How do I read to actually get something out of books?

[Yoremo]

As the title says, how do I do that?

I haven´t been able to get any value out of books, and I see a lot of you guys have in contrast to me. So what do you guys do?

[Sucuk Ekmek]

Are you curious for books? 

[zurew]

Ask quality questions for yourself:

• How this book can change my life in a practicle/tangible way?
• How can i integrate this knowledge into my understanding of the world? (especially big picture understanding)
• What are the top 5 pieces that are the most important to me?
• How can i change my daily/weekly routine,actions or thinking  so that i can apply the knowledge, that i gathered from this book?
• Is this book changed any of my core beliefs or assumptions about the world or any particular topic or subject? (if the answer is yes, then contemplate further and write them out)
• Similar one: Is this book made me question any of my core beliefs or assumptions about the world or any particular topic or subject? ( if the answer is yes, then you should contemplate why)

 

Basically, what you need to do in my opinion, is that you need to spend more time contemplating, integrating, embodying the knowledge.

[Yoremo]

@Sucuk Ekmekdon´t even know what curiosity is at this point. My main motivation for reading is to learn stuff so I can live my life without falling for all of the stupid mental traps.

@zurew Yes, this might just be one big thing about the solution. But how do I drag myself to do that? I am going to try and read one quite short book and apply what you just said and see what happens. I feel myself resisting it a hell of a lot though.

[zurew]

14 minutes ago, Yoremo said:

Yes, this might just be one big thing about the solution. But how do I drag myself to do that? I am going to try and read one quite short book and apply what you just said and see what happens. I feel myself resisting it a hell of a lot though.

It will be painful, especially when you start. You need to build up some practice. Start slow, read only a few minutes a day, make it a day to day practice.  At the start it will require a lot of attention and energy to drag yourself to do it. But after some days, it will become more and more a routine, and it will go to your subconscious mind, once it is there, it will require less energy to do it.

So basically you need to get through the threshold, after that it will be much easier to maintain it.

I think there is no easy way to start a new hobby. You need to be aware that it is painful in the start, and you will feel letargic for some days. Think about the goal, that this practice itself, can give you huge benefits, if you can make it a daily routine and everday practice.

But make it in a way, where you don't let yourself to get distracted by anything. Even if you start with 5 minutes reading a day ,thats good, just don't get distracted by anything. Train your attention span, thats a key element for any practice.

Edited March 12, 2022 by zurew

[NoSelfSelf]

Like people say you read 5 pages and if theres something valuable in those 5 pages you go straight to practice it in real life...reading and doing nothing produces only conceptual knowing...

[Esilda]

@Yoremo imagination 

[Yoremo]

Okay, I think I am a bit anxious to read a lot and "learn" a lot. Which is why I just read without really practicing. How is it that so many people talk about how they have read hundreds of books? Like that would be totally impossible, maybe if you do it consistently until you´re like 90 but I guess this is where I got it from.

So read, when I read something I feel is valuable I contemplate it a bit (not too fancy) and then I apply it into my life and see what comes out of that and learn further when I apply.

[ZzzleepingBear]

You can only learn something new by bumping into someting you are unfamiliar or puzzled by.

While gathering information through books, is merely remembering due to interest and/or practicing of memorization.

 

My personal example of such new learning, was when I read or heard the buddhist saying that "Pleasure is pain". I obviously didn't agree with such a statement, but it sparked my interest due to how contradictory it was. So I thought to myself, how could that be?? Pleasure is pain? How?? Pleasure is what we all want. So I didn't understand that statement, but I also didn't have a knee jerk reaction to deny that it may be that way eiter. So I stayed with that sentence until I somehow got it during a period of time. Until, aah yes! Wthout pleasure, there is pain by the wanting of pleasure! I understand now!

So learning is the integration process. While reading a string of information in not so much learning as it is a memorization practice, until it comes to real practical use. Like learning to stop at a red light, and also do it when it happens to turn red.

[itachi uchiha]

u need to do 2 things to get something out of books

 

1 improving your understanding of the concepts in the  book

2 taking action using concepts on the book

 

1) to improve your understanding of your concepts in the book , u need to contemplate on it. the more u contemplate the more your understanding of the book increase.

