you can remember, I promise // reasons to read

[@timdemoss]

I wanted to address this in the video but cut it for time - how do you feel about writing in your books? does it make you nervous to mess up the pages with a pen?

[@ReflectionsofChristianMadman]

Yes. I don’t like to write in or even highlight books. I usually buy eversions though, and I will highlight them heavily and take screenshots of quotes or charts worth keeping. I know people use readwise, but I read books from a whole bunch of places, not just kindle.

[@nickbreaux2635]

I don’t mind small notations. Especially if it’s a theological text that im going to later use to teach from.

[@gaildoughty6799]

I don’t highlight my physical books because that can interfere with my reading (thin/old paper, strong ink, whatever). I do make notes. If I’ve bought a book, it belongs to me, so I think I can do whatever I want with that book. But to each his own. ETA: Typically I don’t buy expensive editions; I can see how that could make a difference.

[@lukedmoss]

I read nonfiction. Some books I love absolutely marking up anything and everything I want to, for helping comprehension and ease of referring back to passages I like. And it really helps with understanding structure. I love getting used books with others' noted and doodles. I personally alternative between pencil, pen, highlighters, even crayons. If I really want to personalize it, my friend and I tie-dyed a few books years ago and I like the soft color blotches from that. Painted over the back and covers to stylize. Other books I don't mark up and preserve in their received condition. It's a gut feeling, a vibe check. Either way it's fun and enjoyable.

[@SevenUnwokenDreams]

I love to do it. It makes the book mine. If I don't write in my books, those books could belong to anybody. If I write in them, then they can only be mine. The book is like my diary.

[@authorttaelias4483]

How does it feel to have the best series on youtube

[@timdemoss]

high praise - I’m honored. :) mostly I’m just happy it seems to be helpful to people

[@1linnell]

I agree, pretty amazing!!

[@lukedmoss]

holy moonshine that snap a pic and extract text to copy/paste technique is actually so clutch

[@timdemoss]

I don’t remember when I learned it but it’s so helpful! although it pays to spot-check it for spelling errors if you plan to do anything public with the notes. sometimes it’s not 100%. but certainly a game changer

[@websiteuser7926]

I stopped reading for a long time because I figured everything I wanted to read was "above me" in some way and that i needed to work towards it, but finding you video about how you dont need to understand everything had me finally try to read some of what I was interested in, I found myself getting into it much more thoroughly than I thought I had the capacity for. Just wanted to say thanks a ton for getting me started.

[@timdemoss]

this makes me so happy to read! isn’t that such a pleasant surprise when you realize you’re capable of more than you’d expected for yourself?

[@websiteuser7926]

@@timdemoss It's been really restoring my self-confidence with learning, after tackling something that feels difficult everything else feels a bit easier to read too

[@shougatea]

Your channel is the best. I’m falling in love with reading again

[@timdemoss]

I’m so glad to hear it!! I hope you have lots and lots of enjoyment on your reading journey :)

[@nbldragoness8950]

Didn't have internet for more than a week, and this is my worthy first choice! The best!

[@timdemoss]

:) welcome back!

[@Shadestorm12]

I love commonplace books. When I don't want to annotate in the book I'm reading, I mark passages with sticky flags, and after I'm done reading I write down everything in my commonplace book

[@timdemoss]

love it!

[@_samaa]

One thing I've also learned it to read slowly. I don't know why I put pressure on myself to finish books as fast as I could because I was a "reader." I felt that I had to read a ton of books in a short amount of time because "that's what readers do." I would tire my eyes out reading fast and after finishing the book, I'd realize that I would've enjoyed it a lot more if I had just taken my time.

[@timdemoss]

it's a good lesson! in the book "How to Read a Book" that I referenced, they talk about reading speed - sometimes you want to read fast, and sometimes not. I found it encouraging that they didn't just recommend speed reading, or reading slowly, but said that it depends on the situation.

[@_samaa]

@@timdemoss Ohh that makes sense!

[@yuugurei]

I recentlly began to keep a diary. When something interessting happened in the book I'm curently reading, I reflect on that in it. It help me remember how I felt reading the book throughout my reading process,and make me understand all the little details i like and dislike about the book, which prevents me to idolize or degrate the story in my mind later.

