Introduction: A New Way to Think about Reading Books
Nearly everyone these days is stretched for time, and time is one thing that none of us can get more of. You read the research about the benefits of reading books, and perhaps you have even taken a speed reading course or two. Yet, you cannot read as much as you would like to. When you were taught to read, you were taught to read word-by-word, from the start of the book to the end.
Is it not interesting that you were never offered an advanced course in reading so that you could unlearn some of the rules of reading, and learn the new ones? When a child is first learning to read, there are certain concepts that he or she has to learn, but having mastered those concepts, they should have been replaced with new ones. Is there a new way to think about reading books?
You are probably one of those people who thinks that you have to read the entire book. But think about this for a second, why do you read a book in the first place? Mortimer Adler says that there are three reasons for reading a book – for entertainment, information or to further your knowledge. When reading for entertainment it makes sense to read the entire book because you do not want to miss information that’s critical to the plot. But when reading for information or to further knowledge, is it necessary to read the entire book to understand what the book is about?
If you believe the 80/20 Rule, that means that if you read 20 percent of the book, you get 80 percent of the content, and is that enough for the time investment? What if the 80 percent of the book content covered by reading 20 percent gave you a sound understanding of what it is about, then could you say that you have read the book?
How to Save Hours of Time Reading a Book
It is a struggle for me to even think of a new way of reading a book. This is something that I mentioned once before on the blog. People ask me all the time if I read entire books and I say yes, because I do, but I have to admit that it’s time to change my way of reading books. My three words for this year are Learn, Invest and Connect so professional development is much bigger this year for me because I am more intentional about it.
Although I read some books for entertainment, many of the books on my list are to get an education in an area that I am interested in. Embracing a new way to think about reading books will enable us to save hours in the time it takes us to read a book.
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Do you make this mistake with your professional development?
When it comes to reading books faster while reading well, I know what to do, but I do not always do it. One of the first things to do before reading a book is to skim and scan, and this is something that you learn in speed reading courses. This means that you look at the Table of Contents, read the first and last paragraphs of each chapter, read the book description and so on. When I do these things I read the book faster and shave hours off my reading time.
If I know this, why don’t I do it?
Because it isn’t a habit.
This year is the year when I rise to another level, and things are already moving in that direction because I am taking deliberate action. I have to get over the notion that I have to read the entire book to say that I have read it. Most books include the same information written in different ways, therefore if you already know the information, why read it over and over? There are books that have only a chapter that you need, so why read the entire book? I have to change my attitude toward what it means to read a book, and a shift in mindset is needed. I have piles of books that I have to get through this year, and I can only get through them if I embrace a new way to think about reading books.
Final Thoughts: A New Way to Think about Reading Books
The time for applying what I know to reading books the new way is now. I have to make the shift in mindset today, and not tomorrow. If I understand all the concepts in the book by reading 20 percent or even 50 percent, then I have read the book.
Reading is very personal, and I should stop caring about what other people think, how about you? If you were more strategic in how you read books when reading for information or to further knowledge, imagine the number of books you would read each year!
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