Want to read more online essays and long reads but constantly distracted? If you have an e-reader then a combination of two free software options can really help. More here: https://euanlawson.com/reading-online-essays-on-your-e-reader

If you want to read good essay content from the internet (and there is a lot of excellent writing out there) then I recommend getting the articles off the web to read.

I find it far too easy to get distracted when I am sat at a computer or even looking at a tablet. I don’t want to do deep reading with either. The slightest lapse in concentration and the web browser is open and I’m haring down some rabbit hole.

Reading is best when I concentrate on it, get absorbed in it. I now do most of my deep reading on an e-ink reading device. One of the best ways to read essays is to convert them to a format that works for my e-reader.

There are various paid services that do this and I have tried many of them. (Instapaper and Pocket being two big players in the field.) I’ve just not quite got the habit to stick. I now use EpubPress. It is free - though it is well worth donating a few dollars to the developer if you find it helpful and can afford it.

Using EpubPress

First off you need to install the browser extension for Chrome or Firefox. You are now ready to go. What I do is line up 4 or 5 articles I want to read. I often use LongReads.com to find them.

Once I have them open in different tabs you then click on the EpubPress icon in the toolbar of the browser. Tick the boxes for the articles you want to be added to your book. If you click on the gear icon you can choose the output file to be epub or mobi. If you use a Kindle then go with Mobi - other devices then go with epub.

You can, at this stage, edit the title and the description of the ebook. Then hit ‘Download’.

Getting the newly created ebook onto your device

You will need to do some ‘sideloading’. It’s easy. There are various email based options. Amazon allows you to email files to your Kindle device. You have to authorise email addresses for this and they have help pages to get you going. EpubPress also has an email option for you to send the file direct from the browser. You will need to whitelist the EpubPress email (noreply@epub.press) on Amazon and if you add your Kindle device email to the box offered your file can be delivered direct.

I prefer to do it manually and I sideload ebooks onto my Kobo Forma using some excellent free software called Calibre. Once you have installed Calibre (versions available for all operating systems) you can then add your newly created ebook as a file. Then just plug in your e-reader and ‘Send to Device’. Easy. I have also added the Annotations plug-in which will then detect my highlights and notes from my ebooks. The advantage of using Calibre is that you build a one-stop library of all your reading material along with your notes in one place.

I’ve got the reading list up for February and March. I’ll also start highlighting some good long reads/essays as well.

Feb ’22

• Get Started in Stand-Up Comedy by Logan Murray
• Post-Truth by Matthew d’Ancona

I half-read several books in February and just didn’t have the focus to get them finished. I think Twitter was a major factor in this and I’ve sorted that.

March ’22

Not many books are as timely as this one. Recommended.

• A Director’s Guide to the Art of Stand-Up by Chris Head
• Write It All Down by Cathy Rentzenbrink
• Control: The Dark History and Troubling Present of Eugenics by Adam Rutherford
• The Future of Food by Matt Reynolds
• How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division by Elif Shafak
• This Is Vegan Propaganda by Ed Winters
• Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
• Corruptible by Brian Klaas
• The Five Health Frontiers by Christopher Thomas
• Structured Chaos by Victor Saunders
• Butler to the World by Oliver Bullough

Quite a difference this month. While I’m not chasing numbers with my reading I have come back to it after a couple of months of drifting. It has confirmed to me that I just feel a lot better when I read a lot and when I read with some purpose. I like the deep explorations and it just emphasises the superficiality and toxicity of the flitting and doom scrolling that characterises web browsing and social media.

In one of the books above Rentzenbrink said Twitter made her “jealous, judgemental and jittery” and books are the antidote to that. Shafak in her short book also had a comment on reading. Funnily enough How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division was recommended to me when I told someone I was leaving Twitter. I think, though I may have it wrong, they recommended it because they thought it would encourage me to stay on Twitter but to find a path through it. In the end, it cemented my decision:

Knowledge requires reading. Books. In-depth analyses. Investigative journalism. Then there is wisdom, which connects the mind and the heart, activates emotional intelligence, expands empathy. For that we need stories and storytelling.

So, that’s what I am doing. I am reading - but I am also seeking out longer essays and analyses where I can as well.

Essay reading

I also read a couple of times, in some detail, a long essay:

• Augmenting long-term memory by Michael Nielsen

This online essay is well worth your time. I did what I now usually do with longform essays and I converted it to an epub file for my own personal consumption. I read it twice and got some detailed notes. Basically, it outlines a process for using Anki to understand and learn from your reading. It is excellent and I have since started using Anki, albeit in a limited way, to enhance my reading.

Many of the reality programmes on TV now love to do that thing where they cut to the participant speaking to the camera as they describe the various tortures. And they all speak in the present tense. Who does that? It’s weird and contrived. Arguably, two attributes applicable to any reality show… but, once, you notice the present tense tic it is impossible not to keep seeing it. You’re welcome.

What? It’s not actually Friday yet? It’s Thursday of course but inevitably it feels like a Friday evening as the long Easter weekend starts. A book I’ve had on a watchlist for a few weeks came out today - The Trespasser’s Companion. One to savour over the holiday weekend and there may even be some scope for a wee spot of activism.🙃

The Trespasser's Companion is out today! It's a practical guide that tells you how to win greater access to the countryside, by researching, designing and performing your own trespasses of your local area. pic.twitter.com/D6PL1HOMq2

— nickhayesillustration (@nickhayesillus1) April 14, 2022

The email from the Right to Roam folk announcing it can be found here. They have a link to buy it direct.

Lakes in a Day. I thought my experience on Ring of Steall in 2017 was as much Type 2 fun as I could handle. What could possibly go wrong? 😀

I’ve gone back to reading - quite a lot. I’ll post my reading lists again soon. Being off Twitter has re-energised me. Cathy Rentzenbrink has said that Twitter makes her “jealous, judgemental and jittery”. It’s a nice turn of phrase and even for a relatively light user I’m astonished, again, at the negative effects that are now dissipating. This Guardian article is a succinct summary of the problems and a reminder that despite the politico-media obsession, 72% of the population is not on Twitter.

If you haven’t already then make some time for the excellent Very Bad People by Patrick Alley. You have to admire the work of Global Witness and this is a tremendous account of their early days and investigations. Loved it.

• The Social Conquest of Earth by EO Wilson
• Human Compatible by Stuart Russell
• Calypso by David Sedaris
• The Photography Storytelling Workshop by Finn Beales