@@LiterateTexanStephen King has talked about the “I want to have written, but I don’t want to write” version, as have a lot of others, so there’s a potential vector.
Fascinating topic. I have reduced my TV watching considerably but lately, I have found my TV watching time replaced by watching booktube and my reading time has remained almost the same. Fortunately, being retired, I have time for both. I just wish all of you folks on booktube weren't so interesting so I could get more actual books read!😄 Yes, definitely read what you like and not because someone told you "must" read a certain book.
I'd much rather watch a video created by a Booktuber than another big budget production from a major studio. Also, it seems like the big budget productions are often sequels, remakes, and reboots. I can safely skip all those, I think.
Fascinating video. The best thing that ever happened to my reading life was getting rid of cable television. And of course finding booktube and all the wonderful booktubers out there talking about bookish things.
Just wanna say thank you for this, wish I had someone to talk with like this irl. I’m way too addicted to my phone and RUclips especially but so far this year I’ve read 2.5 books plus trying to read the Bible in between.
I have to stay close to the phone all the time for health-related reasons, so I sympathize. I do have a tip: take advantage of folders and screens. Put good stuff like e-book apps up front, along with anything you must have for work or whatever. Put other things in folders and in other screens. Extra clicks slow you down and make it more likely you’ll change your mind and do something else. So rig the odds. :)
The time log is sooo helpful. I’ve have problems that mess with memory, both laying them down and bringing them up again. The activity of logging itself helps, as well as the resulting log. I can’t link to it directly, but look up the short song “The Wrong George” by Chagall Guevara. It recreates an experience of their bass player Dave Perkins. It goes with your answering machine story. :)
Love your take on this! Reading to enjoy reading, not to brag that you’ve read. I’ve got a few hobbies depending on how much I need to escape reality and how much my brain needs to shut off. Even simple books require focus to follow and picture the story. Sometimes I need someone else to do all the work to turn my brain off and rest so tv or need to catch up with folks so off to social media which gets me distracted with book and animal videos 😅 “genetic rarity” 😂 that was me in high school. Last night my exhausted self managed to crash super early and not get up til almost 10am today. Glad to see you doing better and recording videos again! You’ve been missed!
I find this topic endlessly fascinating. Booktube has been such an eye-opener for me in terms of expanding my interest in the different genres. I love this community of fellow book lovers!
He also mentions in one of his essays that he hardly ever uses similes when he writes, because "nothing reminds him of anything else. " He's a clever one, that Dirda.
I’m interested. I love anything that sheds a new light on a general topic. I would love to read more but I have my moments when I can’t even pick a book up. This advice helps.
Great video Randy! This topic always interests me. Like many people, I am distracted a lot by my phone and am trying to stop so I can read more. I like the idea of every time you read a book you’re adding another room to your mind. It’s amazing when you think about all the books that we read and we can remember all of them. I couldn’t agree more on reading what you like. I have no qualms about DNF’ing a book I am not enjoying. There are too many good books to read to waste time reading one that I don’t like. Blessings for an early remission.
I always read a physical book for about an hour before bed and, instead of scrolling social media throughout the day, I read a book on my phone on the Kindle app. I'm in my 30's and was pretty addicted to Instagram for quite some time. Finally broke that soul-crushing habit. The phone books are usually ones I don't have a super high interest in and so it's okay for them to be relegated to a small screen I read casually here and there. Joke's on me because I ended up reading the entirety (all 1,300 pages) of Shogun by James Clavell on my little phone screen over the span of a few months. I *loved* it. Afterwards, I didn't start a new book for a week because I wanted those characters to live longer in my head. Edit to add: I'm so glad your cancer journey is almost over-ish. My fingers are crossed it all turns out well for you and we get many more years of our literate Texan 💘
That's a wonderful anecdote about reading all 1300 pages of Shogun on a small screen. I have a doctor friend in Germany who's a big believer in reading physical books beside bed instead of engaging with screens.
@@LiterateTexan That's exactly my stance, as well. Blue light is supposed to be disruptive to sleep. I can't say if it works or not. Some nights are harder than others (high anxiety and meds) but it's overall much more relaxing lol
@superkitten7560 I usually read on my Kindle Fire, and it has a timer that got can use to eliminate the blue spectrum after a certain hour. I'm not sure how helpful it is, honestly. But I'll have a better gauge once I get on the other side of some of these meds.
I've heard this said, but before I'd heard it, the thought entered my mind decades ago: that reading is the nearest thing to telepathy. Thanks for sharing. God bless.
It's been a very encouraging environment for me to get more reading and more diverse reading done. I think I've probably doubled the amount of reading in getting done these days.
I read books for the enjoyment along with the fact that reading helps me stay calm and relaxed. Plus, I enjoy shedding some light on unkown books or stories by known or unkown authors.
I like your idea of talking about more classics. Do you have any Tuesday Tags queued up in your future projects? I'm looking forward to the 100 self help books future discussion. I was interested in your review of Radical Honesty in your dog tag. I'd like to have a pass to speak with radical honesty for a day. It would be freeing but also free up a lot of time for reading, etc. because literally no one would be speaking to me ever again. I try to reserve radical honesty for my journals which I burn at the end of every year unless less they spontaneously combust before then. I hope you are having a good day. 0.0!!
