jamesclear.com
Open in
urlscan Pro
2606:4700:10::6814:c873
Public Scan
URL:
https://jamesclear.com/reading-comprehension-strategies
Submission: On September 15 via manual from US — Scanned from DE
Submission: On September 15 via manual from US — Scanned from DE
Form analysis 1 forms found in the DOM
POST https://app.convertkit.com/forms/1199604/subscriptions
<form action="https://app.convertkit.com/forms/1199604/subscriptions" style="background-color:#eeeeee;border-radius:4px" class="seva-form formkit-form" method="post" data-sv-form="1199604" data-uid="f3dabca92a" data-format="inline" data-version="6"
min-width="400 500 600">
<div style="background-image:;opacity:0.2" class="formkit-background"></div>
<div data-style="minimal">
<div class="formkit-header" style="color:#4d4d4d;font-size:27px;font-weight:700" data-element="header">
<h1>Join the Newsletter</h1>
</div>
<div class="formkit-subheader" style="color:#686868;font-size:18px" data-element="subheader">Subscribe to get our latest content by email.</div>
<ul class="formkit-alert formkit-alert-error" data-element="errors" data-group="alert"></ul>
<div data-element="fields" data-stacked="false" class="seva-fields formkit-fields">
<div class="formkit-field"><input type="text" class="formkit-input" name="email_address" style="color:#000;border-color:#e3e3e3;border-radius:4px;font-weight:400" aria-label="My email address is..." placeholder="My email address is..."
required=""></div><button data-element="submit" class="formkit-submit formkit-submit" style="color:#fff;background-color:#1677be;border-radius:4px;font-weight:700">
<div class="formkit-spinner">
<div></div>
<div></div>
<div></div>
</div><span class="">Try the free newsletter</span>
</button>
</div>
<div class="formkit-guarantee" style="color:#4d4d4d;font-size:13px;font-weight:400" data-element="guarantee">
<p></p>
</div>
</div>
<style>
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] * {
box-sizing: border-box;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] {
-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;
-moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] legend {
border: none;
font-size: inherit;
margin-bottom: 10px;
padding: 0;
position: relative;
display: table;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] fieldset {
border: 0;
padding: 0.01em 0 0 0;
margin: 0;
min-width: 0;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] body:not(:-moz-handler-blocked) fieldset {
display: table-cell;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] h1,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] h2,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] h3,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] h4,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] h5,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] h6 {
color: inherit;
font-size: inherit;
font-weight: inherit;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] h2 {
font-size: 1.5em;
margin: 1em 0;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] h3 {
font-size: 1.17em;
margin: 1em 0;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] p {
color: inherit;
font-size: inherit;
font-weight: inherit;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] ol:not([template-default]),
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] ul:not([template-default]),
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] blockquote:not([template-default]) {
text-align: left;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] p:not([template-default]),
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] hr:not([template-default]),
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] blockquote:not([template-default]),
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] ol:not([template-default]),
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] ul:not([template-default]) {
color: inherit;
font-style: initial;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .ordered-list,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .unordered-list {
list-style-position: outside !important;
padding-left: 1em;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .list-item {
padding-left: 0;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"][data-format="modal"] {
display: none;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"][data-format="slide in"] {
display: none;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"][data-format="sticky bar"] {
display: none;
}
.formkit-sticky-bar .formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"][data-format="sticky bar"] {
display: block;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-input,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-select,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-checkboxes {
width: 100%;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-button,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-submit {
border: 0;
border-radius: 5px;
color: #ffffff;
cursor: pointer;
display: inline-block;
text-align: center;
font-size: 15px;
font-weight: 500;
cursor: pointer;
margin-bottom: 15px;
overflow: hidden;
padding: 0;
position: relative;
vertical-align: middle;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-button:hover,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-submit:hover,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-button:focus,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-submit:focus {
outline: none;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-button:hover>span,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-submit:hover>span,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-button:focus>span,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-submit:focus>span {
background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-button>span,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-submit>span {
