Small Disclaimer - This entire post can also be found on my blog. But this forum is definitely the audience for it. SO ENJOY 
The Problem With Non-Fiction Books
If you like reading non-fiction and especially business books and "self-help" books you will have noticed that these books are sometimes entirely filled with fluff.
The books always contain some very valuable ideas and takeaways but it's as if the author is taking you hostage and you have to follow the flow of the book in order to be rewarded along the way.
The more books you read the more you start to realize that some books are mostly filler and therefore a giant waste of valuable time.
In our capitalist society it's normal this happens. The author has some "breakthrough idea", goes to a publisher and gets commissioned to write a book. But nobody is going to buy a 20-page booklet.
No, it's almost like the bigger the book, the bigger the idea inside must be. So they fill up the book with examples, testimonials, samples, etc..
A while back I was reading "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. Half of his text is made up of transcripts of interviews with his customers. You could in fact summarise his entire book on one (1!) page.
Why should I spend 12 hours reading about couples from Florida and Arizona that are now finally "debt-free". (By the way, this was before I read TMF - I wouldn't read this crap ever again)
Look, books are dirt cheap. Certainly if you compare them with the time it took for the author to write them.
What does not come cheap is our time. It's the number one issue I have with most non-fiction books nowadays. It's ironic how many books on productivity just end up wasting our time instead of helping us be more productive.
Is there a solution? Should we stop reading them altogether?
To Blinkist or not to Blinkist?
If you like to read the occasional non-fiction book you will probably have heard about Blinkist.
Blinkist is a Berlin-based startup that offers written and spoken book summaries in which they present the ideas in a book.
They distill a book down to just 15 minutes. Just the central ideas, no more fluff, no stories.
Aha! This sounds like the solution to our problem.
Sadly it is not.
Not at all, in fact.
Because strangely enough, you forget the central idea of a book extremely quick if you use Blinkist.
At first I thought that was just me and perhaps the crazy way my brain works. But I asked around, typed in the same question on a few internet forums and I'm not alone apparently.
I was a subscriber for over 2 years, but I just didn't use the service because I wasn't retaining anything.
Instead, I used it in order to look for my next read.
Because that they do well. They find everything that is new, trendy and groundbreaking.
Blinkist is like junk food. It's the quick fix. It's mostly empty calories.
In order to retain any of the ideas there are two things you absolutely have to do:
What I'm going to teach you here is my method for reading non-fiction books. I don't claim originality because it's a combination of a few speedreading courses as well as personal experimentation.
What I can promise you is AMAZING results if you follow the steps.
Before we start
What you need:
- A paperback version of your chosen non-fiction book.
- A number 2 pencil
- A computer with internet connection for later steps
- (optional) A journal to take additional notes
You will also have to let go of a few conceptions about books you probably have in your head. For example, I hated writing in my books. A book had to be CLEAN.
With this method you will be writing in the book. You will be highlighting and circling sections from the book. If you really are uncomfortable with that you can always buy a new version (have I mentioned books are cheap). But a book with your notes in them is worth more than a book without it. Think about it.
Another "idée fixe" you'll have to abandon is that in order to "finish" a book you have to read it front to cover. This is not true. Good books are never finished. They are like conversation partners you interact with on a regular basis. You and your book are going to have a relationship (this sounds strange and all kinds of wrong but bear with me throughout the 12 steps and you'll understand).
Some relationships last a long time, others last just a few hours.
A last thing you should be aware of is that this does not work for certain types of non-fiction books. Some of the best non-fiction books out there are written in a narrative style. They are made up of stories and might as well be fiction style-wise. Notable authors like Neil Strauss or the master of this form , Michael Lewis (The Big Short) write very engaging non-fiction that forces you to read the book in its entirety.
It also does not work for highly theoretical, mathematical works and computer books.
Are you ready?
The 12 Steps
Here we go.
