For a while I thought I just sucked at reading. And to a certain extent I do have trouble (maybe dyslexia, maybe just really bad adhd), but I noticed that when I read older books it’s legitimately a workout compared to books from the last century or so.
This does somewhat include Capital and such, but because I’ve been exposed to a lot of the terminology and because I inherently understand some of the logic, I can get through it.
But for instance I was trying to read Thomas Carlye’s “The French Revolution” and I got through the preface and first two chapters before feeling exhausted. I can’t really describe my issue beyond just having to process each an every sentence like I’m a toddler trying to learn how to read.
I’m curious if anyone has novel thoughts on the matter. I just know the obvious ones:
- It’s an effort for anyone, not just you.
- It gets easier with practice.
- The more historical knowledge you have of the place & time the easier it is.
- If it’s translated, some translations are better than others.
- Reading about the work and/or the author usually makes reading the work itself easier. Though sometimes those works are wrong, and that could color your understanding detrimentally when you read the original work. Consider checking the assumptions you brought to the text from derivative works.
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Shit, that’s a good idea
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Read a page or a paragraph and then I try to summarize what I read in my own words or what it reminds me of, ebooks are ez for me to access to I generally just jot something down in notally on my old fire tablet from 2014, but if I were reading on a more modern device or physical book, a computer I’d use Obsidian or something for notes and the ability to link concepts.
More you read older books easier it gets, I’ve had this problem with some translations of books too, but once I adjust I’ll be ok I figure.
If it’s a common book, it helps to read an outline or summary before reading a chapter, so you’re not going in completely blind. Reading with a notebook and writing down words or concepts to look up later helps. Also there is this (i am being mildly facetious but it could be useful to you): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Read_a_Book
How to Read a Book: The Art of Getting a Liberal Education
Nice try, lib
(/s)
Oh, tangentially, this has reminded me of the prolific Niklas Luhmann and his Zettelkasten note-taking/management system. I keep meaning to try out a digital version using org-roam (an Emacs package building on org-mode) or Logseq[1][2].
IMO, I read slowly and think about the meaning of what I’m reading.
From my personal experience it’s “letting reach exceed grasp.” It’s tedious and slow, but in the past, what worked was a pen, notebook and dictionary. I’d read until I reached a word/concept I didn’t grasp then physically write it down along with the definition in my own words. Then I’d have to reread the paragraph until I looked at notes to grasp it. Then when the book was finished, I had forgotten half. I put the book away for a time to mull over notes and what I remembered, then went back and reread it later, referring to notes as needed. By the third or fourth reading, I pretty much had it. I did this with Shakespeare, Hawking and Dawkins.
I’ve been wanting to read more now but am putting it off because I’ve several vision problems that are degenerative. They can be corrected with surgery that costs a lot and I am currently uninsured. Add to that my current devices lack storage and reading online is a bit more challenging, even with corrective lenses. I can do it, but miss a good bit that I don’t realize on first or second readings.
I have this problem, too, and I think it’s because of an extra amount of mental work needed for translating more obscure words on the fly.