display: block;
-webkit-transition: all 300ms ease-in-out;
transition: all 300ms ease-in-out;
padding: 12px 24px;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-input {
background: #ffffff;
font-size: 15px;
padding: 12px;
border: 1px solid #e3e3e3;
-webkit-flex: 1 0 auto;
-ms-flex: 1 0 auto;
flex: 1 0 auto;
line-height: 1.4;
margin: 0;
-webkit-transition: border-color ease-out 300ms;
transition: border-color ease-out 300ms;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-input:focus {
outline: none;
border-color: #1677be;
-webkit-transition: border-color ease 300ms;
transition: border-color ease 300ms;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-input::-webkit-input-placeholder {
color: inherit;
opacity: 0.8;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-input::-moz-placeholder {
color: inherit;
opacity: 0.8;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-input:-ms-input-placeholder {
color: inherit;
opacity: 0.8;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-input::placeholder {
color: inherit;
opacity: 0.8;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="dropdown"] {
position: relative;
display: inline-block;
width: 100%;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="dropdown"]::before {
content: "";
top: calc(50% - 2.5px);
right: 10px;
position: absolute;
pointer-events: none;
border-color: #4f4f4f transparent transparent transparent;
border-style: solid;
border-width: 6px 6px 0 6px;
height: 0;
width: 0;
z-index: 999;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="dropdown"] select {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
cursor: pointer;
color: #333333;
line-height: 1.4;
margin-bottom: 0;
padding: 0 6px;
-webkit-appearance: none;
-moz-appearance: none;
appearance: none;
font-size: 15px;
padding: 12px;
padding-right: 25px;
border: 1px solid #e3e3e3;
background: #ffffff;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="dropdown"] select:focus {
outline: none;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="checkboxes"] {
text-align: left;
margin: 0;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="checkboxes"] [data-group="checkbox"] {
margin-bottom: 10px;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="checkboxes"] [data-group="checkbox"] * {
cursor: pointer;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="checkboxes"] [data-group="checkbox"]:last-of-type {
margin-bottom: 0;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="checkboxes"] [data-group="checkbox"] input[type="checkbox"] {
display: none;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="checkboxes"] [data-group="checkbox"] input[type="checkbox"]+label::after {
content: none;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="checkboxes"] [data-group="checkbox"] input[type="checkbox"]:checked+label::after {
border-color: #ffffff;
content: "";
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="checkboxes"] [data-group="checkbox"] input[type="checkbox"]:checked+label::before {
background: #10bf7a;
border-color: #10bf7a;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="checkboxes"] [data-group="checkbox"] label {
position: relative;
display: inline-block;
padding-left: 28px;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="checkboxes"] [data-group="checkbox"] label::before,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="checkboxes"] [data-group="checkbox"] label::after {
position: absolute;
content: "";
display: inline-block;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="checkboxes"] [data-group="checkbox"] label::before {
height: 16px;
width: 16px;
border: 1px solid #e3e3e3;
background: #ffffff;
left: 0px;
top: 3px;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-group="checkboxes"] [data-group="checkbox"] label::after {
height: 4px;
width: 8px;
border-left: 2px solid #4d4d4d;
border-bottom: 2px solid #4d4d4d;
-webkit-transform: rotate(-45deg);
-ms-transform: rotate(-45deg);
transform: rotate(-45deg);
left: 4px;
top: 8px;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-alert {
background: #f9fafb;
border: 1px solid #e3e3e3;
border-radius: 5px;
-webkit-flex: 1 0 auto;
-ms-flex: 1 0 auto;
flex: 1 0 auto;
list-style: none;
margin: 25px auto;
padding: 12px;
text-align: center;
width: 100%;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-alert:empty {
display: none;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-alert-success {
background: #d3fbeb;
border-color: #10bf7a;
color: #0c905c;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-alert-error {
background: #fde8e2;
border-color: #f2643b;
color: #ea4110;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-spinner {
display: -webkit-box;
display: -webkit-flex;
display: -ms-flexbox;
display: flex;
height: 0px;
width: 0px;
margin: 0 auto;
position: absolute;
top: 0;
left: 0;
right: 0;
width: 0px;
overflow: hidden;
text-align: center;
-webkit-transition: all 300ms ease-in-out;
transition: all 300ms ease-in-out;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-spinner>div {
margin: auto;
width: 12px;
height: 12px;
background-color: #fff;
opacity: 0.3;
border-radius: 100%;
display: inline-block;
-webkit-animation: formkit-bouncedelay-formkit-form-data-uid-f3dabca92a- 1.4s infinite ease-in-out both;
animation: formkit-bouncedelay-formkit-form-data-uid-f3dabca92a- 1.4s infinite ease-in-out both;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-spinner>div:nth-child(1) {
-webkit-animation-delay: -0.32s;
animation-delay: -0.32s;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-spinner>div:nth-child(2) {
-webkit-animation-delay: -0.16s;
animation-delay: -0.16s;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-submit[data-active] .formkit-spinner {
opacity: 1;
height: 100%;
