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Books

Books are an excellent way to engage yourself in something completely. It is one of my favorite ways to learn and understand things, and I want to be able to read every day.

I usually try to read before I go to sleep; the ritual makes me sleepy and prepares me to sleep.

Non-Fiction

I mostly read nonfiction, as I usually do not find it that difficult to get into nonfiction books. I think this is because a lot of the context in nonfiction is set; you know the world, you know what the premisses are, and therefore, you do not have to use a lot of mental capacity.

  • Reading quite technical manual such as O´reilly books has been a pleasant surprise. I made more progress and find them more interesting than I anticipated.
  • What is best, to try to read up on theory and then execute or start early with practice and experimentation? I do not know, but I have an inkling. I think a good strategy is getting you feet wet, then read up when you understand the basics, and then go practice with the theory in mind to become more proficient.

Fiction

Fiction is something that is important to read, and great works may stay with you for a long time. There is no shame in reading fantasy or science fiction. I am a sucker for reading science fiction; it is a guilty pleasure, and to be honest, it does not require that much brain power.

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Thoughts

  • Books demand your attention in a very different way than other things. If you stop reading, then you stop, period. This means that phones, TVs, and other distractions are basically just that, distractions. When I started to read again seriously, I constantly reached for my phone to check it. It was strange to really see how little attention span I had.
  • Reading disciplines you to take time and concentrate on just one thing. This is important in a distracted society.
  • You can overcome the urge to do things on your mobile phone and read instead; it just takes awareness of the issue, patience, and consistency.