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Such a proccess- and goal-oriented approach to books doesn't resonate with me at all. Such a mechanical, soulless way of thinking about reading! Is this for te

by the_af 3y ago

Such a proccess- and goal-oriented approach to books doesn't resonate with me at all. Such a mechanical, soulless way of thinking about reading! Is this for technical, self-help or startup/entreprenurship books? Sure, maybe this works. I read a lot for fun though. Most of my reading is like this. The books I read are not about "answering questions" and I don't need to "optimize" my reading in any way, either to summarize them or to "process" as many books I can in a year. It's not a contest. It's about the joy of reading.

OmarShehata 3y ago
I had a similar reaction to a lot of the language in this post, but I think there's something to it here that is still valuable even for just the joy of reading. For me it's important that I am paying attention as I read. I used to rarely re-read books, and have started re-reading my favorite ones, and it's often surprising to me how many interesting ideas I missed, or maybe just forgot about. I enjoy talking to friends about books too and I find that helps me explore the ideas more deeply. I've recently started trying writing up my takeaways for books I've enjoyed, partially as something to send friends to talk about with or try convince them to read the book too so we can talk about it. I think the caveat here is that it's totally valid to not do any of these things if you are enjoying whatever process you have. I just appreciate being exposed to this idea because it's increased my enjoyment of my own reading.
cptaj 3y ago
Totally agree. Although there is something to be said for having better retention as it will only aid your enjoyment of future reading on the subject. I recommend getting drinks with friends and telling them all about the interesting stuff you read.
loughnane 3y ago
This nuance gets missed in most conversations about reading. I see there are motivations to read a book: 1. For fun 2. For information 3. For understanding If reading for fun, do what suits you… there’s really no wrong way. Like food, whatever suits your tastes is best. If reading for information (eg on tactics in some battle or HR practices in some form when you are already broadly acquainted with tactics and HR) then there are tips for extracting essential points that apply to most everyone. Likewise when reading for understanding (eg having no conception about how war works and trying to grok it). Some books can be read in each way, other books only in one or two. In any case, making broad claims about “how to read better” without appealing to one of these modes usually sparks disagreement.

by the_af 3y ago

OmarShehata 3y ago

I had a similar reaction to a lot of the language in this post, but I think there's something to it here that is still valuable even for just the joy of reading. For me it's important that I am paying attention as I read. I used to rarely re-read books, and have started re-reading my favorite ones, and it's often surprising to me how many interesting ideas I missed, or maybe just forgot about. I enjoy talking to friends about books too and I find that helps me explore the ideas more deeply. I've recently started trying writing up my takeaways for books I've enjoyed, partially as something to send friends to talk about with or try convince them to read the book too so we can talk about it. I think the caveat here is that it's totally valid to not do any of these things if you are enjoying whatever process you have. I just appreciate being exposed to this idea because it's increased my enjoyment of my own reading.

cptaj 3y ago

Totally agree. Although there is something to be said for having better retention as it will only aid your enjoyment of future reading on the subject. I recommend getting drinks with friends and telling them all about the interesting stuff you read.

loughnane 3y ago

This nuance gets missed in most conversations about reading. I see there are motivations to read a book: 1. For fun 2. For information 3. For understanding If reading for fun, do what suits you… there’s really no wrong way. Like food, whatever suits your tastes is best. If reading for information (eg on tactics in some battle or HR practices in some form when you are already broadly acquainted with tactics and HR) then there are tips for extracting essential points that apply to most everyone. Likewise when reading for understanding (eg having no conception about how war works and trying to grok it). Some books can be read in each way, other books only in one or two. In any case, making broad claims about “how to read better” without appealing to one of these modes usually sparks disagreement.