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Re:The Lost Art of Research as Leisure by thinkingtoilet on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @08:21AM (#43410915)
I wonder if after you've read the classics and modern greats you have to start searching out and take chances on books you don't know. I also think people will happily walk away from a show or movie but for some reason won't walk away from a book. If you're 30% in and you hate it, just walk away.
Re:The Lost Art of Research as Leisure by latexr on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @11:57AM (#43413699)
> I also think people will happily walk away from a show or movie

I’m not so sure. I feel like people may walk away from a show in between seasons, when a new one comes out and they realise they aren’t interested anymore. But in the age of binge watching, it’s harder to realise “I’m not actually enjoying this” because each episode is made to be addictive.

With movies, my feeling is that even when people realise midway they’re not enjoying it, they experience sunk cost and will watch to the end hoping it gets better.

I remember (but I’m not finding) a This American Life segment about a woman who relished in exiting the movie theatre midway through a feature. It wasn’t seen as a common thing.

> but for some reason won't walk away from a book. If you're 30% in and you hate it, just walk away.

I completely agree. I’d even say you could do it sooner than 30%.

Re:The Lost Art of Research as Leisure by markus_zhang on Wednesday March 19, 2025 @10:48AM (#43412735)
Yeah I feel that too. It's kinda hard to go away from a book, even a borrowed one and I have no idea why. Maybe I'm trying to convince myself that I should like the book but I don't.

I used to read a lot of books including classics and others when I was younger, before 25, but then Internet took off so I barely read books. When my son was born a few years ago I tried to go back and found my interests narrowed to a niche.

Anyway, maybe I shouldn't complain as it helps to focus...