I stopped reading for like a decade until my sister made me read mistborn together with her. This year I've already read like 7 books and 13 light novels

@cronkthebookguy

2 ай бұрын

Mistborn had a similar effect on me too! Got me back into reading.

@toreum

2 ай бұрын

For me it was red rising trilogy and then re read Harry Potter. The last year I’ve read 13 books too!

Last year I’ve read maybe 4 books through the whole year. This year I’ve read 15 so far and it’s barely April and I’ve noticed my mental health, overall happiness and other benefits rise since l! Btw your channel is a key motivator you got me to reread ASOIAF and I’m nearing the end of my first journey to the Dark Tower :) You’re making a difference Book Guy thank you for being a good guy!

One very big reason adults don’t read and is not quite talked often is the eye strain. People are staring into laptops for 9 / 10 hours straight and the eyes get glazed. To then read books on paperbacks (which have small font) or digital devices causes more eye strain. So subconsciously people don’t reach for reading. Another thing is that many people are severely myopic but for reading you need magnifying glass or lens, so again wearing myopic glasses or lenses while reading will make it a non fun experience for you. People also ignore signs of hyperopia which starts after 30 even sometimes so again blissfully ignoring why they are not reading. I have had hyperopia all my life and my lenses are the same reading or distance so for me reading is a breeze… if you are a reader and above 30 years of age buy a reading plus one from the pharmacy and see if that is helping you read more.

@adastra0

2 ай бұрын

I get noticeable eye strain only when I really read A LOT - several hours per day. When I read normally (20-40 minutes per day), I don't notice it at all. But I read almost exclusively paperback books and only use an ebook reader when I'm travelling. I found that a physical book not only makes the entire experience more fun and rewarding for me, it's definitely also better for my eyes than another screen.

@BougieBlue

2 ай бұрын

I can’t really read a book I do better with kindle with my eyes sight, or listen to audible. It frustrating.

@sk4348

2 ай бұрын

@@BougieBlueI can understand the frustration… eyes can get tired so fast… audible is so much better and best part is you can listen to audible while you exercise

@lionmom7629

Ай бұрын

I loved reading since prior to first grade through my 30s. I still love reading. But I wait for the audiobook more often than not because right before bed is the time I have to actually "read" and by then its torture. My eyesight was never good to begin with! Since I'm now severely far and short sighted, forget it! I'm in front of a screen from 8 to 12 hours a day. TBH, I even use a program that reads text out loud if I want to check out some fanfiction!!!

I really want to hug you for your partial essay on literacy. How succinctly you explain its underlying mechanisms while simultaneously calling everyone to be respectful and helpful towards those lacking the opportunities to read or learn to read. Love it and 100% agree. Now to reflect on what I can do :)

@KitCronk

2 ай бұрын

Unrelated but I saw your order come through the store and was like OMG ITS WOUTER! FROM THE COMMENT SECTIONS!! (at least I assume it was you 😅)

@Wouter_K

2 ай бұрын

@@KitCronk it was 😁

@Wouter_K

2 ай бұрын

@@KitCronk Love the shirts and the enamel pins are actually bigger than I thought. Very nice quality! And a great present for one of my fellow book lovers.

58yr old married man here. my wife and i both read widely and constantly. 9 full, burgeoning bookshelves tell our story. cheers. :)

I randomly came across your channel late last year and watched your intro to the Malazan series. I just started Midnight Tides and I have to thank you for inspiring me to pick it up….this is the best thing I’ve ever read. Cheers sir!

@cronkthebookguy

2 ай бұрын

Wonderful! Midnight tides is one of my favourites!

Happy to be part of the 4.1 percent of Australians who support this channel 👍

Ugh, thank you for this! I'm trying to get back in with physical books. Thank goodness for audiobooks. They really help with the time aspect.

Awesome video! And very enlightening. I've never really thought of why someone might or might not read beyond my assumption that people either like to or they don't. The part about trauma is very relatable - that's what actually drove me to start reading more, which eventually led me to creating a Booktube channel. I'd never have even realized it without this. Kudos to you!

