How to Read — A Lot More
Ryan Holiday@RyanHoliday
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Nov 05, 2025
~2 min read
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How to Read — A Lot More
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When you read a lot of books, people inevitably assume you speed read. People ask me this question all the time. They see all the books I recommend every month in my reading newsletter and assume I must have some secret. So they ask me to teach them how to speed read.
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Even though I read hundreds of books every single year, I actually read quite slow. In fact, I read deliberately slow, so that I can take notes (and then whenever I finish a book, I go back through and transcribe these notes for my version of a commonplace book.
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I think there are three main barriers that hold people back.
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1. Time
The key to reading lots of book begins with stop thinking of it as some activity that you do. Reading must become as natural as eating and breathing to you. It’s not something you do because you feel like it, but because it’s a reflex, a default.
The key to reading lots of book begins with stop thinking of it as some activity that you do. Reading must become as natural as eating and breathing to you. It’s not something you do because you feel like it, but because it’s a reflex, a default.
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Carry a book with you at all times. Every time you get a second, crack it open. Do you know how much time you waste during the day? Conference calls, meetings, TV shows that you don’t really like but watch anyway. Well, if you can make time for that you can make time for reading.
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2. Money
Reading is not a luxury. It’s not something you splurge on. It’s a necessity. As Erasmus, the 16th century scholar, once put it, “When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.”
Reading is not a luxury. It’s not something you splurge on. It’s a necessity. As Erasmus, the 16th century scholar, once put it, “When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.”
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On top of that, books are an investment. People tell me they plan to buy a book. Plan? Just buy it. I promised myself a long time ago that if I saw a book that interested me I’d never let time or money or anything else prevent me from having it.
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Don’t wait around for some book you want to read to come out in paperback–trying to save $2 or $3 is the wrong mindset. If it’s a book you’ll read, then read it now, not in a year.
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You should be keeping the books you read for reference and for re-reading. If you are ok giving the books back after two weeks, you might want to examine what you are reading.
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3. Purpose
Perhaps the reason you having trouble is you forgot the purpose of reading. It’s not just for fun. Human beings have been recording their knowledge in book form for more than 5,000 years.
Perhaps the reason you having trouble is you forgot the purpose of reading. It’s not just for fun. Human beings have been recording their knowledge in book form for more than 5,000 years.
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That means that whatever you’re working on right now, whatever problem you’re struggling with, is probably addressed in some book somewhere by someone a lot smarter than you. Save yourself the trouble of learning from trial and error. Benefit from perspective.
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You can find more articles like this on my website ryanholiday.net
