Unlock the Art of Book Reading: 16 Essential Rules for Book Lovers

Explore the art of reading more effectively with these 16 essential rules for every book enthusiast.

Essential Reading Practices for Book Enthusiasts

This is a list of rules for reading books, even though there are no rules for reading books. Most of these rules are good practices, but you will have to decide for yourself which rules you will observe and which rules you will break.

Rule 1: The Joy of Buying Books

If you have the means, you should buy any book you want to read. This is true even if the book sits on a shelf for days, months, or years. When the mood strikes you, or something you read in the news or heard on a podcast inspires you, you can grab the book from your shelf and start reading.

Rule 2: Leveraging Library Resources

If you don't have the means to buy books, a library card will allow you to borrow a book. If the library doesn't have the book, they will reach out to another library to acquire the book for you. You may have to wait a week or two, but in the meantime, you can check out another book, returning it when the first book is ready for you to pick up.

Rule 3: It's Okay to Stop Reading

You don't have to read a book you started. If you have read fifty pages of the book and you're not into it, you can set the book down and pick up another book. This is much like ordering dinner and not liking the taste. You order something else that is more to your liking. You are only going to be able to read a certain number of books, so you should never feel bad that you didn't read a book you didn't like.

Rule 4: Personalizing Your Books

If you buy hardcover books that make up your library, you may not want to write in your books. There are other ways to annotate your books without writing in them. A handful of 4 x 6 index cards with your notes can live at the last page of the chapter. Another way to annotate your books is to buy a small thin journal and write your notes in the journal. A thin journal can be placed in the cover or at the end of the book.

Rule 5: Understanding Nonfiction - Part One

When reading nonfiction books, it helps to capture the themes as they show up in the book. The themes will help you understand the content while also helping you see how the themes or topics are connected.

Rule 6: Engaging with Nonfiction - Part Two

Arguing with the author. The person who wrote the book is providing you with their knowledge, experience, and their research. You may have knowledge and experience of your own. When you take notes, you may want to write down your disagreements and why you have a different perspective.

Rule 7: Expanding Perspectives in Nonfiction - Part Three

If you read one book on a subject, you will benefit from reading a second or third book on the subject. If you read a book on demographics, a second book that provides a different look at demographics will help you. This rule will help you with a more comprehensive perspective than you would have if you read only one book on the subject.

Rule 8: Focus on Impact, Not Quantity

Don't be impressed by people who share how many books they read. The number of books is not nearly as important as how the book changed you. A lot of people read a book without taking any action that might improve their results.

Rule 9: Embrace Diverse Reading Habits

You might read business books because you want to improve your results. But you may find that you gain more from being an omnivore, reading things that may provide you with ideas and concepts that may allow you to improve yourself more than reading only one topic. Try science, history, or some other topic you might like to explore.

Rule 10: The Reality of Loaning Books

Never expect to get a book back after you loan it to someone. Right now, I have to repurchase 'Bird By Bird' by Anne Lamont, perhaps the best book on writing, and 'Fight Club' by Chuck Palahniuk. You should think of your loss as a gift to the person who wanted to read the book. Who knows? It may change their life. Or they may never open the book to read it. By the way, if you borrowed my copy of 'Wolf Hall,' I'd like to have it back.

Rule 11: Your Reading Pace is Perfect

As far as I have been able to discern, there is no such thing as competitive reading. So, if your friend reads books faster than you do, it doesn't matter. Your friend read the same book you read. Having read it faster is nothing to be proud of, and reading it slower isn't anything that should cause you to feel shame.

Rule 12: Exploring Timeless Literature

Read the great works of literature. Anything still being read hundreds or thousands of years later is worth reading. You may want to buy the best copy of these works, building a library of your own. You can skip over the section of 'Moby Dick' that provides the anatomy of whales without missing anything.

Rule 13: Discovering International Stories

You will learn much about the world by picking up books from people who have different experiences and cultures. Start with 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez or 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini.

Rule 14: Utilizing Audible and Digital Books

You are better off listening or reading using something like a Kindle than not reading at all. If you listened to a book, you read the same book as the person that read the book. If you can, however, reading the book can be more effective because it is active instead of passive.

Rule 15: Encouraging Young Readers

If you are able, buy your children any book they will read. In the “post post literate society” we live in, the ability to control your attention is going to look like a superpower.

Rule 16: Revisiting Beloved Stories

Re-read your favorites, treat them as friends, and visit them whenever you want to. You don’t always have to read something new.

What is on your book stack?