A pragmatic approach to reading

I am trying to unlearn the long-time habit of reading books from cover to cover.  Don’t get me wrong, some books I still want to read leisurely. I want to linger over sentences and savor the dialogue.  Fiction books certainly fall into this category, and some non-fiction as well.   However, there are so many more books out there that I want to get to and read for information.  I need a more effective way of reading. 

I’ve found that the previewing method works well for me.  I start off  with the book cover, the author’s bio and the table of contents.   That gives me an idea what the book is about, who wrote it, and how it is structured.   I often do it before I actually buy the book.  The next step requires more discipline.  On my first read, I want to spend just a few seconds per page and go through the whole book quickly.  I will glance at the headings, subheadings and any visuals.  That’s where my efforts often derail because I dig into something sooner than I need to.  If I do the skimming properly, I usually get a pretty good picture of the main ideas and arguments.  I also know where to find the information I need to focus on.   Then, I can go back to the pages I want to read more carefully. 

Sometimes, I feel guilty rushing through the book.  After all, somebody took time to write it.  I am concerned that I may miss some gems of wisdom.   I also like to be surprised by an idea.  At the same time, I realize that I gain more from a book if I read it with a purpose in mind.  If I know what I am looking for, I have a better chance of capturing it in my memory.  The truth is that even if I read the whole book page by page and pay attention to every idea or example, I will eventually forget the stuff that is not relevant to what I am doing.  I need to be more pragmatic about reading books:  “What’s in it for me?” 

What do you think?  How do you read books?

Comments

[Jeff Hess]

Shalom Anastasia,

I developed the habit of fast-forwarding when I'm reading non-fiction.

At 2X speed I'm scanning whole paragraphs.
At 4X speed I'm only reading topic sentences.
At 8X speed I'm hitting the sub-heads.
At 16X speed I'm reading chapter titles.

B'shalom,

Jeff

[Anastasia]

I like your approach, Jeff. I should try the 4X speed with topic sentences. Thank you!

[shell]

It depends on whether it is an assigned reading and what type of book it is.

If it is a mystery book I read for leisure, I usually stop reading after gathering enough clues, and take a guess as to whodoneit. Then I skip directly to the end to confirm my guess. I usually do not care why the person did it or how she did it. I just need to know if I guessed it right. It's pretty awful way to read a book, I'd admit, but it's like reading a game-show.

For assigned reading materials, I usually start with the easiest material. I try to figure out why the professor wants us to read the assignment. Am I supposed to be paying attention to something in particular? With this in mind, I would quickly scan the subheadings to see how the argument is organized. Then I will dive into the reading, highlighting lines that I thought are important, and writing my thoughts in the margins.

[Anastasia]

I used to read more mystery books than I do now for some reason. I wonder if you've found an author who is really hard to guess.

I color-coded all my cases in law school for issues, facts, rules, holding and reasoning. I liked to be able to see what's where.