The case for reading slowly

Most advice about reading is about reading more. Fifty books a year, a hundred, a list ticked off in January and abandoned by March.

I've started doing the opposite. One book at a time, a chapter a night, and a pencil.

What changes

The first thing is that you remember it. Not all of it, but the shape. A slow book leaves a room behind in your head that you can walk back into.

The second is that you argue with it. Margins fill up. No. Really? See p. 40. A fast book is a conversation where you only listen.

The point of reading is not to have read.

I can't remember where that line is from, which is rather the point.

How

• One book. Finish it or put it down for good.
• A pencil, not a highlighter. Highlighting is agreeing; writing is thinking.
• Stop mid-chapter when it's going well. You'll want to come back.