Since September of 2017, I have read 145 books. Prior to 2017, I had probably read 7. In my search for the treasure chest of a more meaningful life, books have been the map. While reading is associated with the acquisition of new facts, the most lasting impact has nothing to do with a higher IQ. The most enjoyable benefit of reading is that it gives me a new lens through which I see the world. Reading has helped me so much that I want to share techniques that will help others participate in and enjoy the activity. This post is a guide to the techniques, research, and communities that will help you read more books and better absorb the information.
1. Start with a reading goal.
"What gets measured, gets managed." - Peter Drucker, Management Theorist.
Reading is a skill. To develop a skill, it is necessary to have a goal and work towards it every day. Setting a reading goal will force the eager reader to be more consistent with their reading practice. This becomes a positively reinforcing cycle, as the more time spent reading results is an ability to read and absorb information faster. Another added benefit is that achieving a reading goal provides immense personal satisfaction.
2. Schedule a time to read each day.
To make reading a habit, it will be helpful to set aside time each day to read. Friends often tell me that they, “wish they had more time to read”. Not having time for an activity is the result of not being proactive about scheduling time for it. We have time for the things that we make the time for. I have found that the best times to read are: 20 minutes with your morning coffee, 30 minutes before bed and on your commute to work (audiobooks if you are driving).
I encourage you to take inventory of your daily activities to see where you can make more time to read. Reading improves your intelligence, motivation and memory. Be ruthless in cutting out activities that do not increase your knowledge.
3. Always have your book with you.
Waiting for 15 minutes in the doctor's office for the next appointment. Waiting for 20 minutes until class starts. Waiting for 45 minutes on the bus until you get to work. Do you ever think about how much time we spend waiting? These little moments add up. If you have a book with you at all times, you will notice how time spent waiting can be transformed into time for learning.
I was initially concerned that people would think I was a pompous ass for reading a book in public. Two realizations helped me alleviate this fear. The first is that a small portion of people probably will think I am a pompous ass (for reasons other than reading in public) and that is not a negative reflection of my character. The other, more comforting truth is that most people are not thinking about me at all. The important thing is not to let a fear of public perception deter us from cultivating positive habits.
4. Only read one book at a time.
Once you begin to enjoy reading, you feel as if it is impossible to read all the Great Books. It is tempting to purchase a book, read 50 pages, get bored and then try to find another. To read more books in less time, it is far more efficient to read one book at a time. If the book you are reading is unbearably boring and not interesting whatsoever, put it down. This will feel wrong in the beginning. Feelings of guilt will surface. You will remember the time you quit soccer in the 6th grade and wonder if you are doomed to be a quitter forever. But, the important thing to remember is that reading is meant to be enjoyed. Use it as a learning opportunity or a healthy escape. But please, for your own sake, do not drudge through books for reasons of personal pride.
5. Create a “To Be Read” list.
There are so many great books to read and not enough life left to read them. I keep a running list of books that I find on Amazon or on my weekly trips to the discounted book/public library. I recommend creating a “To Be Read” list to store the names of all books that you want to read. Having a curated list reduces the waiting time from your last book to your next one.
6. Perform research.
Reading is not boring. It is only boring when you do not perform research to see what book will interest you. Without performing research, you run the risk reading something that is either dull or commercially successful yet devoid of useful content.
Reading should be fun. If you ever encounter a book that bores you so badly that you loathe every encounter with it, put it down. Nothing takes joy out of an activity like obligation and tediousness. Struggling through a slow and uninteresting book will only make you resent reading. I also advise that you be weary of being seduced into buying a book because of the outlandish promises and artistic designs. Books are a business and some authors are willing to peddle some serious snake oil. As someone who has fallen for this dirty parlor trick too often, I want to recommend a 3 step screening method for choosing books that will suit your interests.
6.1 Check the ratings.
Type the name of the book into the google search bar and check the ratings. These ratings are a safe guide for choosing your next book. As a note, ratings can vary widely by genre. A couple things to keep in mind while checking the ratings:
Works of literature very rarely receive scores greater than 90%. Literature is a subjective art form, so it will be hard to receive a unanimous seal of approval. Based on my experience, I am apprehensive and usually do not approach literature that has a rating of less than 77% on Goodreads/Google (pictured below).