width: 50px;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-submit[data-active] .formkit-spinner~span {
opacity: 0;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-powered-by[data-active="false"] {
opacity: 0.35;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-powered-by-convertkit-container {
display: -webkit-box;
display: -webkit-flex;
display: -ms-flexbox;
display: flex;
width: 100%;
z-index: 5;
margin: 10px 0;
position: relative;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-powered-by-convertkit-container[data-active="false"] {
opacity: 0.35;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-powered-by-convertkit {
-webkit-align-items: center;
-webkit-box-align: center;
-ms-flex-align: center;
align-items: center;
background-color: #ffffff;
border: 1px solid #dde2e7;
border-radius: 4px;
color: #373f45;
cursor: pointer;
display: block;
height: 36px;
margin: 0 auto;
opacity: 0.95;
padding: 0;
-webkit-text-decoration: none;
text-decoration: none;
text-indent: 100%;
-webkit-transition: ease-in-out all 200ms;
transition: ease-in-out all 200ms;
white-space: nowrap;
overflow: hidden;
-webkit-user-select: none;
-moz-user-select: none;
-ms-user-select: none;
user-select: none;
width: 190px;
background-repeat: no-repeat;
background-position: center;
background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg width='162' height='20' viewBox='0 0 162 20' fill='none' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%3E%3Cpath d='M83.0561 15.2457C86.675 15.2457 89.4722 12.5154 89.4722 9.14749C89.4722 5.99211 86.8443 4.06563 85.1038 4.06563C82.6801 4.06563 80.7373 5.76407 80.4605 8.28551C80.4092 8.75244 80.0387 9.14403 79.5686 9.14069C78.7871 9.13509 77.6507 9.12841 76.9314 9.13092C76.6217 9.13199 76.3658 8.88106 76.381 8.57196C76.4895 6.38513 77.2218 4.3404 78.618 2.76974C80.1695 1.02445 82.4289 0 85.1038 0C89.5979 0 93.8406 4.07791 93.8406 9.14749C93.8406 14.7608 89.1832 19.3113 83.1517 19.3113C78.8502 19.3113 74.5179 16.5041 73.0053 12.5795C72.9999 12.565 72.9986 12.5492 73.0015 12.534C73.0218 12.4179 73.0617 12.3118 73.1011 12.2074C73.1583 12.0555 73.2143 11.907 73.2062 11.7359L73.18 11.1892C73.174 11.0569 73.2075 10.9258 73.2764 10.8127C73.3452 10.6995 73.4463 10.6094 73.5666 10.554L73.7852 10.4523C73.9077 10.3957 74.0148 10.3105 74.0976 10.204C74.1803 10.0974 74.2363 9.97252 74.2608 9.83983C74.3341 9.43894 74.6865 9.14749 75.0979 9.14749C75.7404 9.14749 76.299 9.57412 76.5088 10.1806C77.5188 13.1 79.1245 15.2457 83.0561 15.2457Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M155.758 6.91365C155.028 6.91365 154.804 6.47916 154.804 5.98857C154.804 5.46997 154.986 5.06348 155.758 5.06348C156.53 5.06348 156.712 5.46997 156.712 5.98857C156.712 6.47905 156.516 6.91365 155.758 6.91365ZM142.441 12.9304V9.32833L141.415 9.32323V8.90392C141.415 8.44719 141.786 8.07758 142.244 8.07986L142.441 8.08095V6.55306L144.082 6.09057V8.08073H145.569V8.50416C145.569 8.61242 145.548 8.71961 145.506 8.81961C145.465 8.91961 145.404 9.01047 145.328 9.08699C145.251 9.16351 145.16 9.2242 145.06 9.26559C144.96 9.30698 144.853 9.32826 144.745 9.32822H144.082V12.7201C144.082 13.2423 144.378 13.4256 144.76 13.4887C145.209 13.5629 145.583 13.888 145.583 14.343V14.9626C144.029 14.9626 142.441 14.8942 142.441 12.9304Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M110.058 7.92554C108.417 7.88344 106.396 8.92062 106.396 11.5137C106.396 14.0646 108.417 15.0738 110.058 15.0318C111.742 15.0738 113.748 14.0646 113.748 11.5137C113.748 8.92062 111.742 7.88344 110.058 7.92554ZM110.07 13.7586C108.878 13.7586 108.032 12.8905 108.032 11.461C108.032 10.1013 108.878 9.20569 110.071 9.20569C111.263 9.20569 112.101 10.0995 112.101 11.459C112.101 12.8887 111.263 13.7586 110.07 13.7586Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M118.06 7.94098C119.491 7.94098 120.978 8.33337 120.978 11.1366V14.893H120.063C119.608 14.893 119.238 14.524 119.238 14.0689V10.9965C119.238 9.66506 118.747 9.16047 117.891 9.16047C117.414 9.16047 116.797 9.52486 116.502 9.81915V14.069C116.502 14.1773 116.481 14.2845 116.44 14.3845C116.398 14.4845 116.337 14.5753 116.261 14.6519C116.184 14.7284 116.093 14.7891 115.993 14.8305C115.893 14.8719 115.786 14.8931 115.678 14.8931H114.847V8.10918H115.773C115.932 8.10914 116.087 8.16315 116.212 8.26242C116.337 8.36168 116.424 8.50033 116.46 8.65577C116.881 8.19328 117.428 7.94098 118.06 7.94098ZM122.854 8.09713C123.024 8.09708 123.19 8.1496 123.329 8.2475C123.468 8.34541 123.574 8.48391 123.631 8.64405L125.133 12.8486L126.635 8.64415C126.692 8.48402 126.798 8.34551 126.937 8.2476C127.076 8.1497 127.242 8.09718 127.412 8.09724H128.598L126.152 14.3567C126.091 14.5112 125.986 14.6439 125.849 14.7374C125.711 14.831 125.549 14.881 125.383 14.8809H124.333L121.668 8.09713H122.854Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M135.085 14.5514C134.566 14.7616 133.513 15.0416 132.418 15.0416C130.496 15.0416 129.024 13.9345 129.024 11.4396C129.024 9.19701 130.451 7.99792 132.191 7.99792C134.338 7.99792 135.254 9.4378 135.158 11.3979C135.139 11.8029 134.786 12.0983 134.38 12.0983H130.679C130.763 13.1916 131.562 13.7662 132.615 13.7662C133.028 13.7662 133.462 13.7452 133.983 13.6481C134.535 13.545 135.085 13.9375 135.085 14.4985V14.5514ZM133.673 10.949C133.785 9.87621 133.061 9.28752 132.191 9.28752C131.321 9.28752 130.734 9.93979 130.679 10.9489L133.673 10.949Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M137.345 8.11122C137.497 8.11118 137.645 8.16229 137.765 8.25635C137.884 8.35041 137.969 8.48197 138.005 8.62993C138.566 8.20932 139.268 7.94303 139.759 7.94303C139.801 7.94303 140.068 7.94303 140.489 7.99913V8.7265C140.489 9.11748 140.15 9.4147 139.759 9.4147C139.31 9.4147 138.651 9.5829 138.131 9.8773V14.8951H136.462V8.11112L137.345 8.11122ZM156.6 14.0508V8.09104H155.769C155.314 8.09104 154.944 8.45999 154.944 8.9151V14.8748H155.775C156.23 14.8748 156.6 14.5058 156.6 14.0508ZM158.857 