11 ms·

To add to the list, I just finished Radical Candor, and I found it pretty good.

umeshunni 5y ago
How do you get through books like these, especially if you're not a fast reader / native speaker? I find that they have a core theme that could be explained in a few pages, but somehow they try to fill 200+ pages with the concept with examples, anecodotes and such. Is it usually worth reading through the entire book or is there a 'life hack' to reading them faster?
- j_walter 5y ago
  I would say you just need to develop a habit of pushing through. Set a goal to read a few pages a day either during lunch (or cut it a few minutes short) or before you go to bed. Sometimes those examples can hit close to home with a certain situation that you have seen in the past or may encounter in the future. I do skim them if they don't really connect to me, but it's worth at least reading the first few sentences of each.
- laserlight 5y ago
  Audiobooks. Listen to them at faster speeds.
  - SteveDR 5y ago
    And if that’s too much commitment you can usually find a talk/podcast episode that is functionally an audio-summary of the book. I’ll usually listen to something like this first and if I really like the content I will consider buying the audiobook.
- lemax 5y ago
  I feel no shame sifting through non-fiction books. There is nothing wrong with not reading cover to cover. I tend to skip chapters or long anecdotes for concepts I have already absorbed, and I sometimes also apply speed reading principles (usually the first and last sentence of a paragraph are most significant, and the body of the paragraph provides supporting evidence). We don't owe any book our time. I am very selective about what I choose to expose myself to, and I gravitate toward only novel information. I'll slow down when I don't understand something, and speed up 5x or entirely skip the fluff/fodder or non-new info.
  - Jarwain 5y ago
    Sorry this just gave me a flashback to my college writing course, where a common bit of advice included summaries of the paragraph in the beginning and end (basically) and details in the middle. Is there a vast conspiracy to ensure that "good writing" fits a common format that's easy to speed read? :O Or more likely, it's just a good way to format paragraphs, and speed reading tips just follow the convention.

How do you get through books like these, especially if you're not a fast reader / native speaker? I find that they have a core theme that could be explained in a few pages, but somehow they try to fill 200+ pages with the concept with examples, anecodotes and such. Is it usually worth reading through the entire book or is there a 'life hack' to reading them faster?

j_walter 5y ago
I would say you just need to develop a habit of pushing through. Set a goal to read a few pages a day either during lunch (or cut it a few minutes short) or before you go to bed. Sometimes those examples can hit close to home with a certain situation that you have seen in the past or may encounter in the future. I do skim them if they don't really connect to me, but it's worth at least reading the first few sentences of each.
laserlight 5y ago
Audiobooks. Listen to them at faster speeds.
- SteveDR 5y ago
  And if that’s too much commitment you can usually find a talk/podcast episode that is functionally an audio-summary of the book. I’ll usually listen to something like this first and if I really like the content I will consider buying the audiobook.
lemax 5y ago
I feel no shame sifting through non-fiction books. There is nothing wrong with not reading cover to cover. I tend to skip chapters or long anecdotes for concepts I have already absorbed, and I sometimes also apply speed reading principles (usually the first and last sentence of a paragraph are most significant, and the body of the paragraph provides supporting evidence). We don't owe any book our time. I am very selective about what I choose to expose myself to, and I gravitate toward only novel information. I'll slow down when I don't understand something, and speed up 5x or entirely skip the fluff/fodder or non-new info.
- Jarwain 5y ago
  Sorry this just gave me a flashback to my college writing course, where a common bit of advice included summaries of the paragraph in the beginning and end (basically) and details in the middle. Is there a vast conspiracy to ensure that "good writing" fits a common format that's easy to speed read? :O Or more likely, it's just a good way to format paragraphs, and speed reading tips just follow the convention.