How To Make Reading Fun Again, Will Philosophy Ruin Your Life? and Weekly Book Recommendations

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Welcome back to another weekly newsletter, and let’s find ways to make reading fun.

The Burnt-Out Reader

It’s normal to loathe reading because it takes too much time. Even for the daring few willing to set aside some time for this demanding hobby, there are days when we won’t feel like picking up a book.

In my case, I’ve turned reading books into a profession by pursuing an academic career. And just like the taxi driver who fell out of love with driving, I slowly dreaded opening up any book. My girlfriend came to the rescue and asked: “When was the last time you read for pleasure?” I scrambled for an answer and concluded: “When I was reading that Wittgenstein biography in bed a few weeks ago.” “And you call that reading for pleasure?!” Et voilà, there’s the problem.

The point is that when we’re too narrowly focused on what we’re reading, we’ll forget what drew us to read in the first place: the pleasure of reading. And if we lose touch with that fuzzy feeling of reading a novel on a rainy day, books, no matter their scope or brilliance, will lose their magic. So, after some experimentation, allow me to present the principles of pleasurable reading for burnt-out book fanatics.

Principle 1: One Must Jump Between Multiple Books