12.9447V9.34254H157.749V8.91912C157.749 8.46401 158.118 8.09506 158.574 8.09506H158.857V6.56739L160.499 6.10479V8.09506H161.986V8.51848C161.986 8.97359 161.617 9.34254 161.161 9.34254H160.499V12.7345C160.499 13.2566 160.795 13.44 161.177 13.503C161.626 13.5774 162 13.9024 162 14.3574V14.977C160.446 14.977 158.857 14.9086 158.857 12.9447ZM98.1929 10.1124C98.2033 6.94046 100.598 5.16809 102.895 5.16809C104.171 5.16809 105.342 5.44285 106.304 6.12953L105.914 6.6631C105.654 7.02011 105.16 7.16194 104.749 6.99949C104.169 6.7702 103.622 6.7218 103.215 6.7218C101.335 6.7218 99.9169 7.92849 99.9068 10.1123C99.9169 12.2959 101.335 13.5201 103.215 13.5201C103.622 13.5201 104.169 13.4717 104.749 13.2424C105.16 13.0799 105.654 13.2046 105.914 13.5615L106.304 14.0952C105.342 14.7819 104.171 15.0566 102.895 15.0566C100.598 15.0566 98.2033 13.2842 98.1929 10.1124ZM147.619 5.21768C148.074 5.21768 148.444 5.58663 148.444 6.04174V9.81968L151.82 5.58131C151.897 5.47733 151.997 5.39282 152.112 5.3346C152.227 5.27638 152.355 5.24607 152.484 5.24611H153.984L150.166 10.0615L153.984 14.8749H152.484C152.355 14.8749 152.227 14.8446 152.112 14.7864C151.997 14.7281 151.897 14.6436 151.82 14.5397L148.444 10.3025V14.0508C148.444 14.5059 148.074 14.8749 147.619 14.8749H146.746V5.21768H147.619Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M0.773438 6.5752H2.68066C3.56543 6.5752 4.2041 6.7041 4.59668 6.96191C4.99219 7.21973 5.18994 7.62695 5.18994 8.18359C5.18994 8.55859 5.09326 8.87061 4.8999 9.11963C4.70654 9.36865 4.42822 9.52539 4.06494 9.58984V9.63379C4.51611 9.71875 4.84717 9.88721 5.05811 10.1392C5.27197 10.3882 5.37891 10.7266 5.37891 11.1543C5.37891 11.7314 5.17676 12.1841 4.77246 12.5122C4.37109 12.8374 3.81152 13 3.09375 13H0.773438V6.5752ZM1.82373 9.22949H2.83447C3.27393 9.22949 3.59473 9.16064 3.79688 9.02295C3.99902 8.88232 4.1001 8.64502 4.1001 8.31104C4.1001 8.00928 3.99023 7.79102 3.77051 7.65625C3.55371 7.52148 3.20801 7.4541 2.7334 7.4541H1.82373V9.22949ZM1.82373 10.082V12.1167H2.93994C3.37939 12.1167 3.71045 12.0332 3.93311 11.8662C4.15869 11.6963 4.27148 11.4297 4.27148 11.0664C4.27148 10.7324 4.15723 10.4849 3.92871 10.3237C3.7002 10.1626 3.35303 10.082 2.88721 10.082H1.82373Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M13.011 6.5752V10.7324C13.011 11.207 12.9084 11.623 12.7034 11.9805C12.5012 12.335 12.2068 12.6089 11.8201 12.8022C11.4363 12.9927 10.9763 13.0879 10.4402 13.0879C9.6433 13.0879 9.02368 12.877 8.5813 12.4551C8.13892 12.0332 7.91772 11.4531 7.91772 10.7148V6.5752H8.9724V10.6401C8.9724 11.1704 9.09546 11.5615 9.34155 11.8135C9.58765 12.0654 9.96557 12.1914 10.4753 12.1914C11.4656 12.1914 11.9607 11.6714 11.9607 10.6313V6.5752H13.011Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M15.9146 13V6.5752H16.9649V13H15.9146Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M19.9255 13V6.5752H20.9758V12.0991H23.696V13H19.9255Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M28.2828 13H27.2325V7.47607H25.3428V6.5752H30.1724V7.47607H28.2828V13Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M41.9472 13H40.8046L39.7148 9.16796C39.6679 9.00097 39.6093 8.76074 39.539 8.44727C39.4687 8.13086 39.4262 7.91113 39.4116 7.78809C39.3823 7.97559 39.3339 8.21875 39.2665 8.51758C39.2021 8.81641 39.1479 9.03905 39.1039 9.18554L38.0405 13H36.8979L36.0673 9.7832L35.2236 6.5752H36.2958L37.2143 10.3193C37.3578 10.9199 37.4604 11.4502 37.5219 11.9102C37.5541 11.6611 37.6025 11.3828 37.6669 11.0752C37.7314 10.7676 37.79 10.5186 37.8427 10.3281L38.8886 6.5752H39.9301L41.0024 10.3457C41.1049 10.6943 41.2133 11.2158 41.3276 11.9102C41.3715 11.4912 41.477 10.958 41.644 10.3105L42.558 6.5752H43.6215L41.9472 13Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M45.7957 13V6.5752H46.846V13H45.7957Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M52.0258 13H50.9755V7.47607H49.0859V6.5752H53.9155V7.47607H52.0258V13Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3Cpath d='M61.2312 13H60.1765V10.104H57.2146V13H56.1643V6.5752H57.2146V9.20312H60.1765V6.5752H61.2312V13Z' fill='%23373F45'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-powered-by-convertkit:hover,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-powered-by-convertkit:focus {
background-color: #ffffff;
-webkit-transform: scale(1.025) perspective(1px);
-ms-transform: scale(1.025) perspective(1px);
transform: scale(1.025) perspective(1px);
opacity: 1;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-powered-by-convertkit[data-variant="dark"],
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-powered-by-convertkit[data-variant="light"] {
background-color: transparent;
border-color: transparent;
width: 166px;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-powered-by-convertkit[data-variant="light"] {
color: #ffffff;
background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg width='162' height='20' viewBox='0 0 162 20' fill='none' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%3E%3Cpath d='M83.0561 15.2457C86.675 15.2457 89.4722 12.5154 89.4722 9.14749C89.4722 5.99211 86.8443 4.06563 85.1038 4.06563C82.6801 4.06563 80.7373 5.76407 80.4605 8.28551C80.4092 8.75244 80.0387 9.14403 79.5686 9.14069C78.7871 9.13509 77.6507 9.12841 76.9314 9.13092C76.6217 9.13199 76.3658 8.88106 76.381 8.57196C76.4895 6.38513 77.2218 4.3404 78.618 2.76974C80.1695 1.02445 82.4289 0 85.1038 0C89.5979 0 93.8406 4.07791 93.8406 9.14749C93.8406 14.7608 89.1832 19.3113 83.1517 19.3113C78.8502 19.3113 74.5179 16.5041 73.0053 12.5795C72.9999 12.565 72.9986 12.5492 73.0015 12.534C73.0218 12.4179 73.0617 12.3118 73.1011 12.2074C73.1583 12.0555 73.2143 11.907 73.2062 11.7359L73.18 11.1892C73.174 11.0569 73.2075 10.9258 73.2764 10.8127C73.3452 10.6995 73.4463 10.6094 73.5666 10.554L73.7852 10.4523C73.9077 10.3957 74.0148 10.3105 74.0976 10.204C74.1803 10.0974 74.2363 9.97252 74.2608 