2) take action  on  your understanding of the book.

[SgtPepper]

take the information and take action. Literally change your behavior using the given information.

It's like if you learn a new rule - If you study for 30 minutes a day, you will perform better in school. Okay so to get something out of the new information I just gave you, you'd have to study 30 minutes a day and see if it resulted in better performance. 

[zurew]

What i would add, to my original writing, is to make feedback loops. Make sure you track down your progress. Lets be it reading or a new skill, that you have learnt from a book. Make tests, and make sure you have occasionally some feedback.

[Kamo]

On 3/12/2022 at 3:25 PM, NoSelfSelf said:

Like people say you read 5 pages and if theres something valuable in those 5 pages you go straight to practice it in real life...reading and doing nothing produces only conceptual knowing...

@NoSelfSelf What are the Pros and Cons of Conceptual Knowing?

[NoSelfSelf]

@Kamo Pros:you become more concious,have a better map for life,can see whats higher perspective etc.

Cons:you get lost in your imagination,you have all this knowledge but your life looks the same,hiding behinde concepts not taking action,could produce more clutter in mind worsen mood(in my opinion) etc.

[happyhappy]

@Yoremo um, here's what i do;

I summarize every book I read and write down my takeaways from it. even if i forget everything in it after years, i will still have my summary to refreshen it. I also run a mini blog to publish them. as of now I have read over 120 titles as of now though I started summarizing around a yr ago.

also, I'm very picky about books and don't waste my time reading hours of random romantic shit . there are people who have listed the best books ever written in human history with leo's booklist being one of them. so rely on those lists when choosing books to read and u can also now and then pick a book on ur own.

also like others said above, do not forget integration and contemplation as well. integration is where most folks get stuck including myself sometimes. there are insights that cannot be gained by reading summaries and watching yt vids on it. u really have to read them. 

have a great day!

 

[Reciprocality]

There are two things one can learn in general though by reading in particular, either an explication of something one intuits by default or information which gets classed under such intuition whether that intuition is explicated or not.

An historian or a journalist is to the latter what a philosopher or theorist is to the former. 

Do not expect to represent a theory you have read about as easily as you remember a location for a war, and least of all you must never hope to represent a theory in the same way you were subjected to it first. So far as you are capable of thought you must to that end take all ideas into yourself so readily that a bit of you is never missed when time is come to share it with others.

If you do not remember much of what you have read then you hopefully weren't thinking much of what you read either, it can thus be the cause of too little experience. As trough it alone can something so weird as reading start aligning with the natural faculty of thinking which itself is subject to development.

[hyruga]

What you can do is read the book and write down notes. After that, start reading your notes and rewrite them nicely. Then write down the top 3-5 points you learn from the books as a summary.

Next, write a proper review on the book. (Not a summary but an actual review of what you think of the book). And you take action based on what you have learnt in the book.

[Sucuk Ekmek]

On 12.03.2022 at 10:59 PM, Yoremo said:

@Sucuk Ekmekdon´t even know what curiosity is at this point. My main motivation for reading is to learn stuff so I can live my life without falling for all of the stupid mental traps.

@zurew

  Well, so you want to read for a particular reason. This situation seems to me more like a technical process. Like reading a prescription or userguide. These are  must have texts for desired aims. So x thing can happen acordingly. On the other hand there are also literary texts these are oposite of instruction texts. For example you can't find any intention for a particular aim in Call of Chutullu. But people read it anyway. 

 I am not sure if the books are the only place to find value. One brush stroke taught me much more values than a thick literary criticism book. I think one has to supply his existing values and build top of them. Unfortunately I can't help you with this situation. 

[Kamo]

@NoSelfSelf Yeah that was my thoughts about it as well. Thanks for answering. It gets interesting when you noticed certain things that start as a concept the become directly experienced. Mind Fuck sometimes lol. 

[Loba]

Don't worry about reading a lot, just read some.
One chapter a day, highlight, then write notes.
Less is more sometimes.
Just pick very good books to learn from.

How to know?
Follow your gut.
Ask people here.
 

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