Hi, I'm Dave and I'm a read-aholic. Fiction, if the pace is adequate, pretty much linear, let the author tell the story. Non-fiction, non-linear. Way more than half the time, multitasking, reading while watching news or sports, reading while walking (driving), three or four books open simultaneously.
Used to do hot tub reading a lot, but alas, can't afford it in this climate. davew On Tue, Jan 27, 2026, at 12:04 PM, Steve Smith wrote: > good (and very relevant to my own experience) thread... thanks... > > I was an early and avid reader, with modes and subjects shifting through time > and context. > > I have shifted 99% of my fiction (text) consumption to audio and boosted my > video fiction (4X) consumption significantly in the last 5-10 years for lots > of reasons (social engagement, more free time). > > Like Jon said, "reading was (once) pure play", I've replaced it with > lower-engagement/demand alternatives which is a bit like replacing the > episodic wild berries in my diet with pure sugar or maybe pixie-stix? Or > maybe just candy-bars with *some* nuts and chocolate to buffer the power-hit > of refined sugar? > > Following Glen's point, I do read more non-fiction via linear (and resampled > linear) text than I do fiction... and it is a mixed blessing. I've always > enjoyed nonlinear/hyperlinked prose (e.g. browsing/tracing a > dictionary/thesaurus/encyclopedia) as well as self-curation of tech/history > material using ToC and Index navigation, but also highly value the > author/editor's curation (what I think Marcus rankled at?). > > (about) the only time I read much in significant linear batches is when I > soak in my clawfoot tub. After a significant physical activity (usually > chores) or during some mild illness (light flu/cold or taking a chill from > exposure) I will settle into a long hot bath where I can sometimes read > chapters and chapters from a book or some long-form journalism which I > normally crash out of after 5-10 mins max. > > Mary is much more capable of dropping into a book (still) despite the > distractions and has not really shifted into audio-consumption of fiction. > Her stack of "have read" grows monthly and reinforcing my "audio-forward" > fiction, she reads aloud to me A) at bedtime; B) on short and long drives; C) > when something is acutely compelling to her. > > I'm ashamed to admit that about all I have to offer in return to her is > "being a good listener" and an occasional short-segment of an audio-book I've > been listening to which is salient to whatever is afoot in the moment in the > world or between us. My offerings are a fraction of the quantity (and > quality?) of hers to me. > > Too much of my reading happens from a screen (this one) and/but I can > *barely* read from my TS (tiny-screen phone) which saves me in some ways (I > spend less time staring at my palm than many) but not in others (when I'm > staring at my palm I'm likely just reading headline-fragments).... > > My (midlife-adult) children both read modestly, though both have commutes > which have pushed them into audio (something I introduced them to on car > trips as children). Both prefer Kindle-class screen-readers for > portability/convenience but do still murder trees. ElderDotter before-child > commuted 1hr each way by rail and read a LOT during that time. YungerDotter > worked in our bookstore for a year while finishing her BA in Santa Fe which > reinforced her appreciation for the used-book world, but the demands of > parenting and careering and general adulting have cut into *their* reading > time. YD commutes in a TSLA (FU Elon Musk!) but loathes the (f?)SD features > and definitely doesn't Read While Driving (best I know).... > > ED records/rates (most of?) her conquests on GoodReads (yes, I know, Bezos > coopted that and is a dipshit for doing so) but does not review much if at > all there. So I know she is consuming (possibly on audio but not > exclusively) order 1-4 novels/nonfics a month, many of which I myself have > already read and. few which I have been inspired to (esp. if > Audio-available). Reading lists used to be an important part of my larger > social fabric, now it is just with my familial and some professional > intimates. > > Mary's children are also mid-life/career readers still and some of their > consumption habits bleed into my awareness through her (2 are GoodReads > rater/reviewers). One D-in-Law is the most eclectic (a big Jane > Austen/Raymond Chandler/Agatha Chrisite fan who also reads AE. Van Vogt and > jack Williamson interleaved with heavy shite on Cancer (she is Stage 4 6 > years in now), as well as Feminist and Ethnic studies). She is a trained > Librarian-Archivist which might explain her text-heavy orientation. She and > the son-husband declare to consume all their news and politics and economics > strictly through long-form journalism and I (mostly) believe them. He's a > serious film-buff so the cinema he reports on is eclectic and arte-haus > heavy. He broadens our watch list significantly. Sharing