How To Read Difficult Books
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- Here's my Top 5 Tips on mastering tough text, and getting to grips with the hard books in your life!
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I don't know about anybody else, but I have this problem of reading where I'll be into it and then, all of a sudden, my mind wanders off on the last thing the author wrote, but my eyes will still be going down the page without actually understanding anything. I'll go back to reread the passage, but sometimes I'll be reread the same passage 7 times.
I have that too, a lot.
does anyone know how to solve this problem, is it because I don't drink water a lot?
How about reading out loud? Or doing that in your head without actually saying anything? Helps me with this same problem.
Garland41
Yeah I have that same experience. I now take time to reflect on interesting things I read and then I continue to read.
I think this is good though. I note down (like Ollie writes in margins) those wandering thoughts (I find the jotterpad mobile app to be most handy). And then you can go back to where you left off with an unoccupied mind again
Don't feel bad about selling books you've written in! I personally don't like to highlight, but I absolutely adore reading other people's notes, and I'll often buy a book entirely because someone has marked it up. It's a really neat way to get someone else's perspective :)
I love when other people write in the margins as well. Especially when the notes slowly diffuse into a sparse collection of question marks and you totally get the other person's frustration.
Yeep, like a half-blood prince :D
Yeah, but for the love of Poe, PLEASE use pencil.
School books have that a lot. Well, here in Germany at least. Our system is: the school buys and owns the books and the students borrow them for the time they need them. And especially in novels you find a lot of markings from previous students, highlighting important stuff that was discussed in their classes. Pretty handy sometimes.
I agree. Personally I have a copy of Dante’s Inferno that a student had before me and some of the margins are funny as hell
I simply Kant highlight a book
niryaad oblum 😵
I am activly against puns, but i am a sucker for philosophy, so i will give you a pass. But only cuse it please my Nietzsche!
What a joke!!)
@@MrEddie4679 *Nietzsche
@@humma0 better?
Rereading is especially important as you get older. Life circumstances and experiences give different meaning each time you reread a good book.
I can only realistically read 100 or so books within a year. Rereading a book feels like a waste, when I could be reading new things, forming new thoughts, and experiencing new things. Is this a flaw in my mindset?
@@zenmastakilla Old comment, but here's my view:
While new books contain new information, often you'll get just as much new *perspective* on old information when re-reading as you'll gain new information from reading a new book.
I would argue that new perspective on old information is just as, if not more important than raw information itself: Information without a deep and nuanced perspective must be either accepted or rejected at face-value, while information you have cultivated multiple and deep perspectives on can be truly analysed from a critical standpoint.
Essentially, information you can analyse due to familiarity is more useful than information you can simply choose to accept or not.
@@zenmastakilla I would not get too complacent with regards to reading about a subject you’re familiar with. I hate it when people don’t fully pay attention to a UA-cam video or whatever, and half-ass a summary that reduces the argument to whatever simpleminded ideas they already knew about. Don’t be too quick to write off a topic as something you already know everything about that there is to know. With regards to rereading books: sometimes you forget, and it may be useful to re-read parts, imo.
@@zenmastakilla Yes
How to read a book is pure ideology *Sniff sniff*
Took me a minute...
I would prefer not to.
@@justinflac Bartleby the Scrivener?
And so on and so on.
Best comment xd
How to read difficult books? Slowly.
3:17-3:26
I mean, kids would draw dicks and write weird shit in my high school math textbooks, but the school would always reuse those, so I doubt those charities would mind very much :P
I can't highlight books, it gives me pain. What I do is I stick a paper on the end page and, when I find something of interest, I write the page number, the line number and the word where the relevant Idea begins. So, for exemple, I can write 35.13.03, which means page 35, line 13 and third word. If the line is closer to the bottom of the page, I count from the bottom up and underline the number with the line in order to know that I must count lines from the bottom. If someone finds this helpful I will be glad to know that one book less is being hurt.
I actually took this advice. I don't care about "books being hurt", it's nonsense to me--books can only be mutilated when dealt with badly immaterially--but I incorporated this into my study routine because the register makes it so much easier for me to dig up things. I tweaked it a bit to my liking, but it started with this comment. Thank you so much for this!
