BEST ADVICE FOR SLOW READERS 

I LOVED IT! I posted on Fb.

Great advice. Can’t believe I’m just learning this at 76 🤨. So 10 pages a night it is! Maybe I’ll cancel my newspaper and read books instead 😊 I’ve only just come across your channel - thank you so much ☺️

As I've grown older, I've realized that this is the best way to read, savoring the words, conversations, characters. In fact, the whole experience is richer. Bravo for expressing this so well!

Slow reader here and this definitely inspired me to be more mindful about what I'm reading and be more immersed in the experience so thank you :)

Also, many of the books you mention (Such as Dickens, Thackery, Dumas, etc.) were issued in serial fashion, so the original readers were forced to stop between chapters and wait a week to get the next installment (like an episodic TV show nowadays). This gave the people time to talk to other readers and to think about what might happen next and to reflect on what they had already read (or perhaps to go back a reread something they particularly enjoyed or had trouble understanding; or something they got a new angle on by talking to someone). By all means, take your time reading these great books. Heavens knows the writers took time to produce them. The words were placed there for you to read, not to speed through as fast as you can (Imagine what Dickens would think about that!). He liked to perform his books, which means that they would be delivered at talking speed).

“Treat a work of art like a prince: let it speak to you first.” ― Arthur Schopenhauer

At so many art exhibitions people walk up to a painting, whip out their mobile phone, take a quick snap and completely ignore what’s hanging in front of them. They then move on to the next one, as if each work photographed is a conquest. It’s extraordinary, though it’s mainly younger people who do it. Perhaps many people take the same approach to reading.

I sew as a hobby and a long time ago I read a quote from a fellow seamstress that said, "it's your hobby, what's your hurry?" This has always stuck with me. I can be slow at sewing and I'm also a slower reader. I've been working to get back into reading more faithfully and appreciate your videos which have been very encouraging to me.

I recall that John Steinbeck was a slow reader by his own admission. In the back of one of his books, he published some letters with an editor and said this much: "I literally move my lips. Elaine [Steinbeck's wife] can read four books while I mumble through one. But I guess this isn't going to change."

Your channel is a gift. Keep doing what you're doing, Tristan!

I'm re-listening while I work today. If there were book tube oscars, this would get best video of the year. I cannot express how much I needed to hear all of this. Thank you, Tristan !

Recently I have found myself reading each word as if I were reading out loud to a child. I got greatly annoyed at myself and tried to speed up. I put this new experience up to aging (I’m 67). But after listening to your video, I realized that I was really slowing down because I was enjoying the book (Middlemarch). I subconsciously wanted to put myself into the story that I was enjoying so much. Thank you for helping to give myself permission to slow down and enjoy. Great video, as usual!

This is exactly what I needed to hear! Goodreads can be toxic, especially when you're trying to hit a certain target of books per year and you just blast through things to get them off of your list. I'm looking forward to savoring my 10 pages a night!

He GETS IT. This video was like a psychedelic trip for me because I'm watching a complete stranger on the screen reading my mind. I've been on a reading slump for 4 years, whoring from genre to genre, making reading lists, goals, projects and deflating shortly after. The problems he described are exactly what has been happening to me; I've been a reader all my life so I don't understand why the reason behind this never dying slump. Thank you, Tristan. Know that your video made me feel immensely better.

It’s the journey, not the destination. This true for probably everything in life. When we rush in order to have accomplished something, we not only deprive ourselves of the pleasure of experiencing the journey, but we may even find ourselves unable to reach the sought-after destination. If I don’t take the time to really learn a difficult section of a piano piece, I will never be able to play it well. If I don’t work through a lot of problems, I will never truly understand the science or math subject I am studying. When we are too focused on reaching our goals, we tend to approach the process too superficially, and so we never achieve mastery.

My best advice to slow readers would be to stop regarding yourself as a 'slow' reader, but rather a careful and attentive reader.

This is just what I needed to hear, Tristan! I am, indeed, a slow reader *and* I am also guilty of being impatient while I'm reading. 🤓 Sometimes, it's just because I want to _know_ the ending, but sometimes it's because I want to get on to the next book! 🙄 I really want to learn to savor what I'm reading and the _ten pages in bed_ suggestion sounds like a good place to start. 📚 Thanks so much!

