Read to Lead: How to Digest Books Above Your "Level" - December 17, 2007
I shouldn't be able to read most of the books on my shelf. I never took a single classical history class and I cheated through most of Economics 001. Still, the loci of my library are Greek History and Applied Economics. And though they often are beyond me educationally, I'm able to comprehend them because of some equalizing tricks. Reading to lead or learn requires that you treat your brain like the muscle that it is--lifting the subjects with the most tension and weight. For me, that means pushing ahead into subjects you're not familiar with and wresting with them until you can--shying away from the "easy read."
This is how I break down a new book:
Break out of the School Mindset
Almost everything you learn in the classroom is tainted by the fact that ultimately teachers have to test you on it. Tests often have very little to do with proving that you know or care about the material but more about proving that you spent the time reading it. The easiest way to do this is picking obscure things from the text and quizzing you on them: "Name this passage" "What were the main characters in Chapter 4?" So forget that--you're reading for you. Even when you're in school, you should be reading for yourself and not for the teacher. The worst thing that can happen is they knock you down a little bit on a grade that means very little.
When you read History of the Peloponnesian War, the countries involved in the conflict between Corinth and Corcyra is not really worth remembering. (Proof: I had to go look up the names on Wikipedia, all I remember was that they both started with a C. )What you should latch onto is that as the two fought for allied support from Athens, one took the haughty "you owe us a favor" route and the other alluded to all the benefits that would come from aiding them. Guess who got the support?
From Seneca:
"We haven't time to spare to hear whether it was between Italy and Sicily that he ran into a storm or somewhere outside the world we know--when every day we're running into our own storms, spiritual storms, and driven by vice into all the troubles that Ulysses ever knew."
He rightly points out that Homer was wise before he recited or sat down to write his own works--so what do you really gain by analyzing the minutia of it? The work is an expression of the message, not the message itself. So forget everything but that message and how to apply it to your life. Dates, names, pronunciations--they only matter in how they provide context for the lesson at hand. They carry little value otherwise.
Ruin the Ending
I almost always go straight to Wikipedia and ruin the ending. Who cares? Your aim as a reader is to understand WHY something happened, the what is secondary. In the case of HOTPW, without reading the entry you might have passed over the glorious anecdote that Thucydides missed a large part of the war because he caught the Plague and that he was largely delegated to writing about the battles because his military incompetence led to an early defeat.
You ought to ruin the ending--or find out the basic assertions of the book--because it frees you up to focus on your two most important tasks: 1) What does it mean? 2) Do you agree with it? The first 50 pages of the book shouldn't be a discovery process for you; you shouldn't be wasting your time figuring out what the author is trying to say. Instead, your energy needs to be spent on figuring out if he's right and how you can benefit from it. Plus if you already know what happens, you can identify all the foreshadowing and the clues the first read through.
Read the Reviews (Amazon)
Find out from the people who have already read it what they felt was important. From the reviews you can deduce the culture significance of the work--and from what it meant to others, at least grasp a bearing of what it could mean to you. Also by being warned of the major themes you can anticipate them coming and then actually appreciate them as they unfold. Which again frees you up much in the same way that ruining the ending does. And frankly, if you agree with their assessment of the work, go ahead and steal it once you've finished. They didn't copyright it--this isn't school, this is life.
Read the Intro
I know, I know. It infuriates me too that a 200 page book has a 80 page translator's introduction, but they are helpful. Every time I have skipped through it, I've had to go back and start over. Read the intro. It often has a ton of interesting stuff about who the work ended up influencing, and other tidbits that often stick with you longer than the work itself.
Look It Up
If you're reading to lead, you're going to come across concepts or words you're not familiar with. Don't pretend like you understand, look it up. I like to use Definr or I use my Blackberry to look stuff up on Wikipedia. If you're away from a computer and need the definition of a word, type "Define: ______" and text it to 46645 (Googl) and you'll get one back from Google. With Military History, a sense of the battlefield is often necessary. Wikipedia is a great place to grab maps and to help understand the terrain. That being said, don't get bogged down with the names of the cities or the spelling of names, you're looking to grasp the meta-lesson--the conclusion.
