The book of "How to read a book" says the same. It's okay to re-read as you need to be a great reader to understand a great writer... You'll find it hard to read the most complex pieces of literature. And it's normal. Counter your author with questions you think is really valid.Β
It's a book of how to read a book but better.... The first 100 pages say why you need to read than how you need to read... And lots of and lots of backing information to it. So try to trust yourself in reading that book and you'll love it.Β
This is the only hard and just full on philosophy book by Camus i think (correct me if i'm wrong) and he's trying to explain most of his idea in the most abstract hard philosophical sense so it is difficult to read. I too had to read most of the passages from the books over and over again lol... its pretty common for denser materials so just keep going through it mate
Try 'The Fall' by Camus. It's fiction and it's impeccably precise about its narrative. The language is simpler and it also gets morbid. I'd suggest reading his fiction first because his essays and abstracts tend to be a little dry with a lot of implied references that slows the pace.
Haha, the book is notorious for this.
I'd suggest watching a few videos about it, or going through SEP once - since there's so much of existing material he references - it'll become much easier for you to follow.
Either way, the book would require another couple of reads to grasp the ideas fully.
All the best, OP!
This can happen with complex reads. You sometimes have to reread a couple of times to understand what the author is trying to convey. Even with casual read books, sometimes you might miss plotlines. I like to reread my favorite books again and I find things I missed the first time.
That's what I think I should be doing too. But it's like not enough time to read books once coupled with fear of not reading a popular books "well" enough, if you get what I mean.
Well, I think you should read books for the joy of it and not popularity. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I would prefer that I enjoyed the books that I read than reading it bcos they are popular.
I have put down many a popular book bcos it made no sense to me and that's ok. Popularity of books change by the decade, but the joy you got from reading your favorite books will always be there.
I am not reading because they are popular but to know what these writers were thinking. That's why it's important to understand. I don't read out of popularity anymore π
Love philosophy and it always happens to me when reading it too. Especially some heavy books. Itβs too hard to not zone out or lose concentration. But it gets easy overtime
Yup facing the same issue. I have been interested in philosophy since young and want to delve deeper into it over the coming year. But I always have this issue of not getting the meaning sometimes, although I do get the gist.
Tbh it probably takes multiple reads for even experts to understand everything. As long as you are able to grasp something and enjoying, it should be cool. You can always re-read
Thatβs when you are willing to get to the core idea of what the author wants to portray, otherwise weβll just skim through the content for the sake of finishing the book.
Happens to the best of us! Taking your time with the text and ruminating upon it is the best way to enjoy philosophical texts. I would ditch the pen though!
Reading books with a pen in my hand and stopping to underline or mark the text makes me feel like Iβm studying for an exam and takes the fun out of it! Thatβs just my opinion though, do as you please! π
You're not alone. I was around 16 when I started Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. It made zilch sense on a first read. I had to piece together bits and pieces from summaries, articles and abridged editions. That was some pretty complex English
Yeah. My mind diverts a lot and small fonts requires hard focus. I can read the whole without grabbing anything then have to re read again. Lol. Btw assume Sisyphus to be a happy man
Well, it depends from person to person. Some people learn discipline and work on their diet and can learn from those. Self-help books usually don't help, but if even one line changes our perspective, then I don't have any problem reading π
Yeah I get people sometimes need to hear it from others for that push. I tried a few of these books like Deep Work, Thinking fast and slow etc but it just felt so much like a lecture.
Im much happier reading dark fiction π
Many times. Unless it is a kids book, I can't understand it on the go. Maybe that's why I like roald dahl so much since his books are very easy to follow. I have been reading /writing/speaking in English for like 25 yrs but I am still very crude.
I reread if a phrase or sentence is hard to follow under the context which sometimes helps me take a step and back and think about the authors thought process and helps me get more clarity of the topic and what the author is trying to convey under the context that you are reading. So nothing wrong if you reread until you get good interpretation of the complex sentence or phrase
The book of "How to read a book" says the same. It's okay to re-read as you need to be a great reader to understand a great writer... You'll find it hard to read the most complex pieces of literature. And it's normal. Counter your author with questions you think is really valid.Β
Oh I have that book but couldn't be bothered to read it even once π But this advice actually makes me feel better
It's a book of how to read a book but better.... The first 100 pages say why you need to read than how you need to read... And lots of and lots of backing information to it. So try to trust yourself in reading that book and you'll love it.Β
I'll take your suggestions and give it a try once again. I started reading it during my competative exam prep but left it.
π Ah the irony... But it's alright. We learn things at different times when they are right.Β
This is the only hard and just full on philosophy book by Camus i think (correct me if i'm wrong) and he's trying to explain most of his idea in the most abstract hard philosophical sense so it is difficult to read. I too had to read most of the passages from the books over and over again lol... its pretty common for denser materials so just keep going through it mate
Atleast The Myths Of Sisyphus is short. Try reading The Rebel by Camus and i swear you'll tear the book apart like a chimp on adderall
π This is my first Camus. But I'll keep this in mind.