Interesting... I may have to try counting the lines sometime... in the past I've done a version of this where I've just visually estimated how far down the page as a decimal fraction, so like "33.6" is about 60% of the way down page 33. Your method is obviously much more precise, but I figure has a higher cost for figuring out the numbers... but maybe it's worth it, especially since you can get an exact word reference... I'll have to try it!
Oh, this is a great idea!
I always say I can buy it again if I need a clean one. Obviously I don't do this with special books, like my first edition Harry Potters or a collectors edition of Shakespeares works, yet with most books in my life they're full of highlighter and notes and sticky tabs. I love nothing more than seeing a book after I've read it a few times and seeing all my notes etc. I also write in a different colour each read so I can see how my thoughts develop with each read
Thank you for this useful advice mate! ❤️
My issue with reading is that I have severe ADHD. Concentrating on the text and actively digesting the information while keeping my mind from drifting off on a random cloud is very difficult. Does anyone here have tips for dealing with this issue?
Avery-Quinn Maddox I have the same issue (idk if I have ADHD or not, but I suspect, and I definitely have trouble concentrating on anything other than a real page-turner), and I find it helpful to listen to music, specifically a playlist that I've designed to last a set time (45min in my case). I know the music so well that it doesn't distract me (much), but if I find my mind wandering off I hear the music and it reminds me I'm supposed to be focusing. It's kind of like the difference between bowling with a guardrail vs just the gutter. The music serves as a "guardrail" to keep me in the "lane", whereas without music I'll fall in the gutter if I get distracted and never get my focus back. And when the music stops it means I have mental permission to take a break, although I'll often keep going until I get distracted (inevitably not very long) and take my break then.
Ikaxas
That seems like a good idea! I'll try that.
Avery-Quinn Maddox I hope it helps, let me know what you find out.
Avery-Quinn Maddox I hope it helps, let me know how it turns out.
I have ADHD, I am medicated but I don't usually take my medication because it's pricey and has some not so awesome side-effects. When I read I usually listen to a song that is extremely familiar like Ikaxas says and it keeps that back part of my brain (that I'm sure you know all too well, also) busy and really helps, also, as lame as it seems, something like a worry stone, a fidget spinner, something to do and keep one hand busy with a mindless task it allows you to divert your subconscious. That stuff helps me at least, hope it does the same for you.
"Highlighter"
*eye twitches*
Darkly Dave wut
Re-reading is so important to me. When I'm reading a philosophy book, I usually blast through it once as quickly as possible, then I relax for a while and try to get a grasp of the text and then I go back, read the whole thing again very slowly and make notes (trying to rephrase the most important points) to really make sure I get it. It takes up a whole lot of time, but with dedication, there is nothing you will not be able to understand this way.
2:43 cf. is originally short for the Latin "confer" which means compare.
Thank you! I had a suspicion it was latinate...
Thanks, I was wondering why you would write cf. for "CrossreFerence"
Thanks
DO NOT HIGHLIGT OR UNDERLINE BOOK WHICH ARE NOT YOUR OWN!!! It not only pisses librarians, but it pisses people like me too. I hate to read books which are full of notes and lines, especially when I'm reading phylosophical, pscychological (...) ones when I want to challenge myself mentally and to figure out things on my own way, not in someone else's footprints. I'm also working at a library where we are digitalizing books and highlights simpy just makes our work harder :D
Why have your recent videos been all black and white? It looks a bit like the 'before' footage in ads
I'm just starting to read philosophy. And my biggest problem is that I don't know where to begin. There is just too much to read.
Do you have any lists of philo books that I could start with? Thanks
You literally just explained how I read...I even had the same neurosis about rereading passages. Weird.
Being an inveterate reader since the age of 3 (I'm now in my 60s), I was delighted to discover that I've naturally employed all these tips along the way (except for reading while riding; I'm plagued by motion sickness which even pills don't allay) and they are all excellent. Thought you might like to know, though, I keep most of the books I've read, have for decades. Also being a conscientious highlighter and note taker (in books and separately), here's something to which you might look forward: Frequently I'll open a book I read years ago, become engaged in the notes I took and discover an enlightening intellectual diary!
You look cute with glasses!