Slow reader here. I stopped setting my reading goals as “X number of books per year”. I changed my reading goal to “always have the NEXT book chosen” and I’m much happier 😊

I am a super slow reader and your video is a fantastic inspiration to me! Thank you so much for all the efforts you've made ♥️♥️

I'm a slow-reader, yet I don't let that hinder my reading aspirations. I read War and Peace, I read Middlemarch. I'm currently reading Infinite Jest (and loving it). I don't have the attention span to sit and read for hours, so, as with Middlemarch, since it was serialized, I read 2 pages a day and took 170 pages of notes. With War and Peace I read about 25 pages a day. I figured, to read Infinite Jest in 1 year, I will read 6 pages a day. I don't trouble myself with needing to read a pile of books every year. I just enjoy what I'm reading. If I get antsy, I put the book down. I also read 3 to 5 books at a time. It takes me longer than most people, but I'm not racing. Reading several books at one time is like watching different TV shows in the same day.

Wow, what great insight and advice! You are spot on about this issue. I never realized why I have such difficulty appreciating art, until I listened to your talk. I have, personally, experienced this impatience and discouragement and let them turn me away from both books and even more so from appreciating a painting. I also love what you say about reading Dickens. This is a truly BRILLIANT talk!!!!

What matters is discipline. Just do it! Educate yourself. Never trust others to educate...

I've been doing this for years lol. My friends make fun of me for setting a regimented schedule, but I'm a slow reader and it allows me to get through books.

I hit like before the video even started 😅 I am actually a fast reader. I read too fast then forget the whole book shortly after finishing. My goal is to slow myself down. I've read War and Peace twice but don't feel like I really read it. Next year I plan on taking the whole year to read it...one chapter a day. My husband is a slow reader but he remembers every detail of every book..I wish to be more like that. GREAT video as always. So much still applied to me.....that impatience with big books hit home💖

'What matters is you keep reading, and enjoy the story'. Excellent advice. Thank you Tristan.

You are brilliant Tristan!! Just what a slow reader like me needed to hear; that there’s nothing wrong with it and it’s actually a good thing when it comes to the classics! Thank you so much!!

Clearly some of the best advice (philosophy) on reading. Being a reformed 7 book a weekend reader who has discovered that audio books can be cranked up to double speed, I am taking a deep breath. Yes, life is too short not to enjoy chocolate!

Sir, you remind me of the teacher in the movie dead poet's society. Great to have you as a teacher in RU-vid. ❤

This guy is the most educated person I've seen in my entire life. He could well author a book himself. When you do, notify us. I will definitely read them.

Love your 'reading in bed before going to sleep' tip - I have done it for years and love it! And yes, I am a slow reader and I do get impatient when reading books over 400 pages, so I will try to enjoy the process more... wolud be nice!

I can absolutely confirm impatience was ruining my reading experience. I had a year where I read 50 books (mostly thrillers) and thought that I should be able to keep that pace with everything I read. Then, when I looked back at those 50 books later I couldn’t remember any details and in some cases forgot the stories completely. I actually like long novels because I get to know the characters and remember details much longer. I read The Count of Monte Cristo this year and am shocked at how much I still remember, because the book was longer. I made a decision earlier in the year to lower my reading goal on Goodreads and enjoy the books as I was reading them. I just finished Villette and loved it - Gorgeous writing, but the whole book feels like you are meandering around the main character, Lucy Snowe’s, life and thoughts. I would NOT have enjoyed it if I read it with the intention of just finding out what happens. Really appreciate your video and thoughts on this!

Fabulous advice. I’m a slow reader, but I have more time than the average person to read. But I still feel that impatience at not reading faster.

