While You Read

The Point of the Reading Guides¶

None of these reading guides are a substitute for actually reading the book. They are meant to be supplemental reference material. This means that while I try my best to summarize the main points of each chapter in the notes, they do not reflect the entirety of the author’s arguments.

Think of these guides as hiking trail maps: they might help you figure out the paths you want to take with your reading, or help you better remember your own experience after you’re done. But reading them is not the same as actually doing the hiking yourself.

So, with that out of the way, here are some things I’d recommend doing as you read in order to get the most out of the experience.

Don’t Rush!¶

There’s no deadlines or grades here. Don’t worry if it’s taking you a while to finish a particular text. This is an entirely self-directed process and I applaud you for engaging in it at all; go at exactly the pace that makes you comfortable.

On Annotations¶

I highly encourage you to mark up books as you’re reading them (if you own them or if they’re digital copies, of course). Here are some suggestions for things to try, and why they might help.

Highlighting significant passages¶

How do you know a passage is significant enough to highlight? Isn’t everything the author writes significant?

If you’re not used to doing this as you’re reading and you find yourself highlighting everything on the page, here’s a rule of thumb you might find useful. Highlight the passage if it concisely summarizes the overall argument for that section or provides a piece of information that really changes your worldview.

Summarizing chapters¶

Yes, I know I’ve already provided a bunch of chapter summaries. But they’re not summaries of the information you find significant. As you read each chapter, try to summarize the author’s argument in your own words. This process of distillation will help you better recall the information in the future, as well as connect it to other things you learn.

Web-weaving¶

Chances are, as you’re reading any of these books, something you read will remind you of something else. It might remind you of another book or article you’ve read or a personal experience you’ve had. Whatever it is, make a note of it.

Drawing and reinforcing these connections is how your brain retains information. The more you do it, the more you’ll get out of your reading experience.

Multiple Passes¶

It can be hard enough to read a book once, I know. But even the trickiest passages get easier to understand when you read them repeatedly. It’s even better to take a methodical approach to each chapter: if you can swing it, try doing an initial highlighting pass before going back and doing another note-taking/summarizing pass.

You can also try revisiting particular books on a schedule, e.g. rereading them once a year. This lets you recontextualize the book with all the knowledge you’ve gained since the last time you read it. I don’t recommend doing this with every single book, of course - just the ones you find particularly impactful.