[pknerd]

A kind of off-topic:

How do you, as a techie, find time to read most of the books? Any tips or hacks? Ryan Holiday once mentioned that he managed to read extensively by always keeping books with him, allowing him to read whenever he found some spare time.

[s1artibartfast]

I think having/making time to read is pretty independent from being a techie. I know people who work 6 hours a week and 60 hours a week. People that haven't touched a book since college, and those that build their careers around the ability to read books.

[edanm]

Listen to audiobooks.

The amount of "spare time" most people have, time they're doing random things that don't require full focus, is enormous, at least it is for me. Arranging breakfast for the kids before the school day, doing dishes, walking to and from places, working out at the gym, etc - all of those times become moments to listen to whatever you're reading.

[TrueSlacker0]

100% this. Sometimes it's audio books, sometimes it's long form podcasts. But usually I "find" about 20hrs a week for this and its been a great way to learn.

[linsomniac]

I've made it part of my bedtime routine. Part of it is that it is not the dreaded "blue light". Some days I only ready for ~5 minutes before I'm falling asleep, but I try to make at least some progress every day before sleeping.

[SonicScrub]

Escape into the woods for at least 1 week out of the year with no internet connection. It rekindles my love for reading, and helps keep that fire burning throughout the year.

[AnimalMuppet]

I do that (for a few days, not a full week). I always read less than I intended to, because the space to be able to think, to feel, and to be is more valuable than the space to read.

[rr808]

Right and how do you stop your wife and/or kids interupting you every 30 seconds?

I also I have a huge backlog of tech books that I should work on because this career kinda requires it.

[tw42566499]

At the risk of sounding insensitive: an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure—this is one of those things that if it's a problem someone is experiencing, that thing is not their real problem, which is a deep failure somewhere else, way, way back.

The unvarnished truth is that the answer to your question ("how do you stop your wife and/or kids interrupting you every 30 seconds?") for many people is "I don't". They don't stop them, that is. Because they don't have to. Because they didn't marry someone who interrupts them every 30 seconds and then have kids with them and then raise those kids to be the kinds of kids who interrupts them every 30 seconds.

[dot1x]

That's way too deep for this audience.

[ilbeeper]

Read when they are asleep. I also read when sitting next to my son on his bed, after I read him a book, while waiting for him to fall asleep

[rr808]

Yeah I miss those days, now they go to bed after I do. :)

[BLKNSLVR]

Hah, me too.

I tell both my kids "don't stay up too late" just before I go to bed (usually around 11pm). Beyond a certain age you can't force them anymore and they have to learn their limits themselves.

[maksimur]

I set up some time for myself and let everybody know not to interrupt me unless necessary.

[sonabinu]

Could also be husband and kids ;)

[rr808]

Absolutely! I'm sure some couples are both readers, still not sure I'd have the time though.

[sonabinu]

There are weekends where I spent 3 to 4 hours reading at the public library. It is definitely a deliberate act, not always supported by other family members but it is possible. I am able to do 20 to 30 books a year. All the best! I hope you are able to get started. Happy reading.

[wazoox]

When I take my breakfast, I'm reading a book. Whenever I lie on my bed, I'm reading a book. This way, I read 30-50 books every year. I don't use any of TikTok, WhatsApp, X etc, that probably helps too.

[ivansavz]

A couple of years ago I discovered the MacOS accessibility feature "Speak selection" under "Accessibility > Spoken Content." I've set up a keyboard shortcut for it, which allows me to take any ebook in PDF format, select a bunch of text (usually one chapter) press the key and let the computer read it to me. Basically, it turn any text into an audio book, then listen while exercising, doing the dishes, cleaning the house, or simply when you like down and need a break.

I've never was a literary person (despite everyone else in my family reading a lot), but ever since this discovery I've been catching up on a lot of fiction, philosophy, psychology book, and pretty much anything that doesn't have code or equations. Highly recommended.

See here for screenshots: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mApa60zJA8rgEm6T6GF0yIem...

[chthonicdaemon]

You can also use the `say` command, which can produce an audio file that you can load into a music player app, which might be more useful since it can remember your place. https://ss64.com/mac/say.html

[sonabinu]

I have my reading material next to my work desk. I read 15 to 20 minutes before I start work and most days read about 15 to 20 before bed. I also read over the weekends and have chosen that over TV and other entertainment. I carry a book with me to places where I have to wait - doctor's office, DMV, airports, school conferences etc.

[joeyagreco]

The rule of thumb is: The number of pages you read every day is the number of books you will read in a year.

Read 10 pages per day? That's 10 books that year.

I read a little less than 1 page per minute (depends on book), but the way I look at it is minutes per day = books in year. Read 30 minutes every day that's 30 books that year.

[haizhung]

I replaced my bed time routine. Instead of watching YouTube for 30 minutes I, I read a book for 30 minutes.

I was surprised just how much you can read with this amount of time investment. I read 12 books during that year; with 600 pages on average. It’s much quicker than you’d think!

[ashwinne]

Set aside 30 minutes a day and try to keep at it regularly. If there are kids and being a good parent, this is only possible after their bed/story time. Quickly turns into a no-screen meditative quiet time for the mind before going to sleep.

Put the book(s) on the bedside table so that it is right there staring at you.

If a book isn't interesting even after first 50 pages, dump and move on to a new one. Borrow books from library so that there is a forcing function of the due date.

30 mins a day is plenty to get through 10-20 books a year easily. Read only easy/fun/interesting books until the stamina to get into tougher reads arrives.

[BeetleB]

> How do you, as a techie, find time to read most of the books?

Audiobooks while driving. I easily do over ten a year this way.

[SoftTalker]

Does that count as "reading" though? I find it very difficult to engage with an audiobook in the way I do with a real book in my hands.

[BeetleB]

Yes, definitely.

It likely won't work for all kinds of books. I don't think I'd want to listen to an audio book of Thinking, Fast and Slow for example.

But for fiction and certain non-fiction, it can be a great experience. In fact, for fiction it is now my preferred mode of consumption. There are books (e.g. Ancillary Justice) that I know I would have not finished if I were reading the book directly (for various reasons). But the audio book narration was so good I stuck to it.

It really depends on what your goals for reading are. If you're reading a heavy nonfiction book where you want to annotate, etc, then obviously it won't work.

If you're simply trying to absorb a story or gain information, it works as well as a regular book. You will likely rewind often, though. It sounds a lot worse than it is, but you get used to it quickly.

[selykg]

I would call it reading. But it’s up to the person.

Ultimately I find time for both. I completed 30 books in 2024. 2-3 of them were audiobooks I think. They count in my opinion.

[SoftTalker]

That's pretty impressive. I have not read 30 books in the past decade. Probably not even 10.

[selykg]

I dedicate time to it almost every day. I also have a book club with a friend to keep me a bit outside my comfort zone.

[nozzlegear]

I find it really engaging, there's something about it that lets me really easily envision the world and the characters in my mind's eye, and to put myself into the narrative when I'm listening to a book. I get lost in it more than I do while reading a physical book, so much so that at times it can be almost disorienting when someone interrupts me while I'm engulfed.

[edanm]

Yes, it "counts". There are differences, but the main point of books (the conveying of a story and/or information) happens perfectly well with audiobooks, at least for me.

[Scarblac]

I often spend way too much time on my phone (like now).

The days when I keep my ereader nearby so I look at that instead I am much happier.