Reading things later

The internet feels like an unfriendly place to be a reader. With very few exceptions, even articles published by excellent writers and savvy designers have popups to agree to or sign up for something (at best), or awful banner ads, poor mobile layouts, and illegible typography (at worst). With my senses assaulted by distractions I find it really difficult to concentrate on whatever it is I came to the page for in the first place.

This is why for ages I've been a fan of RSS readers and read later apps. Yes I'm not getting the full experience of the page as the author (maybe?) intended it, but it's in a format that is friendly to me as the reader. I also find read later apps a great way to return to an article I read earlier without having to trawl through my browser history, and an easier to way to read longer form articles over multiple sessions. This makes a huge difference in getting myself to actually read them rather than bookmarking things in the hope that I'll "have time" later.

I used to use Omnivore app for saving articles and newsletters to read later, but it was bought out by another company and shut down 🥲 After much testing out of different options, I've landed with Instapaper. It isn't quite as good and made me appreciate just how fully featured Omnivore was, but it does the job and its longevity hopefully speaks to its continued future.

IMG_3870 1.png|screenshot of Instapaper on my phone|300
A peek at what my reading list looks like at the moment

Essential for me:

Anyway, you can find my profile here with a list of my liked articles (or the ones I remember to like at least).