[@timdemoss]

a written record that preserves how you felt in the moment. so valuable. thanks for sharing!

[@TessaDeMoss]

so great tim!! i feel a little sacrilegious writing in vintage editions but not too bad if i use a pencil. but anything else is fair game

[@timdemoss]

thanks tessa! yeah there are some I don’t write in. but usually when I do write, I don’t regret it. (I do wish I was better at underlining with nice straight lines though)

[@gstodamire]

i totally get not wanting to mess up a nice copy with any pen marks; i started buying thrifted books partly so i wouldn’t feel bad about messing em up. banger video as always

[@timdemoss]

Thanks so much! and yeah there’s a sweet spot of book for me where it’s nice enough to look good and feel good but not so nice that I’m scared to write in it. :)

[@TheresaReichley]

I’m more biased toward using cheap notebooks for that reason. First of all, it doesn’t mess up the book, which means you can pass it along, or reread it without having every other paragraph with lines under them to get in the way of finding other things in the text. Of course the other issue is that most modern books have less margins than I’d need to make a note in them. A notebook has infinite space for thinking on paper about what I’m reading. And that makes having a deep read of a book much easier than trying to quickly distill the quote into a few words. And you can also draw or make diagrams as needed which helps in reading nonfiction.

[@asimmushtaq9225]

I think these are the most concrete tricks I have come across to remember what you have read!!

[@timdemoss]

so glad to hear it! thanks for watching! :)

[@KFNOTFOUND]

Thank u very much,i don't really love reading because i can't keep focus on the books,but ur tips just rise me up❤

[@timdemoss]

you're very welcome! :) thanks for watching!

[@lukedmoss]

It's interesting to contrast the idea of writing that helps memory with the idea in Platos "Phaedrus" where he argued that writing will make memory worse. It seems that the writing process itself is what is most beneficial, the act of and interaction with - rather than merely outsourcing one's memory to "oh its just a Google search away" and never actually internalizing the message. I think one of the joys of being alive is actively constructing multiple working models of the world and challenging our sense-making ability. I love reading and learning about the world. The fact that any of this is anything at all is wondrous to me, and I'd like to know and remember as much as humanly possible during my short overwhelming time on our precious planet earth.

[@timdemoss]

I do wonder what it would have been like in a pre-writing / book age where memory was a sacred and necessary skill. maybe we have slid backwards a little bit. but yeah in today’s world I’d agree we run the risk of assuming “everything can be looked up, so I don’t need to know it offhand” - which is sort of true and sort of dangerous. and yeah reading and learning is just fun!!

[@mewdedlife7487]

Sooooo...... this man is telling us to read book in the most polite way and it worked.......thank tyou

[@timdemoss]

thank you for watching! :)

[@01919]

Such a well-thought-out and articulate video. I just finished reading my first actual book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and it has left me thirsty for more. Your video helped a lot, especially with the idea of a commonplace book. Thank you so much. God bless!

[@timdemoss]

Dorian Gray is a wild ride! I'm so happy to hear you're enjoying reading :) and definitely check out Jared Henderson's video on commonplace books too if you're interested! have a great day!!

[@Socks-and-Dave]

I have been told, and have read several times, that you learn something best by teaching it. :)

[@timdemoss]

I can confirm! :)

[@4b6t]

Before this, I watched your video about "you don't have to get it", which motivated me to start reading the book I've often rescheduled cuz I don't want to disappoint myself by missing out underlying details and all. These are extremely helpful advice that made me less restless about the need to consume and remember an entire book. I loved this one in particular 11:25 so well said! I'll keep in it mind

[@timdemoss]

it's fun (and nerve-wracking!) to strike that balance between WANTING to remember and learn, and realizing you can't get it perfectly. but it's worth trying. :) I'm so glad I was able to help! still something I'm working on in my own life to be honest, thanks for sharing your thoughts as we try to learn together!

[@mak1709-y9v]

this is genuinely one of the best videos i have ever seen in my life

[@timdemoss]

I’m honored :) thank you for watching!!

[@odysseas__]

Good stuff, loved the analogy with the quotes and museum artifacts. That'll stick with me forever, I already know.

