If your New Year’s resolution is to read more books this year, this is why you shouldn’t | Max Liu

From ‘all the books I read this month’ pictures on Instagram to Goodreads targets, we are forgetting to read for pleasureHow long will it take you to read this article? It would almost certainly take me longer. On average, adults read about 240 words a minute, but I always exceed those pesky “reading time” estimates that appear on some articles. I review books professionally, but I still take longer to read a book than almost anyone else I know. I should probably feel embarrassed about that – but instead, I take joy in it.I inherited the habit of reading for pleasure from my mum who, in my recollections of childhood, is always sitting at the kitchen table zipping through novels or travel literature about places we couldn’t afford to visit. Reading is what I do first thing in the morning and last thing at night, never going anywhere without a paperback in my pocket or a hardback in my bag or both. I’m like a character in David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, who says: “I do things like get in a taxi and say, ‘The library, and step on it.’”Max Liu is a freelance writer Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2022-12-31 09:00:13 UTC ]
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