How Bill Gates reads books
Posted Nov 22, 2017, 5:05 PM UTC
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Really like this video, 5hanks for the share
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i actually disagree with a lot of this - i like the idea of writing notes in the margins but i’m mainly looking to learn the most stuff possible in the smallest amount of time. just found this app called blinkist (no this isn’t an ad) that’s basically sparknotes for non-fiction books - you can get the main talking points from a book in 15 minutes or so. i’ll read these “blinks” and write bullets in my notes app - helps me cruise through a lot more content and remember only what’s necessary. completely different story for fiction obviously but thought i’d share!
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i actually disagree with a lot of this
I found myself in agreement with almost everything he said. While I like traditional books, I don't think that books are preferable to ebooks or other digitalized formats.
you can get the main talking points from a book in 15 minutes or so.
Interesting, I should check out the app. I've been doing something similar for most fiction. I actually stopped reading fiction for a year or two because I saw it as a waste of time and only recently rediscovered the genre.
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61 years old. Old man is old.
The the dissonance between the figure I associate with his name and the actual man he is is somewhat distressing to me.
Wasn't he a tech genius back in the day ?
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How does it feel to imagine being as old as him one day?
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I'm fine with it. Chances are I won't age anymore young enough.
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Why finish books religiously? I read books until I reach a point of diminishing returns, which for many books is before reaching the end. This also means I skip around a lot to just read the most valuable parts, especially if it’s some kind of textbook.
Let’s face it, a lot of books are simply padded up because of how the publishing industry works. This is true even when the author genuinely has something valuable to say, but it could be said briefly, but they have to get to the 300 page number just because that’s a convention in the industry.
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This also means I skip around a lot to just read the most valuable parts, especially if it’s some kind of textbook.
I get where he's coming from with the whole 'finish what you started' thing but many books can be condensed and contain too many sections that are just linguistic masturbation.
I usually skip introductions and chapters that aren't crucial to save time and only go back if I need/want to know something specific.
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This advice is good but not for me.
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Start many books, read one when ur bored the other book, dont subject urself to just one book specially if that book is superdense.
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U can start books from the back and read backwards, this will help u memorize it.
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E-books better than paper if u read more than 10 books a month, a paper book can cost up to 35€ easy and is worst for the planet.
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have an small agenda and write the small insights on it.
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Dont just read easy books, bulldoze trough the boring ones, sometimes u can learn a lot more in the books that doesnt come easy to u, than in those that ur more atunned to.
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Do not fear to space out when reading a book, spacing out allow us to get original and different insights on what were reading, sometimes opposite of what the writer is trying to convey,indulge that.
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Doesnt matter the topic, read.If anything is too difficult to read because is really specialized, it will help u expand the way u look at things, and will help u understand the topic beyond what u did previously, because u will read more and expand just to make up for the lack of knowledge in the topic.
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Read books in other languages than those u dominate,not because they will help u get better with the new languages but because they will show u different ways people from other cultures look at the world.
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Paper is 1000% better than e books. I don't know why anyone would want a hunk of plastic over the feeling of pages stirring in your hands and the smell of book.
I find setting aside a day per week or every two weeks to binge read the best way to make sure I finish a book, because once I've been reading for over 20 minutes, I will stop for very little until I'm done with the book. It's also really helpful to have 6+ hours to just dive into a dense non fiction piece, because then I have time to research concepts I'm not quite grasping.
But I also have too much time on my hands.
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I don't know why anyone would want a hunk of plastic over the feeling of pages stirring in your hands and the smell of book.
Because not everyone is a book fetishist lol. If you read a lot of books using an e-reader is more efficient in the way that using an iPod when you have 30+GB of music you want to listen to is better than using CDs (or better, ditch the music player and use your phone and spotify).
binge read
I do this too. I also get 'reader's high' occasionally.
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not everyone is a book fetishist
I know, it's a tragedy :(
'reader's high'
And here I thought I'd escaped addiction.
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I saw the video and thought it was good because I do similar to how he describes, but I put my notes on Evernote. Cool guy he is.
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tl;dw:
1 - Take notes in the margins (anything, facts, opinions) to make sure you engage with the material
2 - Don't start what you can't finish
3 - Paper > E-books
4 - Block out at least one hour for reading to focus, it's something that can't be done in 5-10 mins.
Writing in books feels like a sin to me. They’re sacred creatures and deserve to be respected.
Books love it when you write in them. It's like a tattoo.
I hope you give up your seat for them on the bus, INFJ.
I don't like writing in books either. I usually use post-its for that.
They’re so worthy, I carry them so they never have to touch the ground, let alone sit.
Post it notes seem acceptable.
Agreed. Although it could be really cool to do that in a series that hasn't been completed and then read back to see what you thought was going to happen
U/lightfive ‘s Post-it note idea or using a separate note pad seems good
No if you do it it should be scribbled in the margins. That is always something I looked forward to when reading Shakespeare in school
Someone has written in the margins of my copy of Faust and it's very annoying. Most of it is just vocabulary, but there's only so many times you can see another definition for "virtuoso" or "tomfoolery" before it gets old. The strange thing is that most of the words I don't know aren't marked at all (e.g. jejune). It doesn't help that this is a library book, and I can only hope it was donated in this condition.
I think if I'm really into a book then I'll want carry it around and pop it out for 5 minutes while I'm in line for coffee or whatever, so while leaving a lot of time to read is something that I'll do, I don't think limiting yourself to that is necessarily the best.
I admire those who can do that. I myself have a hard time focusing when I read in public and I'm often distracted by my environment. It also depends on the book. I'm fine with reading fiction while riding the bus but I'd have a hard time doing the same with non-fiction. For the latter I prefer to do it at home where I can take notes.