I used to read non-fiction books only as genre worth reading , but now I read more of fiction books and I have noticed that even if I am not getting a direct message or learning things from fiction books, the message lasts longer and sometimes it changes how I think about something and encourages me to read more about specific subject and sometimes even if I learn nothing I prefer a fiction story after a long week of working than a non-fiction book just to be productive!

Wonderful video and so encouraging! You are definitely a big inspiration in helping me get out of my current reading slump. Love how nonjudgmental you are! Keep up the great work!

That was a great video and very interesting. Absolutely agree with the going through hard times and not reading. Haven't touched a book for 6 month, but they'll be waiting. Whenever I am better and back to feeling like myself again, they'll still be there to be read. 😊

I just discovered your channel and absolutely love it! It's so heartwarming and positive that now I want to pick up a book just because I feel like the book guy would love that for me.

Excellent encouragement. I love your channel!

Thank you for this video, your channel has been a true breath of fresh air! Very very well said points

I read voraciously until I was working full time and doing other things and would only just read sporadically. It really didn't help that I just wasn't liking anything I was reading at all. I feel like it's only been the last few years that I've read things in books that I was feeling the vibes for. In 2023, I decided I would read one book per month at least. Cut to 2024 and I read 18 books last month (natural speedreader since childhood and I have ADHD and oh boy do books deliver on the dopamine). I will also credit booktok/booktube for getting me back into reading. It's how I keep up on new releases but it's also put me in touch with a lot of like minded people who have recommended me things outside of that sphere which adds to my tbr. I am very fortunate that my library in inner western Sydney is just amazing plus Sydney City lets all NSW residents have access to their library as well which is pretty dope. I will also credit audiobooks for keeping my sanity during work as well. There are books that I have loved more as audiobooks than the printed version.

Thank you for making this. Before watching this video I'd scarcely even looked at a book for 2-3 months. My days were so busy and reading was beginning to fall by the wayside. For the past week I've been carving out small sections of time in my day to sit and read, and it's been such a relief. I really appreciate your advice and words of encouragement.

@cronkthebookguy

2 ай бұрын

Man, I don't know you, but I feel so proud of you right now! Small bits of time are perfect, especially when that's all you have. Keep going!

Thank you for another great video.

Awesome video! Love the approach you take as always!🌻 Kind regards from a country not in the top viewers. (the Netherlands)🌻

I really enjoy that kind of videos, so interesting. Reading is my main hobby and it is something I prioritize even though it can be complicated sometimes because… life. Lack of energy is something I experience often because I’m working at the hospitals and after night shifts it can be very hard to stay focused on reading. Audiobooks help me sooo much when I want to read but don’t have the energy. I also really like to listen to books while doing chores or driving. And I also listen to my audiobook before falling asleep. Would totally recommend trying audiobooks ! Reading whatever you want and love is also so important. I recently realized that I sometimes read a huge book way faster than shorter books just because I enjoy it more. Realizing that made me way less afraid of 800-1000 pages books (Stormlight archives 👀).

I read a book every few days for around 6 months when I was 18. Then partying and fun took over...then as I calmed down that was replaced by video games and TV. It was not until a couple years ago (I'm 38 now) that I decided to read the wheel of time on a fleeting desire and ended up blowing through it in a few months. Since then I have slowly replaced my other time wasters with reading. I canceled my subscriptions one by one replacing them with reading. Now I save so much money! When it all comes down to it we just use something to fill our down time. A book is as good or better than the other options IMHO. Although I do not agree with everything you say I do love your channel and your positive outlook on things. Keep enjoying life my friend. Your appreciated.

@Silvereaselartist200

22 күн бұрын

I can relate with your story on reading. Wheel of time was a random book that I picked from the library that sucked me into reading so many years ago. I have since fallen and want to get back to reading again. I did go through some life events that derailed me. I'm looking forward to making reading a daily part of my life again.

Pretty much my whole book list for this year are all series you’ve recommended and I’ve never looked back

@cronkthebookguy

2 ай бұрын

Haha YESSSS!!! 😁

A friend recommended to me the Feist Magician books, and I read Magician Apprentice as fast as I used to read Goosebumps books in middle school.... So yeah, definitely agree with finding the right book and reading whatever you WANT to read. I haven't read 1 whole book in years until now

Great video !