I'm a slow reader. I'm slow generally. Sometimes I can't even be bothered to finish my

"Reading is about the journey." Exactly. I am extremely well read. But that's because I started early and I'm now 54. I am a "slow" reader. I.e. I read at a normal/natural pace. I even reread particularly great prose. I rarely DNF a book, even if I dislike it. Sometimes, I even take notes. My niece reads and logs her words per hour. She has always admired my library. She once asked if I could share my average words/hour, and I told her I have no clue and didn't really understand her question. I told her that I read at the pace the book demands. I think I greatly disappointed her. ;)

Slow reader here. This is INSPIRING. And not just for reading, for life. Not an understatement. Thank you Tristan for allowing me to accept my reading speed and be happy with it. :)

This was a wonderful video, Tristan. I’m a slow, but greedy, reader. My slow reading pace has never bothered me - in fact I’m not even really aware of it. However, since signing up to Goodreads, I’ve found myself constantly checking page numbers. - what page I’m on, and how many I’ve got left. It’s a really annoying and counterproductive habit, one I’m doing my best to break. I’m currently reading Pickwick, Edwin Drood, and at bedtime, Swann’s Way, which I’m reading at around 4 pages a night, because it’s so rich. Why would anyone want to gallop through Dickens or Proust?! Thank you for the tips, you have a beautiful way of putting things. I particularly love the sightseeing analogy! (And now I want a chocolate…)

I am so happy I have found your videos. This year I am getting into the classics for the first time. (By the way I am 76). I love your enthusiasm and in describing how to read by savouring the story, experiencing everything rather than reading it to say you have read it. Thank you for your videos I am loving and learning from all of them.

What a great video, and extremely timely for me. Over the last few months I had realized that I have allowed social media and apps like Goodreads which both quantify and dictate the "it" books to read to impact me negatively, and made me perceive that I was an "inadequate" reader. Ironically enough, I had always been a prolific, diverse reader but that feeling of not reading "fast" enough had made reading less pleasurable lately, than it had been for decades of my life. This video reinforces what I have reminded myself of over the last few months : reading is the journey not the destination.

Listening to the audiobook as I read along has been incredibly helpful to get me to slow down and really fall into the universe of the book rather than rush through it! 😊

Great advice. I’ve discovered the art of slow reading this year on an online reading group where we read one chapter a day and post our thoughts afterwards. The beauty is you can read a few books at a time 👍

I am commenting on every video I watch. You are so good at teaching, and explaining, and demonstrating your passion for literature. Honestly, I am learning so much. At 48 I would go back to school again if I had teachers like you. Thank you Tristan.

Thank you, Great Advice, I am a slow reader but you have given me confidence to read on and enjoy what I read. Thanks again, Gary

Oh my word, you have described me - to a “T” ! You are a treasure, nicely done.

Thank you so much for your advice...as a slow reader I feel much more relaxed and happy! Actually i needed to rediscover the joy of reading without the stress of having to read this or that many books!❤

I’m only eight minutes in, but I have to come in and say this is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you so much. I’ve been focusing way too much on quantity over quality when the only thing I should really be focused on is getting lost in the story.

Great video! Two months ago, I started reading Great Expectations (I am not a native English reader) and then I had a lot on my plate and couldn´t go on at my usual reading speed but now I´ve returned to the book. I felt a bit guilty but I can´t and won´t finish it faster than usual. I like the novel a lot, only two fragment where difficult because of a lack of background knowledge.

This was the BEST advice on reading slow! I taught myself years ago to slow down, savor the flavor of the story. When I see rather lenghty chapters I get excited because I anticipate some real detail...Juicy Storytelling that will build on what I've experienced beforehand. Thank you again for this RU-vid walk through on reading slow...absolutely splendid inspiration.

This video is so amazing and inspiring!😅👏. You're so right. This is exactly my problem. I am so impatient!! You deserve so much more recognition. Love your content. You're incredible!👏 🎉😊

You described me to a tee!! That’s exactly what I did with Lord of the Rings!!

Thank you so much!!! I have ADHD, and since I became an adult with responsibilities, I no liberty can finish a book. I get exceptionally bored, something I didn't get while younger and had all the time to do whatever I wanted...

Very inspirational and motivating for a slow and frustrated reader such as myself. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is midway between my office and home. After work, I would spend an hour in a single room quietly studying each of the paintings; a different room each day. Your video inspires me to apply the same practice to my readings.