9.83983C74.3341 9.43894 74.6865 9.14749 75.0979 9.14749C75.7404 9.14749 76.299 9.57412 76.5088 10.1806C77.5188 13.1 79.1245 15.2457 83.0561 15.2457Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M155.758 6.91365C155.028 6.91365 154.804 6.47916 154.804 5.98857C154.804 5.46997 154.986 5.06348 155.758 5.06348C156.53 5.06348 156.712 5.46997 156.712 5.98857C156.712 6.47905 156.516 6.91365 155.758 6.91365ZM142.441 12.9304V9.32833L141.415 9.32323V8.90392C141.415 8.44719 141.786 8.07758 142.244 8.07986L142.441 8.08095V6.55306L144.082 6.09057V8.08073H145.569V8.50416C145.569 8.61242 145.548 8.71961 145.506 8.81961C145.465 8.91961 145.404 9.01047 145.328 9.08699C145.251 9.16351 145.16 9.2242 145.06 9.26559C144.96 9.30698 144.853 9.32826 144.745 9.32822H144.082V12.7201C144.082 13.2423 144.378 13.4256 144.76 13.4887C145.209 13.5629 145.583 13.888 145.583 14.343V14.9626C144.029 14.9626 142.441 14.8942 142.441 12.9304Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M110.058 7.92554C108.417 7.88344 106.396 8.92062 106.396 11.5137C106.396 14.0646 108.417 15.0738 110.058 15.0318C111.742 15.0738 113.748 14.0646 113.748 11.5137C113.748 8.92062 111.742 7.88344 110.058 7.92554ZM110.07 13.7586C108.878 13.7586 108.032 12.8905 108.032 11.461C108.032 10.1013 108.878 9.20569 110.071 9.20569C111.263 9.20569 112.101 10.0995 112.101 11.459C112.101 12.8887 111.263 13.7586 110.07 13.7586Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M118.06 7.94098C119.491 7.94098 120.978 8.33337 120.978 11.1366V14.893H120.063C119.608 14.893 119.238 14.524 119.238 14.0689V10.9965C119.238 9.66506 118.747 9.16047 117.891 9.16047C117.414 9.16047 116.797 9.52486 116.502 9.81915V14.069C116.502 14.1773 116.481 14.2845 116.44 14.3845C116.398 14.4845 116.337 14.5753 116.261 14.6519C116.184 14.7284 116.093 14.7891 115.993 14.8305C115.893 14.8719 115.786 14.8931 115.678 14.8931H114.847V8.10918H115.773C115.932 8.10914 116.087 8.16315 116.212 8.26242C116.337 8.36168 116.424 8.50033 116.46 8.65577C116.881 8.19328 117.428 7.94098 118.06 7.94098ZM122.854 8.09713C123.024 8.09708 123.19 8.1496 123.329 8.2475C123.468 8.34541 123.574 8.48391 123.631 8.64405L125.133 12.8486L126.635 8.64415C126.692 8.48402 126.798 8.34551 126.937 8.2476C127.076 8.1497 127.242 8.09718 127.412 8.09724H128.598L126.152 14.3567C126.091 14.5112 125.986 14.6439 125.849 14.7374C125.711 14.831 125.549 14.881 125.383 14.8809H124.333L121.668 8.09713H122.854Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M135.085 14.5514C134.566 14.7616 133.513 15.0416 132.418 15.0416C130.496 15.0416 129.024 13.9345 129.024 11.4396C129.024 9.19701 130.451 7.99792 132.191 7.99792C134.338 7.99792 135.254 9.4378 135.158 11.3979C135.139 11.8029 134.786 12.0983 134.38 12.0983H130.679C130.763 13.1916 131.562 13.7662 132.615 13.7662C133.028 13.7662 133.462 13.7452 133.983 13.6481C134.535 13.545 135.085 13.9375 135.085 14.4985V14.5514ZM133.673 10.949C133.785 9.87621 133.061 9.28752 132.191 9.28752C131.321 9.28752 130.734 9.93979 130.679 10.9489L133.673 10.949Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M137.345 8.11122C137.497 8.11118 137.645 8.16229 137.765 8.25635C137.884 8.35041 137.969 8.48197 138.005 8.62993C138.566 8.20932 139.268 7.94303 139.759 7.94303C139.801 7.94303 140.068 7.94303 140.489 7.99913V8.7265C140.489 9.11748 140.15 9.4147 139.759 9.4147C139.31 9.4147 138.651 9.5829 138.131 9.8773V14.8951H136.462V8.11112L137.345 8.11122ZM156.6 14.0508V8.09104H155.769C155.314 8.09104 154.944 8.45999 154.944 8.9151V14.8748H155.775C156.23 14.8748 156.6 14.5058 156.6 14.0508ZM158.857 12.9447V9.34254H157.749V8.91912C157.749 8.46401 158.118 8.09506 158.574 8.09506H158.857V6.56739L160.499 6.10479V8.09506H161.986V8.51848C161.986 8.97359 161.617 9.34254 161.161 9.34254H160.499V12.7345C160.499 13.2566 160.795 13.44 161.177 13.503C161.626 13.5774 162 13.9024 162 14.3574V14.977C160.446 14.977 158.857 14.9086 158.857 12.9447ZM98.1929 10.1124C98.2033 6.94046 100.598 5.16809 102.895 5.16809C104.171 5.16809 105.342 5.44285 106.304 6.12953L105.914 6.6631C105.654 7.02011 105.16 7.16194 104.749 6.99949C104.169 6.7702 103.622 6.7218 103.215 6.7218C101.335 6.7218 99.9169 7.92849 99.9068 10.1123C99.9169 12.2959 101.335 13.5201 103.215 13.5201C103.622 13.5201 104.169 13.4717 104.749 13.2424C105.16 13.0799 105.654 13.2046 105.914 13.5615L106.304 14.0952C105.342 14.7819 104.171 15.0566 102.895 15.0566C100.598 15.0566 98.2033 13.2842 98.1929 10.1124ZM147.619 5.21768C148.074 5.21768 148.444 5.58663 148.444 6.04174V9.81968L151.82 5.58131C151.897 5.47733 151.997 5.39282 152.112 5.3346C152.227 5.27638 152.355 5.24607 152.484 5.24611H153.984L150.166 10.0615L153.984 14.8749H152.484C152.355 14.8749 152.227 14.8446 152.112 14.7864C151.997 14.7281 151.897 14.6436 151.82 14.5397L148.444 10.3025V14.0508C148.444 14.5059 148.074 14.8749 147.619 14.8749H146.746V5.21768H147.619Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M0.773438 6.5752H2.68066C3.56543 6.5752 4.2041 6.7041 4.59668 6.96191C4.99219 7.21973 5.18994 7.62695 5.18994 8.18359C5.18994 8.55859 5.09326 8.87061 4.8999 9.11963C4.70654 9.36865 4.42822 9.52539 4.06494 9.58984V9.63379C4.51611 9.71875 4.84717 9.88721 5.05811 10.1392C5.27197 10.3882 5.37891 10.7266 5.37891 11.1543C5.37891 11.7314 5.17676 12.1841 4.77246 12.5122C4.37109 12.8374 3.81152 13 3.09375 13H0.773438V6.5752ZM1.82373 9.22949H2.83447C3.27393 9.22949 3.59473 9.16064 3.79688 9.02295C3.99902 8.88232 4.1001 8.64502 4.1001 8.31104C4.1001 8.00928 3.99023 7.79102 3.77051 7.65625C3.55371 7.52148 3.20801 7.4541 2.7334 7.4541H1.82373V9.22949ZM1.82373 10.082V12.1167H2.93994C3.37939 12.1167 3.71045 12.0332 3.93311 11.8662C4.15869 11.6963 4.27148 11.4297 4.27148 11.0664C4.27148 10.7324 4.15723 10.4849 3.92871 10.3237C3.7002 10.1626 3.35303 10.082 2.88721 10.082H1.82373Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M13.011 6.5752V10.7324C13.011 11.207 12.9084 11.623 