Deep reading ... an experiment

what would happen if ...

Confession #1: I LOVE December and I would love it even if it weren’t my birthday month. December is like a permission slip to toss out all the old, outdated ideas and start afresh on some new path without even knowing where it might lead.

Confession #2: I’ve been binge reading. (Some might call that a lifelong condition.) Normally, I wouldn’t worry about it; however, I’m logging 5-6 hours a day in the book equivalent of daytime television. There are worse things I could be doing, although this does not feel particularly healthy. Maybe it’s still PESD (Post-election stress disorder) but it needs to stop or, at least, be redirected.

As I approach my 79^th birthday, wondering where I’m headed, I see Janus looking back on what might have been, while also peeking into the future to figure out what’s coming during the Billionaire-apocalypse … what will they think up to do with their new money-and-greed-fueled power? Anguishing over the talk of mass deportations; anguishing over the fact that it took 24 years for Syria to oust Assad. Anguishing over anguishing … …

Suddenly, I hear brakes squealing, smell rubber burning skid marks onto the asphalt, feel the g-forces of change in the out-of-control spin. Then, ditched and shaken, I’m looking at an unplowed field where a neon sign blinks:

Welcome to 2025 … what now, fair child?

the choice is yours

For a moment I channel

Jeff Tiedrich

’s explosive language; then long for

Heather Cox Richardson

’s deep wisdom, and replay all the ideas I’ve had for what I should be doing during these strange times … things I am somewhat capable of doing, ways I might help those who will probably bear the brunt of the coming years, only to realize I’m stuck … in a ditch facing a trackless, empty field. End Scene 1

Scene 2:

Indoor picnic table, piles of books surrounding open laptop

The piles shouldn’t be here. I’ve moved way too often, downsized thousands of books … but here they are, piling up, demanding attention, begging to be read. And, I should be reading them instead of numbing out on happily-ever-after popcorn stories where nary a politician ever dares appear.

Well, I can’t create world peace, so I might as well do something I can do … like shelve these poor books. So, I begin.

How many books have I read in my long life? … hundreds? Thousands? How much of that has turned into wisdom that guides me on my life path? Why do I care at this stage? Why not just read? … just enjoy? … just continue binge reading the light, uncomplicated, sweet fiction that is consuming so much of my time these days?

Here in Santa Barbara, we are rich in beauty, culture, and more non-profits per person than perhaps any place in the US. One of the bright stars in our crown is the annual Planned Parenthood Book Sale, going on its 51^st year.

I’ve known of this sale for most of its life, however, since I had systematically downsized almost all of my books during my wanderings, I had no intention of deliberately going to any book sale and definitely wasn’t going to buy more books … until I did, of course, coming home with two bags full. Following year, more bags. This year again … only two times, more bags each time.

Suddenly, there are new bookcases with books shoved together higgledy-piggledy. Time to organize. And, in that slow process, I discover something odd … these book sale books are different.

Perhaps because they were cheap (how can you argue with a $2 hardback on a subject you’re even vaguely curious about?) Perhaps because they were rough sorted into categories and the categories were easy to browse … or perhaps, because there were just so many orphans crying to be taken home …

For whatever reason, the 50 or so books that have taken up residence with me were like curious strangers from foreign lands. They didn’t look like the books I tend to seek out in book stores or online. Lots of science, natural history, geology, curiosity, memoir and oddities expectantly waiting for me. I wanted to read each one … but, I was busy; too busy for them.

The “too busy” excuse careens into the buttery Kindle Unlimited popcorn bowl, slides past the Mother-Theresa-style shoulds and topples one pile of books into another. End Scene 2.

Scene 3 - Bedroom

Messy bed piled with books, an open laptop and clunky old iPad

Here I am surrounded by books … lovely books … wondering which one? Where to start? Some yell louder than others so I put them through the amazon review test. A couple drop out … for now. Kindle sample trials eliminate a few more but then seven still waved their hands wanting to be first. I surrendered to sleep.

Somewhere between twilight and REM, as I struggled with the message of that neon sign announcing that the choice for 2025 was mine, an idea inched in, wiggled about, dug a few tunnels, came up for air, and then went back down and dug around some more. I thought … I don’t have to choose … I can read ALL of them … at the same time!

Crazy? … Maybe not.

