How It Started
As an 11-year old, I learned to use words like "perspicacious" and "ephemeral" before I truly understood them. I wasn't a genius or child prodigy, I simply had an obsessive devotion to books. Between ages 8 and 15, I devoured over 500 books with the kind of hunger that only comes from discovering new worlds between pages.
It started with the Bible, then spiraled outward: dog-eared novels, glossy magazines, even the back of cereal boxes. I even tried the Quran once, but the language barrier prevented me. Anything with words became my territory. This obsession turned me into something of a social hermit. So much so that by 15, I could decode complex narratives but couldn't manage simple small talk with girls my age.
If reading books was a drug addiction, fiction was my drug of choice. I consumed thrillers, got high on sci-fi, and lost myself in historical sagas. I read at a breakneck pace, racing through stories like they were oxygen. But then came the plot twist: non-fiction. The moment I picked up a book on philosophy or leadership, my reading superpowers seemed to vanish. My usual sprint became a thoughtful walk, and my enthusiasm hit a wall.
This dramatic shift puzzled me enough to become its own story, one worth investigating. What I discovered changed everything: non-fiction wasn't meant to be consumed like fiction. It wasn't a meal to be devoured, but a garden to be cultivated. While novels entertained, non-fiction aimed to reconstruct the reader's mind, offering tools to reshape reality rather than escape it.
Think of it like mining for gold versus watching a movie. One requires careful prospecting, specialized tools, and the patience to sift through layers of earth. The other asks only that you sit back and let the story unfold.
In what follows, I'll share my unconventional guide to reading well. These are insights earned through thousands of hours of trial and error. These aren't tips you'll find in a Google search or standard study guides. They're hard-won lessons from a reader who learned to navigate both the sprints of fiction and the deep dives of non-fiction. Come with me. Let's explore the art of reading together.
The Problem with Traditional Reading
When it comes to reading, we've all been trained like literary soldiers: march from page one to the end, eyes forward, never skip a line. This military precision serves us well with novels, where each page builds upon the last like a carefully constructed house of cards. But when we apply this same rigid approach to non-fiction, we're using a sword to butter our bread. It doesn't work.
Think about it: Would you watch a school documentary for an assignment the same way you watch a Hollywood action movie? Would you study a map the same way you read a love letter? Yet here we are, approaching every book with the same mindset, wondering why some fail to leave their mark.
The statistics tell a sobering story. According to Pew Research, 23% of American adults didn't touch a single book last year. But here's the real tragedy: even among those who do read, many walk away from potentially life-changing books with nothing but vague memories and highlighted passages they'll never revisit. They treat books like passive entertainment instead of active tools for transformation.
If reading fiction is like watching a movie, then reading non-fiction is more like assembling furniture. You don't need to admire every sentence in the manual, you only need to understand how the various pieces fit together. A book on leadership isn't meant to be admired; it's meant to make you a better leader.
I learned this lesson through an unlikely teacher: an orange. You see, reading a transformative book is remarkably similar to eating a citrus fruit. Nobody expects an orange to squeeze itself and pour juice directly into their mouth. You have to work for it; you peel back the layers, separate the segments, and intentionally extract every drop of value.
The true measure of reading isn't in how eloquently you can quote passages or how quickly you reached the last page. It's in how thoroughly you've implemented the ideas in your daily life. Have the concepts become part of your mental toolkit? Are you making different decisions? Has your worldview shifted? These are the real indicators that you've actually "read" a book.
Real reading transforms. Everything else is just scanning words on a page.
The Art of Intentional Reading
Imagine walking into a vast library where every book magically opens to exactly the page you need right now. That's not fantasy, it's what happens when you master intentional reading. The trick isn't to consume everything; it's to find the golden nuggets that can transform your current reality.
Think of a non-fiction book as a toolbox, not a novel. You wouldn't insist on using every tool in a toolbox to hang a single picture frame. Similarly, you don't need to digest every chapter to solve your specific challenge. That game-changing insight you need might be hiding in Chapter 7; while Chapters 1-6 might be valuable, they are not valuable to you right now.
Naval Ravikant, the philosopher-entrepreneur known for distilling complex ideas into practical wisdom, suggests something radical: "Read a book like you read blog posts." This approach shatters our completionist mindset. When was the last time you felt guilty about not reading every article on a website? Exactly. You click what serves you, absorb what resonates, and move on without a second thought.
This isn't about reading faster, it's about reading deeper where it matters. Imagine you're grappling with procrastination. Instead of trudging through an entire productivity book, you might:
Scan the table of contents for procrastination-related sections
Deep dive into those specific chapters
Extract the insights that speak to your situation
Experiment with them in real life
Return only when you need more guidance or face a new challenge
The beauty of this approach is that it treats books as living resources rather than linear tasks to be completed. Your relationship with a book can span months or even years, with you returning to different sections as your needs evolve. This way, books become dynamic tools for growth rather than items to check off your reading list.
