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Great Books Are Not Meant to be Read Quickly (In Praise of Slow Reading)
Read slowly to learn, grow and retain valuable knowledge
My reading style for every book, essay or post is different. If I come across an insanely great book, I take my time, slow down and aim to get as many ideas out of them as possible.
Sometimes, I re-read the best ones. Reading them ones is not enough. Reading the best books over and over again is how you absorb valuable knowledge.
It doesn’t matter how long you take to finish great books; as long as you are learning something valuable you can apply to your life, don’t rush through them. Learn to enjoy the process slowly.
It only takes one great author to change the trajectory of your life. Quality will always be more important than quantity.
“We can learn to pay attention, concentrate, devote ourselves to authors. We can slow down so we can hear the voice of texts, feel the movement of sentences, experience the pleasure of words — and own passages that speak to us,” says Thomas Newkirk.
What’s the point of reading 100 books if you won’t remember what you’ve read or if you will never apply the ideas to your life.