How I read books: a guide on how to learn

I find it funny that the author chose 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' as the title image as that is one of the books I read and I am 100% certain there is so much more to learn from that book than what I have learned. How do I know?

After reading said book, I read a few other books and some of them actually cited 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' and applied some of the concepts in new contexts and sometimes I thought 'Wow, I didn't realize the implications when I read the original book'.

So I think it is actually a book that is well worth to be actively read, but currently I still find myself struggling to keep integrating the lessons from 'How to make friends and influence people' into my everyday actions.

> Agree. Your time in life is finite, so one should read only the good stuff (and yes, objectively, some books are better than others).

Wow, what a way to look at things... if life is finite why waste all of your time reading books someone else deems to be be "objectively" better than others? Just read whatever the hell appeals to you and forget about the official "deemed worthy" cannon.

I think that advice breaks down when you reach the highest levels. For example, even the best hitters in baseball have hitting coaches.

Well you get more out of books when you do something to interact with them more than a linear stream of text. These sort of "self-improvement-hack" BS systems are good for the kind of people they appeal to, but you don't need a form to fill out or some regiment. Likewise not every piece of text deserves the same attention. Some things don't need to be read at all, some things skimmed, some read through once, some with a bit of reflection, some with extreme studying over years.

Just the exercise of doing something regarding the text. Keeping notes in the margin, discussing it with someone, writing a review of the material in long form or in bullet points, keeping track of questions you have, etc. all enhances what you get out of a book. You might resent it as a chore, so you just figure out what works best for you, maybe it's nothing, but trying something different from time to time can't hurt.

My advice is to keep a pencil at hand when you're reading to take a note, underline a passage, or if you don't like writing in the margins, a notebook to the side to highlight things you think are important, things you think are questionable, questions it raises in you, etc.

After that, share it. When you read a section, explain it to your partner, your cat, an internet stranger, to yourself in your notebook, etc.

Yes, lots. But again, I think it's a life situation thing. What is extremely revealing and useful for me could be completely redundant or harmful for you.

Having said that, I found the following, in no particular order, worth it to have read than not:

=================

The Richest Man in Babylon

=================

It simplified how I think about personal finance for me. I was irresponsible with my finances. This provided some basic rules of economics and personal finance that have stuck with me.

=========================

The Simple Path to Wealth

=========================

I read this one only recently but it simplified things even more for me when it comes to investing. I had been doing sort of the same thing but it gave it much more perspective on how simple things can be.

=====================================

How I found Freedom in an Unfree World

=====================================

I think this one has empowered me to look for things I can control rather than getting stuck up on things I can't.

====================

The Sovereign Individual

====================

I have a different and richer view of politics than I did before I read this book.

=============================

A Short History of Nearly Everything

=============================

Gives a different perspective of scientists. I think I believed "science" much more before I got to know personal stories of scientists.

===============================

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

===============================

Good read just because it's popular and referenced in other places... and is interesting if you're into "history" of humans. It's fictional (in that, it's his take on what happened) obviously but he makes it look like that is actually what happened.

=============================

All books by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

=============================

He has the same kind of hatred of the academics that I do, which I think I resonate with. And the ideas are interesting.

=========================================

Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy

=========================================

Simplified (sometimes oversimplified) economics which is a good read for American conservative view on economics.

==========================

Propaganda by Edward Bernays

==========================

This was written when the meaning of propaganda was changing to something nefarious (previously, it has a positive neutral or positive meaning to it, in that it meant "propagation of information" - implied to be for public good). Edward Bernays is the father of what is now known as Public Relations.

Related to the same book:

* http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html (this one is among the most shared links on HN)

* Tim Wu's books: The Master Switch and The Attention Merchants

=========================

The Complete Guide to Fasting

=========================

Even though I met people who were fasting, I needed to read this before I would start doing it myself so that I felt I understood what I was getting into.

=====================

High Output Management

=====================

I was a follower of "management is unnecessary" meme which pervades the dev community. This gives a first principle view of what's happening in management.

===============================================================

The Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (and the newer edition of the same)

===============================================================

It's just an insider view on international organizations. I had second hand knowledge of how corrupt these organizations are... but it is just one more confirmation. Do I think the author is biased? Yes. It's only his view and I'm sure other people many have a more positive outlook and intentions in these organizations... but at least I'm familiar with this one.

===========================================================

Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat

===========================================================

Again, it's one view of how food science works, and it confirms my personal experience with information I get from science, whether on the internet or from the doctors (who basically say the same thing that ends up in WebMD).

These are not all of them but it covers a lot of them that I consider have enriched me in one way or other.