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Writing summaries is more important than reading more books
Summary
This article discusses the importance of writing summaries of books over just reading more books. It explains that spending time writing a synopsis is more effective than spending time powering through the next book on a list. It also suggests techniques like topical reading and inspectional reading to help narrow down which books to read and spend time on. Finally, the author suggests talking about the books you read as a way to engage with the material and better comprehend the ideas.
Q&As
What are the benefits of writing summaries rather than reading more books?
The benefits of writing summaries rather than reading more books are that it takes less time and forces you to extract and re-formulate the book's insights in your own words.
What tips does the author offer for selecting books to read?
The author offers two tips for selecting books to read: topical reading and inspectional reading.
What is the structure the author uses to write summaries?
The structure the author uses to write summaries is to ask questions while reading and then write down the most important questions and how the book has answered them.
How can talking about the books you are reading help with comprehension?
Talking about the books you are reading can help with comprehension by forcing you to formulate the ideas in your own words and by having someone else challenge the ideas and get you to examine them more critically.
What is the author's opinion on speed reading?
The author's opinion on speed reading is that it is largely a scam and there is a hard tradeoff between speed and comprehension.
AI Comments
👍 This article provides a great strategy for optimizing comprehension while reading. It also gives helpful tips for selecting books and summarizing the important ideas.
👎 This article doesn't provide any concrete examples of how to actually write summaries and how to talk about what you read with someone else.
AI Discussion
Me: It's about the importance of writing summaries over reading more books. The author argues that the return on investment from writing a synopsis of a book is much higher than powering through the next book on your list. They also suggest techniques like topical reading and inspectional reading to help select the right books to read.
Friend: Interesting. That's actually something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I think it's really important to take the time to not only read the books, but to really understand and internalize the material.
Me: Absolutely! The author also argues that talking to someone else about the books you've read is also a great way to engage with the material, as it forces you to explain it in your own words and you can get challenged on the ideas.
Friend: That's a really good point. I think it can be really helpful to talk through the material with someone else to get a better understanding. It's also a good way to stay motivated and to keep track of your progress.
Action items
- Select 4-5 topics you care about and use topical reading to create a list of works related to those topics.
- Use inspectional reading to prune the list down to 2 books.
- Talk to someone else about the books you’re reading to engage with the material and formulate it in your own words.
Technical terms
- ROI
- Return on Investment.
- Comprehension
- Understanding.
- Volume
- Amount.
- Topical Reading
- Reading about a specific topic.
- Inspectional Reading
- Systematic skimming or pre-reading.
- Speed Reading
- Reading quickly.