Post It Highlighters
These will change how you read. On the right side of the page, I tag the pages I have highlighted important passages on. On the top of the page, I mark if there is a concept I need to research or if there is a book the author suggests I read as a supplement. Don't be afraid to tear the book up with tags--tape is cheap but the time it will take you to otherwise flip back through the book to track something down is not.
Flip Through It Again
Before you close the book, go back through and reread all the passages you've marked. This puts them back into your memory and let's you walk away knowing the crucial hits of the author's message. With these flagpoles you will be able to go back through and remember the details if necessary, like knowing the chord structure of a song and working through the rest as it comes.
Type Out the Important Quotes and Passages
In Old School, Tobias Wolff talks about how he used to retype the works of classic authors when he felt uninspired just to feel what it was like to have that profoundness flow out of his finger tips. That is why I have the Book Quotes and Passages section. I've been compiling for almost 4 years now and have nearly 15,000 words typed. And I still have boxes left to go through. Not only will it inspire you, but it will help you remember them.
Read One Book from Every Bibliography
This is a little rule I try to stick with. In every book I read, I try to find my next one in its footnotes or bibliography. This is how you build a knowledge base in a subject--it's how you trace a subject back to its core. Just keep a running list through Amazon's Wish List service (here is mine). Last month I read a book on Evolutionary Psychology and discovered that I'd read almost 80% of its sources because I'd been pulled down the rabbit hole of a predecessor.
Connect, Apply, Use
When you make connections--that the cultural reactions after WWI (largely extroverted and flamboyant) and WWII (introverted, uptight and overly moral) appear to be opposite takes on the same disillusionment--you can see things for what they are. And then better understand the cyclical nature of history and human nature. Make the connection--that every major military pretext for war was claimed by (some) historians to be governmentally orchestrated (sinking of the Maine, Pearl Harbor, the Gulf of Tonkin incident, 9/11)--and appreciate how our responses to events rarely ever contain perspective or a sense of rational continuity. Ex: Is Cicero's advice on speaking similar to the mechanics of good writing?
Begin to apply the mindset of the author to your daily life--even if you don't agree with it. How would an evolutionary psychologist consider this situation? If people are economically self-interested, how can I explain this action? If Von Clausewitz said that we love Greek history because it's the easiest to manipulate, should I trust this anecdote? Ex: I know Cicero wanted to make you a better speaker, but if he wanted you to write better, what would he say?
Use. You highlight the passages for a reason. Why type the quotes if you aren't going to memorize them? Drop them in conversation. Allude to them in papers, in emails, in letters and in your daily life. How else do you expect to absorb them? Don't be a douche and drop them where they aren't relevant, but use the wisdom to make yourself a better person.Ex: Write, even if it's just for yourself, even if you're thinking aloud, what Cicero can teach you about writing.
I give you Seneca again:
"My advice is really this: what we hear the philosophers saying and what we find in their writings should be applied in our pursuit of the happy life. We should hunt out the helpful pieces of teaching and the spirited and noble-minded sayings which are capable of immediate practical application--not far far-fetched or archaic expressions or extravagant metaphors and figures of speech--and learn them so well that words become works."
Conclusion
Of course, none of this is easy. People always ask me if the books I carry around are for school because they're full of notes, flags and folded pages--why would anyone work so hard on something they were doing on their own? Because I enjoy it, because it's the only thing that separates me from ignorance. These are the techniques have allowed me to leap years ahead of my peers. It's how you strike out on your own and build strength instead of letting some personal trainer dictate what you can and can't be lifting.
So try it: Do your research, read diligently without getting bogged down in details, and then work to connect, apply and use. And I think you'll find that you're able to read above your supposed "level" even outside the classroom setting.
You can check out my Reading List for a place to start.
**Note: My list isn't conclusive, it's just my system. If there are any steps I am missing, feel free to post what you use.
Posted by ryanholiday at 6:47 PM
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Comments
Awesome. I have been looking for something like this for a while.
