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MadArchitect
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 Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 8:02 pm Post subject: Re: 10 Rules for Reading More and Reading Better
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An anecdotal addendum:
Yesterday I agreed to meet up with a friend at a coffeeshop we don't usually go to, she to study for a class, me to read, and both of us to keep one another company. We agreed to meet a little before 7pm, but I got there early and late traffic stalled her arrival by a good 30 minutes. No problem -- I had a bag full of books with me, and as it just so happens, a small stack of books that I had just bought alongside the copy of "The Pelopennesian War" I'm using for this quarter's classics discussion.
But as I read, I became aware of a increasing sense of agitation. I couldn't identify the source of it. My friend had let me know that she would be late, so it wasn't that. Maybe it was something about the shop, or where I had chosen to sit. Finally, thoroughly put off, I left my books at the table and stepped outside to let my head clear.
And that's when I realized the source of the agitation. I'm continually in the midst of four or more books, and I've worked out methods for keeping them straight in my head. Lately I've been reading more than usual, and when I sat down with my newly bought books, I had pushed the number to double digits.
But it wasn't necessarily the number of books I was reading that had agitated me. It was the sense that I was halting my own progress, that by commencing three more books I was putting off indefinitely the possibility of finishing the books I was already reading.
So my advice on this count isn't what you might expect. I say, read as many books as you can keep sorted out in your head. But keep an eye on progress. Set some priorities. Don't let new books overtake books that you've already started and fully intend to finish. Here's how I fought off my agitation: I went back into the coffee shop, say down, and pulled from my bag one of the books that I had already worked halfway through. I put everything else aside and read a chapter from that. When I had finished, my mind was settled and I could proceed in some of the other books. And so long as I feel confident that I'm making equal progress, I got get antsy. Problem solved.
That said, I'm reading too many damned books right now. I need to finish up about five before I start adding anything else. |
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