Ask HN: Why do I not read the books I buy? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Why do I not read the books I buy?

9 pointsthallukrish5 comments

I have quite a bit of books in my shelf , for eg. 'jquery programming' which I don't need anymore. On the other end I have books like 'art of computer programming' and 'feynman lectures' that are more fundamental and has more life. I keep buying books, though lesser these days. I am aware that our daily lives and the time we get is becoming lesser to seriously spend on reading. But I wonder why books exist in their current form? Should they all be in some way connected and presented in a more usable, digestible way that they are our constant guide of knowledge ? May be I am unable to express myself exactly, but feel that knowledge from books should be presented to us or made available more consistently and easily.

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That's easy: Your purchase decision is driven by what you'd like to know rather than what you're willing spend the effort to learn.

Reading requires active effort. Until we develop "I know kung fu" [1] technology, any substitutes for books will likely also require more effort than just an initial purchase.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vMO3XmNXe4

I have a small (about 2ftx1ft) shell that has all my "bought but not read" books. If it has no space on it, I do not allow myself to buy another book until I've read some to make space.

It hasn't really slowed down my bookbuying any, but it has sped up my bookreading, which is better anyway. I generally read in the morning before work, either on the bus (if I'm commuting) or in the coffeeshop nearest work (wherever that happens to be at the time). Just half an hour a day gets a lot of books read during the year.

Very interesting.

I could read for hours while being in a bookshop and I frequently fail to read the books I have while being at home. It might be a problem of the environment (is there a nice place/chair to read or is the computer running and therefore HN only a click away?) or the habits (watching movies after dinner; frequently browsing Reddit, FB, Instagram instead of reading?).

Tip, when you get the urge to buy, simply add to your wishlist. Periodically (say every 3 months) go through your list. You'd be surprised at how many titles you can delete! :)

It's always handy to have a few unread books available though...

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