It might seem counterintuitive to dedicate an entire article to reading more effectively. After all, if you’re reading this, you likely already know how to read. However, reading effectively and efficiently is a distinct skill, one that is rarely formally taught.
We are often conditioned to believe that effective reading is about speed and volume. The more we read, the more knowledgeable we appear. The broader our reading, the more intelligent we seem. This emphasis on quantity over quality can lead us to miss crucial insights and limit our potential for deeper learning. Just as it’s important to learn to type the most efficiently to maximize productivity in writing, mastering efficient reading is crucial for knowledge acquisition.
This relentless pursuit of reading more can overshadow the true value of reading: gaining wisdom, understanding complex ideas, and challenging our own perspectives. We often miss out on lessons from history, insights from those who have overcome great challenges, and the opportunity to expand our knowledge in meaningful ways. This is because we are rarely taught the fundamental meta-skill: the art of reading.
Reading more effectively and efficiently involves developing a robust process to capture ideas, analyze arguments, and ask insightful questions. It means selecting the right books to read, understanding different reading objectives, and employing evidence-based techniques to boost reading productivity.
Improving our reading skills is arguably the most impactful change we can make to enhance our lives.
The Importance of Effective & Efficient Reading
“A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read” – Mark Twain
Books have profoundly shaped my life. They have served as personal mentors and powerful tools for accumulating knowledge.
🤓 Books as Personal Mentors
If I were asked to name the most influential figures in my life, beyond my immediate family, I could easily identify individuals who have transformed my thinking through their remarkable actions, ideas, and experiences. Yet, the most significant influence in my life isn’t a person at all—it’s books.
Through extensive and effective reading, I’ve gained decades of knowledge and experience from brilliant minds with minimal personal effort. I’ve learned from mistakes without experiencing failure, benefited from successes without taking significant risks, and journeyed across continents without leaving my room.
Reading is like having a mentor without the usual costs, pains, and discomforts. Frankly, I wouldn’t have started 6med, my YouTube channel, or decided to write a book without the encouragement, motivation, inspiration, and vast insights gleaned from books. My only regret is not learning to read effectively sooner.
🧠 Books and Compound Knowledge
“Compound interest is the 8th Wonder of the World” – Albert Einstein
Similar to how money grows exponentially with compound interest, personal knowledge accumulates and expands over time. The more we read, and the better our reading habits, the faster our ideas, beliefs, and opinions develop.
Our brains begin to effortlessly connect seemingly unrelated pieces of information, and creative solutions to complex problems gradually emerge. It’s a personal superpower available to everyone.
“To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else” – Da Vinci
Defining Your Reading Objective
To enhance our reading effectiveness and unlock our personal potential, we must first define our reading goals. Reading Paradise Lost will naturally have a different objective and experience compared to reading a Harry Potter novel.
Many authors describe the purpose of books in broad terms like success, happiness, and personal fulfillment. Roald Dahl famously said, “if you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books.” J. K. Rowling remarked that “something very magical can happen when you read a good book.”
While inspiring, these opinions are abstract and don’t offer practical guidance on how to read. For our purposes, it’s more useful to categorize reading objectives into three distinct categories, as outlined by Mortimer Adler in How to Read a Book.
🤪 Category 1: Reading for Entertainment
This category involves reading purely for pleasure. It’s how we spend most of our reading time. There are no rules, and deep critical thinking isn’t necessary. The goal is simple: relax and immerse ourselves in the story.
There’s nothing wrong with reading for entertainment. It’s a healthy escape from daily stress and, for many, a perfect way to unwind after a productive day of work. I personally enjoy fantasy novels, with the Brandon Sanderson books being a particular favorite. I even created a video on My Favourite Fantasy Books if you’re interested.
🗞 Category 2: Reading for Information
In this category, we read to acquire specific facts or information. These books are usually easy to navigate, with simple layouts, allowing for effortless consumption and quick access to relevant sections. The goal is to learn without judgment.
Examples include newspapers, travel guides, or the Guinness World Records. While they may have entertaining aspects, we primarily read them to gain factual knowledge about current events, locations, or specific facts.