Step 1 : Study The Front Cover
Study the cover of your chosen book for a few minutes. Weigh it in your hand. Is it thick or thin?
Ask yourself this question : why are you reading it? Why have you picked it up? Was it something on the front page? What are you hoping to get from it? How does this figure in your life at this moment? Is it related to your work or are you just casually interested in it?
The book I have chosen to use as an example is "Deep Work" by Cal Newport
The reasons for someone reading what they are reading are deeply personal, but i'll share my reasons with you. When I saw this book at first I was slightly disappointed and angry with myself, because for a few years now I was telling myself I was going to write a book about how to focus in a world that is distracted. I have taught myself how to do exactly that. In fact: it's the whole premise of the website you are on right now. I was ready to dive in and write that book. Ironically, I didn't actually do the "deep work" required and Cal Newport beat me to the punch. Good for him.
A few years ago I read Cal Newport's other book : "So Good They Can't Ignore You" and really liked his no-nonsense style. Notice how the success of his previous book is mentioned on the front cover.
The words DEEP and WORK are displayed in a very large font. Deep, being only 4 letters, is spread out over the width of the book. The color of the cover is a bright yellow. An interesting choice.
The subtitle of the book is "Rules for focused success in a distracted world". Now I'm really curious to find out what these rules are they are talking about. This tagline promises us focus and success. Yes, please !
Follow along and do the same with your book of choice. It's important that you sit there and really reflect on the cover for about five minutes. Write down your ideas about it in your journal.
Also remember that the cover (and back) of the book is there for the purpose of SELLING IT. It plays an active part in the marketing plan the publisher is deploying for this book. It will try to grab the essence of what is inside and try to lure you in.
Step 2: Study The Back Cover
Here's where the marketing department really goes to work, usually. You can expect a short summary of what is inside the book, together with what is called 'book blurbs', critical acclaim for this book usually from celebrities or well-known authors. There's of course also the ISBN number and a barcode on the back.
The goal of the back cover is to get you to purchase this book. You can witness this process in bookstores everywhere. People pick up books, read the front first, then flip over the book to read the back. This is where the sale happens.
Once a reader has bought a book the back page doesn't matter anymore.
In our example we have already bought it but let's look if we can gather some more information about "Deep Work".
As you can read here, the publisher selected a few well-known authors to heap praise onto the book. Seth Godin and Daniel H. Pink are very successful authors in their own right.
Note the language and the further promises of what's inside.
Daniel H. Pink suggests that in the age of automation that is coming, this is the one skill we are going to need. "Fast powerful learning and performance".
"A compelling case for cultivating intense focus and actionable steps."
"Science and passion". "Brave work."
"Unique and useful insights".
And the last promise might be the clincher: to achieve "true differentiation in a crowded talent marketplace".
Well, that is a serious promise. If you read this book and apply what is inside you will rise to the top of your field. Because you are doing what no one else does and that is FOCUS.
The back page is important because it tells us more about the central theme of the book and it will help us identify it in the next step.
Step 3: Study The Table Of Contents
This is one of the most important steps. An index is like a coat hanger. It's the structure to hang your knowledge on. It tells you what idea can be found where.
Get the feel for how the author has structured his ideas. Are there any sections that speak louder to you than others?
The table contents for the Kindle version of 'Deep Work'
The table of contents for 'Deep Work' is very clear.
In part 1 the idea of "deep work" wil be discussed. Deep work is valuable, rare and meaningful. In part 2 the author gives us the 4 rules of deep work: work deeply (ok, bit of a stretch there), embrace boredom (that doesn't sound too good), quit social media (whaaat??) and drain the shallows (i don't know what that is).
I'm becoming slightly intrigued now. I like the simple structure, but it's clear there's a lot more to discover. Right now I am drawn towards the "Quit Social Media" rule. It's something I have contemplated myself many times. I'm anxious to hear what he has to say about that. In fact, I really want to check out the 4 rules, rather than to sit through why "deep work" is important.