I’m a native-speaker of English learning Chinese as adult for fun. I read very slowly in Chinese and sometimes I feel like I’ll never finish an entire novel. The advice in this video is actually quite helpful even for people like me. I will just keep reading and forget about the TBR😊 The person who created that TBR isn’t who I am today. I think two to five pages in such a tough language as Chinese and then the remaining in English per night would work well for me. I will also remember to savor my daily chocolate 🍫 ❤

A few years ago, I re-discovered my love for reading fantasy novels and started to follow BookTubers for recommendations. Because they seemed to fly through so many books in a year, I pressured myself immensely because of my slow reading speed. How could some people read 50, 60, ..., 100 or even more books in a single year while I only manage to read 10? Now that I thought about what you were saying, my mind compared speed reading with reading a summary. You might learn what the book is about but you will never get near the level of satisfaction you reach when you really immersed yourself in the story. You get to know the characters like your family, you suffer with them during their struggles, you get annoyed by their bad decisions, you celebrate with them when they reach their goals, ... building a connection like this takes a lot of time. Thank you so much for this video. I will embrace being a slow reader and enjoy the journey much more!

Thanks for the words of wisdom! This is how I got through Moby Dick, which was always my white whale (pun intended).

This was immensely helpful to me. While I don’t consider myself a slow reader, I am guilty of being impatient as I feel I have a great deal of “catching up” to do. I didn’t read as much in my younger years. Now that I’m in my 50s, I’ve realized all I’ve missed out on. This video has highlighted I can’t make it all up in a short time and must enjoy the journey…starting now.

Perfect! I love reading, the joy of being inside a good story. In fact, there is a sense of loss when I turn the last page and have to leave that world, so sometimes I wish to be a slower reader.

I have considered myself a “somewhat fast reader” but have gotten in books and savored so I do know what it is like but now after this I want to “experience more” and will slow down. Sometimes I read a book and then a few months later I struggle to remember things. Thanks for the reminder and the tip on enjoying a chocolate.

'The books we want to have read' vs 'the books we want to read' is a revelation.

This video needs 100x the views it has. Probably the best reading advice video I've ever seen. So necessary in our modern content binging world.

“We start off all pep and ginger and vim.” Isn’t that the truth with all of us!❤

I would say that this is Best Advice for Fast Readers too!! You have inspired me to just...slow...down. I just started reading Rosamond Lehmann's the Weather in the Streets, slowly, and I'm already noticing and appreciating things I probably would have missed before. Thank you so much for this!! (I may eat my next chocolate a little more slowly too!😅)

As a former English and reading teacher, I would often suggest to my slow or struggling readers to listen to the audio book as they read. Sometimes, someone else setting the pace can be helpful to get you started. Because this channel focuses on classics, most of the books should be easily found on audio.

Tristan, you have made me feel so much better. I have started reading again and enjoying it. Peter

Tristanandtheclassics, I must have read this and copied it on the front page of The Count of Monte Christo a few years ago. It is from Samuel Johnson's Miscellaneous Essays, but I believe it is appropriate for slow readers: " The true art of memory is the art of attention . No man will read with much advantage, who is not able, at pleasure, to evacuate his mind, or who brings not to his author an intellect defecated and pure, neither turbid with care not agitated by pleasure ? If the mind is employed in the past or future, the book will held before the eyes in vain ". This is so true for those who try to hurry their reading, too. Anxiety to finish a book to get to the next one (eg: a TBR list) will not remember much of what he has read !

First, this man has been looking over my shoulder as I have attempted large books in the past. Thank you for the great advice. Tristan is a wonderful spokesman for reading the classics..

This is exactly what I needed to hear as a slow reader. Onward and upward to proceeding through my book collection!

Thanks Tristan! I’m a very slow reader and to protect myself from the uncomfortable comments like “Are you still reading that book?” I answer “I like to savor my books” I read Anna Karenina this year. 🎉 I just set one chapter every day or so. I’m so glad I read this book. It’s just amazing! I think I could reread it. Next is David Copperfield. Thanks for your channel. Take care.

Great insight and advice. A side note here: everything Tristan is saying about reading can be equally applied to how one lives his or her life. The impatience and "dissatisfaction" distracts from understanding that the journey through the book, not the arrival at the end and finishing of it, is the purpose. Relax and enjoy the writer's art, style, method, and story, etc. rather that arriving at, as Tristan says, the "having read" the book.