For most, reading for information is straightforward and uncomplicated.
📖 Category 3: Reading for Understanding
The final category, reading for understanding, is where many, including myself, struggle. It requires the most cognitive effort and deserves significant attention when improving reading efficiency and effectiveness.
Reading to understand challenges our preconceptions, critically analyzes the status quo, and confronts uncomfortable ideas. It’s demanding and can be unsettling, but it’s the only way to elevate our thinking and personal growth.
Mastering this skill is crucial for meaningful productivity and improving our reading habits. We need a method to progress from elementary reading to analytical or syntopical levels.
Let’s explore how to achieve this.
The Four Levels of Reading
While the three reading categories guide our objectives, the four cumulative levels of reading guide our reading style. Developed by Mortimer Adler, these levels help us understand books at a much deeper level. As we ascend through these levels, we not only enhance our grasp of the author’s perspectives and gain deeper insights, but also develop a process applicable to any book we choose to read.
This is powerful stuff.
👶 Level 1: Elementary Reading
Elementary reading is the foundational level, taught in schools. At this level, we can understand the words on the page, follow the plot, and grasp the book’s basic message.
However, even at this stage, rushing can be detrimental. While I advocate for increasing productivity, focusing on reading speed before mastering effective reading fundamentals will hinder our learning capacity.
My advice: prioritize improving your reading level first. Once you’ve mastered analytical reading, you can then focus on reading faster (more on this later).
“Every book should be read no more slowly than it deserves, and no more quickly than you can read it with satisfaction and comprehension” – Adler
🔎 Level 2: Inspectional Reading
Inspectional reading requires slightly more skill than elementary reading. It involves grasping the book’s overall structure and the author’s main arguments. We’re essentially making preliminary assessments of the book’s content and value before committing to a thorough read.
Inspectional reading has two components: systematic skimming and superficial reading.
Systematic Skimming
Systematic skimming helps us decide if a book is worth our time. I ask myself, “Is this book significant enough to invest hours of my life in?” If the answer isn’t a resounding “yes,” I move on.
To answer this, I examine the title, blurb, and table of contents to understand the book’s subject and structure. I then skim through the book, focusing on chapter introductions, conclusions, and interesting subheadings. Essentially, I conduct a surface-level examination before writing a brief summary.
Another method is using book summaries, like Shortform. If a book is available on Shortform, I read the summary first. If it intrigues me, I buy the Kindle version for a proper read.
Superficial Reading
Superficial reading involves quickly reading the book without pausing for reflection or analysis. Speed reading is acceptable here, as we’re not yet reading for deep understanding, but to gauge its interest and suitability for Level 3. This should be a quick process. If the book doesn’t immediately capture our attention, we can set it aside. There are countless other books to explore.
Sometimes, a good book might simply be encountered at the wrong time. That’s perfectly fine. We can always revisit it later.
🎓 Level 3: Analytical Reading
Analytical reading involves in-depth examination of the book. I admit, this is a level I’m constantly striving to improve upon.
Analytical reading aims to uncover the book’s core meaning, evaluate the author’s arguments, and develop a comprehensive understanding.
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested” – Francis Bacon
This level requires active reading – “the more active the reading the better” (Adler). I personally engage by highlighting text, connecting arguments, and adding notes in the margins.
“Marking a book is literally an experience of your differences or agreements with the author. It is the highest respect you can pay him” – Edgar Allen Poe
The most crucial aspect of active reading is questioning what you’re reading. Three key questions to ask during analytical reading are:
The Holistic Stage: What is the book about as a whole?
We largely answer this during systematic skimming and superficial reading in Level 2. In Level 3’s holistic stage, we identify the questions the author is trying to answer. What problem or question prompted the author to write this book?
Our summary at this stage becomes more comprehensive than a few sentences, outlining the structure and flow of ideas that lead to the author’s conclusion.
The Specific Stage: What is the book saying in detail and how is it being said?
While reading, ensure you understand the author’s approach and perspective. Identify key terms the author uses, confirm your understanding of them, and appreciate their viewpoint.
