Episode 7: The Cost of Reading

Episode Note:

This episode was the inaugural recording of the podcast. It predates Stetson’s use of a microphone to record. Suffice to say, we will provide better audio quality in other recordings, and we’ll continue to improve the overall quality.

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Today, we discuss the tradeoffs involved in reading a whole book. Stetson has previously written about the tepid interest that American’s have for reading as a leisure activity (the median American likely doesn’t read a single book annually in any format). Plus, Stetson and Manjul approach reading a bit differently. Stetson is more omnivorous while Manjul is more selective and practical. We evaluate how rational Stetson’s reading preferences are and how costly they may be.

Episode Resources/Notes

• Episode Reading

  • The Case Against (Most) Books by Richard Hanania

    • Most books are padded with fluff (i.e the '“could’ve been an essay” scenario)

    • The time investment is too high compared to more efficient substitutes (skimming, essays, tweets, podcasts, GenAI summaries, etc)

    • Hanania’s Exceptions (When reading a book is worthwhile):

      • Rigorous works of history/science

      • Culturally significant texts

      • A genius takes you on a journey

    • In Stetson’s opinions, Hanania’s dismissal of many classic texts is misguided, overlooking the selection and preservation filters of history. The persistence of classics against modern alternatives indicates a large amount of knowledge about humanity is efficiently embedded as many societies have continued to re-invested in preserving and (re-)reading these works.

  • Deep Reading Will Save Your Soul by William Deresiewicz

    • The author, a former Yale English Lit prof, is a prominent critic of higher ed. This piece lays out an implicit case for the humanistic value of reading, specifically philosophy and literature. 

  • Here Lies Reading by Stetson Thacker

    • This is a brief essay that reviews some American reading statistics - at least half of Americans don’t read in any format.

  • No One Buys Books by Elle Griffin

    • This great piece examines the publishing industry and some of the shocking dynamics and numbers.