Note that there is also an introduction and a conclusion.
Step 4: Read the Introduction (Skip any forewords unless they are by the author himself)
The introduction sets the tone for the book, and frames it in its context. It's usually not the most interesting part but I consider it a bit of a warmup for the real stuff.
Use your number 2 pencil liberally to take notes.
Not the book we are using as an example, but not far from how my books are looking
In his introduction Cal Newport makes a very compelling case. He tells us that the most successful value creators out there have the ability to focus and not be distracted. He opens with a story about how Carl Jung built a stone tower in a forest, disconnected from the world, in which he could think and write.
Newport defines deep work and shallow work.
Deep work: Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.
Shallow work: Noncognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted. These efforts tend not to create much new value in the world and are easy to replicate.
Most knowledge workers, states Newport, have lost their ability for deep work and focus. Thanks to the constant distraction of mostly social media.
The following quote was very interesting:
Deep work is not some nostalgic affectation of writers and early-twentieth-century philosophers. It’s instead a skill that has great value today.
There are two reasons for this value. The first has to do with learning. We have an information economy that’s dependent on complex systems that change rapidly. Some of the computer languages Benn learned, for example, didn’t exist ten years ago and will likely be outdated ten years from now. Similarly, someone coming up in the field of marketing in the 1990s probably had no idea that today they’d need to master digital analytics.
To remain valuable in our economy, therefore, you must master the art of quickly learning complicated things. This task requires deep work. If you don’t cultivate this ability, you’re likely to fall behind as technology advances. The second reason that deep work is valuable is because the impacts of the digital network revolution cut both ways. If you can create something useful, its reachable audience (e.g., employers or customers) is essentially limitless—which greatly magnifies your reward.
On the other hand, if what you’re producing is mediocre, then you’re in trouble, as it’s too easy for your audience to find a better alternative online. Whether you’re a computer programmer, writer, marketer, consultant, or entrepreneur, your situation has become similar to Jung trying to outwit Freud.
To succeed you have to produce the absolute best stuff you’re capable of producing—a task that requires depth.
The growing necessity of deep work is new. In an industrial economy, there was a small skilled labor and professional class for which deep work was crucial, but most workers could do just fine without ever cultivating an ability to concentrate without distraction. They were paid to crank widgets—and not much about their job would change in the decades they kept it. But as we shift to an information economy, more and more of our population are knowledge workers, and deep work is becoming a key currency—
Ok. Ouch. I will now definitely delve into this book more.
Finally, Cal Newport, tells us more about the structure of the book
This book has two goals, pursued in two parts. The first, tackled in Part 1, is to convince you that the deep work hypothesis is true. The second, tackled in Part 2, is to teach you how to take advantage of this reality by training your brain and transforming your work habits to place deep work at the core of your professional life.
Step 5. Read Chapter 1
Here's where it all really begins. The story opens. How is the author's writing ? Is it entertaining? Are there stories? Do you like the writing style? What do we learn in Chapter 1?
The purpose of reading the first chapter is to familiarise yourself with the author's way of communicating his ideas.
In the case of 'Deep Work', this is probably not the chapter you want to read right now. I have a strong urge to start at the rules for deep work. This might ironically demonstrate my own tendency to be shallow.
This is where you need to show discipline.
The chapter is called "Why Deep Work is Valuable" and it's an in-depth look at how our society and specifically the nature of work will change in the future. Cal Newport, who is a professor in computer science, is convinced that three different classes of people will rise to the top.
In this new economy, three groups will have a particular advantage: those who can work well and creatively with intelligent machines, those who are the best at what they do, and those with access to capital.
By the way, if you are reading on a kindle, you can see highlights by other readers of this same book. This section caught their attention.
I notice how Cal Newport likes to structure his text, it's not one big text but there's a lot of headers and paragraphs , bullet points, etc ..
To be continued in the next post ...