In each chapter, authors make claims and propositions. Restate these in your own words and assess the strength of their arguments. Evaluate how these claims connect and ensure logical flow.
The Veracity Stage: Is the book true, in whole or in part?
In the veracity stage, engage in constructive analysis. Identify areas where the author is uninformed, misinformed, illogical, or incomplete in their arguments. Clearly articulate these shortcomings and suggest improvements to their reasoning. If you can’t do this, your criticism is likely invalid.
“The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks” – Adler
📚 Level 4: Syntopical Reading
Syntopical reading is about understanding a subject more broadly. While analytical reading focuses on a specific book, syntopical reading helps shape your opinion and fluency on a topic by understanding how different books relate to each other.
“The benefits [of syntopical reading] are so great that it is well worth the trouble of learning how to do it” – Adler
Start by choosing a subject (e.g., productivity or habit formation). Then, create a bibliography of relevant books and select a handful you deem most important.
Read these books analytically, building mental connections between them. Define common subject keywords in your own words, identify and answer the main questions addressed collectively by the books, and assess the strengths of each author’s arguments.
“Creativity is just connecting things” – Steve Jobs
Syntopical reading connects the best ideas on a subject, fostering creative solutions and genuine insights. It’s truly transformative.
How to Read More
Only after mastering effective reading, by progressing through the four levels, should we focus on efficient reading.
Reading more exposes us to diverse opinions, helps us connect ideas, and reinforces existing knowledge. Think of effective reading as a well-built rocket, and efficient reading as an upgrade to its performance. It elevates everything.
Three steps to reading more:
❤️ Step 1 – Love to Read
The first step is cultivating a love for reading itself.
If you don’t already enjoy reading, Naval suggests:
Read what you love until you love to read
Don’t just pick up classics because “that’s what smart people do.” Find books on topics that fascinate you, by authors you admire. Just as you can fall in love with exercise by finding enjoyable sports, you can love reading by finding enjoyable books. The ‘fun factor’ is essential for productive reading.
If you start a book and don’t enjoy it, stop. There’s no obligation to finish every book you start. Continuing is a sunk cost fallacy.
Most books won’t deserve your attention. Find the books you love and discard the rest.
📱 Step 2 – Make Books Accessible
Make it as easy as possible to pick up and read a book.
My top recommendation is audiobooks, especially for entertainment reading. Audiobooks are excellent for workouts or commutes, incorporating ‘reading’ into previously ‘busy’ times. There’s virtually no excuse not to read.
For reading to understand and analyze, carry physical books or a Kindle. Utilize spare moments – commutes, queues, even restroom breaks – for reading. Keep a book nearby for unexpected reading opportunities.
Minimize distractions. A 2009 study found we’re exposed to approximately 100,000 words daily from media. This constant stream hinders focus and reading desire.
Create a comfortable reading space, download a productivity app, or practice mindful note-taking to enhance focus.
👀 Step 3 – Improve Reading Techniques
The final, least critical aspect is technique. Many articles start here, but technique is secondary to other factors.
The most helpful technique is consistency. Consistency is king. Just as consistent video uploads are key to YouTube growth, daily reading is key to reading growth. James Clear recommends reading 20 pages daily, but a 20-minute time target is easier. With a 250 words-per-minute average speed, this equates to roughly one book per week. Small actions yield big results (see my Atomic Habits video review).
Publicly committing to reading is also powerful. One study showed that publicly betting on a horse increased confidence in its win. Similarly, using Goodreads (follow me lol) provides accountability and pressure to meet reading goals.
Finally, there’s speed reading. However, speed read only books you don’t need to deeply understand. Speed reading sacrifices comprehension for speed. As Woody Allen joked: “I took a speed-reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia.”
Despite this, reducing subvocalization, reading the middle, and using a pointer are valid speed reading techniques for inspectional reading or reading for information.
“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you” – Adler
Conclusion
Reading is demanding, but essential for rapid knowledge growth and impactful ideas. No true genius has succeeded without understanding effective and efficient reading. It is a transformative skill. I assure you.
