Hack Reading

By Betty Bassett

How does Warren Buffett, one of the most successful people in the business world, describe his day? Sitting. Reading.

A book can alter your frame of reference or twist the way you perceive things. Reading dares you to grow and experience multiple realities. It can challenge your perspective. Most of all reading can mean that you don't have to be alone. In today's society though who has time to read? Answer: Listen to audiobooks. Audiobooks or reading? To our brains it doesn't matter.

Once you've read or listened to a book it can be in one ear out the other. How can you make it stick? How do you retain it? How do you internalize the insights? How can reading transform you?

Here are my recommendations on reading:

1.  Make a priory of reading.

I normally scroll Facebook and Linkedin while listening to audiobooks. Sometimes I'm cooking or putting away clothes.  

I have a Kindle. It has a text to voice function so it will read the book aloud to me. I also have an Audible subscription. Many books also are free on Librivox  because they are in the public domain and have been voice recorded by volunteers. 

https://librivox.org/

2.  Remember what you've read.

Write a summary of your takeaways. After listening to an audiobook I read reviews of it on Goodreads.

https://www.goodreads.com/

If I find a nugget of wisdom from what others have gleaned then I compile it in Google Keep.

Why would you go through all this bother? Because it is important to act while the information is still fresh in your mind. 

According to Katie Yakovleva, "You must write, express, and summarize the information you’ve learned immediately while you’re still seeing the world from this perspective.

You might not realize it, but your frame – the way you interpret information – is constantly changing. As you’re reading a book you’ll become more and more immersed in the author’s way of looking at the world."

Art is taking what you see, filtering it, transforming it, then expressing it. Thus so when you summarize what you've read.   It slows you down and forces you to consider the information and what significance it has to you.

Why then would you read?  Reading makes you more intelligent; you make smarter decisions about yourself and others.

Reference:

Clear, James. "7 Ways to Retain More of Every Book You Read ." https://jamesclear.com/reading-comprehension-strategies.

Lee, Kevan. "Warren Buffett’s Best Kept Secret to Success: The Art of Reading, Remembering, and Retaining More Books ." https://buffer.com/resources/how-to-read-more-and-remember-it-all/.

Yakovleva, Katie. "7 Reasons to Love Reading ." https://www.abebooks.com/books/7-reasons-to-love-reading/index.shtml.

Walter, Jennifer. "Audiobooks or Reading? To Our Brains, It Doesn’t Matter ." https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/audiobooks-or-reading-to-our-brains-it-doesnt-matter.

 "How to Keep a Book for Summarizing Books ." https://startgainingmomentum.com/keep-book-summarizing-books/.

Beres, Derek. "How reading rewires your brain for higher intelligence and empathy ." https://www.google.com/amp/s/bigthink.com/amp/reading-rewires-your-brain-for-more-intelligence-and-empathy-2604508352?espv=1.