How to Read More Books: A Strategy

The hard part is that you have to start reading books regularly and develop a semi-daily habit. That’s the hard part.

Another difficult part is determining books you will actually want to read. Yeah, I know, another piece of advice about finding “what gives you joy”. This is kinda real though. If you’re reading stuff that you’re not really enjoying… well, you’re probably more like skimming than reading. There’s a technical term (F-pattern scanning) for that thing we do when we start reading an article, then our eyes pull across the page, then drop down, then skip around a bit, then we jump to the bottom hoping for something like a conclusion. And our brain is hoping for confirmation bias, which doesn’t help the cause. In any case, this is not reading. It’s not really thinking, either. It’s the kind of information gathering that we’ve become accustomed to in the modern era. And it’s a problem. And we know it.

Ok, so, we agree, I hope, that real reading involves more than a cursory level of interest. You don’t need to get into a deep “flow state” or anything like that to enjoy reading. You do need to focus and single-task.

Let’s talk about choosing the books we read. Here’s a newer strategy that I’ve found both appealing and effective: Keep several books in progress at once.

I suggest your quest begin at your local library. Gather a few potentially interesting reads and flip around. If they seem like something you might get into, then bring them home.

If you’re not enjoying a book, you don’t need to keep reading it. Life is too short to read books you don’t enjoy or find worthwhile. Put the book down. Set it aside. Walk away.

If you are enjoying a book, consider taking a few notes along the way. I’ve always found notetaking really enhances the experience of reading. Maybe this is a weird holdover from being an English major or spending a lot of time close-reading overly complicated philosophy and lit theory texts. Who knows. In any case, I read more attentively when I’m taking notes. If the books are my copies, then there’s going to be quite a lot of marginalia, underlining, stars, etc. I’ve created my own personal markings to indicate levels of interest or epiphany. Basically the equivalent of adding more emphasis on how interesting or important or valuable I found a particular section. I’m mentioning this because you might find this personalization is helpful or makes the act of reading more enjoyable.

Now, I’m going to get to the main strategy that has become a propulsive force in my reading habit.

The concept is having texts lead to other texts.

I mentioned before about having several books in progress at once. This is useful because it means you have more options depending on mood. It’s not unlike times when I’ll go for audio (podcasts or audiobooks) over reading physical books. Maybe I have eye strain from too much screen time or I’m tired and it’s more enjoyable to lean back and listen.

For nonfiction, there’s often quite a lot of references to other texts. These references might have commonalities or crossover appeal for many reasons. For example, books about time management are likely to mention other books about time management. If you want to read more on the subject, you’re likely going to get some ideas for further reading. The general idea is that books tend to build on each other regardless of field. So, you can either read more about what led to the creation of a book that you’re currently reading, books that are “comps” since everything exists in the zeitgeist meaning there are likely at least a few books on a popular subject, or books that have been written in response (perhaps not directly) to the book that you’re currently enjoying. Take for example, the abundance (growth) and de-growth movement and related perspectives. Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson’s book Abundance is very popular. Maybe that’s a starting place for some readers. On the subject of the attention economy, Chris Hayes’ The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource feels late to the conversation. Inevitably, this text builds on the many discussions about the attention economy that have been ongoing for years.

If you have several books going at once, then you have the opportunity to start a list of books that dovetail by way of a theme or area of interest worthy of continued pursuit.

A reason I’ve been enjoying this style of reading so much is, at least in part, because you begin to see the way that the world building in books (and I’m not even talking about Epic Fantasy) have interrelated components that provide fascinating throughlines.

Perhaps the simplest version of this experience is reading a book by an author, discovering you love the author’s style of writing, and then having the option to read the author’s earlier or later work. The key is that you have the choice to go in multiple directions.

Much of this is about developing agency in your reading process. Owning your process. Your ability to thoughtfully choose what you want to read next is empowering. It’s also an act that falls under the category of atypical forms of resistance. Among the many reasons include that you are sidestepping algorithms (aka. “algos”). You are making these decisions without an interested third party— (and by “interested” I mean in the context of consumer capitalism, attention economy, ad-based revenue) — decide for you.

The next time you see an algo feed described as “For You”, I hope you’ll keep this in mind.