I miss the look. Personally not a huge fan of his smoothly shaven long haired look (but he should do what makes him happy and I've seen many subscribers compliment him on it)
@@KarlSnarks oop 👀
"Or, if I'm ever going home to Newcastle..." (with correct pronunciation)
*HAMMERS LIKE BUTTON*
I actually like to read used books because of what the previous readers highlighted or took notes on. I find it interesting to see what others found interesting.
Super :) a very enjoyable video, thank you!
Omg, marija
You're here
This has all been really helpful. Now I may finally be able to comprehend the complexities of the literary masterpiece "Horrible Harry"👍🏿
This wasn't a video on how to read difficult books (which I was expecting) and more just general tips on how to get the most out of books (you did well though, don't get me wrong!). If you have tips on reading actual difficult books, such as philosophy texts by Kant (very difficult language), then I would appreciate anything you could offer on this as well :)
How many books have you read this year? I've read 30 *virtue signalling intensifies* which is a lot compared to some of my friends, but I'm also heavily dyslexic. I've always read a lot and pushed myself, but I also find it a chore and the words can blur together. I sometimes wonder if I'd be able to read many more if I wasn't dyslexic, and it makes me kind of sad because it's both something I love a lot and struggle with.
Abigail Cockbane
Oh yeah?! Sargon has read 50... words of a book :P
I honestly don't know, I don't count them up really
Philosophy Tube get GoodReads! I've started using it for the first time this year, it's a really strong motivator when you can see how much you've read
You should listen to audiobooks.
Captain's log, 2019: It is day 4 of reading Finnegans Wake. I've just passed the 50 page mark. Conclusion thus far: I have no idea wtf I am reading.
Well I was about to comment and see if anyone's done Finnegan's Wake. I'm on my third read of The Wake right now. I can empathize. Have you read Ulysses?
Jordan Waskelis your... your THIRD read of Finnegans Wake? You're hardcore man. And no, I have not read Ulysses.
I fucking love this channel
The timing for this was perfect! I just started Spinoza's "Ethics" and the way he structures his writing took me by surprise, it's very much like reading a code of some sort. Hopefully these tips will help me out, Thanks Olly!
Have you finished reading?
"How do I read so many books so quickly?"
Any philosopher who's watched her Kant video: "She doesn't."
Have you read Emanuel Chukwudi Eze's "The Colour of Reason: the Idea of “Race” in Kant’s Anthropology,” in Postcolonial African Philosophy: A Critical Reader"? It's cited in that same episode which you reference and may perhaps give you some insight as to why you disagree with the assessment of Kant presented. From a personal point: From what I remember of reading the philosophical texts: the universal applicability of Kant's system is based on an assumption that rationality (of a type he thought supported his argument) was shared enough amongst people as to make exceptions to who should agree with the idea minimal. In the anthropological and geographical texts of Kant's that he suggested his philosophical works be read as a complement to and complementing, only Arabic people and white people are considered capable of rationality in his racial hierarchy. To spell it out: the universalism isn't actually universal. In that context, perhaps you might get why being skeptical of Kant doesn't mean you haven't read his work.
This upload notification saved me from Trumps speech, thanks for your work!!
I appreciate the tips very much, thanks.
Good timing, I was just in the process of trying to motivate myself to read tbh
Also, it sounds like something silly, but following the text with your finger speeds up reading by a massive amount, because it's less easy to miss things and also easier not to get lost. I would only recommend it for when you're in a rush, though, because it looks kind of silly.
What are your thoughts on Albert Camus?
The School of Life did a video about him but, of course, they missed all the cool stuff like his involvement with Anarchist movements and his antagonistic relationship with his existential contemporaries.
That was a pretty harsh video, he made no effort to be charitable at all, TSoL do some good work. My main problem is that it can sometimes come across as condescending but that's only one problem and it's not too prevalent... Not every youtube channel on philosophy needs to be super intellectual, we've go that here :p
+Rub Sikh “Jak” A.I. On Camus and the resistance?
+Rub Sikh A.I. Yeah I've never studied philosophy and their agenda does wear on me at times :( It would definitely feel less so if they didn't talk down to you so much, I have so many suggestions for their channel. And BadMouse is right, Alain de Botton is obsessed with sex xD In many ways rightly so, though. The thing I appreciate most about the school of life is they approach everything with the intent of empathising with it, something we all need in our lives :p
School of life is pretty good for what it is, but De Botton's day job is corporate speaking engagements, so he isn't likely to push anything truly anti-capitalist.
