I feel like most of the work of reading is choosing what to read. When I get that right everything else falls into place.
How to gain more from your reading
61–70 of 98 posts
Re: How to gain more from your reading
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do you read one book at a time? Have you tried more than that and found it unsatisfactory? I usually have two books on the go. I leave them in different places. That’s key. I am a different person in each place, and I can keep my associations separate and distinct for each book. Given enough places, I’m confident I could read more than two books in parallel.
I was a one-book-at-a-time person for the longest time, and in the last two years relaxed what I realized was an arbitrary rule and allowed myself to read any of a number of books (because I buy them faster than I can read them anyways) depending on my mood. I currently have at least one going in each of these areas: - technical - design - autobiography - classic fiction - short nonfiction anthology - history Progres…
By the way, this is also a much better learning strategy. Switching topics means to recall the information before continuing, which is very much desirable.
Re: How to gain more from your reading
#63I have really struggled with this, especially since having kids. The problem for me is that I have very little time to read, so I either have to read fast or read very little, reading fast doesn't really work as the article describes, so the choice is to read very little, but then that makes choosing what to read a big commitment, and that leads to analysis paralysis, and then I end up reading nothing because it's to…
If you are reading physical book, give a chance to epub version on phone. It is much easier and faster to pop it out of pocket when you suddenly have a chance. It made big difference for me in exactly that situation.
I can vouch for this. I've started reading on my phone and im tearing through books like never before. it's much better than mindlessly scrolling twitter
Re: How to gain more from your reading
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes. Reading loud enough so that you hear it.
I'm sorry, I know I'm being dense, but I don't vocalize when I read, even quietly. Are you suggesting that reading out loud is a technique you use to pay attention better, or do you mean it metaphorically?
There was some research that suggested that reading aloud is better than silently for retention. I had never vocalized before, and I'm struggling to do it because it slows you down so much, but it indeed increases my retention.
Re: How to gain more from your reading
#65I have really struggled with this, especially since having kids. The problem for me is that I have very little time to read, so I either have to read fast or read very little, reading fast doesn't really work as the article describes, so the choice is to read very little, but then that makes choosing what to read a big commitment, and that leads to analysis paralysis, and then I end up reading nothing because it's to…
My solution to this was to simply read books (and other works) I wanted to read for my kid. (Luckily there is some overlap in interest)
Was pleasantly surprised to discover the depths of some children’s books though. Can heartily recommend anything by Tove Jansson f.ex
Re: How to gain more from your reading
#66This article is, perhaps unsurprisingly, very well written and structured. A joy to read compared to most internet writing! It vibes pretty well with my own "rules" for reading: * I read one book at a time * In general I only read when I feel like it, but I will read every day: if I don't feel like it, I'll just read one page * At any point am I allowed to stop reading a book and pick up a new one * I do not track "p…
Does rule 1. And 3. Not mean you read multiple books at once? Just not simultaneously :)
Re: How to gain more from your reading
#67Those looking for a deeper dive might consider Harold Bloom's "How to Read and Why", for literature; and Mortimer J. Adler's "How to Read a Book", for non-fiction.
My main takeaway from Bloom's book that has served me well, is to clear your mind of groupthink and preconceived notions that he calls "cant" to approach the text with an open mind. From the blurb on Amazon: "Shedding all polemic, Bloom addresses the solitary reader, who, he urges, should read for the purest of all reasons: to discover and augment the self. His ultimate faith in the restorative power of literature re…
It's clear from Bloom's introduction, written in 2000 I think, that he believed US society and particularly universities like Yale, his employer, had entered a dark time in which ideologies were blinding readers to the humanity of the authors, their characters, and to themselves.
Re: How to gain more from your reading
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Printing is something I started to do some months ago. Instead of keeping the tab open for weeks, I decided I'd print anything I want to read and place it a physical "inbox". Some tips: I print 2 pages to a side, so 4 pages per printer paper. Even long articles don't use too much paper, and for my eyes it's still readable (there are a few articles where I need to enlarge first). I print using either Firefox's "Simpli…
Do you have a simple system to keep track of the notes you take? I ask because I also started taking notes, primarily because I want to write about some of the things I come across. I write an investment newsletter ( https://playingfordoubles.substack.com ) I probably need to get myself some type of filing cabinet to keep track of articles I'd like to revisit in the future.
I was going to recommend the Zettelkasten method then realised you asked for something simple. But for others who are curious or don't mind a more involved system then I would recommend it. Works digitally as well.
Re: How to gain more from your reading
#69My problem is bad memory. I don't remember much of the books I read. Even recently. So, I become very discouraged and see reading as waste of time as very little will stick and this I'll "grow" very little from time invested. Poor ROI. I still read but mostly for eprmeral enntertainmen
For professional development books, my process is is two steps: first, read a chapter. Second, extract key insights I want to remember into an Anki card. I may have to re-read the chapter in part to do so, which definitely helps with recall. I generally try to do about one chapter a night, or ten pages an hour. And I admit it can be hard to get both steps done in the time allotted. Also, the resulting new card review…
Every mentioned problem (workload, new vs. old reading task distribution, scheduling, plus retention) is exactly what incremental reading–at least, as implemented in the other prominent SRS–aims to solve (which it does, rather well). Does the Anki IR plugin not tackle them?
Re: How to gain more from your reading
#70The article is very well written,
Actually, on point, in the middle of reading something I often loss interest and just closed it, unless it is something very interesting to me. Thus, of course I missed out on more information I could have extract from it.
Lets see if I can apply these methods toward my next reading list...