My work in life is promoting reading, so I checked your video out of curiosity. And it's a great tool!! Thank you for being so kind! I personally am reading a lot, though I'm learning French and I'm mostly reading in that language, which can be very tiresome. That's why I allow myself to read in English too :)

When I get done work after 12 and a half hours I get so excited to read but I'm so tired....

@IcePrinceYuki1

2 ай бұрын

I just started trying audio books...its taking some getting used to my mind wanders sometimes. But it's harder to go back to hear what I missed.

@mudhuthanudimmudkahagadulh4657

2 ай бұрын

Take a power nap for 30 minutes to two hours then read, it does wonders for me

As an American, those statistics are embarrassing and shameful.

He’s back!!!

I was the had a bad experience as a young adult so didn't read for a decade person. So happy to be back to reading now. Those shirts are INCREDIBLE! Thank you for thinking of those of us with sensory issues and making it size inclusive! And cheaper shipping? You guys are the best!

As someone with ADHD, I struggle to read as much as I would like. Basically, I’ll pick up a book and, regardless of how much I enjoy it, I’ll put it down and won’t pick it back up again for WAY too long. Like there’s been entire months where a half finished book just sits on my bedside table without me touching it. It’s incredibly frustrating as I want to read so much but I can’t bring myself to just get my head down and see a novel through to the end without a HEAVY amount of willpower and perseverance. Often a book that would take a normal person a week or so would take me a couple months, most of which would be me not reading at all. And even then I’m a slow reader despite my inconsistency. On the plus side however, I have been writing a book of my own and I’ve actually been pretty consistent with that as of late so eh idk 🤷‍♂️

It's sad how people leave books behind when they get older. Thankful for Book Guy for keeping the reading game alive!

With every video, you always bring quality content no matter the agenda.

Lovely supportive advice. 💙

Hey Cronk. Really love your videos and your takes on reading. I think Dragonriders of Pern by Anne Mccaffrey could be an interesting series to do further down the line. Keep on reading!

This is so positive, I'm sure a lot of people could use this encouragement! (Including myself 😅) Thank you for your public service sir ✌️

Thanks so much for years I haven't read cause i'm busy with college! But this year I have already read a lot more than I have in the past my goal this year is 30 books! Also I am working at a bookstore this summer part time and it is amazing and wanting me to read more!!! Thanks for your channel it is amazing!

@cronkthebookguy

25 күн бұрын

This makes me so happy! Yes you can absolutely hit your goal of 30 books. I believe in you!!!!

The pretty cover of Priory of the Orange Tree pulled me back into reading. I previously didn't think I had enought time to read with evey day work and chores. I decided to make it a priority in my free time and even if i cant read a lot I still try to get in at least one chapter a day. Audiobooks have been an awesome addition to my reading journey. Multitasking!

@cronkthebookguy

2 ай бұрын

The power of a pretty cover is real!

I think other helpful tips are: - reread your favorite books. The positive and nostalgic connotation might give you more joy! (Mind that over time our taste changes and we become older, so sometimes things might be less enjoyable or feel "childish". Embrace the things your younger you loved about them!) - read the book to the film you liked: you already know what the world looks like and what happens. So there is no problem when you don't understand something while reading. All the important things about the story you usually already know. You don't have to mind that part. - read fanfiction to stories you like: you already know and like the characters. Have fun watching them go through other adventures. (Fanfictions are not rarely written in a simpler language). - read more comics/graphic novels/mangas/webtoons: less descriptive text, more dialogs - which is usually a more familiar vocabulary. Also, they work with a lot of visual storytelling like movies. - "bookfriends": if you find someone you can share your book experience with, it can be even more fun to read and share you current progress of your book. (Be careful, it there are many people involved (like a book club) and if there is a fixed shedule because you might put yourself under unnecessary pressure!)

@cronkthebookguy

2 ай бұрын

👏👏👏👏 This is REALLY good!

