Over the years, I have come to realize a few things when it comes to reading books and searching for knowledge.

One important fact is that my best reading came not from times where I was hyper fixated on what exactly it was I read, how much time I spent reading, how much notes I was taking, whether I got smarter nor any other vanity metric.

My best reading came from times where I vigorously scoured through every source I could muster for something that would be relevant to what I was interested in and obsessed about at that moment.

One historic example of this is Theodore Roosevelt, who cultivated an otherwise insane obsession with zoology, causing him read and experiment voraciously on the subject, much so that he wrote books about it.

The popular maxim for this would be “read what you love until you love to read.” - Naval Ravikant.

During these times I found that I :

1. Retained more of what I read.
2. Finished books less (most didn’t have what I wanted).
3. Read more material (books, articles, journals, etc.).
4. Understood more about the concept I intended to gain knowledge of because of the variety of perspectives I was able to garner. Range.
5. Took better notes (although less frequent - something I need to work on).

Notice anything yet?

You would realize that, what I was doing here wouldn’t be considered “reading” by the very definition of the word. I was doing something different. I was researching. Something you would think only writers or Phd. students are supposed to do.

Honestly, if you think that, you are not wrong and you are even closer to the truth. But does this mean you have to enroll in a Phd program or start a book project to become a good reader? Far from it. It just means that if you want to maximize your reading potential, you are going to have to learn from the best.

This is something I always say to myself:

The best intellectuals are most often the the best writers. The best writers are also often the best researchers, and the best researchers, the best readers. Hence; treat your reading like the research that it is.

-Nero.

I find this to be true from a review of the lives of Jordan Peterson, Nassim Taleb, Robert Greene, Ryan Holiday and many more. All great writers, also insane researchers. Lesson there.

Now let’s get into the juicy stuff: Whoring.

Forgive me daddy for I have read one too many books

Do the number of books read matter?

The number of books you read is a vanity metric that you should ignore by any means possible. Quality matters much more than quantity, and 50 books from Wattpad would never compare to the 50 Harvard Classics. When it comes to books, quality trumps quantity. The books you consume reflect largely on the quality of thoughts. Chose wisely.

That said, having range is a much better option than not. Deeply reading 5 books on a subject would give you more return on investment than just one or two. My friend calls himself a book whore for doing this. One just isn’t enough.

Reading “hard” books.

Books like the ones in Dr. Eliot’s five-foot tall shelf of books can be considered hard books. Authors like Dostoyevsky or Adam Smith require a different level of focus and concentration to digest the ideas in them. You ought not to be surprised if you have to read one paragraph ten times. There are levels to this thing. This article by my mentor, (who doesn’t know I exist) should help.

Different strokes for different folks

This section was initially titled (The note-taking scam). I decided to rename it following a review from a friend.

Truthfully, I do not take notes well enough. I think remembering what I read comes easily to me because of my experience. Although, this comes at a cost: I only remember what I learn deeply but I almost never forget.

I tried a notion template last year to help me take better notes, and I ended up remembering more from things that were not in the notes I took. To me taking notes to remember what I read make me feel like I am preparing for an exam. Which is not how I want to feel while reading books like Robert Greene’s Laws of Human Nature. I like it when the books I read become part of me, much so that I can recall instances in the book by heart, no matter how little.

I take notes when reading books that outline strategies for accomplishing a definite goal, or when I know I am going to reference it later, or use it in an article I am writing. E.g. Atomic Habits or Your Next 5 moves.

Counter Argument: Note-taking works!

But how?

Just like any exam you would prepare for, the notes you take are as useful as the effort you put into structuring and reviewing them. If you take notes and leave them there, by default, you render them useless and you will eventually remember nothing.

Once you start putting in effort to take better notes, you will find that every review of your notes brings a fresh perspective to the ideas contained in those notes. Reviewing the notes you took 3 years ago today will only yield results if you take the time to take those notes well.

In summary, you have to find out what works for you. What do you want to achieve? How can you accomplish that with what you have? Only you know what you want. And you have to devise a means of making it work.

It would be good to note that teaching others and sharing what you learn is a very effective means of remembering what you read. This Substack helps me remember a lot. You could use whichever platform gives you the most leverage; twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc.

Reading Format

Epub or PDF, physical books or audiobooks? To eat rice or to drink it? I think you are starting to get the point. But if your tongue was tied, I’m guessing you would gulp the hell out of the rice. The same analogy applies to books. Listening to books can be counterproductive. You would probably end up having to go back to read them. But what can you do when your tongue is tied? Gulp!

Gulping, or any other light-weight reading method comes with the benefit of the situation. You are less distracted by the constraints placed on the rest of your body and the ultimate focus Is one one thing: your pdf or headphones. This method is good for killing time when you are forced to wait in a bus or a line. Something Ryan Holiday likes to call Alive time, gotten from Robert Greene.

Dead time = dead brain

Whatever format you prefer, they all are useful in certain scenarios. You just have to do what you think is best for you then.

But where can I find books? What if I can’t afford them?

I hear you, sir.

And to be honest, I faced this problem as well. If like me you come from a third-world country, nobody will tell you that you need to buy food more than you need to buy books. That said, I find it noteworthy that I bought my first book(s) (The entire Incerto collection) in 2021. How I was reading books before then? Only God knows. Well, that is before now.

The truth is, like everything, including porn. If you want it bad enough you will without a shred of doubt, move the ends of the earth to get it. Even if it means opening up the private browsing tab on Safari. You just have to want it bad enough.

Your best bet to finding good books is whatever book you are currently reading. It undoubtedly contains links or pointers to other good books and resources as well as where you can get them. If you haven’t noticed them, you probably aren’t reading well enough. Libraries both physical and digital are very valuable. More valuable are friends who can send you books that they know you’d love.

Google, Wikipedia, and Twitter are phenomenal. Your favorite public figures drop mind-blowing recommendations both covertly and overtly. You just need to pay attention. Once you start down the rabbit hole of book whoring. Only god can tell what you would find. An interesting life, a billion-dollar startup idea, or both?

As always, reading is the easy part.

To reiterate the points discussed in this piece:

1. Read what you love until you love to read.
2. Treat your reading like research
3. Quality > quantity, at the same time more > less.
4. Take notes your way.
5. Be decisive on the reading format. Choose live time.
6. Want it bad enough.

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I remember I promised to explain what Screwface means. Here’s a screenshot of the explanation by someone on Reddit. From the lyrics of Screwface capital by Dave. I can relate because I also come from an otherwise poverty stricken environment.

Point is, going forward. We’re going to be recommending books writing posts that would make you put your Screwface on. The fun part is that we don’t care. In fact here’s one such book. I would discourage you to check out the reviews and drop your thoughts on the ideas in the book.

The wall speaks.