I'm often plagued by this nagging feeling that I need to learn stuff more than I need to just enjoy a story. This results in me slogging through tomes of not-so-practical knowledge about things or events that I just end up forgetting anyway. Some of them take months to get through and aren't even that enjoyable. The years when I read the most were ones in which I just let myself read more narrative-driven fiction.
Oct 20, 2024
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Some nonfiction is enjoyable to read all the way through, and it's sometimes necessary.
But many books can be dissected with skimming to get you to the answer for your current set of problems, without having to wade through paragraphs put in place simply for the publisher to justify giving out the book advance and promotional push.
Paying for books is great, but it's sometimes true that some of them are blog posts that made it through a factory farm feeding process.
Feb 16, 2024
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so the funny thing about people who have 100's of books their yearly reads... most likely they don't grasp the book, or reread it, or take notes, or get anything out of it. they take those numbers as a sport, and a competition.
there are definitely outliers to this, but don't let these people force yourself into rushing. that sort of competition kills learning.
if you're wanting to still get stuff out of your media, and increase your consumption rate, my best suggestion is to listen to your brain. what i mean by that is pay attention to your focus. If you feel yourself drifting, slow down. you know your mind the best out of all of us.
you can keep an obsidian vault with your notes. that's what i do. active note taking is something that really helps me grasp the content im consuming. every time something stands out to you, write it down. every once in a while, go back and expand on those blurbs. start thinking and diving into how that quote or idea makes you feel.
that's my method of consuming actively. if i'm being honest, this method has slowed down my reading numbers, but i walk away remembering a lot more.
2d ago
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i usually find myself in reading ruts when i’m taking classes and being assigned books or when i’m trying to keep up with new releases and the “smart” books that are usually dense and long. i can usually get myself out of this rut by picking out a book that looks fun to me, like a book set on a beach or something I loved in middle school. I’m reading From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler right now and it’s just FUN!!! I also am very much not someone who feels like they have to finish a book. Life is too short. I think that helps!
Mar 29, 2024
Top Recs from @theclack
The perfect lil snack for when you don’t want a big snack
Apr 3, 2024
Here it is, folks! Volume I of what could very well be a continuous project. Thank you so much to everyone that submitted - I smiled the entire time I was putting this together. It's best listened to with headphones ☺️
Liner Notes:
This collection of field recordings is a collaborative effort with users of PI.FYI, each of which recorded their own pieces. It features audio from all over the world and exhibits eclectic moments from London Underground commutes to cuckoo bird calls in Dhaka to the sounds of a century-old American diner.
Online communities like PI.FYI often represent a diverse set of people, places, and experiences, but together, the submissions form a living collage that highlights the commonalities of modern life - a unifying message for such a tumultuous time. The first track features all of the sounds played at once in an attempt to create an audio snapshot of an online community but in their offline lives.
The individual recordings are unedited except for minor gain and compression adjustments for consistency across the collection.
Mar 29, 2025
