How To Read (aka Strategies to reduce Grad/Adult Life Struggles)

As someone who started (or transitioned) to reading more non-fiction than fiction, I have been struggling with not being able to quantify the essence of all the papers and non-fiction books I’ve been reading off late. With non-fiction, you don’t have to stay committed to serial page-turning, and for a knowledge (or information) hungry noob like yours truly, it is the equivalent of a kid let loose in a candy store.

I have been struggling to have a more disciplined approach towards non-fiction and academic papers, and this book [http://utminers.utep.edu/trcurry/howtoread.pdf] by Paul N. Edwards, from the University of Michigan’s School of Information is a great help.

Some excerpts (notes to myself):

• How can you learn the most from a book when you are reading for information rather than for pleasure?
• NEVER read a non-fiction book from the beginning to the end.
• Your time is LIMITED
• Remember and record the main points.
• Figure out why you are reading this book/paper
• Four things: who is the author, what is the argument, what is the evidence, what is the conclusion?
• Imagine that you are going to review the book for a magazine
• Read it three times: Overview (discovery) 1/10th the total time, Detail (understanding) - 6/10ths the total time, Notes (recall) - 3/10ths the total time
• The Hourglass Information Structure
• Personal Text Markup Language
• Knowing who wrote a book helps you judge its quality and understand its full significance. Check the acknowledgements and bibliography always
• A book is always partly a response to other writers
• Use your unconscious mind: several short sessions rather than one long marathon
• Don’t just contemplate privately, discuss it with others, bring it up in classes, write about it