How to Read a Book

I am continuing my celebration of the new bookstore by talking even more about books and reading. There are many things people asking me about reading and books. People are often frustrated with reading. Let’s face it, reading takes time. Many people don’t know what to read or how to choose a good book. A book in an investment. Something that is boring feels even worse because you can be 100 pages in, invested in the characters and then just get disgusted with the story or the characters and throw the book down.

However, you can make the most of your reading time by choosing the right kind of book and then reading it properly.

Focus On The Story

Modern trade books do a much better job of being like TV and Movies where the story is obvious. However, if you’re reading fine literature or classical literature like what is featured in my official book list. Then the writer will not pander to you and force the story down your throat. The storytelling is going to be far more complex leaving you the reader to piece the story together and come to your own realizations. That is good writing. When writing can transport you into the world and help you realize what is going on, you know you’ve got a book worth reading.

Look for Foreshadowing

One of the best ways to see how a story is going is to look at statements of foreshadowing. Little details can give you insight as to what might happen to the characters next. This requires careful reading but most decently written books will give little clues. Be observant, really think about what you are reading.

Pick a Character to Get Invested In

If the writer has done their job at all, they should guide you to a character to get interested in. However, sometimes you have to really look at all the characters and decide who you really care about and then follow their story closely. Sometimes you’ll get interested in the main character other times it might be a secondary character that you really get interested in.

Here is some great fiction to get you started:

How to read Non-Fiction

If you’re reading a non-fiction book then there’s a very specific process that you should go through.

Read it Like a Novel

This means just read the words, straight through. Take in the information. Get an idea of what the author is talking about and what their expertise on the matter is. When you proceed on to step two, then you’ll have a much better idea of what they are talking about. This reading will establish the concepts and the basic structure of the book in your mind.

Read it and Take Notes

The best way to get everything out of a non-fiction book is read it and take notes. You don’t even have to keep the notes. Just take notes on what is significant to you and what you are trying to learn.

Review the Book

On the final reading (yes that’s 3 readings) you’ll be able to get more information. Now you’ve got the basic concepts, you’ve found what stands out to you, now you can really dig into the interior of the material. By this time, you’re getting a solid grasp on what is being talked about and you can mine even more information from the book, especially if you’re planning on applying what you’ve learned.

Here’s Some Great Non-Fiction:

And that’s all there is to it! Hopefully with this helpful guide (and a few good books!) you’ll be all set to read and get the most out of your latest literary find!

Thanks for reading (and thanks for shopping with us!)