The grief and trauma one definitely hits home for me. I lost my mum in intensive care just before Christmas and while reading can be a great escape at times I have found I have to be a bit careful what I read at the moment depending on how I am feeling that day. I definitely need to give audiobooks more of a try, might make it a bit easier to fit reading in between work and my kids 😂

I’m coming back after a 1,5 year gap (bought a ps5 then). Got into fantasy books only recently and I’m having a blast

I've never been a fantasy reader - I've found it hard to see myself in the stories written by cis-hetero-men (which is often the case in classis fantasy haha) but thanks to your channel, I just ordered a second hand version of Liveship Traders Trilogy, I have a feeling I will love Robin Hobb and her storytelling! Love the deep dives and the presentations of the different series you high light - it gives such a great overview but also so well rounded and educational!! LOVE YOUR CHANNEL - NEW SUBSCRIBER!! Please do a video on The Green Bone triology by Fonda Lee, it was the first fantasy I ever read and its is beautiful and addictive - I haven't read fantasy since but looking forward to the Liveship Traders Trilogy!!!

@cronkthebookguy

2 ай бұрын

Wonderful! Yes classic fantasy can be very cis-hetero male, as well as white. I'm thrilled you've got Liveship Traders, cause that series is very much NOT the norm. I'd also recommend Discworld for the same reasons. And hell yeah! Green Bones was awesome! I just read it a month ago and I'm eager to talk about it asap.

I really love this

I didn’t read much after I graduated. Partly from burnout, but also I discovered I’m a mood reader through and through. Before I would try to force myself to be something I’m not. I would make myself finish a book even if I wasn’t feeling it at the time. Now if I get bored part way through, I just pick up something else. The first book isn’t going anywhere, I can always pick it up again later. I read so much more and enjoy it more if I have multiple books on the go.

I am not a big reader, unfortunately, but I can manage between one and two books per month. It's neither much nor nothing, so I am okay with that while still trying to read more. I had one really bad reading year when my daughter was born and only read three books back then. Now my main reason not to read more is not being able to choose a new book, especially when I just finished something amazing. Then, every book seems dull compared to this and I loose my motivation quickly. Hence, my subscription to your channel in order to get some recommendations 😁 I love that you included audiobooks. It is always a debate whether audiobooks count as "reading" or not.... For me, they do count but I use Whispersync for Voice quite a lot so that is no suprise. Would love to hear your thoughts on this. Did you ever cover it in a video? If yes, maybe I missed it😓 And last but not least: the Pride and Prejudice quote on the shirt is great😍I love Jane Austen. By the way, thank you for the video on Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: part fantasy, part regency? Yes, please!

Thank you ❤

I re-started my reading habit about 6 months ago by reading the "Silo" novels (Wool / Shift / Dust). I watched the TV adaptation, and I was so intrigued by this world that I wanted to read the books after that to learn more about this world. Well, the books were somewhat mediocre compared to the TV show, but I'm very glad that I read them because they got me back into a reading mindset/habit, and I've read over 20 books since then within the past 6 months (including a full re-read of LotR)! Before that, I barely read for about a decade. I was pretty disillusioned by what I had to read for uni, so it took a lot of the fun out of it (Point 4 would be the culprit there). I did (re)read a bunch of graphic novels during that time, as well as the Expanse novels. Now I read whatever I want, even though it also took me a few months to make up my mind on what that will be (to the point that I now have 2 to-read lists on goodreads/storygraph, one for short-term and one for sometime-in-the-future) :D

I have a 3 hour commute to work every day. So audiobooks are my saviour. Would love you to review the two Empire Of The Vampire books

54m people is almost the entire population of my country...

The advice on this video is also helpful to us who like to read books in English (because not everything gets translated) but do not speak English as native language. When I started reading in English, one of the books that I read was Django Wexler's _The Thousand Names,_ and every time I encountered a word I did not know, I wrote it on a paper. It was a long list. This year I read its sequel, _The Shadow Throne,_ and that gave me only a less than ten words long list. I'll also add that I stopped reading for a long time, for many years, and it made me depressed and miserable and damaged my university studies. When I found out I am an ADD, I started to practice speed-reading. That is a method that actually helps ADDs to read, and it bothers me massively how so many people say stuff like 'speed-reading is bullshit' and 'I hate speed-reading' (both things I have heard from KZreadrs) without them even knowing what it actually is. There are good resources in KZread for people who want to learn speed-reading, and I encourage that now and always.

