My 2nd screen is a book

How I use NBA games to read more

“How do you read so much?” Andrew asked me over the weekend.

We were talking in the hotel conference bar, as the Denver Nuggets were losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA playoffs.

I nodded towards the TV.

“I watch a lot of basketball. If it’s a random Tuesday night, I’ll read and watch at the same time,” I said.

A lot of people check their phones while watching an easy-to-follow TV show or game on their main TV.

But instead of having my phone out, I’ll read a book instead. My second screen is a book.

I read about ~35 books last year, which is only 1 about 1.5 weeks. For comparison, my wife reads 75 to 100 every year.

She barely watches TV of any sort, she doesn’t have a show, and she maybe watches a movie every 2 weeks. Sometimes I can get her to watch something together, but usually she prefers to read.

I don’t know if all this “alone-but-together” time is necessarily healthy. My kids read a lot too (learned behavior!) and we often have to be intentional to play games or do art as a family, because reading is our default.

This will probably change as the weather gets nicer, and there are more opportunities to be outside.

I think we’ve read a bit more this year than we have in the past because our lives have been in flux, relationship-wise.

The amount of books we read may fluctuate or it may not come as easily.

But honestly, the main hack for us is that we don’t watch as much “normal” TV and we don’t play video games all that often (maybe 2x per month?)

If I were to change something about my reading habits, I’d prefer to shift it more to the daytime, specifically the early morning, but I don’t find myself up during that time.

Most of my reading does happen at night, when the NBA games are on, and it becomes a simple routine.

I wouldn’t say this is particularly efficient, however.

Finishing the books with a game on takes longer, and I do find myself getting distracted or having to re-read certain sections. I usually only read fiction during this time, and not anything that’s spiritual or tactical, like a business book. I’m not usually taking notes, for instance.

And NBA games are easy to follow without having to track a plot or anything like that. The announcers bring up the relevant stats, I can hear when the crowd cheers and then watch a few plays.

It doesn’t demand my full attention The book probably has more of my attention than the game does. So maybe my TV is the 2nd screen.

Keep going-

Josh Spilker