There are several advantages to reading more books, but one of my favourites is that a good book may provide you with a new perspective on your prior experiences. Whenever you acquire a new mental model or notion, it's like the “software” in your brain is updated. Suddenly, you can run all of your previous data points via new software. You may learn new things from previous experiences. “Reading transforms the past,” argues Patrick O'Shaughnessy. Of course, this is only true if you internalize and retain the lessons you learn from the books you read. If knowledge is retained, it will compound. In other words, it's not about reading more books, but about getting more out of each one you do.
Of course, gaining knowledge isn't the only reason to read. Reading for enjoyment or enjoyment is a great way to pass the time, but the focus of this essay is on reading to learn. In light of this, I'd like to offer some of the most effective reading comprehension tactics I've discovered.
Quit Reading More Books
It doesn't take long to find out whether or not something is worthwhile to read. Writing skills and high-quality ideas stand out. As a result, the majority of individuals should definitely begin reading more books than they already do. This does not imply that you must read each book cover to cover. The table of contents, chapter names, and subheadings may all be skimmed. Pick a part that interests you and plunge in for a few pages. Look throughout the book and look for any bolded points or tables. You'll get a fair notion of how excellent it is after ten minutes.
Then comes the most important step: stop reading books as soon as possible, without feeling guilty or ashamed.
Life is too short to squander it on mediocre literature. The cost of potential is just too expensive. There are so many wonderful books to read. “Life is too short to not read the absolute finest book you know right now,” stated Patrick Collison, the creator of Stripe.
Here's what I'd suggest:
More novels should be started. Most of these should be avoided. The outstanding ones should be read twice.
Choose books that you can use right away
Choosing books that you can implement right away is one strategy to increase reading comprehension. One of the finest ways to cement the concepts you read in your head is to put them into practice. Practice is a powerful tool for learning. Selecting a book that you can utilize also serves as a great motivator to pay attention and retain information. This is especially true when a major decision is on the line. For example, if you're starting a business, you'll be very driven to get the most out of the sales book you're reading. Because it is intimately relevant to their daily work, a biologist, for example, would study The Origin of Species more completely than a random reader.
Make Notes That Can Be Found
Make a list of everything you read. This may be done in any way you like. It does not have to be a large-scale manufacturing or a complex system. Simply do something to draw attention to the key points and passages. Depending on the medium I'm consuming, I do this in a variety of ways. When I'm reading on my Kindle, I like to highlight key passages. As I listen to audiobooks, I scribble down fascinating quotations. When I read a print book, I mark pages with my dog ears and write my notes. The actual trick, though, is to save your notes in a searchable manner. There's no reason to rely only on your recollection for reading comprehension. Evernote is where I save all of my notes. I prefer Evernote over other choices because 1) it is instantly searchable, 2) it is simple to use across numerous devices, and 3) you can make and store notes even when you aren't online.
Knowledge Trees should be Combined
A book may be compared to a knowledge tree, with the trunk consisting of a few core concepts and the branches consisting of information. By "linking branches" and integrating your current book with other knowledge trees, you can learn more and improve reading comprehension. For instance, when reading V.S. Ramachandran's The Tell-Tale Brain, I noticed that one of his important arguments was related to a previous concept I learnt from social work scholar Brené Brown. Though reading George Leonard's Mastery, I recognized that while the book was about the process of progress, it also shed some light on the genetics-performance relationship. I jotted down each tidbit in my reading notes for that particular title.
These kinds of connections help you remember what you read by "hooking" new information to concepts and ideas you already know. “If you get into the mental habit of linking what you're reading to the basic structure of the underlying concepts being demonstrated,” as Charlie Munger puts it, “you gradually accrue some wisdom.” Allow that notion to come and go without noticing when you read anything that reminds you of another issue or quickly creates a link or idea. Write about what you've discovered and how it relates to other concepts.
Make a Succinct Summary
I challenge myself to summarize a book in only three phrases as soon as I finish it. Of course, this limit is only a game, but it encourages me to analyze what was most significant in the book.
When summarizing a book, I examine the following questions:
What are the primary ideas?
Which of the ideas in this book would I put into practice right now if I had to choose just one?
What would I say to a friend about the book?
In many circumstances, I find that reading my one-paragraph summary and checking my notes provides me with just as much helpful information as reading the full book again.
Consider employing the Feynman Technique if you can't condense the entire book into three sentences. The Feynman Technique is a note-taking approach named after physicist Richard Feynman, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics. It's quite straightforward: Write the title of the book at the top of a blank sheet of paper, then describe the book to someone who has never heard of it. If you get stuck or notice that you don't understand something, check over your notes or go back to the text and try again. Continue writing until you have a firm grasp on the essential points and are secure in your explanation. I've discovered that writing about a concept as if I were presenting it to a beginner exposes practically all of my thinking flaws. “I feel the greatest approach to figure out what I've learnt from a book is to write something about it,” says Ben Carlson, a financial analyst.
Surrounding the Subject
I'm reminded of Thomas Aquinas' remark, "Beware the Man of a Single Book." How sound are your beliefs if you just study one book on a topic and use that as the foundation for a whole category of life? What percentage of your knowledge is correct and complete? Reading a book takes time and effort, yet far too frequently, individuals base their whole belief system on a single book or article. This is more true (and more harder to overcome) when it comes to basing our ideas on our own, unique experience. “Your own experiences make up maybe 0.00000001 percent of what's happened in the world, but maybe 80 percent of how you think the world works,” Morgan Housel observed. We're all skewed by our own personal experiences.” Reading a range of books on the same subject is one method to approach this challenge. Examine the subject from a variety of perspectives, examining the same issue through the eyes of numerous authors, and attempting to go beyond your own personal experience.
It's worth reading twice.
To sum everything, I'd want to return to a notion I expressed towards the start of this article: read the best novels twice. “Anything worth reading is not just worth reading twice, but worth reading again and again,” according to philosopher Karl Popper. Rereading excellent novels is also beneficial since the issues you face change over time. Sure, you could notice something you missed the first time you read a book, but it's more likely that fresh passages and concepts will be important to you. It's only natural that depending on where you are in life, various statements jump out at you.
Even if it provides a lightning moment of enlightenment, one book will seldom alter your life. The key is to grow in wisdom every day. You might be seeking for some book recommendations now that you know how to get more out of each book you read. Please have a look at my book summaries and public reading list.