@adastra0

2 ай бұрын

When reading in a language that's foreign to you, it's much easier to start small with easy books (like he said in the video in regards to literacy). English is not my native language, and I learned a lot of English by reading the Harry Potter books as a teenager / young adult. I read them multiple times because back then I loved them so much, so that really helps. And then from there I started going to more advanced books. Similarly, I learned some Swedish for fun in the past, and my level of Swedish was never good enough for serious books, but I did manage to read a few children's and young adult books. There were definitely lots of words I didn't understand, but the more you read, the more you learn from the context. At some point I didn't bother to look up words anymore, because I could more or less guess what they meant from the context.

@Alkemisti

2 ай бұрын

@@adastra0 Jag tala svenska också, but only a little bit.

You’re a good dude!

I appreciate the note that you don't have to read every day, all of the advice on how to get through books is "read ten pages a day!" or "a chapter a week!" and it just doesn't work for me. I tend to go through cycles about a month long where I'll read a lot of webcomics, watch a lot of anime, listen to a lot of audiobooks, or just live off of video essays. In phases like the one I'm in now, I'm mostly watching One Piece and reading Berserk, and I have to give myself permission to pause on my Silmarillion reread until I'm ready to get back to it. If I was trying to do everything at once I'd have an unpleasant time and not really get anything done.

I think for many people it has to do with attention span. People's brains are being programmed for Shorter attention spans and reading requires longer spans.

Watching booktube gave hype needed to start and keep reading

"you're never too old for dragons" yes. need!

I fuckin love you my man

@cronkthebookguy

Ай бұрын

I fuckin love you, random citizen! 🤣

Up till about 35 I read nothing but romance then I got into fantasy. Around 50 I got into mysteries. I still read all three genres so I really believe you should try different genres to keep you interested in reading.

I read before my gym workout and on handydart mostly

2:49 That map of literacy rates does not make clear that the data appears to be for _English_ literacy. States with large immigrant populations tend to have lower English literacy rates because the immigrants are only skilled in reading their native tongue.

The Expanse is the sole reason I'm reading again.

Disappointed to not find my particular reason for not being able to read for the last... mmh... 8 years? HAVING KIDS WHO DEMAND CONSTANT ATTENTION LOL On a more serious note, thank you. I have it nailed down on what's stopping me from reading again, but your passion is infectious and I'm really going to follow some advice. I'll put some book I already love in the bathroom and I won't take my phone with me. I'll just have to listen to your videos when I'm cooking instead...

I feel like I would enjoy reading a little more if I could read faster. It would take me years to read a long series, like The Wheel of Time. Any suggestions?

@cronkthebookguy

2 ай бұрын

Practice! Sorry there's not a quicker answer. 😀 You can try alternating formats, so going between audio and physical. Give your reading/listening muscle a break when you swap. But mostly it comes with practice.

I like your hair 🤩

Start with discworld!

And we get sick of being beat over the head with YA books. I’ve never bought one yet when I open kindle to find a new book it’s all I get for the most part. My eye sight is not great so paperback font is generally to small.

i have almost a mostly 300 physical books and and an unlimited supply of books on my apple apple ipad and yet the books almost of them are cheaper on my apple iPad than buying them on amazon and if I am not reading physical books i am reading eBooks and when I am reading eBooks I am not reading physical books and yet when my birthday and christmass comes up i am always buying the books at a good price I see in the physical format and by the time my birthday and christmass coming up I plb would buy more physical type books because there nothing really I need and I am always runing out of space and at this day and age we need to keep the money an I am still staying with my parents and my mum hates clutter of any sort, so with me always looking for the cheapest way to buy things and the best and at that age where I never know what a surprise present to get for my birthdays etc, and I can `t take to eBooks as easily as physical books and yet, I can never decide wethere keep trying eBooks than forgo physical books for a while and not wake up to a present on my birthday.

But I do read. All the time

Really? 79% literacy rate in the USA, the richest country in the world?!? And then you have my country, little old Portugal with 96.78%. I'm shocked honestly... That is really unexpected and quite concerning too...