[@timdemoss]

great to see you here! loved your video on anti-hustle learning, especially the part on how creating your channel has helped you in your own learning. really helpful! and thank you! so glad the analogy was helpful for you :)

[@odysseas__]

@@timdemoss Thanks, and I had a feeling that would pop up here too which was nice.

[@rishinelli1519]

this is exactly what i needed on my reading journey

[@timdemoss]

So so glad to hear!! :)

[@soutanorogami7444]

I started to watch you about a month ago and I just wanted to write a comment to say how i appreciate your videos and just say thanks.

[@timdemoss]

hey, thank you so much for letting me know and saying hi :) I appreciate your encouragement! nice to meet you - happy reading!

[@gabrieltiossi]

your channel is great tim, wish you the best fthank you for the fresh content

[@timdemoss]

thank you so much for watching & giving me your attention! I appreciate it :)

[@beidbau]

I have the same edition of Walden (except I've marked up nearly every page by now)! I love it and loved the video as always.

[@timdemoss]

I can’t bring myself to mark it up somehow! but I’m proud of you for doing it - every page is really worthy of being underlined for sure. thanks so much for watching & for the encouragement!

[@d7writes]

These 10 videos are fantastic! I take notes while reading quite similarly. I take a screenshot and paste it into obsidian. If a quote is particularly poignant, I'll take a moment to jot down my thoughts on it before getting back to reading.

[@timdemoss]

I tried obsidian and thought it looked so cool, but I haven’t started using it regularly at all. it does seem incredible!

[@d7writes]

@@timdemoss I dig it! Though I don’t use all its features. It’s simple to use and free to sync cross devices.

[@shuang946]

Love your series on reasons to read📚you motivate me soo much

[@timdemoss]

So happy to hear it!

[@SevenUnwokenDreams]

I don't have a friend who is willing to put up with me talking about books. But I do have a journal where I like to write my thoughts that don't fit into the margins. And when I am done with the book, I write my overall thoughts at the end of the entry. Sometimes I get even more into detail in my daily journal because after my initial writing in the book journal I find that I have even more thoughts later. It's cool because I can go back into my book journal whenever I want to and review everything.

[@timdemoss]

the notes are there for whenever you want to go back and look, that’s such a great feature of writing. :) thanks for watching!

[@richsombie]

I can't wait to watch this!

[@timdemoss]

hope you enjoy! :) thanks for stopping by!

[@adamvdvelden5619]

Thank you for this video it has inspired me to read again and i gained some exitement to apply these lessons

[@timdemoss]

I’m so glad to hear it! :) happy reading!

[@vLeov-life]

I love this yt series, thank you so much ❤

[@timdemoss]

thank you! :) I'm glad you enjoy it!

[@FelixEvers06]

I have a commonplace book! I actually wrote down a quote from your video on Walden. The one about having more lives to live and not being able to spend longer on this one. It really resonated with me, even outside the context of the book. And I think it'll motivate me to read Walden as well- I just downloaded it through my book subscription ;)

[@timdemoss]

isn’t it a wild quote? I love it. and also good luck with Walden! I loved the whole thing but there are definitely some slower chapters in there. it took me awhile of coming back to it every couple of days to finish it

[@nuri611]

I pretty much enjoy your videos, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic Its awesome ❤

[@timdemoss]

thank you so much! :)

[@sauwurabh]

Been reading only since 2020. I never annotated it just because I wanted to keep the book neat and tidy. But since it's already my book I really wanted to own own it iykyk. So on a hunch I got pastel highlighters and now I annotate a little.

[@timdemoss]

I'm only recently starting to regularly annotate and it feels pretty great :) really helps me remember what I'm reading!

[@jackalberry3633]

You are my favorite KZbinr and its not even close

[@timdemoss]

hey I’m honored :) thank you for being here!

[@aliyamathiesen7290]

What’s worse than not annotating is when you let someone borrow your annotated book and they lose it and buy you a copy that isn’t annotated. 😢

[@timdemoss]

this is a tragedy. I'm so sorry for your loss

[@denisperlera]

Tim you’re a godsend🙂‍↕️Great video!

[@timdemoss]

so glad it was helpful! :) thanks for watching!

