Words: 636
Time to read: 3 minutes
I watched a man read over 80 pages a minute a few weeks ago on YouTube. The quality content over there is really something.
I have watched several self-help gurus explain how to read multiple pages (even if not 80) per minute. Certainly, there is an endemic issue in the lack of reading in our age. I blame more the attraction of social and new media than anything else. We could argue, too, that books have gotten more expensive. I don’t attribute such a lack of reading in our day as a result of that either. I think we’ve lost interest. Everything has become visual and/or auditory.
It’s a sort of reverse Dark Ages: whereas then there were only a select few that had access to information and education, today it is so prevalent that in tandem with the media boom of the past 10 years we’ve lost our appetite for the difficult work of reading. We are operating in a society of functional illiterates. They can read but are no better than those who can’t because they don’t. I’ve heard every excuse of why we don’t. At the end of the day, it’s all just an excuse. We are constantly consuming content today. We spend hour after hour glued to a screen of some type often without even knowing it. Normally, we are consuming trash media that will have little import in 5 minutes. We normalize this behavior because ‘that’s what everybody does.’ It’s just to get the quick shot of dopamine. Reading doesn’t quite offer the same extrinsic reward assuming you’re reading worthwhile material.
So yes, we need to read more. But I’m not even sure that quantity is the answer. Reading 80 pages a minute is great—I guess? But to what extent? Reading ought to not only enable us to think critically but also empower our learning, regardless of what stage of life we find ourselves in. I’m not sure how reading 80 pages a minute, or some variation of that, is conducive to self-growth and learning? Sure you take in more; but, are you grasping the concepts? Seeing how the argument is made? Gaining vocabulary skills? Learning the process of the author’s thinking?
I propose leaning into reading, especially non-fiction (and especially history and classic literature), out loud. Hear the words. An audiobook is helpful. But don’t just listen. Look at the words. Read something difficult. Read something that’s considered a great work. The pop-culture self-help books are useful to an extent. They do not have the characteristics that differentiate something like a Shakespeare, Milton, or Austen. We don’t produce great literature because we don’t think deeply. There is little appetite for intellectually challenging literature. And for extra credit, read it out loud for yourself. You’ll see just how lazy we are in our speech. You’ll see how easy it is to become more thoughtful, better engaged, and more articulate in your speech. It really doesn’t require nearly as much effort as you’d assume. You’ll be amazed at how the words become familiar, the reasoning clearer, and the story or argument far more engaging.
Forget the hack. We’ve got this or that hack for everything. Why not just leave the reading as it ought to be? Hear the words. Feel them and learn how this particular author arrived at his conclusion or conflict. If you’re a slow reader, just keep reading. Do the work. Read something out loud. Perhaps you’ll find a reasoned response to this world’s madness in hearing from distant days and wise men now long gone. Perhaps you’ll find that our world really isn’t that unique in its problems. Just maybe a little less engaged. What an opportunity to pay attention, slow down, and articulate your thoughts for a world that is desperate for thoughtful and careful speech!