Reading
I’ve realized that I retain a lot more when I actively make notes. Of course, it is a bit frustrating because it interrupts your rhythm when reading, but you are doing your future self a HUGE favour.
How to read better
My Opinion on reading
I don’t know where I stand on reading. Sometimes, I feel like it is a waste a time.
That’s the reason I haven’t been reading a lot. Why would I read non-fiction / literature when I could be making a YouTube video, or learning about AI?
But reading is about opening your worldview, and learning from the smartest people in the world from centuries ago.
There is a beauty in movies, but what about when movies didn’t exist? When Shakespeare.
Why read fiction when you can watch a fiction movie? My friends say there is a beauty to thinking about it in your head but I don’t see that as a valid reason.
I actually enjoy movies more than reading. But they say that reading forces you to use your Imagination.
Why do I read?
I write this not because I have an answer but because I am trying to to figure out an answer.
I read
- because it opens up my worldview
- To learn more about the world
- Because it allows me to develop my thoughts, to be more empathetic, to be a more cultured person in society
- To become better at staying focused
- To appreciate literature and languages
- To learn from the Smartest people of the world, people who were ahead of their times
- To feel.
Personal Action Items
Before you start a read, do a little bit of research on the author’s background. What was he going through?
Some Other Insights
John Fish introduced this really nice quote:
“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I’ve eaten; even so, they have made me”. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Reading should become a habit like eating. It’s going to change your life, your way of thinking.