I am assuming you underline stuff and write in books a lot. I have never really understood what people write in books to help them, any tips?
Posted by: Anonymous at December 18, 2007 12:38 AM
This is an amazing article. I think the first part points out one of the greatest flaws in the U.S. outcome-based educational system, particularly high school and junior high. Students are taught to study just for the sake of taking a stupid test, and then forget the material directly afterward. Even worse, subjects and classes are broken up into semesters or quarters in such a way to where the material doesn't really connect on any meaningful level.
Aside from private school (not all, but some) education that focuses more on individualistic and disciplined learning, homeschooling seems to do a great job in motivating students to do the actions listed above. There's a reason why home schooled students routinely score higher on national tests and have a higher rate of acceptance relative to their numbers than public school kids, into Ivy League universities--they are motivated to learn, not just swallow facts and then spit them back out.
Homeschooling gave me the flexibility to skip the seventh grade, and allowed my younger brother to graduate high school at 16 instead of the standard 18.
There's a little used bookstore in the city I like to visit. I'm going to start buying books there (or on Amazon) and use your steps.
Posted by: MaxBro at December 18, 2007 01:05 AM
Thank you.
I've been consuming books since I knew the alphabet, but after reading this, immediately books spring to mind where I could have started my trail of studies.
Thank you sir, of making me, in short: more effective.
Shoes
Posted by: Newshoes at December 18, 2007 02:59 AM
Great article, but I disagree with your point here:
"Use. You highlight the passages for a reason. Why type the quotes if you aren't going to memorize them? Drop them in conversation. Allude to them in papers, in emails, in letters and in your daily life."
This is akin to memorizing the cities involved in the Peloponnesian War; memorizing quotes word-for-word, or even remembering who they are attributed to, is not as important as understanding the important ideas presented (and if you're highlighting and retyping the quotes, I assume you've found them to be important). Naturally putting the quote into its context lets you explore it further, but if you've already done this, what's the harm in paraphasing or failing to cite the quote? (Unless you're trying to pass off others' quotes as your own, that just makes you a douchebag.)
My problem with books has more to do with dense language, where I have to consider the particular meaning of every convoluted word in a sentence to understand what is being said. I'll try your method on some of the books I've given up on; I'm excited to see if it helps.
Posted by: Ilan Bouchard at December 18, 2007 09:30 AM
In regards to Amazon, I pay special attention to the negative reviews. Often, they point out some good things to ponder as I read the book, and best of all, it keeps me skeptical so I don't just take the author's word for it uncritically.
Scott
Posted by: Scott at December 18, 2007 11:46 AM
This is kind of a stupid question but do you use this system for only non-fiction books or fiction books as well?
I know it can be assumed since most of your book quotes come from fiction books that you obviously use that system when reading fiction books. However I was wondering how the "ruin the ending" point you made would fit in with fiction books.
Posted by: Anonymous at December 18, 2007 11:58 AM
I try and do it with ALL books.
Posted by: Ryan Holiday at December 18, 2007 01:26 PM
Considering how many books you read, do you usually take them on one at a time (finishing one before you start another) or do you work through multiple books at the same time? If it's the latter case, is there any specific technique you use to reading multiple books during the same time period?
Posted by: Anonymous at December 18, 2007 11:17 PM
Thanks, I'll be employing these tactics with future books.
Have you read "The Disposable Male" by Michael Gilbert? It's a relatively recent Ev Psych book. When I read the first few pages, I had to buy it. Looks promising.
But how do you read so many books? This post deals with only digesting them.
Also, does Tucker have any reading advice? Both of you seem to read more than is humanly possible.
Keep up the good posts. This is one of my impulsive sites.
Posted by: Anonymous at December 19, 2007 04:27 AM
If something is important to you, you'll make it happen. I just make time.
Posted by: Ryan Holiday at December 19, 2007 10:49 AM
Awesome posting. I definitely agree with typing out the important passages and quotes that mean the most to you. For me personally, its one thing to read something, but another to really recap what you got and type it yourself or in your own words. I am all about looking and researching more besides reading the book too.
