As I have said before, I am an avid reader. This is not necessarily an asset in a post web world. Instead of being starved for choice, I am overwhelmed beyond belief by the deluge of writing available. Not just because of the quantity, but because of the wide variation in quality. I don’t believe one person has the ability to curate the thousands, if not millions of long form articles posted on the web daily. I have found two great curatorial resources that allow me to spend my discretionary time reading rather than surfing for material to read (and ultimately leaving me no time to do the actual reading):
Today I will be sharing with you two services that I recommend for finding what Longform.org describes as “articles that that are too long and too interesting to be read on a web browser.” Depending on your tolerance for reading on screens this may or may not be true. Either way, tomorrow’s post will suggest some ways to comfortably shift your long form reading from a computer screen to a smartphone or tablet for offline reading.
1. Longform.org – This is the first of the curatorial services I found and it still remains one of my favorites. I am not one of those readers who only likes to read articles that align with my opinions or perspective. Longform draws articles from a wide range of sources covering a fairly wide spectrum of editorial styles. In addition to the articles that are listed on their landing page, you can sort by category and sub-category or you can browse through their archives. You can also view articles by lists of editorial favorites, which I find is often a good place to start. If this all sounds like too much work, you can subscribe to their Send Me a Story service where they will send you the full text of an article on Saturday mornings.
2. Syllabi.com – According to their site, “The Syllabi presents batches of suggested reading, themed around selected topics. Each batch aims to help the curious reader to better understand a topic and provide a healthy reading list on the matter.” Once again, they provide a nicely curated and searchable list of long form articles from around the web. They also have a weekly mailing that they call “Extra Credit” that costs $1 week. Extra Credit articles are a shorter list of the best of the week sorted by topic. The $1/week fee is well worth a try and there is no obligation to continue it if you disagree. Some of my favorite selections from the past couple of weeks include:
- For anyone who likes watching procedural dramas, Behind the Scenes is an article for you. It is about an autopsy/crime lab in South Korea.
- The Sorkin Way, an article about Aaron Sorkin and his new HBO show, The Newsroom.
Now all I need is a 30 hour day so I can do my work, craft and have the time necessary to read all of the great books and articles out there.