How to Read a Book Every Single Week
Reading is a habit with enormous benefits, but it's also time-consuming. Here are 5 hacks to read more.
Reading opens your heart to new ideas, new cultures, and new worldviews.
But reading is time-consuming. Many of us don’t have time to commit time to read. But you can change that. You don’t have to spend a whole month reading a single book.
Here are 5 hacks to read a book a week:
#1 Start with the author
Read his or her bio.
If you can find a brief interview or article online about the author, read that quickly.
It will give you a sense of the person’s bias and perspective.
#2 Read the title, the subtitle, the front flap, and the table of contents
What’s the big-picture argument of the book?
How is that argument laid out?
By now, you could probably describe the main idea of the book to someone who hasn’t read it.
#3 Read the introduction and the conclusion
The author makes their case in the opening and closing argument of the book.
Read these two sections word for word but quickly.
These sections will tell you how they plan to get there (introduction) and what they hope you got out of it (conclusion).
#4 Read/skim each chapter
Read the title and anywhere from the first few paragraphs to the first few pages of the chapter to figure out how the author is using this chapter and where it fits into the argument of the book.
Skim through the headings and subheadings and read the first sentence of each paragraph and the last.
#5 End with the table of contents again
Once you’ve finished the book, return to the table of contents and summarize it in your head.
Take a few moments to relive the flow of the book, the arguments you considered, and the journey you went on with the author.