Posted by: Ronnie at December 26, 2007 08:54 PM
I am a very fast reader and when dealing with very dense or older works, I found nothing worked so well as just slowing down. I found slowing down nearly impossible until I started reading the works out loud (as if to someone else). This helped me get through some very old, very dense texts and understand them better.
This is particularly fun if it's poetry.
Posted by: Joy at January 1, 2008 09:16 PM
Thanks for posting about the google text service. It's going to help me immensely with my reading when i'm not near a computer to find out a definition.
Posted by: Ryan at January 1, 2008 09:29 PM
The Google Text thing also works for directions, phone numbers and pretty obvious questions like "Who is the President of Iran?"
Posted by: Ryan Holiday at January 1, 2008 10:44 PM
Great stuffs. I have been trying to digest more books but always got stuck in the middle of a sentence. I guess I will benefit a lot from these reading guidelines. Thanks!
Posted by: Xia Liu at January 2, 2008 09:31 PM
I'm not as rigorous about it as you are, but I've been doing this since childhood. Often as a kid, I was singled out for reading books and magazines I "shouldn't be reading."
For instance, in first grade my teacher called a parent-teacher conference after I was caught reading a National Geographic magazine in class. She felt that I "shouldn't be reading that," meaning, of course, that I was incapable of it.
However, I could read it just fine and even if I didn't understand every word, I was still able to learn far more than if I'd stuck with the kiddie books that they wanted me to read.
Even though I did it unknowingly, reading above my level did far more to educate me than any other single factor, by far.
Posted by: Mike at January 3, 2008 06:03 AM
Great article. Good research.. enjoyed reading. It's useful. Goodluck :)
Posted by: Editor, The SciTech Journal at January 6, 2008 02:31 PM
I can relate totally with the way you read! Indeed, it has enabled me to recall the content of the book better than other system. however, i found it still takes quite a long time to finish one book. Any advice on speed reading?
Posted by: Rani at January 6, 2008 05:22 PM
As a teacher I'm always appalled and what we/I do to people by allowing them to live in school mode. I had a hell of a time reading with ADD and I think the above tips are fantastic. Still, I think the first thing when sitting down with a book is not just getting out of school mode but getting "in touch" with why you're reading and why.
At what level do you want to engage at that moment, then adjust your expectations as you begin to understand what the text has to offer you. Forcing stuff really makes a mess in my experience. I'm a good reader now, but I only succeed when I'm realistic about what I want and what energy level my mood allows me to succeed at.
A lifetime of expectations from classrooms to coffee houses is a lot of baggage to carry into chillin with a book. In my opinion, it should be a conversation between you and someone else's thoughts on paper. Its sort of like taking muddy boots off before walking into the house. If you don't do it things get messy.
Posted by: Trevett at January 7, 2008 12:02 AM
lovely, that's why we filter stories :)
http://newfocus.hu/
pictorial edition @
http://newfocus.soup.io/
Posted by: soobrosa at January 14, 2008 08:10 AM
Thank you for some useful hints. Anyway, this reads a bit like a "philistine guide" for reading books.
If you don't enjoy fiction or history books and are not able or willing to get into it or to follow the author on his route to his message, then you should just stick to a summary of the book that's written by somebody else and leave the book alone. Also, your judgements what's worth remembering and what's not seems to be a bit self-absorbed. Why should the anecdote and the moral be more important then the nations that were in war? Why is the take home-message more important than the development of a story, the narration itself, the beauty fiction can have. This really depends on what you're reading for. Do you need to read something to write about about it in a class or just for your own pleasure? If the latter is the case, then I don't understand why one should like to fool himself. There a thousands of books that are on your level, no matter where you are. There is no need to pretend to yourself that you did understand a book, if you didn't actually, because already the language and the setting gave you a hard time.
In principle there's nothing wrong with your attitude but if you post this as a how-to-guide, I think these things should be mentioned.
Best
Jeff
Posted by: Jeff at January 14, 2008 05:23 PM
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