How to Become a Better Reader (read less, learn more)

One of the benefits of reading is that it allows you to master the best of what other people have already figured out. This is only true if you can remember and apply the lessons and insights from what you read.
This video explores the tested insights that we’ve found to be most helpful.
If you want deeper insights into reading, take our Art of Reading Course.
If you liked this video, check out this one to learn how to create a better memory: • Here's a System you Ca...
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00:00 - Intro
01:05 - Quitting books
02:30 - 4 Levels of Reading
05:25 - Choosing great books
06:40 - The Blank Sheet Method
07:20 - Chapter summaries
08:08 - Why you should read
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Farnam Street helps you master the best of what other people have already figured out.

[@chinmaybhat99]

"No one cares how fast you read, how many books you read last year. In the real world, what matters is what you absorb. Reading quickly is really only helpful when you want to find something that's worth reading. But once you do, dive in and do so slowly and deeply. When it comes to reading well is knowing what to read. Read the old books & read the best ones twice"

[@2107camilo]

Another way of retaining is simply discussing it or teaching the content to other people.

[@joeking6972]

I've kept a habit of reading 60 pages a day and it's not only changed my life but has also made me much happier. Sometimes it'll take several hours to do so but I simply replace all the crappy inputs I used to consume with reading. Even if I'm tired I often find that reading allows me to hit a second wind and actually gives me more energy(even more so than another cup of coffee). I plan on becoming a writer one day so 60 pages/day is an essential habit for me, but realistically I think 20 pages per day is more than enough for most people. A book a month is a great standard to have.

[@ProductivePM]

You are awesome . . . I have 3 of your booksw and have subscribed to your email newsletter. Keep up the GREAT work!

[@EldhoseJoseph]

I will add another advanced note taking approach that I use : After one is done with taking notes of a specific book, one should add the important and actionable steps in another main note devoted to that topic or theme. This way you have a single document related to a topic/theme with contents sourced from a lifetime of reading. This also gives you an analytical understanding of everything u have read. And it's easy to revise /revisit than going through notes of thousands of books.

[@farnamstreet3661]

This is a great tip.

[@ANieves3873]

That’s similar to what some of these short book review summary apps like Blinkist, 12min, and Shortform I think is another and I’m sure there are others but to me it’s better to extract from my own reading because I can apply it to the concepts I want to form.

[@olivierchaligne7535]

I think on putting books down, I think it comes from school where we had to read the book. And also partly the idea that if you start something you have to finish.

[@AlessandroBottoni]

By far the best, wisest, most informed and most honest video about reading I have ever watched. Kudos!

[@rohithdsouza8]

The key point of reading is to absorb, retain and apply the knowledge/insight you've learned from a book and to delve deep on a topic refering various other sources in order to form your own opinion regarding the topic.

[@dmtdreamz7706]

On a certain level, we have a drug store in our brain, the neurochemicals that show up in flow: so dopamine, norepinephrine, anandamide, endorphins, and serotonin. If you were to try to cocktail the street drug version of that, right, you're trying to blend like heroin and speed and coke and acid and weed- and point is, you can't do it. It turns out the brain can cocktail all of 'em at once, which is why people will prefer flow to almost any experience on Earth. It's our favorite experience. It's the most addictive experience on Earth. Why? 'Cause it cocktails five or six of the largest pleasure drugs the brain can produce. We're all capable of so much more than we know. That is a commonality across the board. And one of the big reasons is we're all hardwired for flow, and flow is a massive amplification of what's possible for ourselves.⁰

[@mamb_]

What I think because of what I read is that the most important thing it's evocation of what we think we learned with as much time between learning and retention. As much time the better the retention. Having been said, can you share your ways of notetaking for the fourth type of "reading to master" in order to retain the best organized approach to then apply the learning somehow in the future. Thanks in advance.

[@sohhamm]

Great video!

[@gbcalisi]

Great stuff, I will put these techniques at work immediately! Quitting a book, one of the most difficult things to do for me. It is almost like admitting to yourself you made a bad decision in the first place.

[@TheNigerianStudentPodcast]

This is really an enlightening video It opened some mysteries to me Thank you so much

[@nawarbk1366]

Great video thank you

[@kenyanwalker6099]

Things people never talk about thank you the best 😊

[@chillah7795]

notes: 1. Don't be scared to quit a book that you dislike reading. 2. There are four levels of reading books. (EIUM) - Reading to entertain. - Reading to inform. - Reading to understand. - Reading to master. 3. Find good books. 4. Write what you read, preferably using the Blank Sheet Method. "One of the best ways to learn is to read, the best way to learn more is to read more"

[@sundarmanoj]

Cool

[@nandoetavares]

06:40 - The Blank Sheet Method . I didn't understand the method!

[@Slipping_thru_the_Seams]

from what i understood, the method is to make a mind map of what you already know about the topic of the book, and adding to it as you read

[@WateryFire]

Great content! Off-putting Hollywood movie music that undermines what you're saying, are we discovering aliens? So American...

[@aawenel1437]

Connect dots.

[@FacebookInc.]

Write your mental model books in hindi , your book is traumatic to read you stretched the topic

[@esslanddaboy9391]

Informative as always