
Ask HN: How you read books? - dillmac
Hello,<p>I have around hundred books to read. But I can not make time for reading in this busy and distracted world. What are your effective ways to read books effectively and faster to retain information?
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brudgers
I take a structuralist [1] approach to reading. The primary value I get from
reading a book is how it helps me understand other things I have read and
other things I will read. The internet helps because I can google facts, even
many of the facts I am reading. What I cannot google is the way the ideas in
one book illuminate things I have already read.

Now it is worth mentioning that I am not in school (which does not mean I am
not learning). So there is no test on the book in two to twelve weeks. It is
also worth mentioning that the quantity and type of reading I do varies and
how long I spend reading a book also varies from a day and into the night to
years...I reread books too, and perhaps one of my criteria for what I read is
"Is this worth rereading."

Implicit in your question are two conflicting goals: making time to read and
not making time to read by reading faster and more effectively. Nobody asks,
how do I make love effectively and faster? Well maybe an engineer, but that's
another story.

Good luck.

[1]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structuralism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structuralism)

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simonblack
_I have around hundred books to read._

Why those hundred? Why not some other hundred? In other words, what is the
selection criteria?

Is it _necessary_ to read those hundred books? Why? Are they reference books
or story-books?

If reference books, do you need to read the whole book or just the relevant
parts of it?

If story-books, what is it you want to discover? The actual story, or the
style of writing? Again, do you need to read the whole book or just the
relevant parts of it?

Does it have to be a physical book you read? Could a summary do? Many books
are reduced to a short summary of the storyline in Wikipedia. Could a movie or
documentary do? Could an audio-book do?

Regarding actual brain-input time. There are lots of times during the day when
you have a few minutes available: on public transport; while sitting in the
toilet; while relaxing before turning the light off at night; while eating
your lunch; reading it off a computer screen; listening to audiobooks while
driving, or walking, or resting.

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bewe42
Active reading. First scan TOC and headlines. Then read superficially. Grasp
the author’s leading propositions by dealing with his most important
sentences. Ask questions while reading.

After reading a certain amount of text, close the book and summarize in your
own words what you have read. Again ask questions how the key ideas relate to
what you already know.

The ultimate exercise is syntopical reading where you compare several books on
the same subject with each other.

Best intro: "How to read a book" by Adler.

P.S: I'm very interested in this subject, I'm trying to build an app to
support active reading.

Edit: re-reading your question, you seem to want to read faster and consume as
many books as possible. As you can guess, my advice is the opposite. Read slow
but deep and fewer books (just pick the best out there)

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adamnemecek
Spend like 15 minutes reading the table of content and build a mental
scaffolding for information.

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ljquintanilla
Audiobooks. You can listen while doing chores/commuting/working.