Weaving through the past few years has been a flirtation with learning methods … it’s what I studied when I should have been studying Spanish. One idea that fascinated me was interleaving, the act of studying more than one thing at a time. The intuitive response is to think that would slow down learning but actual testing shows that it can improve long term learning.

Interleaving … from Coursera

Interleaving involves learning multiple related concepts simultaneously while alternating between them. By switching between different topics or types of problems, interleaving is thought to promote the ability to discern key differences between concepts and enhance the ability to apply and transfer knowledge to new and varied situations.

How would this work? Just take a few days off and read one after the other really fast? And then get back to work?

No. I wanted something more. I’ve always been a fast reader … and a faster forgetter. I easily skim past the descriptive parts and skate along the plot line. That doesn’t work all that well in fiction and it’s just plain stupid in non-fiction. Might as well just tear the pages out of a book and eat them.

Substack contributed to the dithering. Over the two plus years of being in this generous community of writers, I’ve drooled over many posts about writers and their notebooks. I’ve envied the sketches and drawings, the messy pages, and the oh-so-artsy ones.

Just this week Jillian Hess delighted, and distracted, me with her post: Re-Noted: Creative People and their Notebooks. Her Substack is an endless rabbit hole of famous people and their journals: Beatrix Potter, Jack Kerouac, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson and on and on. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

I wanted to experience these books in a different way. I wanted to see if I could read them in a way that would allow them to have conversations with each other … and I wanted to see that unfold in a journal. I know how to read fast … now I want to deepen my reading experience … and see what might come out of such an experiment.

Slow Reading … savoring … remembering … allowing openings where thoughts and ideas might hang out, mill about, mix and mingle … turn loose of the reins and see where we might wind up.

Ideas slid around for awhile before slowing almost to a stop, as if they were part of an organic process. I had little sense of being in control of the process that formed somewhat like a crystal might … just growing and following some unseen pattern.

INTERLEAVED SLOW READING … an idea for a new form of reading (for me) … 1 year … 5 books. Details for the curious below.

(Is this where the curtain falls … or where it opens up to a new drama?)

PS … BTW, this doesn’t mean I’m throwing in the trump towel, the job I’ve chosen for the coming year(s) will be to amplify the voices of the smart people whose words might actually change the world.

Interleaved Slow Reading … details for the curious (and my memory)

• Pick a few books that warrant reading or re-reading.

• Using Amazon, Goodreads, or whatever to choose the final 5 (or whatever number you choose) and have a paper or electronic copy available.

• Decide how you want to journal about your reading … paper or electronic? The ability to sketch ideas is good.

  • My process — Pick 5 books and divide each book into chapters or chunks … I plan about 30 minutes for reading, underlying, and noting each chunk (in the margins or highlighting on Kindle) (YES, I completely destroy the book for future readers.)

  • My journal is a letter-size, graph paper grid with clear plastic covers. I will put the opening 5 book graphic and some details about each books on the opening pages.

  • Time segments - First read is at night - about 30 minutes for reading and highlighting. Second reading is in the morning and includes journaling about the reading. (So far, about 30 - 60 minutes.) So about 1 - 1.5 hours per day.

  • Colored Tabs. Each book is flagged with a colored tab in the journal and I’ve allowed 3 pages for each book (just a guess at this point.) The first book page includes a sketch (I don’t draw) and a ruled off space for new words or unique metaphors.

  • Complete first reading for each book then proceed on to the next round.

  • Timeline at the back … even at this early stage, the conversation between books shows interesting signs and I started a timeline page at the back of the journal to capture that aspect of the books.

  • Initials - Fortunately, all the author names have different initials so I can use their initials to identify sources when needed.

In this community of writers, I’m sure there must be tons of ideas about how to read and capture ideas and memories about what you read. I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.

AI Overview: on Slow Reading

Slow reading is a technique that involves intentionally reading more slowly to improve comprehension or enjoyment. Here are some tips for slow reading:

• Set a goal: Decide how much time or how many pages to read each day.

• Avoid distractions: Read without the internet or other distractions.

• Read in short bursts: Read in 20-minute intervals or other short blocks of time.

• Practice pacing: Get into a rhythm and practice reading at a pace that feels natural [1, when i allowed myself to slow down and read at a pace that felt more natural to me].

• Follow along with audio: Use audio to help you read.

• Improve vocabulary: Work on improving your vocabulary.

Slow reading can be a useful learning method for comprehension. It originated in philosophy and literature as a way to fully appreciate and understand complex texts.