I actually really enjoyed Radical Honesty. I need to read it again as part of that project. I also need to revisit No More Mr. Nice Guy. I have a lot to talk about on this channel, and I have a lot I want to read in preparation, too. I hope you're also having a great day!
@LiterateTexan I am having a good day, actually, thank you! When I get my transporter, I'll come see you because, if the transporter menu puts all the US cities in alphabetical order, yours would be close under mine on the list. [Insert non-existent Tardis emoji] I found a copy of Beach Read at Goodwill. Have you thought about adding your Amazon book wish list to your video or about description? I'll bet someone(s) would send you a book as a surprise. 0.0!!!
I would have to be making a lot more money than I am making now in order to read as much as I want to. I have a few thousand dollars worth of books just on my eBay cart alone
Change your focus? Well, however you direct your attentions on this channel is okay with me. But hearing you talk about those books you don’t usually talk about would be great.
Absolutely! I think it's about consistency and intent and how you identify yourself. If I read a book a year but take enjoy it, you're a reader. I think, though, that the fewer books you read, the more selective you should be about what you're reading. Just my opinions.
"I want to be someone who's read, but I don't to be someone who's reading." I love this newly profound and daily Randy Rae being beamed into my brain!
Thanks, Joe -- is this something I heard in your channel, maybe? I'm sure it's not something I thought of on my own.
@@LiterateTexanStephen King has talked about the “I want to have written, but I don’t want to write” version, as have a lot of others, so there’s a potential vector.
I love rereading books just as much as reading new books. 'More' doesn't have to be quantity or even longer books.
Fascinating topic. I have reduced my TV watching considerably but lately, I have found my TV watching time replaced by watching booktube and my reading time has remained almost the same. Fortunately, being retired, I have time for both. I just wish all of you folks on booktube weren't so interesting so I could get more actual books read!😄 Yes, definitely read what you like and not because someone told you "must" read a certain book.
I'd much rather watch a video created by a Booktuber than another big budget production from a major studio. Also, it seems like the big budget productions are often sequels, remakes, and reboots. I can safely skip all those, I think.
Fascinating video. The best thing that ever happened to my reading life was getting rid of cable television. And of course finding booktube and all the wonderful booktubers out there talking about bookish things.
Just wanna say thank you for this, wish I had someone to talk with like this irl. I’m way too addicted to my phone and RUclips especially but so far this year I’ve read 2.5 books plus trying to read the Bible in between.
I have to stay close to the phone all the time for health-related reasons, so I sympathize. I do have a tip: take advantage of folders and screens. Put good stuff like e-book apps up front, along with anything you must have for work or whatever. Put other things in folders and in other screens. Extra clicks slow you down and make it more likely you’ll change your mind and do something else. So rig the odds. :)
@@GentleReader01definitely gotta experiment with folders a bit more. Thanks 🙂
Appreciate you, Randy. I may check out the Harold Bloom book. I read as an escape. Lord knows we need that! I also read to enrich myself.
When it comes to escape, there is no better escape than a good book.
Great advice. Love the comment about being more empathetic the more you read… I think that is absolutely true.
I think so, too, especially stuff like Anne Tyler or John Irving.
The time log is sooo helpful. I’ve have problems that mess with memory, both laying them down and bringing them up again. The activity of logging itself helps, as well as the resulting log.
I can’t link to it directly, but look up the short song “The Wrong George” by Chagall Guevara. It recreates an experience of their bass player Dave Perkins. It goes with your answering machine story. :)
Ha! I will look it up. I might just start keeping a time log just to start compensating for and improving my memory loss issues of late.
I just discovered your channel Randy. I'm so sorry to hear about everything your going through right now. God bless.
That's very kind of you. Thank you.
Love your take on this! Reading to enjoy reading, not to brag that you’ve read. I’ve got a few hobbies depending on how much I need to escape reality and how much my brain needs to shut off. Even simple books require focus to follow and picture the story. Sometimes I need someone else to do all the work to turn my brain off and rest so tv or need to catch up with folks so off to social media which gets me distracted with book and animal videos 😅 “genetic rarity” 😂 that was me in high school. Last night my exhausted self managed to crash super early and not get up til almost 10am today. Glad to see you doing better and recording videos again! You’ve been missed!
I find this topic endlessly fascinating. Booktube has been such an eye-opener for me in terms of expanding my interest in the different genres. I love this community of fellow book lovers!
I agree completely. Before Booktube, my list of genres that I was invested on was much smaller than it is now.
I loved that sentence from M. Dirda. Thanks for reminding us. Was also interested to learn that he considers himself a slow reader and a subvocalizer.
He also mentions in one of his essays that he hardly ever uses similes when he writes, because "nothing reminds him of anything else. " He's a clever one, that Dirda.
Very interesting topic. I agree, read what you love. I don't watch television but I love watching my friends on Booktube.
Booktubers are the most interesting broadcasters I know of.