The Problem With Non-Fiction Books
If you like reading non-fiction and especially business books and "self-help" books you will have noticed that these books are sometimes entirely filled with fluff.
The books always contain some very valuable ideas and takeaways but it's as if the author is taking you hostage and you have to follow the flow of the book in order to be rewarded along the way.
The more books you read the more you start to realize that some books are mostly filler and therefore a giant waste of valuable time.
In our capitalist society it's normal this happens. The author has some "breakthrough idea", goes to a publisher and gets commissioned to write a book. But nobody is going to buy a 20-page booklet.
No, it's almost like the bigger the book, the bigger the idea inside must be. So they fill up the book with examples, testimonials, samples, etc..
A while back I was reading "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. Half of his text is made up of transcripts of interviews with his customers. You could in fact summarise his entire book on one (1!) page.
Why should I spend 12 hours reading about couples from Florida and Arizona that are now finally "debt-free". (By the way, this was before I read TMF - I wouldn't read this crap ever again)
Look, books are dirt cheap. Certainly if you compare them with the time it took for the author to write them.
What does not come cheap is our time. It's the number one issue I have with most non-fiction books nowadays. It's ironic how many books on productivity just end up wasting our time instead of helping us be more productive.
Is there a solution? Should we stop reading them altogether?
To Blinkist or not to Blinkist?
If you like to read the occasional non-fiction book you will probably have heard about Blinkist.
Blinkist is a Berlin-based startup that offers written and spoken book summaries in which they present the ideas in a book.
They distill a book down to just 15 minutes. Just the central ideas, no more fluff, no stories.
Aha! This sounds like the solution to our problem.
Sadly it is not.
Not at all, in fact.
Because strangely enough, you forget the central idea of a book extremely quick if you use Blinkist.
At first I thought that was just me and perhaps the crazy way my brain works. But I asked around, typed in the same question on a few internet forums and I'm not alone apparently.
I was a subscriber for over 2 years, but I just didn't use the service because I wasn't retaining anything.
Instead, I used it in order to look for my next read.
Because that they do well. They find everything that is new, trendy and groundbreaking.
Blinkist is like junk food. It's the quick fix. It's mostly empty calories.
In order to retain any of the ideas there are two things you absolutely have to do:
- YOU HAVE TO PHYSICALLY INTERACT WITH THE BOOK AND ITS CONTENT.
- YOU HAVE TO ACTIVELY ENGAGE AND READ CRITICALLY
What I'm going to teach you here is my method for reading non-fiction books. I don't claim originality because it's a combination of a few speedreading courses as well as personal experimentation.
What I can promise you is AMAZING results if you follow the steps.
Before we start
What you need:
- A paperback version of your chosen non-fiction book.
- A number 2 pencil
- A computer with internet connection for later steps
- (optional) A journal to take additional notes
You will also have to let go of a few conceptions about books you probably have in your head. For example, I hated writing in my books. A book had to be CLEAN.
With this method you will be writing in the book. You will be highlighting and circling sections from the book. If you really are uncomfortable with that you can always buy a new version (have I mentioned books are cheap). But a book with your notes in them is worth more than a book without it. Think about it.
Another "idée fixe" you'll have to abandon is that in order to "finish" a book you have to read it front to cover. This is not true. Good books are never finished. They are like conversation partners you interact with on a regular basis. You and your book are going to have a relationship (this sounds strange and all kinds of wrong but bear with me throughout the 12 steps and you'll understand).
Some relationships last a long time, others last just a few hours.
A last thing you should be aware of is that this does not work for certain types of non-fiction books. Some of the best non-fiction books out there are written in a narrative style. They are made up of stories and might as well be fiction style-wise. Notable authors like Neil Strauss or the master of this form , Michael Lewis (The Big Short) write very engaging non-fiction that forces you to read the book in its entirety.
It also does not work for highly theoretical, mathematical works and computer books.
Are you ready?
The 12 Steps
Here we go.