their diets > as-such with us enhances our intergenerational coupling (gives us something > to talk about besides Trump-Reviling, when we chat). > > My grandchildren (all 2 of them) are less likely to be lifelong readers > beyond the basics required by school and friend-networks... but I may be > wrong... the parents offer/push/expose them to as much as makes sense > in-context but tik-tok/video/"socials", etc are strong attractors of > attention. My own shift from written text on paper to screens and linear to > highly non-linear and from text to audio/video-narrative follows their > pattern with a little more plasticity/inertial resistance than they naturally > have. Mary's 2 (twin) grandchildren probably read more than their general > peers (fairly screen-time restricted at 9 years old) and the boy, finally > diagnosed Autism-Spectrum voraciously goes through topics like the Titanic, > the Vietnam War, still illustration-heavy but concept/factiod dense. His > social skills are not always helped by being encyclopedic in his latest > obsession. > > My dog does not read nor listen to synthesized audio nor watch TV (except > through seideyez), although he is acutely aware of dogs barking, doorbell and > knocking sounds coming from the TV as well as animal-shapes on TV (Dogs most > acutely, cats sometimes, horses and other large mammals. Mary reads to him > sometimes and he does alert to her (tone of) voice, but I don't think he's > processing anything beyond "emotional content". > > Our mothers died with unfinished novels at their bedsides and our fathers > barely read at all (Mary's was marginally illiterate, my own never bothered > beyond Forestry and Grazing Journals in his early career). Our grandparents > (except 1) might have been functionally/circumstantially illiterate with > little time or available material to read though all finished 8th grade and > two graduated a work-study hillbilly college in Geology. > > I discuss way too much of my reading/listening with an LLM (re Jon's > reference) to my benefit and demise methinks. Youse guys have to hear less > of my reflections and observations that way, however. Net win? > > Did I tell you about Daniel Boone, T.Jefferson, T. Roosevelt, G. Cleveland, > H. Arendt, Wengrow&Graeber, Sterling&Gibson, et al? (off my very recent > Audio-stack). > > "TL;DR" is a bit too long even for a bumper sticker these days? > > - Steve > > On 1/26/26 5:05 pm, Jon Zingale wrote: >> I remember loving the book "Last love in Constantinople". It is a fiction >> book that comes with instructions suggesting that the reader pull tarot >> using just the major arcana and then read the book's chapters in the derived >> order. >> >> Lately, I almost never find the place in myself to settle into reading as >> deeply as I once enjoyed. When I would read a lot, I wouldn't stress at all >> about how I moved through or sat with a text, linear or not. Instead, >> reading itself was pure play. Much of that joy now feels alien to me, a >> faint dream. >> >> I can remember feeling the transition away from being situated in deep focus >> as normal and into something much more reactive as the new normal. It's >> almost like I expect to be smacked in the back of the head at any moment. I >> feel as if my eyes are anxious not to waste anymore time where they are. >> >> Occasionally, when I get a few days off from work, step away from my >> numerous obligations, get a few miles of running in, alternate between the >> sauna and the cold, I briefly find myself remembering what it was like to >> have a deeper reading practice. >> >> I delight in those rare moments where I find that I can sit with a math >> book, say, and have something I want to direct my attention toward, and I >> don't mind at all that the content undresses slowly. I don't even care that >> it would in some ways be more efficient to discuss the topic with an LLM. >> >> .- .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- --- - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / .-- .-. --- -. --. / >> ... --- -- . / .- .-. . / ..- ... . ..-. ..- .-.. >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom >> https://bit.ly/virtualfriam >> to (un)subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com >> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ >> archives: 5/2017 thru present >> https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/ >> 1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/ > .- .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- --- - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / .-- .-. --- -. --. / ... > --- -- . / .- .-. . / ..- ... . ..-. ..- .-.. > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom > https://bit.ly/virtualfriam > to (un)subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ > archives: 5/2017 thru present > https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/ > 1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/ >
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