How I Read Books

Reading is my way of learning. It's my first step to gain understanding, which I use as a foundation for teaching others.

Here is my process for how I currently read books.

Inspection

Before starting to read a book I review it at a very high level. This allows me to preview the book's structure and understand what the book is about.

Inspection is part the second level of reading which I've already written about it briefly here [insert link].

This step is pretty informal for me. I'll take a look at the table of contents to see how the author structured the book. I'll also read the back of the book and any details of the author and their summary on the insides of the cover. And if the introduction or preface isn't long I'll read that as well.

I may thumb through the book quickly to get a better feel of the structure, review the section headers (if any) and maybe read a paragraph or two. Again the idea here is to get a high view of the book, so I don't spend too much time on this, just a 2-10 minutes tops depending on the size of the book. Lastly, I'll make a mental note of how long the chapters are and the number of pages.

Decide

After inspection is completed, I don't jump into reading the book. I take a moment to decide if I'll actually read the

Currently I don't have a method for weeding out books, but I just go off my interests. After inspection if the book still has my interest, I'll read if. If not I'll do like Frozen and let it go.

Read and Notate

Assuming I don't set the book aside, I'll read it. Each chapter, I read with much intention, searching for key point(s), quotes and ideas that stand out to me. In addition to these notes, I'll ask begin to record my personal questions.

Asking questions when reading is a crucial task of a demanding reader [insert link]. Some questions may be answered as I continue to read, and some may not and this is good, because it gives me something to inquire about later. Outstanding questions spark my own research or even allow me the chance of asking the author directly.

Think of this as the mining process. Reading is the equivalent of excavating the land for buried items. And once the land has been excavated, it's time review each individual finding.

Ponder

Once I've completed the book, it's be marked up with my special notations and personal notes, which isn't very coherent. So I'll compile all my notes in once place to review them all together.

The notes are sectioned by chapter and I can beginning the pondering process.

I love this part because with my notes I search for themes. I look for commonalities and answers to my questions. I can also draft new questions as I gain understanding from my notes. Sometimes I'll go back to the book and get clarity and write some more. I'll ask myself questions about my own thinking and begin to test my assumptions and challenge my own logic.

There are great benefits for working through my notes in this way. It enhancing my skills as a demanding reader, and deepens my personal understanding of a the topic. It also gives me more ideas for future areas of study.

Pondering allows me to craft my own personal takeaways that I try to collate in a way that would benefit others. This is where my book notes come in. Although I'm not trying to create a summary of the book, my notes will include my personal insights and some summary elements.

The idea is to use this writing to communicate what I've learn from the book and allow the readers of my blog to understand that and decide for themselves if they will pick up the book and read.

Conclusion

In addition to the personal benefits I gain from this reading approach, my hope is that whoever reads my book notes will be challenged to become a demanding reader themselves.

Hopefully you have found this blog helpful for you, as you craft your own reading process.