Why you should stop listening to book summaries.
Reading books yourself unveils secrets...
Book summaries are awful!
Especially if you want to extract as much value as you can.
Why?
Because books contain secrets, yes you read that right.
The best way to understand them is by slowing down
And reading the actual book.
Here’s what I mean by that.
5 years ago I was obsessed with self development
And I listened to so many guys on YouTube
Just put their summary of Atomic Habits or The richest man in Babylon
I was okay with just that.
That’s until I actually got the books myself and was shocked.
Atomic Habits wasn’t only about developing habits, but making the right choices.
The richest man in Babylon had a story in back that made everything make even more sense.
The difference was even more stark when I read non-fictional books.
For example, many summaries about Fahrenheit 451 explored the “dystopic” side
Without even mentioning that it wasn’t the government’s “fault”, but people getting offended by them and wanting to live in ignorance.
If you still don’t believe me I challenge you to listen to a summary and then read the book. I guarantee you would see the change.
Now, if you’re reading a hard to understand book (or lengthy) like The Idiot or Count of Monte Cristo here’s what I recommend:
Take pauses and reread the passage
Take notes, familiarize yourself with the social context
Explain it to someone else after you read it (to understand it better)
Use audiobooks
That’s a wrap! I hope this helped you in your reading journey and if it did, don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter.
(Upgrading to paid would help me so much, thanks)