Reading Used to Be Normal

Comments · 266

• LI

  @LiterateTexan · 4 months ago · pinned

  What changed your relationship with reading the most?<br><br>Smartphones? Social media? School? Stress? Adulthood? Burnout? Something else?<br><br>And for those of you who did rebuild your reading life… what helped you come back to books?

  21

• EY

  @eyehaus1 · 4 months ago

  “When you live in a society where the entire culture wants your attention so they can monetize it, reading becomes the ultimate act of rebellion”<br>Brilliant!

  62

• LI

  @LiterateTexan · 4 months ago

  It is a solitary pursuit, but YouTube has made it easier than ever to connect with other readers, and I think that&apos;s wonderful!

  76

• HI

  @HiGurll-c1z · 4 months ago

  Hi randy I&apos;d just like to say I&apos;m 13 years old and you motivate me to read more! I really like your videos &nbsp;and because of you I try to read at least for an hour everyday. Thank you so much for reviving my love for reading

  24

• CA

  @callummc1988 · 2 months ago

  Netflix have openly told their screenwriters to rewrite their scripts to better suit viewers who use their phones while watching. Attention spans are plummeting and media companies are actively driving that. Love your channel, you&apos;ve inspired me to more consistently look at a book instead of my phone

  2

• SH

  @shorty4723 · 4 months ago

  I bring a book with me to read everyday at lunch!

  52

• JO

  @joegilbody4878 · 3 months ago

  When i was 17-18 i was a lifeguard, 1967-1968 and at the pool everyone was reading VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Most people were in book clubs and/or record clubs. Movies were featuring an A movie and B movie in one theater. I went to small catholic grammar school. We had summer reading list in grade 8. Jules Verne was my favorite. Oh the great adventures.

  4

• TH

  @thomasmurphy82 · 2 months ago

  Your last line, is the best line: &nbsp;&quot;...reading becomes the ultimate act of rebellion. &nbsp;Be a rebel with me.&quot; &nbsp;Wow, truer words couldn&apos;t be expressed on today&apos;s media and culture. &nbsp;Spot on!

  3

• KA

  @kajetankowalski420 · 4 months ago

  No clue how it transpired that your channel appeared on my main page, but ever since I&apos;ve been watching your videos with extreme pleasure to my morning coffee. They also push me to read a lot more nowadays. Thanks, Randy.

  17

• PO

  @pokedude104 · 3 months ago

  When I was a young kid in school I got sorted into the &quot;gifted&quot; readers level. I tore through books like no one&apos;s business. To the point I would actually make my teacher upset because she would have us reading a chapter per day all together in class but I&apos;d already been through half of it by the end of the first day. Somewhere in highschool when they started making us over analyse everything we read, writing up chapter summaries and big 10 page book reports at the end killed any love I had for reading at all. It didn&apos;t help the books they picked were almost exclusively ones I didn&apos;t enjoy. Didn&apos;t read anything unless I had to for a good 10 years after school until one day decided on a whim to pick up a copy of the hobbit I saw at a thrift store and thoroughly surprised myself when I suddenly found myself at the end of the book 2 days later. I&apos;ll admit I&apos;ve not been consistent and not gotten nearly the amount of reading in I would have liked to since then, but have recently picked up a few books I&apos;ve been meaning to read and have 3 on the go at the moment &nbsp;Finding the enjoyment in it again is nice

  4

• PC

  @pc-313 · 4 months ago

  When I was going to university, they moved &nbsp;the popular campus bookstore and turned it into a spirit store. They only have ten books on display now, and nobody goes in there. The original building sells overpriced athletic clothes now. So heartbreaking. 😢

  16

• JL

  @jlmo3027 · 3 months ago

  Yes! &nbsp;Real talk. &nbsp;It is important to remember “the way things used to be,” when “Have you read a good book lately?” or “What are you reading?” was a great conversation starter. &nbsp;I work in a creative, script-based field that requires some downtime outside the studio, and everyone these days is buried in their phones, “catching up on news” every ten minutes, or texting. &nbsp;I read books for the enjoyment of it, and I have been asked more than once, “Is that a…book?” or “Are you reading… a book?” &nbsp;Makes me feel like an endangered species, but I always have a smile and show the cover and give a one or two sentence description. &nbsp;😊 &nbsp;Sometimes it sparks a conversation, usually “I used to read books…maybe I should try that again.”

  3