Reading book is overwhelming

[Joshe]

For things to stick, they have to be engaged. You can't merely read. A book might have hundreds of ideas and It's often not feasible or a good use of time to engage every idea in the book equally.

Instead, you have to be on the lookout for the best ideas to see which ones ring interesting/useful.

When you find one, try to plug it into your existing knowledge/models and see how it fits and the implications. This process makes it stick for a very long time. Even though you might forget the actual line or specific piece of information, it will likely remain as an intuitive knowing for a long time if you plug it into your mental matrix and see it's validity. 

Also, look for real-world examples from your own experience to try to validate an idea. If you can see and confirm the merit of an idea, it will be hard to forget it. 

Also, you might retain more by listening rather than reading, but processing is different for everyone. Actual reading demands a lot of energy for me and I start getting sleepy after about 15 minutes. IME, audio books are much less demanding.

Edited Saturday at 09:21 PM by Joshe

[Human Mint]

15 hours ago, Rishabh R said:

Focus on absorbing the information through repetition. Read over and over again. I also forget things that I read but I discovered that the more times I iterate the information in other words re reading the same thing more I remember it.

This is the key. Mastery is built on repetition and nothing else.

[Rishabh R]

@Schizophonia Ok I saw it now.

[Basman]

On 18/10/2025 at 6:33 PM, Schizophonia said:

Most people don't really like reading because it's not natural for humans to read; books don't exist in nature.
I don't use TikTok, but I'm not even sure that reading books is better than using it (btw contrary to what one might think, Gen Zers have a larger brain volume than Gen Xers https://www.sciencealert.com/younger-generations-have-larger-brains-is-that-healthier), because at least TikTok is fairly ego-neutral, whereas a book pushes you to side with the author's ego; their positions, their language elements, and their persona in general; it's anti-holistic; when it's not just common sense for 15 euros; at least if we talk about personal development, spirituality, religions, politic; yopics like that.

Humans have been reading and writing for thousands of years. It's just a form of communication. Your doing it right now. Communication and language is as human as it gets. 

I think a major reason why reading is so hard for many is because it is a focused activity and slow, unlike TikTok.

You solve the bias problem by just reading lots of different books and perspective. Social media in comparison curates content into a personalized echochamber if you are not careful. 

[Basman]

What worked for me to build a reading habit is reading 5 minutes every day, then adding 5 minutes every week. I'm now at 50 minutes of reading every day. It lets you build positive associations and get used to reading as you gradually increase your intensity.

You will forget most of what you read, I believe, but the overall idea will stick to you in my experience. A handful of concepts will stick in your mind, usually the most important ones. But when you re-read, the information tends to stick much better and more clearly also.

If you want to maintain information like a fine comb catching lice then you need to study the book which I consider to be different from just reading. In my opinion, just reading is sufficient in most cases unless you think the book is particularly important. You reading/comprehension skills will improve as you read more books.

Non-fiction books that are just information are harder to comprehend than stories though. I think humans are naturally geared toward story telling, so that makes sense. Good writers weave storytelling into their writing to better carry the meaning of their ideas. 

21 hours ago, Joshe said:

Also, you might retain more by listening rather than reading, but processing is different for everyone. Actual reading demands a lot of energy for me and I start getting sleepy after about 15 minutes. IME, audio books are much less demanding.

Audio books tend to have less emotional impact for me. It is much more of a passive experience compared to when you read and are focused on the book's content. There's also just that nice feeling when you are well into a book and reading happens effortlessly. Usually when you past the half-way point.

[Natasha Tori Maru]

@Basman I feel the same regarding audiobooks. 

I use them as well as normal reading. But I have found when I read, I naturally pause and stare blankly off or at the page when images or networks of ideas are forming. So when reading, I can take it at my own pace. I do not get this reprieve to 'digest' the information when an audiobook just rolls through. And I find this ability to pause essential to integration and understanding. Pausing and rewinding an audiobook interrupts the process when my eyes can simply return and continue.

This is especially prevelant with things like fiction. Fictional work invokes images and emotion as I read. I enjoy audiobooks also, but I have a deeper connection to my emotional and visual process by reading. In other words: the experience from a book is richer to me. 

The ability to read long format is trained. I do think a lot of the younger generations are losing this ability for short format information. 

There are no short cuts without compromise.

[Basman]

56 minutes ago, Natasha Tori Maru said:

The ability to read long format is trained. I do think a lot of the younger generations are losing this ability for short format information. 

There are no short cuts without compromise.

It's hard to get into books in general. A lot of people aren't reading despite wishing to.

I myself don't really read for fun for the most part. I get myself to read because I want to learn. That I mildly enjoy it just makes it easier.

[Joshe]

3 hours ago, Basman said:

Audio books tend to have less emotional impact for me. It is much more of a passive experience compared to when you read and are focused on the book's content.

Yeah, it probably comes down to how you process, what you're reading and why you're reading it. I only prefer reading if I need to do things like reference or follow specific instructions. If I'm just exploring ideas (which is the only reason I consume books), audio-processing is much cheaper than visual decoding. Every cognitive process has an energy cost.