One of the things I’ve come to feel is that so much of the reading I do on the web (news, etc.) is fundamentally ephemeral in it’s relevance to my life and goals. Put another way, 90% of it doesn’t actually contribute to my knowledge or personal growth — it won’t matter tomorrow or once I realize some immediate goal. Sure, I get entertainment out of it, but that’s mostly it.
In my view, non-fiction books can be a good answer to that. Authors put a lot of work into curating a set of ideas and (in some cases) mental tools, models, etc. that have long-term, portable value across domains. They can also give you good insight into how experts think about certain problems. Some of the most thoughtful writers aren’t publishing their work in digestible chunks — and many published before the Internet was even invented.
In my view, non-fiction books can be a good answer to that. Authors put a lot of work into curating a set of ideas and (in some cases) mental tools, models, etc. that have long-term, portable value across domains. They can also give you good insight into how experts think about certain problems. Some of the most thoughtful writers aren’t publishing their work in digestible chunks — and many published before the Internet was even invented.