In this Part II, I want to share my complete interaction with books. I found that systems are the best way to get any work done. May the system be loose or rigid, as necessary for the work. System cuts the crap and makes your work more efficient. I never intended to create system for book reading. It has been evolving with time and experience.

Basics of Reading for Me

For me reading falls into two categories. Fiction and Non-Fiction. Both are important in their own way.

For non-fiction books, I say reading is learning anything deep enough to understand the core ideas from the experts. When someone writes on a subject, he does his research and organises his thoughts into a book. It takes efforts and lots of thinking & research to write a non-fiction book.

For Fiction, it is very different though. I don’t read to learn anything, I just try to enter into another world. Learning is a byproduct of living that world. Fiction is more flamboyant. There are no boundaries to it. Yet, creating fiction takes lots of efforts. The writer tries to organise his thoughts. It is like taming a wild horse. I say the beauty of a wild horse is in it’s wildness, yet you somehow need enough control on it to appreciate it. Same goes into fictions. Many writers manage to tame that wild horse. It is we who need to let that horse be wild again.

Process of Finding & Choosing Books

Like reading, this too falls into two categories. Fiction and Non-Fiction.

When I get stuck into anything I never tried, yet I am curious about it, I actively search for books on the subject. I was curious in finding how some things are timeless; I found Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday. I google book on that topic. I find 4-5 best goodreads.com rating books. I download them and start reading them. If the book impresses me in first 20-30 pages, I continue. Else, I close that book and never read again. I usually get 1-2 books from this process. These 1-2 books fill my information-void enough to know about the topic. If I am too curious, I usually find deep books regarding same topic and repeat the same process.

For fiction, process is a little bit different. I tend to find fiction books from recommendations only. My many RSS feeds help me get the recommendations. I search for goodreads.com rating, read synopsis on goodreads.com, and then start reading the same right away. Like non-fiction, if the book impresses me in first 20-30 pages, I continue. Else, I close that book and never think about it again.

If I love a book, as an appreciation towards the writer, I purchase hardcover from Amazon or a second hand good copy from some other website. I don’t mind good copy secondhand provided it is in a good condition. Hardcover is my priority though.

Process of Reading & Note Taking

The first thing I want before sitting to read is not coffee. I want solitude and silence before that. I can not read without solitude. I need my thoughts to rest. Then only I can focus on reading. I think in up front what to read. I don’t just open my Kindle to read anything or I don’t just pick any book to read. Before reading, I clearly have in my mind what to read. I put my phone on airplane mode and then I focus on reading. While reading, I consider three things – I want to understand what the writer wants to say, I want to apply what I am reading to my thinking process, and I take pleasure in how the writer presented the whole concept. In non-fiction, my main focus usually is on the first two, in fiction, I tend to focus on all three.

I don’t highlight everything or anything. I highlight those sentences or paragraphs which I find unique and genuine. What we find unique or genuine depends on ourselves. If my mind comments anything on it, I write that down in margin or in my notebook.

When I sit to read, I tend to concentrate about 60-90 mins, which depends upon the quality of book too. I don’t stress about my reading speed or pages left. Both doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’ve read something that will stay in your hard drive (mind) until it matters.

After reading a book, I let it sit for a fortnight. Then I open it, and type all the highlights I took and notes I wrote. This way I get to revise that book. This process takes time. I do not read that book again for a whole year. I tend to remember a book I read by the season of the year. So next year, when I get that season, that mood, that weather, I subconsciously pick that book again to reread. One thing about rereading though. It takes even more time to reread a book than to read the first time.

Helpful Tips on Reading Books

• First and foremost, find your interest (or find your need).
• Choose a silent place and silent time (for some days, you will need to experiment finding it though).
• Browse 5-6 books on the topic you want to read.
• Choose 2-3 books you think you should read.
• Don’t think upfront how the book will be like. Read first, then decide.
• Don’t stress reading whole book if you don’t find it interesting – drop that book and read the next one.
• Don’t stress on reading speed or pages left, instead focus on what the author is willing to tell.
• Keep a dictionary handy in your phone. (This post will guide you choosing a good dictionary, I personally use the same from Noah Webster in my phone and in my Kindle too.)
• Do highlight, Do note down your thoughts.
• Appreciate Reading.
• Bonus tip – Have a cup of coffee, wait 15 mins, then read.

Handling & Care of Books

What do we do if we buy a new shirt or a new dress? We take great care of it. So as is for books. Books are costly economically. At present, you can have a month’s internet access with unlimited phone calls at merely ₹150. While a paperback book usually costs as little as ₹150 to as much as ₹1500. While same hardcover book usually costs upwards of three times more than paperback form. Even on a Kindle, books cost more than a movie ticket, Kindle’s price apart. That being said, Books are not cheap. And if reading is a hobby, they all cost much more.
So, like that dress, we need to take care of books too.

Even though books cost more economically, the mind it opens has endless value. Books have timeless value. Once you read a book, you have it in your mind for the whole life. Taking care of books and handling them well is a gratitude toward them.

I cover books with transparent covers. I never fold a book in half while reading. I always wash my hands before reading. I never swipe the pages for turning; instead, I turn them with the ends. For my Kindle, I use a neoprene pouch. I clean my Kindle with lightly damp microfibre cloth at a month’s interval. I never share my books with anyone; not because I don’t want to, but instead, people don’t value enough.

Epilogue

Find every flamboyant person, there is one common thread between them. Reading Books. Warren Buffett still reads more than 1000 pages a day. His partner Charlie Munger reads the same. They have been doing this since previous more than 60 years. Steve Jobs, Peter Thiel, Adolf Hitler, Niccolo Machiavelli, and endless people who have had been moving the world read books. Our aim is not to move the world, but to move ourselves. There is a sheer joy in reading, may it be comic books or non-fictions or fictions. I say again, books are timeless. Books add something to your mind. Pointless surfing on internet or changing tv channels only entertain our mind, but they don’t add anything. You may ask what is the use of adding rather than entertaining? I’ll say, we – the homo sapiens – have not evolved because of entertainment, but because of addition. Addition is curiosity, and curiosity is happiness. Look how a child is curious, and so the child is happy; because he is adding something every time.

In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time — none, zero. You’d be amazed at how much Warren reads—and at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I’m a book with a couple of legs sticking out.
– Charlie Munger