Rub Sikh A.I. Bookchin is love; Bookchin is life.
Any tips particularly for reading those racoon crusher books like Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, Being and Time by Heidegger, or all of DAS KAPITAL? Got real bloody minded and brute force with hegel after about the halfway mark and the burn out was real. I'm too intimidated by taking on one of those big ass books to start soon, but as a future PhD student I know I gotta take em down eventually.
0:30
Books: This one's looking both of us at the same time!
Olly: [Chattering]
background music is too foreground. Why have moozac anyway?
Do you have any tips on getting over the “learned ADD” of modern society? I’ve been trying to read again and my brain just won’t cooperate.
Should I start with something genuinely interesting like a novel or something I feel like I “need” to read to be an informed nerdy leftist? (So like...Sherlock Holmes or Capital, to use an example from my current iBooks library?)
Just force yourself to read. After a while it will be second nature. I had te same thing
Yes, force yourself , but something you have an interest in(so the pain wont be that great... I started with plato and gone with the wind an Nietzsche.... Those were the books i liked
Uhh, maybe read the Sherlock Holmes first.
Don't worry librarians won't be angry at highlighting. I sell antiquarian books for a living and we deal with a lot of Ex library stock. Those books are massacred with library stamps and stickers haha Had some 19th & 18th century books with giant 'property of ..... Library' plastered on the title page. Die a bit inside when I see it haha
Hi Librarian (sorta, just finishing my masters in it this month and I've worked in libraries) here, just maybe don't mark in the library book or just remember. However, more likely, we won't notice or care. We replace books all the time. Don't sweat it
*Goes into a library full of medieval manuscripts with a big fat green highlighter*
hahahaha how the fuck did i know that after searching this that some phillosophy youtuber would pop up?
As a consumer of used books, I find that many of those who highlight get so addicted to the process that _they highlight almost everything_. It is then the _unhighlighted_ text that leaps out. So I'm a little down on that process if you're going to resell. If it's on your bookshelf for good more power to you.c
I often get lost in a book. I have to be careful that I don't have anything too important to do on these occasions. I will try adding another book and see if that helps. It is a very good idea. Thanks! :)
I could NOT start highlighting things in books
I would start highlighting everything 😂
My instinct is for some reason that I'm not allowed to read more than one book at once, like I'm not showing enough commitment to the book in hand or something?? But the way you explained it makes perfect sense. I'm going to start reading two books together, perhaps a theory book I find extra challenging, teamed with a more straightforward, methods-based book (PhD student) to contrast.
I'm going to try reading two books at once. Currently reading A Generation of Sociopaths which is a dissection of the actions of the American Baby Boomer generation.
Pencil in the margins, yes. Highlighters never. What good does a highlighter do? Get that kinetic practice by writing the notes in margins, or better yet in a notebook. I teach my students that a thirty page chapter can be reduced to six to ten pages of notes and diagrams, which canbe distilled even more if the student follows the Cornell system. Studying six pages for a test is better that thirty. Writing concepts in ones' own words is the best way to guage whether the student has gotten to "a-ha"
When I write long format articles, I use Post-it notes in books so that I can find quotes in a hurry. Color code the notes and jot down keywords on them.
Another great tool: the scanner. A serviceable LED scanner runs about $60 USD and fits into a bag. Take an hour, carefully scan the book into a PDF file, and it will forever be yours to abuse at will.
When it gets late at night, and the paper is due in the morning, nothing is worse that going from page to page in a book screaming that "I knew I saw it somewhere!"
Didn't think I would see you here old friend.
I believe we last met on youre lecture video and on the Cold War livestream.
I'm Napoleon, this is my real account. 😆
If you’re driving a car while commuting: audiobooks ppl! :P though may have to rewind sometimes if it’s heavy literature
highlighters are great , but nowadays i use a light pencil for all highlighting.
so, what you do is, you look at the words and hope that your brain does the words and stuff good.
I can never forgive you for marking up a book
"hey philosophy tube, Olly here!"
