
Ask HN: How do you read? - dsinecos
Sometimes when I&#x27;m reading a book, I get into this mad rush to note down any and every new idea I come across. At the end of it I&#x27;ll have a pile of notes but I don&#x27;t seem to have connected the ideas to anything I already know. They just hang around as statements. At other times, I read slowly and at the end of a 300 page book I might have only three key ideas that I remember, but I&#x27;m able to explain and illustrate them well. However, that leaves me feeling like I should&#x27;ve worked harder on the book. I can&#x27;t seem to find a balance.<p>Also, if you revise your notes after a considerable time do you ever feel like updating them with any new insights or examples? How do you do that? Is there an app that you use?<p>Last point, sometimes my head explodes with questions when I read something. It&#x27;s not possible to pursue all of them right then and not all of them are relevant to understanding the topic at hand, but I&#x27;ve also not been able to come up with a system to organize them and follow up later.<p>I love to read but I get frustrated because I feel I could be more efficient.<p>So HN, any ideas, suggestions, your methods and experiences, please share.<p>(I&#x27;m reading The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman right now)
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e19293001
When I read a textbook, a specification or an article or something technical
that I consider important parts I use the Feynman Technique[0].

As from what the linked article says,

    
    
        The technique is simple:
    
            1. Get a piece of paper
            2. Write at the top the idea or process you want to understand
            3. Explain the idea, as if you were teaching it to someone else
    
        What’s crucial is that the third step will likely repeat some areas of the idea you already understand. However, eventually you’ll reach a stopping point where you can’t explain. That’s the precise gap in your understanding that you need to fill.
    

I used to repeatedly explain the idea to myself. At first I find it hard to
recall though I don't feel discourage when I'm unable to hold it on my mind at
first and just think that there are a few that can but once I train myself
I'll eventually improve.

When reading blogs, HN comments, novels etc., I usually read it once just like
I'm watching television or a movie.

I don't worry that I read slow since when I've found out that Donald Knuth
also reads novels very slowly[1].

If you want a more systematic reading, there is a book[2] which has been
mentioned often here in HN.

> Is there an app that you use?

I use org-mode for everything

[0] - [http://calnewport.com/blog/2012/10/26/mastering-linear-
algeb...](http://calnewport.com/blog/2012/10/26/mastering-linear-algebra-
in-10-days-astounding-experiments-in-ultra-learning/)

[1] - [http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/retd.html](http://www-cs-
faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/retd.html)

[2] - [https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Book-Intelligent-
Touchstone/...](https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Book-Intelligent-
Touchstone/dp/0671212095)

------
b_emery
Sounds like you need a commonplace book. I read about them in the book "Where
good ideas come from". A commonplace book was a notebook used by the likes of
Darwin to store and rehash ideas. I use what I consider to be the modern
equivalent, which is a personal wiki (I like tiddlywiki, which is a self
contained file I put in dropbox so it's available on all my computers. The
author cited above uses software called devon-think, which has the advantage
of including semantic search, which pairs ideas based on the words in them
that you might not otherwise put together.

Typically when reading I record quotes and ideas and relevant reference
information. The wiki allows tagging so the content gets a number of tags.

I've found the ability to re-discover thoughts and ideas to be extremely
useful - and was glad to find that there is a historical precedent for this
problem/solution.

------
Red_Tarsius
I usually highlight key concepts of the chapter and rewrite chunks of text
into my notebook. Typing on a computer is useless memory-wise, handwriting is
more enjoyable and effective. I write small and fast by holding a ruler on the
baseline.

If I enjoy a topic, I write down and rearrange chunks from different sources.
If you look at the same topic from different books, it's easier to grok that
knowledge.

> _I read slowly and at the end of a 300 page book I might have only three key
> ideas that I remember, but I 'm able to explain and illustrate them well._

People don't buy brochures, so the writer is driven by the publisher to write
hundreds more pages. The market does not reward concise exposition. I read
plenty of books with 3 pages worth of ideas and 300 fillers.

~~~
dsinecos
"If I enjoy a topic, I write down and rearrange chunks from different
sources."

This. How do you do this? As in do you write down chunks on post its and
rearrange, you write them in a notebook and go back and forth, you use some
kind of app?

I've felt this too, learning from multiple sources is a much more fulfilling
experience

------
recmend
I like to read books in hard-copy format and take notes on stuff I liked.
Usually my notes are not more than two pages per book and sometimes refer
these notes when needed. I try to read one book per month.

------
grif-fin
You are not alone but not common. I have the very similar experience with
reading. I prefer textbooks than novels in general and I am indeed slow in
going through them.

I think I understand it more in depth and pay attention to more details than
other I've talked to about this. It seems like a forced trade-off to me as I
have no choice but to continue this way with reading. I cannot simply proceed
if questions are unanswered.

Looking it from an advantage point if the good read is chosen the knowledge is
acquired and understood in powerful depth. I guess better teachers we would
be.

~~~
dsinecos
"I cannot simply proceed if questions are unanswered."

I know this feeling. I do force myself to proceed but it feels like I'm
cheating myself. Do you always hang around at that point until you clear up
the question? What if it's something that would benefit if you allowed it to
brew in the back of your mind? How do you keep track of such questions.

Sorry if i'm splitting hairs.

~~~
grif-fin
If it is something that I do not know the definition or complexity of it I
search it at that point. Sometimes this initiates the Wikipedia effect which
can distract. Naturally if this happens a lot during one reading that gives me
a signal that perhaps I should take a step back and read more basic stuff.

------
f_allwein
Learning to speed read helps a lot. I worked through Breakthrough Rapid
Reading by Peter Kump and really liked it:
[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/100800.Breakthrough_Rapid...](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/100800.Breakthrough_Rapid_Reading)

I highlight important stuff while I read. After reading, I usually create a
word doc/ mindmap with the key ideas.

------
PaulHoule
I read a lot on my tablet at the gym.

If something is really hard to read and technical I'll read it several times
in a row.

I am not a big fan of highlighting, often I come back to a book I highlighted
later and wonder what I was thinking back then.

------
glook
I highlight a lot. If there is a key concept or something that I want to learn
more about, I highlight it and let it go. Then, I come back through the book
and review the highlights when I'm not reading to read.

