Why ‘Read 50 Books a Year’ Articles Are a Scam
By: Marek Veneny
Tags: Reading, Books, Advice, Self, Personal Development

Why ‘Read 50 Books a Year’ Articles Are a Scam

It’s not the quantity that matters

Photo by Maia Habegger on Unsplash

If you think about it, the high consumption of written content does not differ from the high consumption of audiovisual content. In other words, binge-reading is the same as binge-watching.

Yet we glorify the former while we vilify the latter. Why? I think it’s because we’ve been socialized and brainwashed by the self-help culture into seeing binge-reading (usually masquerading as read 50+ books a year content) as a worthwhile activity: it builds character, helps us develop knowledge, teaches us to discern arguments, and, well, helps to sell books of people who depend on that.

In contrast, binge-watching is the face self-help culture slaps on sloth, aimlessness, and everything that’s wrong with the world.

But here’s how I see it.

All the actual benefit of book reading comes after you’ve read the book.

It’s the thinking about the concepts the book presents that makes you understand the world differently.

It’s implementing the lessons into your own little pocket of the universe, either by changing yourself or the environment.

It’s teaching the knowledge to others.

But it’s not the book reading per se that is beneficial. The chronic book consumption has the same usefulness as money stuffed in your mattress: it’s useless unless used properly.

The problem is that we think book reading itself is good. It’s what all the successful people do. Sure, but it’s not all that they do.

This is one of the most insidious and bizarre cases of mistaking the map for the territory that I’ve come across so far. The reason for that is, I believe, a misattribution of cause and effect. We see that people read books and then we see them succeed. Ergo, we surmise that book leads to success. But, just like throwing a bunch of wheat into your oven won’t produce a loaf of bread, binge-reading and consuming tons of content won’t produce any success (could still be fun though).

The reason for this hopeful misattribution, I think, is that we’d looove to believe that book reading works. Why? Because book reading is easy. After you’ve mastered it, it’s honestly one of the easiest activities in the world. And anyone can do it. So, we hope-think reading launches us to riches and fame. But it rarely does.

With binge-watching, we at least don’t pretend we’re learning, improving, or getting ahead. Binge-watching is honest, in a sense: we know that it won’t catapult us into the stratosphere of achievement, and so we’re chilled. There’s no hope. There’s no bright light at the end of the tunnel. Nope, there’s just a glorious auto-play and a magnificent feeling of worthlessness (or, oddly, achievement) after you’ve finished a series-binge.

But hey, if a nice binge is what you need (occasionally) it shouldn’t feel that bad, right?

So here’s what I propose: how about we de-glorify binge-reading and de-vilify binge-watching?

If we assume what I wrote till here isn’t absolute bullshit, the only difference between binge-watching and binge-reading is just the format. The output of that activity is the same — not much.

But since we all love reading, here’s what you can do to make binge-reading great again: You become a connoisseur of books.

What do I mean?