For the last several years, I've taken part in the Goodreads reading challenge. I tend to come up 3–5 books short each year, but I'm happy overall with how much I've been reading.
However, I'm not crazy about what I've done with the books I've read. Often, I've done very little beyond reading the words on the page. I made highlights and perhaps a short blurb somewhere in my notes. But as this was all before I had delved into the world of smart note-taking and making the most of what I read, so most of the books I read over the past 3–4 years have no notes.
This is all related to reading non-fiction. My pace of reading fiction has picked up dramatically in recent years and I'm super happy with that. I've even started taking some notes on fiction books for series where there's serious world building going on (see more in Currently below).
So I have several goals related to this for 2021:
- Continue to build a habit of deep reading
- Re-read the best books of my recent life
Deep Work. Atomic Habits. How to Think. These are all books that had an impact on me while I was reading them. I want that impact to be more … impactful. Deep reading and making my own notes from these is a key to increasing that impact.
How about you?
I know there are a lot of readers here who share my interest in knowledge management and reading. I'm curious how many folks have tried joining a group or purchased a class related to this topic. Have you taken any steps like this to increase your skills? Let me know!