[@Rebecca-xw4ji]

Great video! Definitely want to try out some of these ideas :)

[@timdemoss]

hope it goes well! happy reading! :)

[@joeydaniele5020]

Excellent video. You are inspiring me to step out of just reading personal finance/business and pick up some fiction or other genres of non-fiction. Any recommendations?

[@timdemoss]

Totally depends on what you’re looking for! If you let me know I can try and recommend something here. But you can find my recommendations throughout the Reasons to Read series, and in general I made a video about choosing books here: m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHbKmZaCbbRor9U I also have a Substack where I send out recommendations for books & other things about once a month too if you’d like to get those emailed to you!

[@louis4238]

Thank you for this helpful and soothing video…

[@timdemoss]

thank you for watching!

[@johnjabez6300]

I exactly do the same . Write the quotes in my e notes in my phone

[@timdemoss]

agreed. I have to write it down or I'll forget.

[@dante1234]

Great content! What music/songs are you using for your videos?

[@timdemoss]

thanks! they’re just little recordings I make to match the mood of the video :)

[@lanelandry13]

I like to get a little sticky note and put it on the page with something important and have the sticky notes just barely hanging out

[@timdemoss]

great idea! plus you can leave little notes on the sticky notes without messing up the book, if it’s a copy you didn’t want to mess up

[@oldegeezer]

For those wanting to get good old books for CHEAP, check if a library in your area has a bag book sale. At $2 per full bag of books, I now have too many books.

[@timdemoss]

as someone who already has too many books, this sounds dangerous to me...

[@KyleMaxwell]

I keep meaning to restart my channel or at least a blog on this stuff, but for now my notes on paper are doing it.

[@timdemoss]

There’s so many ways to go about it! and those notes on paper will sure be helpful when you kick your other projects back into gear :)

[@Hisoka-qb3tg]

7:22 i was about to start watching this video, a thought popped in my mind , maybe I should ask you what do you think about this book *how to read a book* and holy Moses you mentioned reading it .Universe, what kind of sorcery is this ? 😳

[@timdemoss]

I’m liking it! I’ll let you know what I think of it as a whole when I finish it. But yeah, that’s spooky …

[@biaocoelho]

Great video!

[@timdemoss]

Thank you! :) and thanks for watching!

[@jonathanangeles1881]

Tremenda serie de videos, he aprendido mucho.

[@timdemoss]

:) thank you!

[@radio9677]

cool, I have run into this as well :)

[@timdemoss]

hope it’s helpful!

[@rahulsah5839]

Great video

[@timdemoss]

thank you!

[@DavinderpalSingh-g5o]

Broooo, it was damn good.❤

[@timdemoss]

thank you!!

[@pablopotato.c]

wait let me write that down

[@timdemoss]

XD quick!

[@reversev9778]

Is this the final one?

[@timdemoss]

Now that you mention it, it does sort of seem like it could be - but no, that’s not the plan :) I’m not sure how many I’ll do, but I have at least a few more in my head for now!

[@reversev9778]

Oh I was just asking because you originally said that you had a list of 10 reasons to read. And as this was the 10th video, I was curious if there were more or if these were all from the original 10 reasons.

[@San-li9ml]

I read How To Read a Book.. I hated it.. so much. It had useful advice, but they spent a lot of the readers time over-explaining things that don't need explaining. Such as terms and word context. Three whole pages spent telling me something I've known since I was a kid. Yeah, man, I know the word "reading" could refer to reading an expository book or a cooking book by figuring out context clues... It's a basic skill.

[@San-li9ml]

I did give it three stars, for the parts that were useful, it was very useful, I just hated how much of the pages were unnecessary. Could of been a 250 page book, not a 347 one.

[@timdemoss]

totally. I find a lot of books are like that - that's when it's time to start skimming around and picking just my favorite chapters I guess. :)

[@San-li9ml]

@timdemoss Quite true, once I get my own copy (borrowed it from the library) I'm going to skim the book and highlight the good parts 🙏🏽

[@eyeambanan3226]

🔥🔥🔥

[@timdemoss]

☺️

[@Forbrained]

I think the audio quality could be improved

[@timdemoss]

:) been wondering about that and just kind of plowing forward! will look into it :) thanks for watching!