I realized I need a more efficient way to tackle my ever-growing reading list, so I created this page to collect tips for optimizing the reading process. This page was initially titled “How to Read Fast,” but I soon realized speed and volume are not what I should focus on.
General
The true goal of reading should be comprehension, not volume. Instead of prioritizing speed, a better approach is to actively engage with the material:
What matters is how it changes your thinking and what you take away from it. Optimize for comprehension, not volume.
If your goal is to maximize comprehension, ask questions while you read — questions that you yourself must try to answer in the course of reading. … This is the template I use:
- In 1-2 sentences, what is the book about as a whole?>
- What are the 3-4 central questions it tries to answer?
- Summarize the answers in one paragraph each.
- What are the most important things you have learned personally?1
This process naturally slows down your reading speed, which means you need to be more selective about which books to invest your time in. Techniques like topical and inspectional reading can help you filter potential reads by quickly skimming them to decide if they’re worth a deeper dive. This method is discussed further in 如何阅读一本书.
Non-Fiction
To efficiently tackle my reading list, I’ve discovered some practical tips for reading non-fiction2:
- Start with the author. Who wrote the book? Read their bio. If possible, find a brief interview or article about the author to understand their biases and perspective.
- Examine the title, subtitle, front flap, and table of contents. What’s the book’s big-picture argument? How is the argument structured? By now, you should be able to summarize the book’s main idea for someone else.
- Read the introduction and conclusion. These sections present the author’s main argument and summarize their key points. Read them word for word but efficiently.
- Skim each chapter strategically. Read the chapter title and the first few paragraphs to grasp its purpose and how it fits into the book’s argument. Skim headings, subheadings, and the first and last sentences of paragraphs. Read entire sections only when the meaning isn’t clear.
- Revisit the table of contents. After finishing the book, return to the table of contents and mentally summarize the flow, arguments, and key takeaways.
Most non-fiction books aim to convey a central idea or concept, meaning you don’t need to read every word to grasp their message. Skimming and selective reading are often sufficient for understanding.
For fiction, however, the process is different. Fiction requires a more immersive, word-for-word approach to fully appreciate the author’s world-building and storytelling.
Fiction demands that we enter a world of the author’s making, inspiring a more immersive experience.2
Three Types of Non-Fiction
Non-fiction can often be categorized into three types3:
- 💁♀️ Narrative: Books that tell a story, such as biographies, memoirs, and histories.
- 🌳 Tree: Books that present a framework of ideas, like Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow or Andy Grove’s High Output Management.
- 🌿 Branch: Books that focus on a single idea, padded with examples and extrapolations, such as Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s Antifragile.
The above reading tips work best for branch books, where skimming usually suffices. In fact, some argue it’s better to read summaries of branch books rather than the books themselves.
For tree books, however, a slower, more deliberate chapter-by-chapter approach is recommended to thoroughly understand and internalize the material.
Footnotes
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https://www.andreasfragner.com/writing/writing-summaries “Writing Summaries is More Important than Reading More Books” ↩
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https://hbr.org/2016/02/how-to-read-a-book-a-week “How to Read a Book a Week” ↩ ↩2
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https://commoncog.com/the-3-kinds-of-non-fiction-book/ “The Three Kinds of Non-Fiction Books” ↩