Tear a piece of paper, use it as a bookmark and also use it to highlight points of interest by writing on the paper. Make up your own shorthand. For example,
"69.13" - plato life
For page 69, line 13, the quotation marks for a quote, about life by Plato. Or just the page number and "- statistics" or whatever you're referencing.
If you want to write out more, just place more bits of paper (maybe a full sheet hid and folded at the back page) or use post it notes.
And if you really really have to write in the book because you're scum then just use a pencil ✏
i only need some dopamine
i cant get through Plato Republic i physically cant
I quite like reading other people’s notes in second hand books
your tips are really great and we could add some tips which I use: 6 find the purpose of why you are reading that book 7 try to watch the reviews or the implications of that book 8 figure out all the terminoligies in that book .
I really enjoyed the video thanks olly
Damn you motion sickness
One thing I found really helpful is reading with some friends/starting a book club. I tried and failed to read nietzsche's thus spoke zarathustra a few times and then I found some other friends who were also having trouble with it. We would meet up once a week or so to discuss some concepts or go over tricky parts together. Not only did it help us understand better but it also forced us to actually read it, the same way starting a workout group forces you to go to the gym.
Highlighting a book is very useful for rereading it. A lot of the time I want to reread a book but don't want to go through the whole thing I have trouble trying to find the important parts, but if I've already highlighted it I can find them easily.
I'm reading postcapitalism right now :D
I used highlighters in books for a while, but later found it more helpful to use those little mini-sticky notes. Easier to find than flipping through for a highlighted passage, plus you can write short notations on the sticky note. And, you don't have to mark up the book!
You speak rapidly
Can you make a master list of your favorite philosophy books that you reccomend to others? I've been binging your videos for the past few days and think what you are doing is wonderful. Thanks!
I still can't quite believe how awesome this channel and it's viewers are!
Me neither!
I'm early
But I'm bad at jokes...
Knock knock
Come in!
he's Joseph G ;)
I bounced off of The Last Man. Reading it was like wading through treacle. I kept waiting for the plot to get started.
I have a thrifted copy of The Pleasure of Text by Barthes and it’s scribbled, circled, underlined and written all over. That adds to the charm.
I know that I am late to comment on this. I just found the channel and have been binge-watching. I also have a strategy that will make most people cringe, but I found it incredibly helpful (especially reading books unrelated to my field in which I have little personal or educational background or context). If I know that a text is especially difficult to read, I will sometimes buy the cliff's notes or look up others' summaries and reviews of the book. Then, I will read a portion of the text, read the cliff's notes on that section, think about it, and then read that portion again if I want a deeper understanding or do not agree with the outside information. PLEASE NOTE: I actually read the text and do not read the cliff's notes in place of the actual text.
Thanks for the tips. As a dyslexic person I used to shy away from reading long or difficult text, still do really but I’ll give your tips a go and see if they help. I remember being told not to read two books, that focusing on one was better then splitting between two but I find I either get bored or I don’t remember what happened the previous chapter. I’ll see if your two books idea works better, thanks again. Love the videos.
Why the black and white BTW? And also, what's the point of black and white if you don't crank up the contrast to a level that would look fugly in color but looks awesome in black and white?
You freakishly resemble young Johny Depp, now I get it
there are a lot of tubes in your life
Effective reading: engaging in the material. Thanks!
yeah I agree to read two books at once( even though i already read like five books at once wich does help me a lot )
Thanks for making this video. I love reading but lately I've been feeling more self conscious than usual about my intellect and how sometimes I struggle to read certain things due to ADD and depression. These tips and hearing about how you process your reading materials is not only helpful but comforting.
Perhaps instead of using highlighters use sticky tabs to mark important passages and maybe combine that with pencil to mark specific parts. Whatever you do just try and be kind to the books.
Instead of a highlighter, I use a pencil.
It can be erased (even from library books) and it's not as "intrusive". Also, I don't write anything between the lines, but on the margins, and instead of underlining, I draw a vertical line
I used to highlight text in my books, fiction or non, but switched to sticking post-it notes in them instead as I felt like a vandal....... It's a difficult one, as with academic books it can be more necessary to do it, yet to me it still feels like I'm committing a cardinal sin. So much so that I've bought second copies of many books I had previously highlighted/written in.