I was a faster reader when I was younger. My pace has slowed naturally, for whatever reason, and I find that I delve more deeply into stories and connect with them more when I go slowly. I've stopped caring (for the most part) about how many books I read and more about what I truly want to read. It's been a wonderful thing with some of the longer works like War and Peace, Count of Monte Cristo, and Brothers Karamazov. Thanks for your video, it was lovely to hear your thoughts on this!

Be a citizen of a book's pages - I love that concept.

tl;dr: If you can't remember story details because it takes you a long time to get through a book, it might be helpful to take some key notes and keep them with the book as you read. Longer version: I'm actually a pretty fast reader (actually too fast sometimes, and I find myself needing to slow down to experience all those lovely nuances) BUT I also have an extremely busy life and sometimes don't have time to read as much as I'd like. I also love long books, so it often happens that I'll read, say, 150 or 200 pages over a couple days then get super busy and not be able to read for a week. When that happens, I often forget who characters are or what their relationships are or other useful details, and it's annoying. So I've developed a habit that might also be helpful for slower readers: I pop a sticky note inside the front cover (usually a pretty large one, and plain, non-sticky paper works fine too) and use it to note down things like character names, place names, family trees, certain dates, and other details that feel like they're important enough that I'll want to remember them for sure. (Side note, this is especially useful with novels that have been translated into English, as the names and places are often unfamiliar to me and therefore hard to remember.) Keeping all this information right IN the book ensures that it's always there for reference when I need it. It's important, I think, to note that I do NOT take extensive notes here AT ALL! I only write information for the most important or recurring characters, I only do family trees when it's both important to the story AND hard to keep track of or remember, I write in words and short phrases rather than sentences and paragraphs, etc. There's certainly a time and place for longer notes, but this isn't it. Just keep it simple, stick to the most important stuff, and I hope you'll find it as helpful as I do.

I am a slow reader. Thank you for this, it makes me feel so proud, so much better

This video and your philosophy has perfectly, allegorically explained the struggle of life. The journey not the part where we wither away is to be celebrated. What a rich way to put things into perspective.

Thank you very much for this video! I was trying to read quickly just now and once again felt desperate. It's difficult for me to make peace with my own pace because one of my work responsibilities is guiding my students through books, yet some of them read much faster than I do. At the same time, I write as well. There are numerous occasions where someone asks me, "So you're a writer! Have you read x?" and I have to repeatedly say, "No, I haven't, but I want to," which often leaves me feeling ashamed and disqualified, even though my tutors have never seen my writing worse than the works of more well-read peers. I know almost all the details of every book I've read and every film I've watched. I used to stand in front of artworks and do 3-4 hours of analysis, but I still feel the pressure to read as much as other people do. My mom and sister can read any book within a few hours; I don't know how they do that. But now I think I might just need more compassion for myself :)

Brilliant advice. Thank you. I’ll have to take in my ten pages per day first thing when waking up. If I try to read in bed, I can barely make it through two pages before I start yawning and nodding off.

I use a similar method to 'live' with my long book characters and rejoining them every day while running on treadmill or walking outdoors. However, I have to love the voice of my audio book reader that can add so much to the experience. I recently 'have been' (in my mind) on an island while savouring the story told with an Irish accent. The book was The Colony by Audrey Magee. Wow what a delight it was😊. I just finished listening to the Duke's Children by Anthony Trollope. It took me lots of miles to run... but I did not feel I was in a hurry 😊. Enjoyed every word if it. Thanks for your great video.❤

I love reading but I've always been self conscious about the speed at which I read. And I have been SO very guilty of wanting "to have read" all these books! Right now I'm reading the last book in Durrell's Alexandria Quartet and I am NOT rushing it.

Impatience and Dissatisfaction, Emily Austen’s greatest work.

You have great analogies and they are a breath of fresh air when so many videos are about increasing quantity and not quality.

This is a valuable video. I have applied it and shared it with several fellow readers who were getting discouraged and frustrated. Thank you soooo much for this video. I just subscribed.

