What I talk about when I talk about reading

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In 2023 I hit a personal record on the amounts of books I read. I set to read 26 books, one every 2 weeks. I ended up reading 32 complete books plus a few that I left unfinished.

If a man does not read, then he has no advantage over the man who can’t read.

– Mark Twain

How much is your life worth?

Reading is the highest-leverage activity for self-development. Books are inexpensive from a capitalistic point of view. Reading ain’t cheap though.

Even if books were expensive, they would still be cheap due to their irreplaceable ROI. My rule is “never save money on books”. Also never save on parachutes or condoms. Cheap can also be expensive.

Every book I read changed me. Every author taught me a lesson. Happens overtly in the non-fiction genre. Also happens in a more subtle form when reading fiction. Stories are how we humans love to learn.

Books are people

What influences do you open the door to in your life? I’m mindful of surrounding myself with the people who best nourish my mind.

Books are a tool for befriending some of the most interesting folks that have ever lived. These people might not live close to you or speak your language. They don’t even need to be alive and still, you can hang out with them and be besties.

Books are thoughts and feelings, ideas and fantasies. They can be the distillation of years of intense thinking for the author. You can rent these amazing friends and hear their thoughts for a couple of hours.

Put them away when you get tired of hanging out with them. They won’t care and that’s how true friendship should look like. It only requires a tiny bit of your money and shit ton of your attention. Attention, defined as time multiplied by focus, is our most precious currency.

And because books are just people… it should be obvious that there are lots crappy books out there. Like people You don’t need to be friends with everybody you meet and you don’t have to finish every book you start. Not everybody has the privilege of becoming your friend. Be picky.

Quitters are winners

People feel comfortable abandoning a TV show the moment they stop enjoying it. They do the same with movies. And for some mysterious reason, books don’t receive the same treatment.

Tell someone you watched a hundred movies and they’ll believe you have too much spare time. Instead say that you read 10 books and they will think highly about you. Why does this happen?

We put books on pedestals since we were kids at school. Books mean authority and they command respect. Readers are respected members of our society.

It’s fine to abandon a book halfway if you feel it’s not the best use of your time. You give it another try later or never touch it again in your life. Both are fine. Every moment spent reading a book you don’t enjoy, is a moment you could be reading something worthy of your time.

It took me longer than I would like to admit to get rid of my self-shaming when I abandoned a book. My epiphany came during a period when I was not reading a lot.

I was not enjoying the book I was reading at the moment (sorry not sorry Mr Gatsby). It was not the right book for that time or not the right time for that book. The moment I picked something else, my reading skyrocketed again.

Attention crisis

I always carry a book with me, so I never have to wait one moment of my life. It feels like wearing a badge of honor nowadays. It screams to the world:

“My brain is capable of focusing on a text larger than a fucking tweet”.

That seems to be a superpower nowadays. I’m amazed by how few people read long content. Everybody says they would love to read more but they don’t have the time. Your screen time on your phone screams: bullshit!

We all have the same time, we only have different priorities. It’s about being honest with yourself.

New times require same old solutions

With reading, there should be no monogamy. You should be reading many books at the same time. You make the rules.

All books are connected. One will always take you to another. Either by a direct reference or by introducing you to a new topic you would like to know more about. You and your books have friends in common. Join the party.

The more you read, the more chances you face the same ideas again. It’s like religions, at the end of the day they all preach the same values. Branding and packaging happen to be different.

There is nothing new, only what has been forgotten.

– Marie Antoinette

Stoicism is an example of this. New authors like Ryan Holiday rehash and replay the ideas of Zeno and Zeneca. These teachings have been available for more than 2000 years. I do see the value though.

Re-wrapping ancient ideas with modern language can make them more accessible. Coming with new examples that people can identify themselves with. But don’t be a fool, the core concepts have always been the same.

This is not bad per se, it’s standing on the shoulders of the giants and that’s how we move forward as civilization. Even Marcus Aurelius had a hard time getting out of bed. We haven’t changed as much as one might think.

“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?” – Marcus Aurelius

The medium is the message

I used to be obssesed with productivy. I thought that books were largely innefficient compared to newer digital mediums of information such as videos or podcasts.

Absorbing as much information as faster as I could was the metric I always optimized for. Life is short and time is the only thing we have.

Why reading a book when I could watch a video summary about it? The end result seemed to be the same, right?

Most books are based on one single idea. Good boks might have two original thoughts. Three or more makes an outstanding piece.

Most books can be summarized in a tweet. Their extensive length fills a purpose though. It helps us to internalize the message through sheer repetition.

I used to be obsessed with productivity. I thought books were extremely inefficient compared to digital mediums (videos or podcasts).

Sucking as much information as fast as possible was the metric I always optimized for. Life is short and time is the only thing we have.

Why read a book when I could be watching a video summary about it? The result seemed to be the same, right?

Most books stand upon one single idea. Good books might have two original thoughts. Three or more make an outstanding piece. That idea usually fits inside one single tweet.

Their extensive length fills a purpose though. It helps us to internalize the message through sheer repetition.

Reading is inefficient and that’s why it is so effective

I challenge you to watch 10 summary videos about books. I’m sure that if the following week I ask you to describe what any of those books are about, you will have a very diffuse idea about them.

You might even believe that you got the idea which is worse than plain ignorance.

When imagining the pace at which information enters into our brains, books feel like walking whereas a video is cycling. Yes, you will arrive to your destination faster but we learn along the journey. Reading keeps you on the journey for longer. That’s where you do the real learning.

“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.” – John Dewey

Reading forces you to think both consciously and subconsciously. Your brain keeps working on the inputs you provide whether you like it or not.

Exercise for the mind

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Joseph Addison

Reading requires your undivided attention to move forward. Reading is an active activity. If you don’t pay attention, you don’t advance. No pain no gain.

Videos will keep playing even if you are not paying attention. Your brain can tune out and the video will not stop. Watching is a passive activity.

Books are not path the of least resistance. This is why people binge-watch Netflix instead of sitting alone with a book. Books suck and that’s what makes them great. That’s the reason why they will never go away.

There is a direct correlation between the effort to extract knowledge from a piece of paper and how deep it gets engraved in our brains. Easy come easy goes.

Books force us to engage. If technology made that process effortless, we wouldn’t be extracting the same quality content from books. It’s precisely due to the effort we need to apply that the lessons stick with us.