Rules for Reading
(From Rusticus) To read attentively-not to be satisfied with “just getting the gist of it.” And not fall for every smooth talker. - Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Not my idea originally, I first heard this on The Daily Stoic Podcast - so credit to Ryan Holiday for #1 - #8, which are worth repeating.
- Do It All The Time - It’ll help increase your attention span, and is probably better for you than Netflix.
- Speed Reading is A Trap - There are a few exceptional humans out there, but for most of us, if we want to read a lot, we just need to spend a lot of time reading.
- Older books are almost always better - Classics are classic for a reason.
- Quit Bad Books - Try to get through 100 pages minus your age.
He who writes for fools always finds a large public. A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short" -- Schopenhauer
- Take Notes - If you’re reading to be informed (not for entertainment), take notes. You’ll retain more.
- Find One Book In Every Book to read next - Referrals work.
- Put your knowledge into action - Think about how you’ll use what you’ve learned in your life. The point of books isn’t to look smarter, it’s to be better.
- Recommend It - If it’s good, share it with others so they might benefit too.
And one of my own:
- Don't Punish Yourself - Goes with #4 above. Even if the books isn't "bad" but you're not enjoying it, feel free to quit. There are always more relevant/more interesting books to read than the one you're reading, don't stress about it. Make sure you're enjoying yourself.
--