When I read on the computer, I do it anywhere. When I read physical books, I usually read on the loveseat in my den

Nonfiction:

First pass: Slow, deliberate, digest each word. A simple annotation system. ! for passages that are thought provoking. Arrow for major details and connections to other details. ? for… Take a guess.

Immediately after the chapter/section: jot down what u recall (thesis, conclusion, details, dates, names). Summarize. ~10 minutes

Day or two later: Flip thru your annotations, look thru your notes. Fill in the gaps.

Repeat if desired! Our neural pathways must be well-trodden, but it can be optimized! Open to revisions 😤

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. Imo, mandatory reading. Incredibly informative, enraging, and educational. Let us channel our struggles.

For posture/comfort, I started using a wedge pillow that people with GERD use to help prevent acid reflux issues while they sleep. They’re made with a firm but comfortable foam. I usually use it vertically while sitting in bed, with an extra pillow for head support, and can read for an hour or more without much discomfort.

• I usually sit on the couch sideways with two pillows in my back. I have a reading light now that I face towards the book. That made a big difference since I no longer have to stretch my neck to see the page.
  Back in university I had to read two books a week, that was tough. To stay concentrated I would sit at a desk or table with bright lights on.
• I mostly read at night now, after my boyfriend has gone to sleep. He’s sweet and all, but can be very loud and distracting, so reading is practically impossible if he’s around. It sucks, but hey.
• I rarely take notes, but if I do it’s in my note app on my phone. Which is kinda annoying, and might be why I don’t take many notes…
• I don’t have a recommendation, but what I noticed myself about reading difficult material is that I sometimes lack some prerequisite knowledge. The book itself usually doesn’t make this explicit of course, but it can help to read a summary of the book first or a Wikipedia page about the topic before going in.

Reading fiction and non-fiction (I assume this is what you mean by 'hard) are effectively different activities.

Reading fiction is about getting caught up in an imagined world. The stakes are lower and the expectations are lower. This makes it easier. If you miss the paragraph where a character is described as having a beard, you won’t feel the need to go back to reread when you find out they do four chapters later when they scratch said beard.

Reading non-fiction is about building new conceptual structures in your mind. It requires more attention. If you fail to understand Nietzsche’s ressentiment in ‘Geneology of Morals,’ you are unlikely to be able to understand the later concept of the ‘priestly’ morality. You will not be able to fully construct the conceptual structures the book attempts to generate.

Because of this, reading non-fiction is a process of doing whatever is necessary to get all the parts and relations into one’s mind in order to produce a mental tool and then, hopefully, learn to use it. If notes help, write them. Rubber ducking can help. Simple repetition can help. Slowing down can help. Talking to other readers (as in a study group (shoutout to @DGQC on YT)) can help. Concept mapping can help. Sleeping on it can help. Highlighting can help. Cross referencing can help.

It’s study. What helped you learn in school? Do that.

Reclined on the sofa or in bed with two pillows behind me. My hands do get sore so I rarely read for more than 40min. Sometimes i do just sit hunchback if I get really hooked.

There are lots of different adjustable book holders on the market. Some of them can be adjusted for height and tilt. I would look into one of those. That way you can sit with proper posture in your favorite chair and read your book! Something like the LEVO G2 Floor Stand with Wheels book holder might be what you need for maximum adjustability.

What is Hard Book for you ?

I tend to read political theories, feminist case studies or philosophy in silence or at least when I can have silence. If I’m tired I tend to put my earbuds on so I could cut the real world out

Reading academic papers is hard sometimes, some authors don’t have a good writing style (looking at you Deleuze). So in this case I read a little and alternate with an easier book

I found that reading hard book are like a muscle, it get easier

Most of my reading is done via audiobooks these days, simply because I can listen while doing other tasks. I can wash the dishes, vacuum the house, etc, and those things would normally prevent me from reading. But with audiobooks, that isn’t a concern. Once I started listening to audiobooks, my annual book count went from ~12 to +60. Simply because I don’t have enough time to dedicate just to sitting in one spot staring at pages.

For visual reading, I tend to use my kobo. I got particularly lazy about bed-reading though. I got a gooseneck mount. It attaches to my headboard, and holds my kobo wherever I want. Combine that with a Bluetooth page-turn remote, and I can comfortably lay in bed and read without even needing to keep my hands on the ereader. In terms of comfort, the mount and remote are the two single greatest investments I ever made, and they fundamentally changed the way I think about reading in bed.

Like so many others, I read constantly as a kid. Then I got older and had more to do, and then I got the internet on my phone and that was that.

Then I got a Kobo a few years back, because I really wanted to pick it back up again. It’s easily favourite device. Literally all it does is show me books. No distractions.

I tried cracking in to some longer, tougher reads, but found myself really struggling, so I decided to read a few young adult books instead, which helped enormously. Turns out that reasonably short books with relatively light plots are perfect for dialing the brain back in.

Audio books when making breakfast, lunch, dinner, and when walking to the store.

Recently finished The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt. It’s important historically, but I can’t say I’d recommend it.

I read mainly in bed (with my kobo) but finding it tricky and I am turning into a hunchback

I do the same but it’s not uncomfortable or causes me to strain my back, I lay on my side and prop the ereader up with pillows

Do you actually want to read them, firstly? I can read “hard” books just fine when they’re on a topic I’m genuinely interested in and I actually want to read the book. But if I force myself to read a “hard” book on something I don’t care about, it’ll be painful.

I always highlight and annotate non-fiction with any thoughts/comments/etc, and if it’s a work I expect to find particularly valuable, I also take separate notes. Usually these are digital notes in the note-taking app of my choice (currently Notesnook), but for some books I get a physical notebook. It also helps motivate me if I get some nice highlighters and pens and take pretty notes.

My answer is different depending on if it’s fiction or non.

Also context I’m in academia which means I read constantly for work. This sadly means though that I don’t read much fiction or for fun. I do try and mediate that by reading poetry since they’re short !

But when I do read for fun I tend to read before going to bed so I’m laying down in bed.

For non fiction I will read lots of places. And I pretty much can’t digest the information unless I’m able to highlight and annotate what I’m reading. I try to read non fiction that is relevant to my research not before bed so as to retain the information a bit better.

Reading while taking a bath is nice !