Вместо того чтобы листать новости в телефоне, я люблю по утрам полистать книгу.

It means instead of doing something.

Literally, the structure is built like this:

• вместо = instead of
• того = that
• чтобы = in order to / that

But as a whole, вместо того чтобы + infinitive is a fixed expression meaning instead of doing X.

So:

• Вместо того чтобы листать новости... = Instead of scrolling through the news...

Russian often uses this longer set phrase where English uses a shorter structure.

Because вместо того чтобы листать новости в телефоне is an introductory subordinate clause.

Russian normally puts a comma before the main clause when a sentence begins with a subordinate structure like this:

• Вместо того чтобы..., я...

So the comma separates:

• the instead of... part
• from the main statement я люблю...

This is about aspect and also about the nuance of the action.

• листать = to flip through / scroll through, often as an ongoing or repeated process
• полистать = to flip through for a while, a bit

In this sentence:

• листать новости в телефоне suggests the general activity of endlessly scrolling news
• полистать книгу suggests spending a little time pleasantly flipping through a book

So the contrast is meaningful:

• bad habit / continuous activity: листать новости
• short, bounded, enjoyable action: полистать книгу

Листать is imperfective, and полистать is perfective.

A simple way to think about it:

• листать = to be flipping through / to flip through in general
• полистать = to flip through for a while, then stop

The prefix по- here often adds the idea of doing something for a short time.

Examples:

• Я люблю листать журналы. = I like flipping through magazines.
  General habit.
• Я люблю полистать журнал перед сном. = I like to flip through a magazine before bed.
  A single, limited action.

So полистать книгу feels like browse through a book a bit.

After любить when you mean to like doing something, Russian often uses an infinitive.

So:

• я люблю читать = I like to read
• я люблю гулять = I like to walk
• я люблю полистать книгу = I like to flip through a book

In English, we can say both I like reading and I like to read. Russian usually uses the infinitive here.

По утрам means in the mornings.

This is a very common Russian time expression:

• по утрам = in the mornings
• по вечерам = in the evenings
• по выходным = on weekends

After по in this kind of habitual-time meaning, Russian uses the dative plural.

So:

• утро → plural утра → dative plural утрам

It expresses something that happens regularly at that time.

Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly.

• утром = in the morning / one morning / in the morning generally
• по утрам = in the mornings, habitually

In this sentence, по утрам is better because я люблю describes a repeated habit.

So:

• я люблю по утрам полистать книгу = I like to flip through a book in the mornings

That sounds more natural than утром here, because it emphasizes routine.

This is a very natural question, because English uses on the phone.

In Russian, в телефоне often means in the phone / on the phone as a device or within its contents. It suggests looking at content inside the device, such as news, photos, apps, messages, and so on.

So:

• листать новости в телефоне = scroll through news on your phone

You may also hear other expressions depending on context, but в телефоне is very natural here because the idea is inside the phone's content/interface.

Because in Russian, news is usually expressed as a plural noun: новости.

English news looks singular grammatically, but Russian uses plural:

• Я читаю новости. = I read the news.
• Какие новости? = What’s the news?

So even though English says the news, Russian normally says новости.

Because it is the direct object of полистать.

The base form is:

• книга = book

But after a transitive verb like полистать, the direct object goes into the accusative:

• полистать книгу = to flip through a book

Since книга is feminine singular, the accusative form is книгу.

Originally, yes: листать comes from the idea of turning pages.

But in modern Russian it is also very commonly used for scrolling through content, especially on a phone.

So it can mean:

• flip through pages
• browse through something
• scroll through content

That is why листать новости в телефоне sounds natural: it is like scrolling through the news feed.

They are not the same.

• читать книгу = to read a book
• листать книгу = to leaf through / flip through a book

Читать focuses on actually reading the content.
Листать focuses more on turning pages, browsing, skimming, or looking through it casually.

So in this sentence, полистать книгу suggests a light, relaxed activity, not necessarily serious reading from start to finish.

Yes, it could be omitted.

Russian often drops subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb form.

• люблю already tells you it means I like

So both are possible:

• я люблю по утрам полистать книгу
• люблю по утрам полистать книгу

Including я can add a little emphasis or simply make the sentence sound more explicit. It is not required, but it is perfectly normal.

Yes, Russian word order is fairly flexible, but different orders change emphasis.

The given sentence is very natural:

• Вместо того чтобы листать новости в телефоне, я люблю по утрам полистать книгу.

It presents:

1. the contrast first: instead of scrolling the news
2. then the speaker’s preference: I like...
3. then the time expression: in the mornings
4. then the action: flip through a book

You could rearrange parts, but this version sounds smooth and balanced.

Because the sentence is contrasting two kinds of casual morning behavior:

• mindless scrolling on a phone
• a small, pleasant, more wholesome action with a book

Полистать книгу gives exactly that feeling: a short, easy, perhaps relaxing browse through a book.

If you said читать книгу, it would sound more like serious reading. That is possible, but it changes the tone.

So полистать helps create the sense of a light morning ritual.