💚📚

I agree with everything you said, I am still going to make fun of YA though and its awful tropes.

I was a huge reader as a kid. I can pinpoint my falling off of reading in highschool when i started getting assigned summer reading. I came back around by working at it little by little for 2 years. I started with classics. I did it because i was used to them from school. And whenever i got confused by what was happening i could just look up the sparknotes. Over time i fell more into the habit of reading. Then i created the habit of charging my phone outside my bedroom. I had no idea how much time i had been blowing away. 10 pages was my big victory in the beginning. Now i can rip through 50 pages and not think too much about it

I believe theres a decent amount of propaganda coming from both parties

I am always curious about the reasons people don't read, mostly because I almost never hear my personal theory. Unfortunately the person made a joke of himself. Now the illiteracy rate in the US I don't know how this particular data was collected and there was no citation. That would've been fine in itself except for the joke fell flat. California New Yorker some of the most loyal Democrat states. There also the only two states below 79%. The joke would've been fine in itself but then he starts to go on about propaganda. Now when it comes to propaganda selective information is a very persuasive way of doing it. Now since we don't now how this data was collected I will be the most generous and say he wasn't trying to become deliberately misleading. I'm just going to say that the states with the highest illiteracy rate also have the highest newcomer populations.

You totally got it wrong about literacy in the USA. Look at your own map. California and New York have the lowest literacy rates and they also vote overwhelmingly Democrat. I don’t know why you brought your own political bias into something as politically neutral as enjoying reading, but I highly recommend not to do so, and if you do at least get your facts right. Also, if you think propaganda can only come from the right, you really have no understanding of USA politics and should just not comment on it at all.

@ericar5739

2 ай бұрын

Yeah I was surprised it was brought up and I didn't really look into it, but I thought he was talking about per population, as in California and New York have the highest population so they both highest literacy. I don't know the exact numbers and don't feel like looking them up but like California has 40 million people and 71% literate so that's like 28million whereas the population of New Hampshire (which is #1 literacy) is 1.5 million people and 90% literate so like 1million are literate. So California has more literate people just because there is more people, at least that was what I thought was being said.

@detectiveMM

2 ай бұрын

@@ericar5739 the map is specifically about literacy rate not literacy totals and he says literacy rates in the video too. It makes absolutely no sense to praise literacy totals since it would be like a country of 100 million people bragging that they have more TOTAL wealth than a country of 5 million people rather than per capita

@KaleKnight300

2 ай бұрын

Yeah I agree, it really pulled me out of the video. Not sure why reading KZreadrs always have to inject political options into this stuff. Plus it just makes him look misinformed.

I actually stopped reading after university. I used to be an avid reader as a kid and in high school, I even used to book blog back before BookTube and BookTok existed. I had a pretty decent following too and was receiving ARCs from publishers. But when university came around, I had SO much reading to do for course work that it pretty much sucked the joy of reading right out of me 🥲 it didn’t help that I was majoring in English and we had to read whole books in 1-2 days while processing and dissecting everything. It just made what I felt was a fun pastime into something tedious. Life was also terrible for like 8 years LOL. I didn’t want to read, I didn’t really want to do anything in general. I only picked up a book to read leisurely last year. The first book I chose was actually long and I hated it, but it got me back into reading. It took me 8 months to get past the first 100 pages and then I zipped through the next 700 pages in one month because I WANTED to finish it so bad and move on. In hindsight I really should have just DNFed lol. But I just kept reading in small increments after that and the book I read next was SO much more my speed and I finished it in 3 days! It felt like such an accomplishment for me and the reading bug stuck to me again. I’ve been trying to read more often whenever I can, I still get slumps and I definitely can’t read as much or as fast as I used to, but the enjoyment for stories is still there. I’ve found some great five star reads since last year which makes me super happy! Just being surrounded by books, watching people talk about books here on KZread, it’s been amazing and so comforting. I’m finding I’m being drawn back to my childhood hobbies and it’s brought a lot of joy back into my life. Thank you for your videos by the way. Every time I watch you, I have the sense of joy and comfort. I haven’t been watching for long, but I want you to know you make such a difference. Thank you.