I’m interested. I love anything that sheds a new light on a general topic. I would love to read more but I have my moments when I can’t even pick a book up. This advice helps.
Hey, Floss! Thanks so much for the encouragement.
This video came at just the right time. Thank you, Randy.
Thanks! I'm glad your enjoyed it. I've actually been thinking about this topic for a week or more.
Great video Randy! This topic always interests me. Like many people, I am distracted a lot by my phone and am trying to stop so I can read more. I like the idea of every time you read a book you’re adding another room to your mind. It’s amazing when you think about all the books that we read and we can remember all of them. I couldn’t agree more on reading what you like. I have no qualms about DNF’ing a book I am not enjoying. There are too many good books to read to waste time reading one that I don’t like. Blessings for an early remission.
I always read a physical book for about an hour before bed and, instead of scrolling social media throughout the day, I read a book on my phone on the Kindle app. I'm in my 30's and was pretty addicted to Instagram for quite some time. Finally broke that soul-crushing habit. The phone books are usually ones I don't have a super high interest in and so it's okay for them to be relegated to a small screen I read casually here and there. Joke's on me because I ended up reading the entirety (all 1,300 pages) of Shogun by James Clavell on my little phone screen over the span of a few months. I *loved* it. Afterwards, I didn't start a new book for a week because I wanted those characters to live longer in my head.
Edit to add: I'm so glad your cancer journey is almost over-ish. My fingers are crossed it all turns out well for you and we get many more years of our literate Texan
💘
That's a wonderful anecdote about reading all 1300 pages of Shogun on a small screen. I have a doctor friend in Germany who's a big believer in reading physical books beside bed instead of engaging with screens.
@@LiterateTexan That's exactly my stance, as well. Blue light is supposed to be disruptive to sleep. I can't say if it works or not. Some nights are harder than others (high anxiety and meds) but it's overall much more relaxing lol
@superkitten7560 I usually read on my Kindle Fire, and it has a timer that got can use to eliminate the blue spectrum after a certain hour. I'm not sure how helpful it is, honestly. But I'll have a better gauge once I get on the other side of some of these meds.
@@LiterateTexan Many well wishes and good vibes your way, my friend 💛
@@superkitten7560 Right back atcha, friend. 💚
I've heard this said, but before I'd heard it, the thought entered my mind decades ago: that reading is the nearest thing to telepathy. Thanks for sharing. God bless.
I've heard this before, too, but I'm not sure from whom. Probably some Booktuber. It's really kind of mind-blowing.
4:30 there is a really good 19th century Russian book called The Way of the Pilgrim about this.5
I'll check this out.
@LiterateTexan @booknikYT The Way of The Pilgrim is the book Franny carries around in J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey (1955).
@@laurels7892 Very cool. It's now on my wish list at Amazon
Good advice! Part of why I started a Booktube channel was to motivate myself to read more. It has worked for me.
It's been a very encouraging environment for me to get more reading and more diverse reading done. I think I've probably doubled the amount of reading in getting done these days.
I read books for the enjoyment along with the fact that reading helps me stay calm and relaxed. Plus, I enjoy shedding some light on unkown books or stories by known or unkown authors.
That's mostly why I read, too -- pure enjoyment.
I like your idea of talking about more classics. Do you have any Tuesday Tags queued up in your future projects? I'm looking forward to the 100 self help books future discussion. I was interested in your review of Radical Honesty in your dog tag. I'd like to have a pass to speak with radical honesty for a day. It would be freeing but also free up a lot of time for reading, etc. because literally no one would be speaking to me ever again. I try to reserve radical honesty for my journals which I burn at the end of every year unless less they spontaneously combust before then. I hope you are having a good day. 0.0!!
I actually really enjoyed Radical Honesty. I need to read it again as part of that project. I also need to revisit No More Mr. Nice Guy. I have a lot to talk about on this channel, and I have a lot I want to read in preparation, too. I hope you're also having a great day!
@LiterateTexan I am having a good day, actually, thank you! When I get my transporter, I'll come see you because, if the transporter menu puts all the US cities in alphabetical order, yours would be close under mine on the list. [Insert non-existent Tardis emoji] I found a copy of Beach Read at Goodwill. Have you thought about adding your Amazon book wish list to your video or about description? I'll bet someone(s) would send you a book as a surprise. 0.0!!!
I would have to be making a lot more money than I am making now in order to read as much as I want to. I have a few thousand dollars worth of books just on my eBay cart alone
I know what you mean. I would need a lot more money and a lot more time.
Change your focus? Well, however you direct your attentions on this channel is okay with me. But hearing you talk about those books you don’t usually talk about would be great.
Thanks, David -- what I talk about, like what read, tends to be pretty whimsical.
i am a very slow reader but i love reading, can i consider myself a reader?
Absolutely! I think it's about consistency and intent and how you identify yourself. If I read a book a year but take enjoy it, you're a reader. I think, though, that the fewer books you read, the more selective you should be about what you're reading. Just my opinions.
I do personally think you get more out of reading than any other medium, but of course that might not be true for everyone.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Thanks so much!