Step 1 : Study The Front Cover
Study the cover of your chosen book for a few minutes. Weigh it in your hand. Is it thick or thin?
Ask yourself this question : why are you reading it? Why have you picked it up? Was it something on the front page? What are you hoping to get from it? How does this figure in your life at this moment? Is it related to your work or are you just casually interested in it?
The book I have chosen to use as an example is "Deep Work" by Cal Newport
The reasons for someone reading what they are reading are deeply personal, but i'll share my reasons with you. When I saw this book at first I was slightly disappointed and angry with myself, because for a few years now I was telling myself I was going to write a book about how to focus in a world that is distracted. I have taught myself how to do exactly that. In fact: it's the whole premise of the website you are on right now. I was ready to dive in and write that book. Ironically, I didn't actually do the "deep work" required and Cal Newport beat me to the punch. Good for him.
A few years ago I read Cal Newport's other book : "So Good They Can't Ignore You" and really liked his no-nonsense style. Notice how the success of his previous book is mentioned on the front cover.
The words DEEP and WORK are displayed in a very large font. Deep, being only 4 letters, is spread out over the width of the book. The color of the cover is a bright yellow. An interesting choice.
The subtitle of the book is "Rules for focused success in a distracted world". Now I'm really curious to find out what these rules are they are talking about. This tagline promises us focus and success. Yes, please !
Follow along and do the same with your book of choice. It's important that you sit there and really reflect on the cover for about five minutes. Write down your ideas about it in your journal.
Also remember that the cover (and back) of the book is there for the purpose of SELLING IT. It plays an active part in the marketing plan the publisher is deploying for this book. It will try to grab the essence of what is inside and try to lure you in.
Step 2: Study The Back Cover
Here's where the marketing department really goes to work, usually. You can expect a short summary of what is inside the book, together with what is called 'book blurbs', critical acclaim for this book usually from celebrities or well-known authors. There's of course also the ISBN number and a barcode on the back.
The goal of the back cover is to get you to purchase this book. You can witness this process in bookstores everywhere. People pick up books, read the front first, then flip over the book to read the back. This is where the sale happens.
Once a reader has bought a book the back page doesn't matter anymore.
In our example we have already bought it but let's look if we can gather some more information about "Deep Work".
As you can read here, the publisher selected a few well-known authors to heap praise onto the book. Seth Godin and Daniel H. Pink are very successful authors in their own right.
Note the language and the further promises of what's inside.
Daniel H. Pink suggests that in the age of automation that is coming, this is the one skill we are going to need. "Fast powerful learning and performance".
"A compelling case for cultivating intense focus and actionable steps."
"Science and passion". "Brave work."
"Unique and useful insights".
And the last promise might be the clincher: to achieve "true differentiation in a crowded talent marketplace".
Well, that is a serious promise. If you read this book and apply what is inside you will rise to the top of your field. Because you are doing what no one else does and that is FOCUS.
The back page is important because it tells us more about the central theme of the book and it will help us identify it in the next step.
Step 3: Study The Table Of Contents
This is one of the most important steps. An index is like a coat hanger. It's the structure to hang your knowledge on. It tells you what idea can be found where.
Get the feel for how the author has structured his ideas. Are there any sections that speak louder to you than others?
The table contents for the Kindle version of 'Deep Work'
The table of contents for 'Deep Work' is very clear.
In part 1 the idea of "deep work" wil be discussed. Deep work is valuable, rare and meaningful. In part 2 the author gives us the 4 rules of deep work: work deeply (ok, bit of a stretch there), embrace boredom (that doesn't sound too good), quit social media (whaaat??) and drain the shallows (i don't know what that is).
I'm becoming slightly intrigued now. I like the simple structure, but it's clear there's a lot more to discover. Right now I am drawn towards the "Quit Social Media" rule. It's something I have contemplated myself many times. I'm anxious to hear what he has to say about that. In fact, I really want to check out the 4 rules, rather than to sit through why "deep work" is important.