12.7034 11.9805C12.5012 12.335 12.2068 12.6089 11.8201 12.8022C11.4363 12.9927 10.9763 13.0879 10.4402 13.0879C9.6433 13.0879 9.02368 12.877 8.5813 12.4551C8.13892 12.0332 7.91772 11.4531 7.91772 10.7148V6.5752H8.9724V10.6401C8.9724 11.1704 9.09546 11.5615 9.34155 11.8135C9.58765 12.0654 9.96557 12.1914 10.4753 12.1914C11.4656 12.1914 11.9607 11.6714 11.9607 10.6313V6.5752H13.011Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M15.9146 13V6.5752H16.9649V13H15.9146Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M19.9255 13V6.5752H20.9758V12.0991H23.696V13H19.9255Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M28.2828 13H27.2325V7.47607H25.3428V6.5752H30.1724V7.47607H28.2828V13Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M41.9472 13H40.8046L39.7148 9.16796C39.6679 9.00097 39.6093 8.76074 39.539 8.44727C39.4687 8.13086 39.4262 7.91113 39.4116 7.78809C39.3823 7.97559 39.3339 8.21875 39.2665 8.51758C39.2021 8.81641 39.1479 9.03905 39.1039 9.18554L38.0405 13H36.8979L36.0673 9.7832L35.2236 6.5752H36.2958L37.2143 10.3193C37.3578 10.9199 37.4604 11.4502 37.5219 11.9102C37.5541 11.6611 37.6025 11.3828 37.6669 11.0752C37.7314 10.7676 37.79 10.5186 37.8427 10.3281L38.8886 6.5752H39.9301L41.0024 10.3457C41.1049 10.6943 41.2133 11.2158 41.3276 11.9102C41.3715 11.4912 41.477 10.958 41.644 10.3105L42.558 6.5752H43.6215L41.9472 13Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M45.7957 13V6.5752H46.846V13H45.7957Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M52.0258 13H50.9755V7.47607H49.0859V6.5752H53.9155V7.47607H52.0258V13Z' fill='white'/%3E%3Cpath d='M61.2312 13H60.1765V10.104H57.2146V13H56.1643V6.5752H57.2146V9.20312H60.1765V6.5752H61.2312V13Z' fill='white'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");
}
@-webkit-keyframes formkit-bouncedelay-formkit-form-data-uid-f3dabca92a- {
0%,
80%,
100% {
-webkit-transform: scale(0);
-ms-transform: scale(0);
transform: scale(0);
}
40% {
-webkit-transform: scale(1);
-ms-transform: scale(1);
transform: scale(1);
}
}
@keyframes formkit-bouncedelay-formkit-form-data-uid-f3dabca92a- {
0%,
80%,
100% {
-webkit-transform: scale(0);
-ms-transform: scale(0);
transform: scale(0);
}
40% {
-webkit-transform: scale(1);
-ms-transform: scale(1);
transform: scale(1);
}
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] blockquote {
padding: 10px 20px;
margin: 0 0 20px;
border-left: 5px solid #e1e1e1;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .seva-custom-content {
padding: 15px;
font-size: 16px;
color: #fff;
mix-blend-mode: difference;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-modal.guard {
max-width: 420px;
width: 100%;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] {
border: 1px solid #e3e3e3;
max-width: 700px;
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-background {
width: 100%;
height: 100%;
position: absolute;
top: 0;
left: 0;
background-size: cover;
background-position: center;
opacity: 0.3;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-style="minimal"] {
padding: 20px;
width: 100%;
position: relative;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-header {
margin: 0 0 27px 0;
text-align: center;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-subheader {
margin: 18px 0;
text-align: center;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-guarantee {
font-size: 13px;
margin: 10px 0 15px 0;
text-align: center;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-guarantee>p {
margin: 0;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-powered-by-convertkit-container {
margin-bottom: 0;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-fields {
display: -webkit-box;
display: -webkit-flex;
display: -ms-flexbox;
display: flex;
-webkit-flex-wrap: wrap;
-ms-flex-wrap: wrap;
flex-wrap: wrap;
margin: 25px auto 0 auto;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-field {
min-width: 220px;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-field,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-submit {
margin: 0 0 15px 0;
-webkit-flex: 1 0 100%;
-ms-flex: 1 0 100%;
flex: 1 0 100%;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"][min-width~="600"] [data-style="minimal"] {
padding: 40px;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"][min-width~="600"] .formkit-fields[data-stacked="false"] {
margin-left: -5px;
margin-right: -5px;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"][min-width~="600"] .formkit-fields[data-stacked="false"] .formkit-field,
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"][min-width~="600"] .formkit-fields[data-stacked="false"] .formkit-submit {
margin: 0 5px 15px 5px;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"][min-width~="600"] .formkit-fields[data-stacked="false"] .formkit-field {
-webkit-flex: 100 1 auto;
-ms-flex: 100 1 auto;
flex: 100 1 auto;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"][min-width~="600"] .formkit-fields[data-stacked="false"] .formkit-submit {
-webkit-flex: 1 1 auto;
-ms-flex: 1 1 auto;
flex: 1 1 auto;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-header {
display: none;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-subheader {
display: none;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] * {
font-family: 'Lato', 'Helvetica', 'Arial', sans-serif;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] .formkit-guarantee {
display: none;
}
.formkit-form[data-uid="f3dabca92a"] [data-style="minimal"] {
padding: 15px !important;
}
</style>
</form>Text Content
Books Articles Newsletter Quotes Speaking
Menu Close
About
Books Articles Newsletter Quotes Speaking About
7 WAYS TO RETAIN MORE OF EVERY BOOK YOU READ
written by James Clear
Productivity Self-Improvement
There are many benefits to reading more books, but perhaps my favorite is this:
A good book can give you a new way to interpret your past experiences.
