@darius same, but i think i'm getting better at it

@darius same!! is it because we find the labor of writers more relatable? it's interesting.

@darius It's like hidden contract to myself — okay in various things in the world I choose this and how it can be what I was wrong? But right now I think what life is not a competition, I can fail with my choice and just go away to another book or whatever

@darius wonder if it’s because of a degree of sophisticated time spent we expect to get from a book? Like it’s not even that we read it, it’s that we’re reading.

@darius Guess: self-incrimination because reading takes effort whereas being told a story doesn't. I have a terrible problem getting through any book. I recently bought one I thought was fascinating, but I'm yet to start a second session reading it. I'm probably 20 pages in at most. Mea culpa.

@darius For me it's because it feels like a failure. Reading takes effort, concentration and time, and so can be highly rewarding and edifying. So much so that I consider it something I *should* do, rather than (quite often) something I *want* to do. The trick is to rediscover the joy of reading. If the obstacles are internal then a little effort can go a long way, but if the book isn't rewarding there should be no shame in laying it aside. These goals are nobody's but our own.

@darius there's so much incentive to get young ppl to read that we hear a lot about "not being able to put down a book" and "reading is good for you!", "people/kids don't read enough anymore" so I think there can be a feeling of guilt or remorse when quitting a book more than with movies and shows which are seen more as entertainment and, if we're being honest, "lower culture" than books

@darius Brains were a bad idea.