Note that there is also an introduction and a conclusion.
Step 4: Read the Introduction (Skip any forewords unless they are by the author himself)
The introduction sets the tone for the book, and frames it in its context. It's usually not the most interesting part but I consider it a bit of a warmup for the real stuff.
Use your number 2 pencil liberally to take notes.
Not the book we are using as an example, but not far from how my books are looking
In his introduction Cal Newport makes a very compelling case. He tells us that the most successful value creators out there have the ability to focus and not be distracted. He opens with a story about how Carl Jung built a stone tower in a forest, disconnected from the world, in which he could think and write.
Newport defines deep work and shallow work.
Deep work: Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.
Shallow work: Noncognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted. These efforts tend not to create much new value in the world and are easy to replicate.
Most knowledge workers, states Newport, have lost their ability for deep work and focus. Thanks to the constant distraction of mostly social media.
The following quote was very interesting:
Deep work is not some nostalgic affectation of writers and early-twentieth-century philosophers. It’s instead a skill that has great value today.
There are two reasons for this value. The first has to do with learning. We have an information economy that’s dependent on complex systems that change rapidly. Some of the computer languages Benn learned, for example, didn’t exist ten years ago and will likely be outdated ten years from now. Similarly, someone coming up in the field of marketing in the 1990s probably had no idea that today they’d need to master digital analytics.
To remain valuable in our economy, therefore, you must master the art of quickly learning complicated things. This task requires deep work. If you don’t cultivate this ability, you’re likely to fall behind as technology advances. The second reason that deep work is valuable is because the impacts of the digital network revolution cut both ways. If you can create something useful, its reachable audience (e.g., employers or customers) is essentially limitless—which greatly magnifies your reward.
On the other hand, if what you’re producing is mediocre, then you’re in trouble, as it’s too easy for your audience to find a better alternative online. Whether you’re a computer programmer, writer, marketer, consultant, or entrepreneur, your situation has become similar to Jung trying to outwit Freud.
To succeed you have to produce the absolute best stuff you’re capable of producing—a task that requires depth.
The growing necessity of deep work is new. In an industrial economy, there was a small skilled labor and professional class for which deep work was crucial, but most workers could do just fine without ever cultivating an ability to concentrate without distraction. They were paid to crank widgets—and not much about their job would change in the decades they kept it. But as we shift to an information economy, more and more of our population are knowledge workers, and deep work is becoming a key currency—
Ok. Ouch. I will now definitely delve into this book more.
Finally, Cal Newport, tells us more about the structure of the book
This book has two goals, pursued in two parts. The first, tackled in Part 1, is to convince you that the deep work hypothesis is true. The second, tackled in Part 2, is to teach you how to take advantage of this reality by training your brain and transforming your work habits to place deep work at the core of your professional life.
Step 5. Read Chapter 1
Here's where it all really begins. The story opens. How is the author's writing ? Is it entertaining? Are there stories? Do you like the writing style? What do we learn in Chapter 1?
The purpose of reading the first chapter is to familiarise yourself with the author's way of communicating his ideas.
In the case of 'Deep Work', this is probably not the chapter you want to read right now. I have a strong urge to start at the rules for deep work. This might ironically demonstrate my own tendency to be shallow.
This is where you need to show discipline.
The chapter is called "Why Deep Work is Valuable" and it's an in-depth look at how our society and specifically the nature of work will change in the future. Cal Newport, who is a professor in computer science, is convinced that three different classes of people will rise to the top.
In this new economy, three groups will have a particular advantage: those who can work well and creatively with intelligent machines, those who are the best at what they do, and those with access to capital.
By the way, if you are reading on a kindle, you can see highlights by other readers of this same book. This section caught their attention.
I notice how Cal Newport likes to structure his text, it's not one big text but there's a lot of headers and paragraphs , bullet points, etc ..
To be continued in the next post ...
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