Think of it as having a conversation with a wise mentor. You wouldn't expect to discuss every topic in their expertise during one sitting. Instead, you'd seek their guidance on specific challenges, implement their advice, and return when you need more wisdom. This is how books become catalysts for real change rather than shelf decorations. Each chapter becomes an experiment waiting to be conducted in the real world, each concept a hypothesis about how we might live better.
When I revolutionized my approach to reading, something extraordinary happened. Books stopped being tasks to complete and became catalysts for change. For instance, when I first read "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. Instead of dutifully marching through each page, I went straight for the chapters on habit stacking and immediate rewards because that was what I needed at the time. Those chapters became blueprints for redesigning my daily routines.
How to Read Like a Genius
Let me share the approach that has worked for me over the years:
Define Your Quest: Before cracking open any book, ask yourself: "What battle am I fighting right now?" Maybe you're struggling with time management, trying to build a business, or working on personal relationships. Your current challenges become your compass, guiding you to the knowledge you need most.
Be Strategic: Think of yourself as a prospector searching for gold. The table of contents is your map, chapter summaries are your initial soil samples. Don't dig everywhere; focus on where the richest veins of relevant wisdom lie. When something resonates with your current situation, that's your signal to dig deeper.
Engage Like a Scientist: Reading actively isn't just about highlighting; it's about hypothesizing. Take notes, and for every major insight you encounter, complete this sentence: "By tomorrow, I will do..." This transforms abstract concepts into concrete actions. Research shows that people who create specific implementation plans are 40% more likely to turn knowledge into practice.
Run Live Experiments: Knowledge without application is like having a high-performance car without ever driving it. Take each insight for a test drive in your life. Start small; try one concept for 24-48 hours. Document what works, what doesn't, and most importantly, why. This feedback loop is where real learning happens.
Build Your Wisdom Library: Great books are like trusted advisors; you don't just consult them once. Books like "How to Win Friends and Influence People" or "The Power of Now" can reveal new insights each time you return, because you're returning as a different person. Create a digital or physical space for your most impactful passages and insights. Let them evolve with you.
Become A Living Testament
There's a profound difference between having a library and having wisdom. One fills your shelves; the other fills your life. When you master the art of purposeful reading, seemingly small insights create seismic shifts: a single chapter on negotiation might transform your career trajectory, or one well-understood concept about habit formation could revolutionize your health and wealth.
But here's what makes this approach truly powerful: it's not about speed or volume. It's about depth and application. Even if you're someone who typically finds non-fiction as boring as watching leaves sway on the wind, this method transforms the experience from a trudge through academic desert into a treasure hunt for life-changing insights. This requires a fundamental shift in posture: Instead of arriving as an expert, come as an explorer. Instead of racing to finish, savor the journey of discovery. Instead of collecting information, pursue transformation.
Consider the profound irony of someone who owns hundreds of books on personal growth yet remains unchanged. It's like having a pharmacy in your home but never taking the medicine. The true measure of reading isn't in the quantity of books you've finished, but in the quality of life they've helped you create.
The ultimate proof of reading well isn't found in how many books you read in a year or your carefully curated bookshelf. It's written in the story of your life, in the wisdom you embody, the decisions you make, and the person you're becoming.
Ask yourself:
Has this book changed how I think?
Has it altered how I act?
Has it transformed who I am?
These are the real measures of reading well. Your life becomes the ultimate book review; a living testament to the wisdom you've not just consumed, but metabolized and manifested. The goal isn't to read more books. It's to live a better story.
A Call to Action
I no longer count the books I read each year. In our data-obsessed world, this might seem strange, like a runner refusing to track their miles. But I've learned that transformative reading, like true love or deep wisdom, resists quantification.
The most powerful books aren't those we finish; they're the ones that finish us. They complete our half-formed thoughts, challenge our comfortable assumptions, and reconstruct our view of what's possible. A single well-understood chapter, deeply applied, holds more value than a hundred books skimmed and shelved.
The next time you open a non-fiction book, treat it like a buffet; take only what you need and leave the rest for another day. Approach it differently:
Seek what you need, not what you "should" read
Measure growth, not pages
Let understanding, not completion, be your goal
Remember: Books are not items to check off a list; they're bridges to the person you're becoming. Start reading not to finish, but to transform. The genius of reading well lies not in the volume of pages turned, but in the quality of life turned out.
This is so profound, Thank you!
I’ll be sure to follow these point diligently once I pick any book to read ☺️
Oh wow! This is a profound perspective.
Have I always seen it this way? Yes and No.
I have always tended to read nonfictions in short bursts. However, I constantly chastised myself for my 'mental laziness' to do justice to speed and volume at a given time.
For instance, I have been slowly working my way through a medical book on gynaecology and the female anatomy(Every Woman) for close to a year.
I visit the pages of the book to pick what I need per time but I have, many times, inwardly chided myself for not being tenacious enough to complete the reading at a long stretch. To what end? Now, I wonder.
Having digested your view on this approach to reading, I am convinced I had better continue just that way and simply do better with applying each bit I read to my daily life such that my life effortlessly gives impressive book reviews.