How I Read and Why

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[AlwaysAllyCat]

I think "it deserves my attention" is the best reason I have ever heard for a book being 'good'. I always struggle to explain why I think a book I've read is great so I'm gonna steal this

[malaikarose]

"Should I have unshakable beliefs? Maybe. But for now, I'm letting books and art and life shake them." CHILLS!

[RebekahClarke]

"I let books and arts shake my beliefs"
Poster suggestion sent to all libraries and classrooms

[AmeliaBell]

Occasionally a vlogbrothers video will come along that I know I will return to time and time again. I think this is one of those videos.

[MrMineHeads.]

Your title says "How I Read and Why" and you only really answered why. How exactly do you read? In a comfortable chair on your front lawn with some lemonade on the table beside you? I need details John.

[clairee]

Skyscrapers are built to shake and sway without collapsing, and I think “big” beliefs can also be constructed this way.

[pontifexcellence]

I’ve always thought of the job of critics as consuming *all* the media, and then telling us what we should spend our money and time on. But recently I’ve discovered that the best critics go further than that, and create their own art out of the analysis of other people’s art.

The best critics have a deep interest and understanding of the subject they’re criticising.

*take the film critic Mark Kermode for example. He goes further than ‘you should watch this film’. He understands what each film brings to the world and what it creates.

[myoldaimsnwastaken]

When I was teaching literature at my local community college, I would start off every semester by showing the students the first ever video from Crash Course Literature. It helped students to see that I wasn't just asking them to identify a metaphor, but to be able to tell me why it mattered. It also helped some students look at a work of literature outside of their own initial reaction and start to question/consider other impacts the text had. I think it was a great way to get students to start considering many of the points you make in this video.

[kateh]

I’m shocked that this isn’t about AFC Wimbledon.

[lorenabpv]

It's almost as of when a lot of people care about something (be it game of thrones, taylor swift's new aesthetic or books about conjoined twins) there's value in it regardless of how some people personally feel. Not that it's immune to criticism, but that it is an important thing to others in spite of (and because of) the reviewing around it. Maybe all of us who spent way too much time on Tumblr in 2012 are still learning this, but personal taste is not the only thing that matters in this discussion.

[thewinterizzy]

Did you just... critique... the act of critiquing... I need to go lay down lol. (Great video, though! 💕)

[MiaMulder]

Reading is a curse but I say that mostly because I read youtube comments

[Inucat]

The art of reviewing things and lifting up moments that were written/ produced well, reminds me of the concept of positive marking. We were told in teacher's training to always look for positive things in our student's work. A great phrase, a well applied idiom or a new perspective that you did not consider before. It validates their efforts and I do try to adapt that way of thinking when consuming media.

[xzonia]

"I think what we mean when we say a book is "good" is that it's worth our attention. A good book is one that, if read generously, will offer big gifts in return." - John Green

This makes me want to review books in this spirit. Thanks, John! <3

[johnchessant]

"I read to be moved, in every sense of the word: to go to places I haven't been, and to glimpse worlds I otherwise couldn't see, including the worlds deep within myself."

<3 <3 <3

[victoriaswindle]

I am a college student studying library and Information Science and I just love this video so much! Thank you John for sharing your lens on the camera which is life. ❤️

[janine]

"Should I have unshakeable beliefs? Maybe, but for now I'm letting books and art and life shake them"


That's honestly my only true belief.

[burpingcricket]

Ohmygodsyes!

The bit about being unsure about everything hit me right in the recognition. When I was younger I thought reading would help me, in lack of a better word, make up my mind... about everything. Instead books usually help me to see things from more than just my own perspective.
My dad told me a quote (but I can’t remember from who he quoted). He said, ‘the moral of a good book is: It is more complicated than that’.
The longer I live, the more I’m starting to think that’s not just a useful guideline for books.

You know, the truth resists simplicity.

[katrijndekeersmaecker]

For a long time I have believed in the importance of letting things (books and art and life) shake your beliefs. It was one of those kind of abstract things that I never even really tried to put into words, but when you said that last phrase of the video it just rang so true to me that I replayed it several times.

Damn, I love vlog brothers!

Several years ago, your video about Paper Towns on TED literally saved my life at my worst moments. Now, this video's just incinerated my doubts & frustrations of not having enough time (to read, to learn, to reflect).
I even learned about an interesting movie critic in the comment section thanks to the helpful & positive community gathered by your channels. Thank you :)