Stop reading book summaries all the time! Did you really learn?

A week ago, I passed by a bookstore and saw shelves filled with books. I did a little math in my head: if we assume an average lifespan of 70 years per person, and I spend half an hour reading every day, finishing a book every two weeks, that’s about 20-30 books a year. So, in my lifetime, I might read around 800-1000 books. It hit me that life is so limited. Looking at the book summary apps on my phone, I realized I hadn’t even read many of the books in there.

Suddenly, I had this crazy idea: what if I read 50 books in a week?

At first, I naively thought I’d become knowledgeable, articulate, and deeper. But truth be told, looking back, all I had was a list of 50 books, their titles lying coldly there—familiar yet strange. Some books, I couldn’t even recall the plot. I might have grasped some grand ideas the authors intended to convey, but it felt like a vague understanding. A sense of emptiness crept in.

There are many reading products nowadays where experts summarize a book in just a few minutes. If we listen to one a day, that’s over 300 books a year. It made me wonder, is this kind of reading really beneficial? Condensed readings can’t really be considered as “essence.” They compress classic works, making it easier to read and understand the stories, but often missing out on the vivid descriptions, characters’ thoughts, and detailed story developments from the original. So, these condensed versions only offer a ‘summary’ of the original work, not necessarily the ‘essence’. This seemingly efficient and easy way of learning is actually at the shallowest level of passive learning.

Modern life is all about “efficiency” and “speed,” where people don’t want their time consumed by long, deep activities. While efficiency is valued in many aspects of life, reading shouldn’t become a high-speed task. Highly condensed reading always lacks flavor and depth.

Maryanne Wolf, an education professor at UCLA, believes we are losing the ability for “deep reading.” This involves understanding an author’s intent while connecting our knowledge with the text, resonating with the author’s thoughts, and generating unique insights. Deep reading greatly enhances abstract thinking, helps tackle difficult questions, boosts creativity, imagination, and empathy, and improves insight into new things. Those who can’t engage in deep reading, due to a lack of sustained focus, will see their abstract reasoning abilities decline. In other words, if you can’t or won’t slow down, focus fully on complex issues, effective thinking becomes challenging.

So, if you don’t have time for hefty classics, how can you restore your deep reading abilities? Here’s what I think: you can revive your deep reading skills by focusing on reading high-quality articles. Firstly, in this age of information overload, it’s crucial to carefully pick out some top-notch articles. I personally like to sift through the articles selected by a reading tool I’ve been using for a while, choosing ones that pique my interest and are beneficial for personal growth. Secondly, we need to build the habit of deep reading. It might be tough to read ten articles a day consistently, so start by reading just one good article a day. While reading, engage in critical thinking, gradually honing your analytical skills and depth of thought.

Have you had similar experiences? Feel free to share your stories and insights in the comments!

by Otherwise_Big8558