ON READING
How I Read 52+ Books in One Year and How I Will Remember Everything
I am a book lover. As a child, I read book after book, until my parents asked me to slow down because I read faster than they could buy new ones.
This held until I got my first smartphone and from then on I suddenly stopped.
I am sure I am not the only one with this reading history. A lot of kids love reading and jumping head-first into fantasy worlds. But at some point, we lose this love for books, when we start to engage with them in school and are told there is “a right way” to read and think about a book.
But frankly, there isn’t.
When the Lockdown hit us in 2020, I was drowning in the rabbit hole of YouTube. But this particular “binge-watch” led me to a video that would change my relationship to books.
Especially the section about the question “How fast do you read” did change my perspective.
My current speed and the amount of books I read is very little. However, there are so many amazing books to read that it would be a shame not to take more time reading.
The power of books
A book is essentially just a conversation with the author and the work he did. Normally writing a book takes months and years of research and about the same time to write and publish it. And we can consume all of this work in a matter of hours. How amazing is this?
My teacher used to say:
“When I read a hundred books, I have lived a hundred lives”
My reading year 2020
So in 2020, with schools closing and more time at hand than I could handle, I set myself the goal to read at least one book a week. And I finished with more than 52 that year, including audiobooks and short reads.
To finish the books, I used a technique described in this video:
I would divide the number of pages a book has into seven and read that amount every day.
I also engaged in speed reading techniques.
So much about the “how”, but how do I retain what I read?
Never forget what you read
For this, I adapted a Notion template by Ali Abdaal. It was the first time I heard of Notion and after using it for some weeks, I noticed how amazing this tool is.
For every book I read, my database and knowledge hub grows and I will be able to look back on the insights I gained. In that sense, I am not “remembering”, but using my “second brain”.
For me, books have the greatest ROI (return on investment) in the learning world. They cost around 10 to 20 dollars and contain more value than most of the digital products out there.
I would also recommend buying used books, as they cost a fraction of the original price, are most often still in good shape and are better for the planet.
If you want to level up, you can buy a digital reader, which will collect all of your notes and highlights, helping you make your summaries in Notion.
If you are not at all into reading, I would recommend you get started with fiction you like and enjoy. Naval Ravikant said:
“Read what you love, until you love reading.”
That is the way to go. Enjoy it.
When I sit down today and read, it feels relaxing and enriching and not like a task. I left the “one book a week” objective, but still read about one or two books per month.
It became a habit that will stay with me for a lifetime.
What’s the last book you read?
Have a great day.
Matteo