So glad I’ve been going with this approach. I started reading A Song of Ice and Fire, and I was afraid that I was reading too slow and wanted to catch up as I soon as I can. But I started to really take my time with each chapter and that allowed me to really immersive myself into the world and into the characters point of view. I’ve been enjoying the series a lot more this way.

You're a wonderful mentor!! I'm humbly greatful. Thank you.

Throughout my life, I've generally been what might be described as results- rather than process-orientated. I also used to love reading but find I'm having difficulty getting back into the habit, and your advice has made me realise that perhaps the two are probably linked, as I find myself keen to complete books quickly while feeling I'm not paying my dues to the authors' efforts. I shall now be content to take my time in savouring the nuances of my accumulated novels without falling the dreaded 'page-counting' trap. Many thanks!

I am definitely a slow reader. Especially since I like to reread a sentence or a word that is beautiful or impactful to me. I learned to love it!

Thank you for expressing what I've always felt about reading classic literature. 👍👍👍 I've always felt that it is more important to understand and feel what the writer is expressing rather than just get through the book. If a writer took the time to produce a brilliant work, we should take the time to read it and get the full effect of that brilliance.

Thank you for sharing not only your helpful tips for us "slow" readers but also your contagious and earnest enthusiasm for great literature! I absolutely love your channel.

Tristan, your channel is like a belated Christmas gift. So far I’ve seen only several videos but they are so inspiring, motivating, interesting, insightful 👏🏼 Thank you

Tristan, you've just solved the riddle of my reading problems. Thank you!

“A citizen of its pages.” I just love your channel!

Never mind being a slow reader…It all seems so overwhelming, sooo many good books to read, but where to start…that kind of sums up my dilemma. I have just discovered your channel. You are a marvel to listen to and watch!!! But while I am doing that, I am certainly NOT reading a book. 😄

Thanks for posting. I’m a painfully slow reader. However, one advantage I find is that during a slow read, the book becomes part of my life. I’m currently doing a slow re read of Great Expectations I now notice various aspects of the characters I hadn’t seen before. So for me, slow reading has huge benefits

I’m dating myself but in my youth I took the Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics course and trained myself to read 2,000 words a minute and read profusely. Then I read Stegner’s “Angle of Repose” and now I read less than 200 words a minute. His writing was so poetic that I savored EVERY word and I’m perfectly content at that speed. PS. I discovered you yesterday and I’m hooked. Thank you.

Thank you Tristan. I really love watching people like you who really really love what they do and share them to the world. It is both inspiring and contagious at the same time.

Thank you so much. I am someone who is trying to get into reading important books so I can apply their lessons into my everyday life. However, I often feel disgruntled when trying to tackle a book because I compare myself to my peers who are avid readers. I’m a jazz drummer, so when I heard your analogy about the art museum it reminded me of the active listening I do with music. I have spend the past month listening almost exclusively to Chick Corea’s “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” (I highly recommend this album). This video has really inspired me to embrace my lack of reading experience and embark on this journey. Thank you.

This came up for me on the algorithm, and honestly its the best reading video I've seen on YT...great advice.

I'm definitely a slow reader. I read for 15 to 30 minutes a day sometimes an hour in the morning. I tend to lose focus if i read for longer. I can't read at night I'm too tired and can't focus. It takes as long as it takes. It took me about 3 months to read the woman in white.

Thank you for this. I am a very slow reader. I will take your advice and read 10 pages a night and see how I get on.👍

I can read quickly, but I find the classics take more time. It took me almost two months to read Middlemarch. It was so worth it!! ❤📚 Just chose my next book. Ten pages a night. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. 😊 Thank you for this video!

Captain, this was such a great video, and I think very needed for a lot of us. I am probably an average reader but I always say that I am a slow reader, and I think I know why. Distraction! I don’t plan well and therefore don’t make the time to read when I should, and one thing after another distracts me throughout the day, and then I’m rushing to finish. It’s frustrating, because I want to savor the journey. I feel like I rushed through a few books this year and I regret that. The ten minutes at bedtime is golden and you really put that into perspective. I’m taking your advice and maybe I’ll have some good chocolate while I’m at it. 😏

Very accurate and articulately delivered. Thank you for your always enrichening and encouraging videos. You emphasize what should be emphasized, rather than emphasizing for the sake of being emphatic or "dramatic."