Whenever you learn a new mental model or idea, it’s like the “software” in your
brain gets updated. Suddenly, you can run all of your old data points through a
new program. You can learn new lessons from old moments. As Patrick
O’Shaughnessy says, “Reading changes the past.”
Of course, this is only true if you internalize and remember insights from the
books you read. Knowledge will only compound if it is retained. In other words,
what matters is not simply reading more books, but getting more out of each book
you read.
Gaining knowledge is not the only reason to read, of course. Reading for
pleasure or entertainment can be a wonderful use of time, but this article is
about reading to learn. With that in mind, I’d like to share some of the best
reading comprehension strategies I’ve found.
1. QUIT MORE BOOKS
It doesn’t take long to figure out if something is worth reading. Skilled
writing and high-quality ideas stick out.
As a result, most people should probably start more books than they do. This
doesn’t mean you need to read each book page-by-page. You can skim the table of
contents, chapter titles, and subheadings. Pick an interesting section and dive
in for a few pages. Maybe flip through the book and glance at any bolded points
or tables. In ten minutes, you’ll have a reasonable idea of how good it is.
Then comes the crucial step: Quit books quickly and without guilt or shame.
Life is too short to waste it on average books. The opportunity cost is too
high. There are so many amazing things to read. I think Patrick Collison, the
founder of Stripe, put it nicely when he said, “Life is too short to not read
the very best book you know of right now.”
Here’s my recommendation:
Start more books. Quit most of them. Read the great ones twice.
2. CHOOSE BOOKS YOU CAN USE INSTANTLY
One way to improve reading comprehension is to choose books you can immediately
apply. Putting the ideas you read into action is one of the best ways to secure
them in your mind. Practice is a very effective form of learning.
Choosing a book that you can use also provides a strong incentive to pay
attention and remember the material. That’s particularly true when something
important hangs in the balance. If you’re starting a business, for example, then
you have a lot of motivation to get everything you can out of the sales book
you’re reading. Similarly, someone who works in biology might read The Origin of
Species more carefully than a random reader because it connects directly to
their daily work.
Of course, not every book is a practical, how-to guide that you can apply
immediately, and that’s fine. You can find wisdom in many different books. But I
do find that I’m more likely to remember books that are relevant to my daily
life.
3. CREATE SEARCHABLE NOTES
Keep notes on what you read. You can do this however you like. It doesn’t need
to be a big production or a complicated system. Just do something to emphasize
the important points and passages.
I do this in different ways depending on the format I’m consuming. I highlight
passages when reading on Kindle. I type out interesting quotes as I listen to
audiobooks. I dog-ear pages and transcribe notes when reading a print book.
But here’s the real key: store your notes in a searchable format.
There is no need to leave the task of reading comprehension solely up to your
memory. I keep my notes in Evernote. I prefer Evernote over other options
because 1) it is instantly searchable, 2) it is easy to use across multiple
devices, and 3) you can create and save notes even when you’re not connected to
the internet.
I get my notes into Evernote in three ways:
I. Audiobook: I create a new Evernote file for each book and then type my notes
directly into that file as I listen.
II. Ebook: I highlight passages on my Kindle Paperwhite and use a program called
Clippings to export all of my Kindle highlights directly into Evernote. Then, I
add a summary of the book and any additional thoughts before posting it to my
book summaries page.
III. Print: Similar to my audiobook strategy, I type my notes as I read. If I
come across a longer passage I want to transcribe, I place the book on a book
stand as I type. (Typing notes while reading a print book can be annoying
because you are always putting the book down and picking it back up, but this is
the best solution I’ve found.)
Of course, your notes don’t have to be digital to be “searchable.” For example,
you can use Post-It Notes to tag certain pages for future reference. As another
option, Ryan Holiday suggests storing each note on an index card and
categorizing them by the topic or book.
The core idea is the same: Keeping searchable notes is essential for returning
to ideas easily. An idea is only useful if you can find it when you need it.
4. COMBINE KNOWLEDGE TREES
One way to imagine a book is like a knowledge tree with a few fundamental
concepts forming the trunk and the details forming the branches. You can learn
more and improve reading comprehension by “linking branches” and integrating
your current book with other knowledge trees.
For example:
* While reading The Tell-Tale Brain by neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran, I
discovered that one of his key points connected to a previous idea I learned
from social work researcher Brené Brown.
* In my notes for The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, I noted how Mark
Manson’s idea of “killing yourself” overlaps with Paul Graham’s essay on
keeping your identity small.
* As I read Mastery by George Leonard, I realized that while this book was
about the process of improvement, it also shed some light on the connection
between genetics and performance.
