The Bastardization of Reading

Have you seen those Youtube videos that give viewers tips on how to read more? Well, they disgust me. Have you seen those videos titled “I read 327 books on X here are the 5 things I learned”. They disgust me too.

The desire to devour books is natural if past experience has left you feeling nourished and satiated. New ideas, unexpected depth of insights and words that bring vibrance to your life are unarguably worth pursuing. But let’s not confuse eating a dry-aged ribeye (avec a red Bordeaux) with the hot dog eating contest known as speed reading.

You don’t watch the sopranos on 2x so that you can consume it faster, and “reading 100 books and learning 5 things” proves that volume means very little in terms of learning and understanding.

Like many things, when it comes to reading, less is more and deep is best. There are only two reasons to read; to enjoy and/or to apply what you’ve learned…and you can’t apply what you haven’t fully understood.