New Series: What I'm reading

I read a lot of non-fiction books. To me, reading is the way I learn, get inspired and discover new ideas and insights. Great non-fiction books are basically an opportunity to see the world (or a part therefore) through someone else’s eyes. I find it fascinating to understand how other people interpret facts and events and how understanding their viewpoints changes mine over time.

I usually spend at least 30 minutes reading non-fiction in the morning. It’s how I start my days. I get up, make coffee and then crawl back to bed with my coffee and a book. I love that morning routine – until it’s time to get up for good… ;)

However, lately I’ve started to notice I don’t really take in as much of what I read as I used to anymore. I have a long list of books want to read and I’ve found that I often rush through one book because I’m already excited about getting into the next one. I’ve noticed a few times now that I finish a book, move on to the next one right away and, within a week, can’t even really remember anymore what the book was about or what I learnt from it.

It’s great to be able to read fast but what’s the point if you don’t actually internalise the information?

In the last few weeks I re-read a book I had just finished. I basically got to the last page and then started again on the first page. And yes, there were a few parts I could skim through fast on the second read because I remembered it all but the far majority of the book was basically new to me – which shows exactly how much (or little) attention I was paying the first time I read it.  

I want to change that! I want to make sure I really get something out of every book I read and that I can still remember what that something is a few weeks later.

So, I’ve set myself a new reading challenge. Instead of focusing on reading as many books as possible, I now focus on capturing as many insights as possible from each book. That means, reading slower and taking notes while I’m reading.

And then I thought, if I’m already taking notes, I might as well share them with you :) So I’m starting a new series of blog posts called “What I'm Reading”.

Note that these are not book reviews or summaries. It’s basically just a list of the key insights that stood out to me while reading the book, not necessarily because I agree or like them but simply because they made me stop and think, made me realise something new, inspired me or just because I feel like they are worth sharing.

What I'm reading