way to stop it. We are powerless to stop violence in so many quarters these days that, like in that case, the default remedy is simply to walk away.
Loved this
I recently read Deep Work by Cal Newport and now I'm purposely reading more and flicking less.
It was definitely worth reading more of this article
That's a classic! Superb choice of reading there. It's a bit dated now in the details, but it's still highly relevant with what's going on (with a few caveats - I've read some interesting critiques of his approach that I didn't disagree with). I gather he has a new book out too: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/office-space/its-time-to-embrace-slow-productivity
Thanks for the link. Be interesting to know his views given the status of our contemporary working world
This was so interesting! My ability to read is back now, but I do think that working in publishing has kind of broken me. I feel a huge obligation to get though masses of books, and I am a terrible skimmer and skipper. My reading can get quite task-orientated and I think it's the only part of my life in which I experience FOMO. Writers' guilt: all those wonderful books, and so little time.
I loved all of this but broetry is the word that will stay with me, that perfection of urban slang to call out what is everywhere but until you name it, you don't see it. ;)
Reading offline... what a brilliantly dumb (and perfect) solution! I bought two books yesterday, which means approximately 278 Substack emails must be sacrificed for these two paperbacks.
I've become good friends with the "Reader Mode" Button on my browser. It reduces everything to a simple, calm layout, removes adds - love it. (Some pages sadly aren't available in Reader Mode.)
I'd love to get a plugin though that removes all links from articles and puts them at the bottom as sources: read the article first and at the end decide if and what you want to follow up on. That would create a still calmer and more focused reading experience.
Airplane mode, what a good idea. I just spent a weekend without wifi in a place with very spotty cell phone coverage so feel like I might be a step ahead in implementing this. I didn’t spend much time reading but did spend lots of time hiking and talking and eating, all acceptable alternatives.
As a former psychology/neuroscience student, I knew absolutely everything you said about how reading works... yet I found what you wrote so terribly fascinating. Thanks for always putting things into words in the most interesting way possible
One tab at a time - that's my 'reading online' rule. I will finish reading this one thing and then, if I want to click on the links, I will one at a time, read them, close them, open something else. Almost like a newspaper used to be.
(Didn't expect my tweet to make a comeback - thank you for that hahaha. Blast from the past, especially since I've since left Twitter/X)
I learned about saccades a few years ago because I got a concussion in a car accident and started to have trouble reading (especially aloud for voiceover work), difficulty with focus and concentration, and got migraines from sitting in front of a screen for too long, among other things. After 11 months of struggling and not realizing why, I stumbled on an educational PBS YouTube video about how we read and learned about saccades. That led me to seeing an eye specialist and finding out the accident that caused the TBI also caused me to develop oculomotor and binocular dysfunction. It's so weird that a dysfunction in my eyes causes me to stumble when trying to read a script for voiceover work, but once I learned what is happening, it makes sense, as do so many other things I struggle with, almost all of which link back to the acquired vision issues.
Anyhow, I also learned it's really not good for any of us to be looking at screens so much. It's very noticeably worse for me now, but reading on a screen tires all of us out mentally about four times faster than if we consumed the same content on the old fashioned paper page. I read paper books now, and if there's something digital, I might be inclined to print it if it's very long rather than read the digital version.
Side note: folks should always take with a grain of salt any trite factoid Microsoft throws into their content or presentations. I used to work there (as a contractor) and once saw an oft-repeated falsehood in one of the training videos they had me working on. I was embarrassed on their behalf that they had been repeating this same misinformation for likely many years before I questioned the source. In fact, pretty much every company I have worked for has been lazy about regurgitating things easy to fact check, from Johnson & Johnson to Harvard Business Publishing. Also, take anything Elle Griffith says with a grain of salt, too.
Love your pointer for reading 'offline'! I will have to give it a try. One thing I recently implemented was turning off all notifications on all apps on my phone. It has been a game changer. Not quite as offline as your method, but the feeling of playing whac-a-mole with my notifications has subsided and I have felt much more in control of my time and attention.
I downloaded a color-by-number app recently, with the theory that it might help stop my brain when it's stuck on something unpleasant. Not only does it do a pretty good job of that, it's also increased my attention span for online stuff! The difference is most noticeable for me with videos - I used to catch myself wanting to click away after maybe ten seconds - but it's helped with reading, too. I don't know why, but it's definitely made me curious!
One of the weird quirks of my life is that I've had to hone an ability to read on screens while also being online, because that is where my copy editing work has happened since about 2010. I don't love it. I get eyestrain headaches from the screen. But I *have* to focus. Copy editors can't skim. Or, we can, but we're unlikely to get hired again if we do so.
That said, I refuse to read online otherwise unless I absolutely have to, and by "online" I mostly mean "on a screen." It is such a relief to read a printed page with all my devices turned off. And keeping up ... well, we'll all die with unanswered emails and a boatload of unread newsletters. It's impossible.
Also: I love your long emails! It's delightful conversation.
Also also: "broetry" 🤣
Hi Mike,
I have a tech free room in my house, which is also where I keep my books. I go there in the early mornings with a cup of coffee, before everyone else is awake and before I my day accretes an increasingly brittle carapace of tasks and responsibilities whichi must perform for other people.
This combination of solitude, quiet, and my favourite psychostimulant quietly addicts me to that space and I require little encouragement to return at any opportunity.
I would love a tech-free room! I go offline camping or to cabins as often as I can, but to live with daily access to that would be delightful.