Self help books seem to unanimously get ratings greater than 90%. The messages are usually positive, digestible and uplifting, so it makes sense that people give them great reviews. As someone who has read (and even enjoyed) a lot of self-help books, I advise you to approach the genre with what they call in the accounting profession, “professional skepticism.”. Once you read enough self-help books, the information becomes repetitive.
Let's walk through the process of checking ratings with two pieces of literature that I am interested in reading. The first work is , One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.
Upon my first search of One Hundred Years of Solitude, it has already sparked my interest. 90% of the users have liked the book. The Goodreads community (a tough crowd to please) has rated it 4.1 out of 5 stars. The author won a Nobel Peace Prize. I will definitely be moving to step 2 of the research process.
Now let’s take a look at The Scarlet Letter . It is receiving less than a 3.5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads (these guys are ruthless) and 53% of Google users do not like this book. I will trust my predecessors and leave this one alone.
6. 2 Read the reviews.
Once you have checked the ratings, search the title on the following websites to read their reviews: (www.goodreads.com, https://www.amazon.com ,So many books, so little time.)
Try to weigh positive and negative reviews as objectively as possible. Do people say this book changed their life? Is their review in-depth, articulate and keeps bias to a minimum? I pay particular attention to reviews that mention both the good and bad aspects, as those reviewers are attempting to be impartial.
What I appreciate about these websites is that people tend to be brutally honest. At first it will seem hard to know which reviews to trust. But as you direct your reading based off of the recommendations of the websites, you will learn how to interpret the criticism.
6. 3 Read the book for 20 minutes
Look for the book in the bookstore or library. Once you find it, give it a read. If you like it, buy it. If it sucks, don’t.
Trust the ratings and reviews, but trust your opinion and initial judgment above all else. As a final word, don’t be afraid to occasionally deviate from the ratings to find something that is less commercially successful but equally as interesting.
7. Listen to audiobooks.
The advent of audiobooks makes consuming information more convenient and accessible than ever before. It transforms mindless activities like folding laundry, walking to the bus stop and running on the treadmill into a time for learning. If you have a library card, you can download the libby app (Libby, by OverDrive - an app for library ebooks and audiobooks) so that you can get unlimited information for free. I tingle with excitement at the thought. Something that helps me consume more information is reading a physical book in my unrestricted free-time and listening to an audio-book while I am performing the aforementioned mindless activities.
8. Find a group of fellow readers.
The best part of being a reader is the community. Having conversations with fellow readers is extremely stimulating and informative. It also helps to read the same books as your friends so that you can acknowledge any confusion and share your knowledge. The three best benefits of finding a community of readers are:
You recommend books to one another.
You teach each other what you have learned.
You meet people who cultivate other positive habits: exercise, eating healthy, investing their money and taking on leadership positions. Reading, at its essence, is an activity geared toward improving your knowledge and bettering your life. Surrounding yourself with progress-oriented individuals will exponentially increase your knowledge.
9. Keep an ongoing document of the important things you have learned.
By reading a lot of books, one runs the risk of forgetting the valuable information. As a way to combat this, I recommend keeping a Google document or notebook where you can archive the information. Save any important ideas, sentences or new vocabulary words so that you can go back and re-read them at all times.
10. Utilize online resources to get further context.
A great way to enrich your understanding of the book is to find online discussions, articles and websites that discuss the text in detail. This can be accomplished with a simple Google search and by reading magazine articles that provide an in-depth review of the book.
The websites I use to learn more about the book I am reading are the following:
Reddit (So many books, so little time) where you can see discussions about what others have learned from the book.
YouTube for high level summaries.
Sparknotes (exclusively for literature) where you can learn more about themes, plot summaries and character analysis.
Concluding Note
I love the amount of interest people have expressed to me about reading. It is a discipline that will bring you joy, knowledge, pleasure, wealth and strategies for living a better life. I can think of no better way to live your life than improving the most marvelous thing in the world, the human brain.
Please share with me how these strategies greatly enrich your subjective experience of the world!
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