Ask HN: How do you prioritize your reading material?
Given that there's a virtually infinite number of books, journals, articles, blog posts, etc. to choose from, how do you make sure that what you're reading is really worth the time?
6 comments
For me it's based on interest and pleasure.
If a topic is interesting, I find it's a pleasure to read.
That same book may not be interesting to me a month down the road. A case is my amazon wishlist. Books I wished to read may not get the same priority to read later on.
A lot of times, I'll buy the books on impulse and start reading them asap so that I stay interested.
Reading should be a joy. If you approach it as a "knowledge gathering exercise", you will soon realize how much time there is to read vs how much there is left to read.
If you approach reading as a pleasurable activity, I find the rest takes care of itself.
I have bookmarks of long articles I wish to read but never get around to it. As Leo from ZenHabits.com says, it's okay. Let it go. Read what you can in time you have to read. Read with purpose.
If a topic is interesting, I find it's a pleasure to read.
That same book may not be interesting to me a month down the road. A case is my amazon wishlist. Books I wished to read may not get the same priority to read later on.
A lot of times, I'll buy the books on impulse and start reading them asap so that I stay interested.
Reading should be a joy. If you approach it as a "knowledge gathering exercise", you will soon realize how much time there is to read vs how much there is left to read.
If you approach reading as a pleasurable activity, I find the rest takes care of itself.
I have bookmarks of long articles I wish to read but never get around to it. As Leo from ZenHabits.com says, it's okay. Let it go. Read what you can in time you have to read. Read with purpose.
I don't know if I'm in a position to prescribe anything to you, but my first suggestion is to figure out what your goal is. Long term general learning? Learning specific topics? Research? Staying up to date culturally?
Personally I focus on long term learning and highly recommend textbooks for every topic you find that interests you. Textbooks tend to be well-written, highly educational, relatively neutral, and well sourced. They also usually provide incredible context (such as in the form of margin notes) for what is being learned, as opposed to getting stuck in a blog rabbit hole.
Personally I focus on long term learning and highly recommend textbooks for every topic you find that interests you. Textbooks tend to be well-written, highly educational, relatively neutral, and well sourced. They also usually provide incredible context (such as in the form of margin notes) for what is being learned, as opposed to getting stuck in a blog rabbit hole.
There is only a finite amount of time we live. There is only finite amount of time you get for your reading. You gotta make sure that you don't regret for spending your time reading some trash.
I follow people in Goodreads who has similar taste like mine. When I read something which are rated high by these people, It usually doesn't disappoint me. Now, ProductHunt has also come up with 'Books' section. I hope that will also help you in discovering new books. Usually, I pocket lengthy articles and blog posts which I ll read late in the night or in the weekends.
I follow people in Goodreads who has similar taste like mine. When I read something which are rated high by these people, It usually doesn't disappoint me. Now, ProductHunt has also come up with 'Books' section. I hope that will also help you in discovering new books. Usually, I pocket lengthy articles and blog posts which I ll read late in the night or in the weekends.
For me it's based on how recent I put it in Pocket. I usually read uplifting and inspiration go-getter startup posts and articles on firstround or HN to get me going in the morning. Later in the day during breaks, I read the more technical articles and posts on TC or Wired. I begin to read actual books when I get home before sleeping.
I try to optimize time by listening to podcasts during the commute. These are practically blogposts anyway.
Of course, if it's a selection of books, the most recently purchased one takes priority.
I try to optimize time by listening to podcasts during the commute. These are practically blogposts anyway.
Of course, if it's a selection of books, the most recently purchased one takes priority.
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- Read the table of contents before buying a book.
- Subscribe to Safari Books Online (expensive, but worth it) so can curate a 'queue' of books and you always have them with you.
- When you start reading a book, re-evaluate regularly whether you want to spend more time on this chapter or on this book. If not, skip ahead or move to a different book.
- Subscribe to Safari Books Online (expensive, but worth it) so can curate a 'queue' of books and you always have them with you.
- When you start reading a book, re-evaluate regularly whether you want to spend more time on this chapter or on this book. If not, skip ahead or move to a different book.