How I read
Preface. This is a self reflection on Reading in a story format warping you through text which contains techniques. You can find techniques alone at the bottom. I recommend bookmarking and reading a few times with good focus.
Story
I have been reading more for the past couple of years, and it’s been kind of amazing. It just sort of tingles my brain and I like this feeling. Now I decided to write about how I read; it just seems like another interesting experiment I want to try.
Why read?
Often times I impulsively buy many books on interesting topics, but when I think about it deeply, the answer will be curiosity. I am trying to be selective though, there are many books I don’t end up liking. Also, I could watch or listen, but I choose to read for focus. There are no sounds or motion picture; it’s just you, text, and pacing. It’s like black coffee.
Choosing a book
Ah, this is like the most important decision. It’s gotta be interesting, you have to be ready for it, and the book better not take your entire life to read. Picking the wrong book is like that casual invite for a drink you shouldn’t have accepted in the middle of the week, you are going to regret about it.
I mean, you have to be really honest about what’s interesting to you instead of trying to be cool. But don’t you worry, choosing a good book is a skill, it takes time to shape. Take a look at the table of contents, read through some reviews, think whether you want to give this book a chance. When I see a good book, I become very impatient to start reading it, and often times some chapters specifically. The more of them I like, the better.
Absorbing the book
Ooh, now it’s getting exciting; you found something interesting that you actually want to read. But wait, you don’t want to ruin this, right? Patience is the virtue!
You are about to have this amazing time with the book, and there are just so many things which could go wrong! Something could be bothering you, you are sleep-deprived, ate too much or too little, something noisy around, low lighting or wrong temperature, or someone calling you. I am not even gonna get into the social media apps.
Okay, you are ready now! We are officially entering the book’s world guided by the table of contents and the author tells you why this is going to be so amazing. You are passing through the chapters impatiently paying full attention. While there are distractions, what you want to read in the book is very personal to you, and you are now in a flight!
It comes with challenges: you don’t understand some of the words, lose attention, or have to postpone for another day. But then you remember why you chose the book, and you don’t want to leave it alone! Sometimes you have to jump straight to the chapter you want or buy the neck light to spend more time reading during nights. You are pacing faster through what you already knew or slowing down where there is stuff to learn.
You are now winning and nothing could be better than being here in the middle of the book in a cozy warm seat with your brains tingling in silence! :3 :3 :3
Wait, I now had to travel for the holidays and forgot my book! It’s too good, you are going to pay for the digital version to read this on your phone! Finally, both you and the book made it to the end. Hurray!
Hm… this is interesting though, how can I avoid the challenges above next time? I read the book called “How to read a book”, I also read the book “The Book” and both were great. You could improve by reading about reading, you could improve on anything! There is probably more good stuff out there.
Are you happy now?
Oh, this holy fluid artifact of stored knowledge transcending through time of human evolution exploding my mind! But wait, I kind of forgot everything (-_-). Although… I found some answers to my questions, and learn that some just don’t have the answers. Who cares! My curiosity on this matter is satisfied! I will talk to my friends about this. Also, I need to mention to my parents to read more.
But I could have gone to the party!
Hmm… yeah, you could. But how can you do both? I will think about it.
Reading technique
People have different reading goals; mine is curiosity. Although things below seem obvious, it takes time to be good at them.
motivation
- thinking why you want to read honestly
- being genuinely curious about something
- having questions that need good answers
choosing a book
- scanning table of contents
- understanding difficulty and depth
- reading sample pages to evaluate
- estimate time and commitment
- being sceptical and selecting when really convinced
absorbing the book
- minimizing physical fatigue and maximizing mental clarity
- finding good environment with desired level of noise
- eliminating physical and mental distractions as much as possible
- controlling speed with curiosity as compass and table of contents as map
- ideally, be enjoying at this stage or reflecting why not :3
reflection
- scanning through glossary, bibliography, further reading
- reflecting on the book through reviews or discussion
Above is a set of general techniques which could vary in practice (e.g. neck lighter, digital vs physical book, noise-cancelling headphones, etc.). There should be enough repetition to see some difference.
Further readings
- How To Read a Book - ref
- The Book - ref
- Deep Work - ref
- Why We Sleep - ref
- Grit - ref
- Task Switching And Cognitive Control - ref
- Neuroplasticity - ref