Quick snippets from our morning read on Monday, 04th January 2021
It’s 2021 and we’re glad that you made it. Happy New year!
At the beginning of every year, many people make resolutions. Some of the resolutions or goals are related to reading books. Today’s morning read outlines how to get the most out of each book you read. This FS article covers quitting books, choosing worthwhile books, reading comprehension, effective note-taking, and retaining more of what you read.
One of the benefits of reading is that it allows you to master the best of what other people have already figured out. This is only true, however, if you can remember and apply the lessons and insights from the books you read.
While there are many reasons to read, including entertainment, this article is about reading to learn and extracting the most you can out of each and every book.
Let’s explore the tested insights and frameworks that we’ve found to be most helpful.
Quit Books
While there are a lot of bad books, the good ones — written well, packed with ideas and insight — quickly stand out.
One of the biggest things that hold people back when reading is our desire to finish what we start. Good books don’t take a lot of effort to finish. Reading bad books is like walking through the mud with a wheelbarrow full of bricks.
Once you realize that you can quit bad books without guilt, everything changes. You can put it down and find a great book.
Skim a lot of books. Read a few. Deeply read the best ones twice. Start books quickly but give them up easily. Just as life is too short for bad wine, life is too short for bad books.
Levels of Reading
Reading the words is the easy part. You were taught how to do this in elementary school. But you can’t read every book the same way. Some books you want to skim and others you want to go deeper. Effectively doing this means tailoring how you read to the type of reading.
The Levels of Reading offer four different ways to read. Most of us will want to spend our time in 2 or 3.
- Elementary Reading — This is the level of reading taught in our elementary schools.
- Inspectional Reading — This is a superficial read. You skim, dive in and out, and get a feel for the book and get the gist of things.
- Analytical Reading — This is the work of reading. This is a thorough reading where you chew on things and digest them.
- Syntopical Reading — This is the most difficult of reading and involves reading many books on the same subject and comparing and contrasting ideas, vocabulary, and arguments.
Choosing Books
Improving what you get out of reading starts with how you select books in the first place. Just as it’s hard to be healthy if your house is full of junk food, it’s hard to have insights when you’re reading bad books.
A barbell approach is very effective. Skim new books you can immediately apply. Read old ones that offer deeper context and lessons.
You’ll naturally be interested in new books that you can apply right away. Often these are skill-based and practical. If you want to eat healthier, for example, you’ll have the motivation and desire to pick up the latest recipe book, purchase the ingredients, and try a new healthy recipe. The same applies to other important skills we want to acquire like managing people, giving feedback, and even starting a business.
Book Recommendations by Year
Each year we keep a reading list of the books we’ve read and loved. The books range in subjects from history and biographies to hard sciences and the occasional work of fiction.
We know you’re busy. While we start hundreds of books a year only the ones we like make the list. Sometimes, we don’t like the entire book, just a part of it. We note when this is the case and why.
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020
Taking Notes While Reading
Think of reading as a conversation between you and the author. One of the ways you can process a conversation with someone who is not there is to write in the margins. It’s ok to question the author or disagree. This is how we think.
We use a very simple process to take notes while reading:
At the end of each chapter write a few bullet points that summarize what you’ve read and make it personal if you can — that is, apply it to something in your life. Also, note any unanswered questions. When you’re done the book, put it down for a week. Pick up the book again and go through all your notes. Write the good stuff on the inside cover of the book along with a page number.
Remembering What You Read
Why is it that some people seem to be able to read a book once and remember every detail of it for life, while others struggle to recall even the title a few days after putting down a book?
The answer is simple but not easy.
It’s not what they read. It’s how they read. Good reading habits not only help you read more but help you read better.
Here’s the FS system for remembering what you read.
Some details of the original article are left out, read the full article – Reading Better
And as always, if you enjoyed this, check out the rest of our daily snippets, curated daily, right here on The Red Notebook.
