A Man Who Reads Books for a Living (One Every Two Days)(lithub.com)
49 pointsby gmays3 hours ago8 comments
  • david9272 hours ago
    I had a good friend who did this -- was a reader for a movie studio, looking for adaptations. Everyone teased him for having such a great job.
  • sharkjacobs2 hours ago
    > a professional book reader who evaluates literature specifically for screen adaptation
    • dylan604an hour ago
      From studio output, it feels like all they read are graphic novels
      • ASalazarMXan hour ago
        I was skeptical, but the article starts with Train Dreams, which according to HowLongToRead, would take 2 hours at 300 WPM.

        https://howlongtoread.com/books/323872/Train-Dreams

        Two days per book full time means one every 16 hours. Enough to read the full Foundation Trilogy with one hour to rest between books.

        On a side note, I'm ashamed to share that I tested my reading speed, and while it was 264 WPM, my reading comprehension was 50%. That's why I read slower, and frequently re-read.

        https://swiftread.com/reading-speed-test

        Out of spite I tried to measure my Spanish reading, 520 WPM and 100% comprehension. Very unfair since it's my native language and I can glance and skip instead of reading every word.

        https://speedreadr.com/es/

        • daveshistoryan hour ago
          I'm curious what these tests are measuring if you say your reading comprehension is only 50%. Your comment here is completely articulate and sensible so you are obviously fluent in English.

          Edited to add: hm. I just got 67%. I guess my college degree is a waste. Should have gone the humanities route instead.

          • ASalazarMX42 minutes ago
            It hurts, doesn't it? I also thought a few measly questions would be a piece of cake, and mainly focused on speed.
          • dylan60426 minutes ago
            In high school, there was an academic event for reading comprehension. I tried it one time and was humiliated. They read aloud to you a story, and then they ask you questions about it after. I have no idea where my head was, as I didn't do well at all. I never tried the event again. It wasn't until that experience before I realized that I'm the type that needs to read things multiple times for it to stick.
        • 37 minutes ago
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  • oinoom2 hours ago
    I started to find this article interesting but every time I tapped “x” on an ad to dismiss it, no more than five seconds later, the same ad would appear at the bottom and distract me. Over and over.
    • asdff2 hours ago
      The internet is so much better blocking ads.
      • ASalazarMXan hour ago
        If someone has the will to fight those little xs, they have the will to install uBlock Origin. It even works on iPad and iPhone now, through a regular Safari Plugin.
        • dieselgatean hour ago
          All my xs live in Texas.... and uBlock Origin even works on my locked down work Dell with firefox!
          • readthenotes144 minutes ago
            So you're saying your PC is in Tennessee? Or is that just your VPN?
    • bsammon21 minutes ago
      sorta piling on here, but it's also worth noting that this problem goes away (and the article is quite readable) in a browser with javascript turned off (and no adblocker).
  • foo-bar-baz52936 minutes ago
    This seems like the kind of profession that AI would’ve already destroyed. Aren’t LLMs pretty good at what he’s doing?
  • dyauspitr19 minutes ago
    This is LLM territory and they are extremely good at it.
  • nephihahaan hour ago
    I would imagine this sucks the fun out of some books and also forces you to read a lot of dreadful books. I knew a bibliophile who worked for a publisher and was sad to hear from him that he rarely got time to read for pleasure.
    • ASalazarMX44 minutes ago
      Isn't this a work-life balance issue? I work 8 hours a day on my work computer(s), yet I'm still eager to use my home computer for hobbies or pleasure.

      This person could read for pleasure if they set the time for it. When I was coding all day, I didn't have the will to code for hobby at home, so maybe they had the time but not the drive.

  • michaelsbradley24 minutes ago
    [dead]
  • anoncow2 hours ago
    With exceptions, after sometime everything can bring you down or nothing can bring you down.