Even though I am working in a somewhat different field, I am gearing up to take on a project that, done right, will be fairly research-heavy. I plan to make good use of these pointers; thank you for bringing my attention to some of the 'book taboos' that would have certainly held me back!!
Thanks for the mary shelley rec
00:29 how real gangstas read books 😎 📚📖
I always read two or three books
And end up not reading any XD
Wow great video
Presumably you don't mean you like to use a highlighter pen on the pages of library books. You don't mean that, do you. You mean that you like to highlight books that you own. I think that's what you must mean. Because obviously running a highlighter pen over the pages of library books, books that will likely be borrowed by other people to enjoy as you have enjoyed, would be ABSOLUTE FUCKING HUNT-YOU-DOWN VANDALISM. So I guess you don't mean that.
0:30 immediately recognised the hypnotoad sound... hm.
Reading is the life blood of knowledge! Capitalism is the crisis!!! Dr. Michael Parenti: Democracy for the Few!
How to read Das Kapital?
Currently doing my PhD, and fuck yeah - TEAM HIGHLIGHTER! I am glad I am not the only one.
I want to add to the tips you gave in the video that I found it really helpful to index articles and books. I highlight them, assign indexes and write down what is on each page. The indexed points then go onto index cards (of course, this can also be done on a computer, but I am extremely haptic when it comes to study and need to write things by hand).
Hi Phil Tube , can you explain Composition As Identity , editor : Donald L.M Baxter and A.J.Cotnier. Try giving a opinion / answering Is the whole distinguished form it's part / sum of parts ? Well is it ? Is the whole separate or different from it's part ? For those who think they can answer this question please go right ahead , thank you .
Disclosure : there is different school of thoughts / views on this topic like everything else in philosophy.
There's a (probably apocryphal) story about one of the great philosophers being asked how many books he's read (I forget who it was supposedly about). He thought a bit and replied: "Properly? Only one."
This might be weird but I get the best reading-during-commute experience if I'm listening to something I've heard a million times. But if I'm at home or on campus and I try to read with music I barely get anywhere effectively. However, I find that while I'm on campus, I prefer to read in crowded areas with lots of background noise. It's just when I'm home that reading never goes well with sound.
Marked up books are annoying. Like, just write on some paper or something, damn. Also, can some y'all tell people it's all marked up *before* you sell it. Please, at the very least (-_-")?
As a bibliophile, I would not mind markings and notes in books, if they have some style (possibly even fit to the style of the book itself) or are at least somewhat aesthetically sound.
For instance, I would not like neon-yellow text marker markings in a fictional work. To mark a beautiful passage in a novel or wherever, a simple pencil seems most appropriate, perhaps even sketching something beautiful around it.
This, and markings in general, actually add to the book, as they capture impressions of others or what they found important, noteworthy, which can even add to your own understanding (be the book fictional or non-fictional).
I've got that exact same edition of Shakespeare's complete works. One of the best books I own!
God! that is VERY HELPFULLY VIDEO thanks!! you just save my education
Why i can never sell my collection: highlighter Ninja
the "read two books at once" tip is similar to my general approach to my work as a technologist: i find i am more effective with research & development if i am working on more than one project at a time; i'll find novel solutions to related issues/concerns and apply them across seemingly-unrelated tasks.
I love reading others' notes in margins, and I don't mind highlighted text since it doesn't obscure, but I hate when someone with a shaky hand underlines text with a PEN. It always wavers up into the text and makes it just a little bit harder to read. If you HAVE to undeline text, use a pencil so it's at least eraseable.
If you're someone like myself, who struggles to read due to a learning disability, audiobooks can be a lifesaver. Often you can find classic philosophy or lit books for free at sites like librivox.org or by typing the name of the desired text into UA-cam and converting the video file to an audio. This isn't as useful for newer books but it can be helpful if you want to read something well-known. You can also keep a tangible copy of the book to annotate.
I.am.just.here.because.the.unicorn
xtph
I keep missing the damn unicorn! :P
Finally someone noticed her!
It is obviously that this channel has high quality content and regardless of your joke, I consider that man made ocean of cuteness to be the greatest unicorn in the history of philosophy!