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Reading Habits

By Kevin

Piling Up

As books in my home piles up and I am increasingly unable to keep up with finishing the stacks of library books I borrow almost on a weekly basis, I can't help but write something about reading habits; the selection of reading materials, how to go about reading them and what sort of benefits you should be expecting. More importantly, I have to explain what sort of problems you should avoid.

There is way too many means to categorize books but they fall into 'fiction' and 'non-fiction' generally. I am a strongly non-fiction person but I'm not going to ramble on the merits of non-fiction and such. The thing about non-fiction is that they are generally not attention-sustaining for long and that means things can get boring very quickly and you'll have to be able to sustain your interest in the book. Fiction, on the other hand is usually flowing smoothly from one chapter to next most authors have decided that a page break between them would be way too disruptive.

Fiction

Self-sustaining Fiction

Therefore, choose fiction when you need to entertain yourself and prefer to use up less energy paying special attention to what the author has to say. The descriptive words of fiction will just diffuse into your mind as images (accurately perceived or not) and the storyline will flutter pass you with its ups and downs. If the fiction is good, you'll find yourself emotionally drawn towards the characters and their circumstances. Your attention, in other words, would be naturally occurring, something that requires little efforts because the ease of visualization and imagination facilitates the involvement in the contents of the fiction. At times, skipping a couple of paragraph won't even cause you to miss out on anything in the story. And if you're lucky, the story is probably beautiful, like The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger or abstract and deep with loads to learn about like Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

These books are best read while babysitting a passive kid who loves to play on his own, when you're trying to skive from work at your workplace, while waiting for your boss in the conference room before a meeting (especially for bosses who don't require you to look busy) and more. Fictions are generally treated as entertainment and plenty of people read them on board buses and trains just to make the journey to work or anywhere else shorter. Unless your English is pathetic relative to the standard of text you've chosen, the process of reading fiction can be rather mindless. Of course, there are more exciting and information packed fiction like the ones Dan Brown writes and some others with such long list of characters you'll be better off jotting down on paper who is who.

Non-Fiction Pop

Loaded with Info Tidbits

Non-fiction popular books are a good choice for those willing to give up a little more attention and energies to entertain oneself while also picking up loads of interesting information about the world that you would otherwise ignore. These books are hard to read in presence of friends who wants to strike a conversation with you but immensely entertaining when you're along in the MRT (for Singaporeans, subway for Americans and the tube for Brits), on-board buses or in a cafe sipping coffee. Now these are the books I'll read most of the time, especially in the area of my interests - Economics! The tidbits of information you gained from these books are going to take you a long way through conversations with different sorts of people, an array of writing works you might engage yourself in or just topics you can cook up and share at a family dinner. Robert H. Frank's series of 'Economic Naturalist' books are great for both students of Economics and the general audience. Of course, I would recommend Tim Harford as well given the many entries with links to his blog and books. Popular science books works the same way - Richard P Feynman have been writing them in the 90s, when the ordinary folks became amused by scientific experiments of all sorts and everyone were hungry for knowledge (at least in most of the Western World). Books on social trends by Malcolm Gladwell and James Surowiecki would probably interest you greatly in the same way.

I usually call these books coffee table books because they're best read when you've spare time for leisure stuff but don't want to be too active. It's best suited as a companion in Starbucks besides the Cappuccino you'll buy. It's fine reading on trains, cars and buses as well but you will have to be a little more interested in case you decide to doze off.

Non-Fiction Reference/Study
Finally, there's the non-fiction serious books that would require undivided attention with serious note-taking. For me, these are economics reference books, heavier books on business and management as well as some textbooks. These are the books that would take up loads of your time just with wondering what a certain paragraph or line means. And these are best reserved for reading in quiet places and when you have plenty of time.

Read these on a table, with a notebook and a pen or pencil, preferably with a technical terms dictionary with you. A highlighter might sometimes come useful. Ensure that the lighting is good around you so that it keeps your eyelids wide open and prepare a good hot drink with a coaster on the table beside you - you're unlikely to be leaving the table any time soon anyways.

You probably have the most to gain from the last type of books, Non-fiction References or Study sort of books but that is the kind of materials you read the least. Fortunately, there is a range of other sort of reading materials you can start on - The Economist, Fortune, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, and many more. These are a cross between the Non-fiction Pop with the Non-fiction Reference and will offer you enriching information without the need to take particular notes and such. Well, with so many choices, choose something you like in each category and get down to cultivating a habit to read!

Planned Reading
One key problem is getting into the trap of wanting to read everything and I often reach that stage of walking into the library hunting for books even when I have loads of them at home unread. There's something satisfying about being able to borrow a book you hope to read and anticipating its contents. So as far as possible, try to plan your reading. Limit active reading materials to a few (it's usually about 5 for me, which is quite a lot; they include a latest issue of The Economist and Fortune, 2 Non-fiction Pop books and a serious Non-fiction book or motivational book).

Don't Force Yourself
If a book is way too high level for you, just drop it. It's not worth the time. When you realise that a writing uses too much references and terms you know nuts about, it's better you go read up on them before getting back to your book/article. You'll gain little finishing a book cover to cover when you don't understand it; worst, you risk losing interest in the issue. It is better to read materials with a little bit of difficult stuff but coupled with loads of friendly information and those that you're interested in; they act as bridges to lead you to higher level materials.

Having said all that, one need not get too technical about reading at the end of the day - when you happen to lay you hands on the materials, just read it!