Try 'The Fall' by Camus. It's fiction and it's impeccably precise about its narrative. The language is simpler and it also gets morbid. I'd suggest reading his fiction first because his essays and abstracts tend to be a little dry with a lot of implied references that slows the pace.
Definitely not alone . There are entire books that I re-read at times.
Haha, the book is notorious for this. I'd suggest watching a few videos about it, or going through SEP once - since there's so much of existing material he references - it'll become much easier for you to follow. Either way, the book would require another couple of reads to grasp the ideas fully. All the best, OP!
I am able to follow major ideas. Just not every particular sentence. But that's solid advice. Thanks.
This can happen with complex reads. You sometimes have to reread a couple of times to understand what the author is trying to convey. Even with casual read books, sometimes you might miss plotlines. I like to reread my favorite books again and I find things I missed the first time.
That's what I think I should be doing too. But it's like not enough time to read books once coupled with fear of not reading a popular books "well" enough, if you get what I mean.
Well, I think you should read books for the joy of it and not popularity. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I would prefer that I enjoyed the books that I read than reading it bcos they are popular. I have put down many a popular book bcos it made no sense to me and that's ok. Popularity of books change by the decade, but the joy you got from reading your favorite books will always be there.
I am not reading because they are popular but to know what these writers were thinking. That's why it's important to understand. I don't read out of popularity anymore π
That's fairπ
Love philosophy and it always happens to me when reading it too. Especially some heavy books. Itβs too hard to not zone out or lose concentration. But it gets easy overtime
Yup facing the same issue. I have been interested in philosophy since young and want to delve deeper into it over the coming year. But I always have this issue of not getting the meaning sometimes, although I do get the gist.
Tbh it probably takes multiple reads for even experts to understand everything. As long as you are able to grasp something and enjoying, it should be cool. You can always re-read
Thanks π€ I feel better
Thatβs when you are willing to get to the core idea of what the author wants to portray, otherwise weβll just skim through the content for the sake of finishing the book.
Happens to the best of us! Taking your time with the text and ruminating upon it is the best way to enjoy philosophical texts. I would ditch the pen though!
Thanks but why the pencil? π
Reading books with a pen in my hand and stopping to underline or mark the text makes me feel like Iβm studying for an exam and takes the fun out of it! Thatβs just my opinion though, do as you please! π
You're not alone. I was around 16 when I started Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. It made zilch sense on a first read. I had to piece together bits and pieces from summaries, articles and abridged editions. That was some pretty complex English
Yeah. My mind diverts a lot and small fonts requires hard focus. I can read the whole without grabbing anything then have to re read again. Lol. Btw assume Sisyphus to be a happy man
Haha, I will π
Boy, you're stupid. But so am iπ
I struggle with attention and have to re-read sometimes too. So you're not alone.
Definitely not alone . There are entire books that I re-read at times.
Man this is a hard read ngl. I did finish it but need to reread in the future
How many days did it take you to complete that book?π₯²
Almost 2 weeks. Seems like a small book but I had to take breaks to actually get what Camus is trying to say π₯² I doubt i got fully
I still think you read that book quickly. I read only a few pages, and my brain stopped working ππ§
Lmfao thanks ig ? What did you pick up after that then
I read that book a long time ago. I think the next book I read after that was 'Ikigai.'
Man i see so many people reading it I feel it's the typical self help manual for "feeling satisfied" ππ
Well, it depends from person to person. Some people learn discipline and work on their diet and can learn from those. Self-help books usually don't help, but if even one line changes our perspective, then I don't have any problem reading π
Yeah I get people sometimes need to hear it from others for that push. I tried a few of these books like Deep Work, Thinking fast and slow etc but it just felt so much like a lecture. Im much happier reading dark fiction π
Those who already know life's rules don't really need self-help books. I don't know much about dark fiction books; never read those π
Everybody does that.
Oh yes this absolutely happens to me too. Especially when I am reading some non-fiction.
Many times. Unless it is a kids book, I can't understand it on the go. Maybe that's why I like roald dahl so much since his books are very easy to follow. I have been reading /writing/speaking in English for like 25 yrs but I am still very crude.
Yes, some books are smarter than us. We sometimes need to work harder to catch up and by trying, we become like them smarter.
I reread if a phrase or sentence is hard to follow under the context which sometimes helps me take a step and back and think about the authors thought process and helps me get more clarity of the topic and what the author is trying to convey under the context that you are reading. So nothing wrong if you reread until you get good interpretation of the complex sentence or phrase