'Is there a prize for worst take of the year?' NY Times bestselling author is mercilessly mocked on Twitter after sharing he doesn't read books because they have 'outdated information'
- Marketer Neil Patel, 36, made waves on Twitter this week when he shared a video outlining his anti-book stance, saying they often have 'outdated information'
- The co-author of Hustle: The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum said he gets his information from blogs, Instagram, and YouTube
- Twitter users skewered Patel for bashing books and pointed out that he 'brags' about being a New York Times bestselling author in his bio
- Author Molly Jong-Fast said the video was the 'dumbest' thing she's ever seen, while author Ian Bremmer asked: 'Is there a prize for worst take of the year?'
- Patel ended up deleting the video on Twitter amid the brutal condemnation, though it's still posted on his Instagram page
A New York Times bestselling author has faced backlash online after explaining why he doesn't read books, saying he gets his information from blogs, Instagram, and YouTube because they're more current.
Neil Patel, a marketer and co-author of Hustle: The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum, made waves on Twitter this week when he shared a video outlining his anti-book stance.
'The only books I read are kids' books — and that's to my daughter,' the 36-year-old said. 'People talk about reading books. You know what? I wrote a book, and I was even a New York Times bestselling author, but here's the thing: Most books that you see in a bookstore, they're written a year to two years before they were actually published, and they go through this really long process.'
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Bold claim: Marketer Neil Patel, 36, made waves on Twitter this week when he shared a video outlining why he doesn't read books, saying they often have 'outdated information'
Say what? Patel explained that most books were 'written a year to two years before they were actually published,' so he gets his information from blogs, Instagram, and YouTube
Hot take: 'Why would you want to read 300 pages when you could just figure it out in five minutes?' he asked, encouraging people to watch YouTube videos instead of reading books
Patel claimed that people often end up 'reading outdated information' in books, adding that any relevant theories or strategies can be easily found in a YouTube video.
Writer: He is the co-author of NewYork Times bestseller Hustle: The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum
'Why would you want to read 300 pages when you could just figure it out in five minutes?' he asked.
'So, I don't spend my time reading books. Instead, I spend three hours a day reading blogs, Instagram, YouTube — all the other places I can consume information faster — and you should too.'
To say the message didn't go over well would be an understatement.
Patel actually ended up deleting the video on Twitter amid the brutal condemnation, though it's still posted on his Instagram page.
Author Molly Jong-Fast, the daughter of novelist Erica Jong, didn't mince words when she tweeted: 'This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.'
'Also, do you realize that when you go in a bookstore, some of the books are so old that the authors are dead? How can you learn anything from a dead person? They can’t even tweet,' Washington Post book critic Carlos Lozada sarcastically responded.
Backlash: Critics skewered Patel on Twitter, and he eventually deleted the video, though it's still posted on Instagram
Political scientist and author Ian Bremmer added: 'Is there a prize for worst take of the year? I’d like to submit Neil’s effort here.'
Some mercilessly mocked Patel for saying he 'reads YouTube,' while others pointed out the hypocrisy that he wrote in his bio that he is a NY Times bestselling author, yet he doesn't value books.
'Bruh you brag in your Twitter bio about being a NYT bestselling author,' Steph Parker commented. 'You were right though, I learned way more about you from this video than I would have reading your book.'
Patel didn't even mention the value of fiction novels or the concept of reading for pleasure in his video, which also irked many viewers.
'Have you heard of a novel bro,' writer Elaine Atwell tweeted, while someone else asked: 'What is the ROI on reading a novel, though?'
'Imagine a world where there were other types of books besides marketing strategy books that people wanted to read. What a concept,' another person added.