I added each insight to my notes for that particular book.
Connections like these help you remember what you read by “hooking” new
information onto concepts and ideas you already understand. As Charlie Munger
says, “If you get into the mental habit of relating what you’re reading to the
basic structure of the underlying ideas being demonstrated, you gradually
accumulate some wisdom.”
When you read something that reminds you of another topic or immediately sparks
a connection or idea, don’t allow that thought to come and go without notice.
Write about what you’ve learned and how it connects to other ideas.
5. WRITE A SHORT SUMMARY
As soon as I finish a book, I challenge myself to summarize the entire text in
just three sentences. This constraint is just a game, of course, but it forces
me to consider what was really important about the book.
Some questions I consider when summarizing a book include:
* What are the main ideas?
* If I implemented one idea from this book right now, which one would it be?
* How would I describe the book to a friend?
In many cases, I find that I can usually get just as much useful information
from reading my one-paragraph summary and reviewing my notes as I would if I
read the entire book again.
If you feel like you can’t squeeze the whole book into three sentences, consider
using the Feynman Technique.
The Feynman Technique is a note-taking strategy named after the Nobel
Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. It’s pretty simple: Write the name of
the book at the top of a blank sheet of paper, then write down how you’d explain
the book to someone who had never heard of it.
If you find yourself stuck or if you see that there are holes in your
understanding, review your notes or go back to the text and try again. Keep
writing it out until you have a good handle on the main ideas and feel confident
in your explanation.
I’ve found that almost nothing reveals gaps in my thinking better than writing
about an idea as if I am explaining it to a beginner. Ben Carlson, a financial
analyst, says something similar, “I find the best way to figure out what I’ve
learned from a book is to write something about it.”
6. SURROUND THE TOPIC
I often think of the quote by Thomas Aquinas, “Beware the man of a single book.”
If you only read one book on a topic and use that as the basis for your beliefs
for an entire category of life, well, how sound are those beliefs? How accurate
and complete is your knowledge?
Reading a book takes effort, but too often, people use one book or one article
as the basis for an entire belief system. This is even more true (and more
difficult to overcome) when it comes to using our one, individual experience as
the basis for our beliefs. As Morgan Housel noted, “Your personal experiences
make up maybe 0.00000001% of what’s happened in the world but maybe 80% of how
you think the world works. We’re all biased to our own personal history.”
One way to attack this problem is to read a variety of books on the same topic.
Dig in from different angles, look at the same problem through the eyes of
various authors, and try to transcend the boundary of your own experience.
7. READ IT TWICE
I’d like to finish by returning to an idea I mentioned near the beginning of
this article: read the great books twice. The philosopher Karl Popper explained
the benefits nicely, “Anything worth reading is not only worth reading twice,
but worth reading again and again. If a book is worthwhile, then you will always
be able to make new discoveries in it and find things in it that you didn’t
notice before, even though you have read it many times.”
Additionally, revisiting great books is helpful because the problems you deal
with change over time. Sure, when you read a book twice maybe you’ll catch some
stuff you missed the first time around, but it’s more likely that new passages
and ideas will be relevant to you. It’s only natural for different sentences to
leap out at you depending on the point you are at in life.
You read the same book, but you never read it the same way. As Charles Chu
noted, “I always return home to the same few authors. And, no matter how many
times I return, I always find they have something new to say.”
Of course, even if you didn’t get something new out of each reading, it would
still be worthwhile to revisit great books because ideas need to be repeated to
be remembered. The writer David Cain says, “When we only learn something once,
we don’t really learn it—at least not well enough for it to change us much. It
may inspire momentarily, but then becomes quickly overrun by the decades of
habits and conditioning that preceded it.” Returning to great ideas cements them
in your mind.
Nassim Taleb sums things up with a rule for all readers: “A good book gets
better at the second reading. A great book at the third. Any book not worth
rereading isn’t worth reading.”
WHERE TO GO FROM HERE
Knowledge compounds over time.
In Chapter 1 of Atomic Habits, I wrote: “Learning one new idea won’t make you a
genius, but a commitment to lifelong learning can be transformative.”
One book will rarely change your life, even if it does deliver a lightbulb
moment of insight. The key is to get a little wiser each day.
Now that you know how to get more out of each book you read, you might be
looking for some reading recommendations. Feel free to check out my book
summaries or my public reading list.
Footnotes
1. See tweet on December 2, 2016.
2. I’d like to acknowledge Simon Eskildsen, who also wrote about the idea of
choosing books that are relevant to your interests and current life
circumstances. You can read his thoughts on reading here.
3. Writing about a book also forces you to practice spaced repetition. Maybe
you started reading a book a few days ago and writing a summary a few days
later is a natural way to employ “spaced repetition” and reinforce the
concepts.
4. “How To Read” by Morgan Housel
5. “Ideas That Changed My Life” by Morgan Housel
6. It’s Okay to “Forget” What You Read by Charles Chu
7. “If It’s Important, Learn It Repeatedly” by David Cain
Thanks for reading. You can get more actionable ideas in my popular email
newsletter. Each week, I share 3 short ideas from me, 2 quotes from others, and
1 question to think about. Over 2,000,000 people subscribe. Enter your email now
and join us.
JOIN THE NEWSLETTER
Subscribe to get our latest content by email.
Try the free newsletter
About the Author
James Clear writes about habits, decision making, and continuous improvement. He
is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits. The book has
sold over 15 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 50
languages.
Click here to learn more →
Read Next
* Introducing Atomic Habits
* My 2017 Annual Review
* First Principles: Elon Musk on the Power of Thinking for Yourself
* Mental Models: How to Train Your Brain to Think in New Ways
* Entropy: Why Life Always Seems to Get More Complicated
* All Articles
The Atomic
Habits Book
The Clear
Habit Journal
Atomic Habit Special
Edition Engraved Pens
Privacy & Terms of Use
Hosting by LiquidWeb
Forms by OptinMonster
Weekly wisdom you can read in 5 minutes. Add the free 3-2-1 Newsletter to your
inbox.
I'm In!