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Study Hacks Blog (/blog/) DECODING PATTERNS OF SUCCESS
How I Read When Researching a Book August 14th, 2017 · 21 comments (http://calnewport.com/blog/2017/08/14/how-iread-when-researching-a-book/#comments)
T h e Re a d i n g Wr i te r As a writer I’m required to read lots of books, especially when
ramping up a new project, as I am now. The picture above, for example, shows the books I’ve purchased only in the past two days. I’ve already finished one of them. My approach to the books I process in my professional life is quite different than my approach to the books I savor in my personal life. The former requires the ruthlessly efficient extraction of key ideas and citations, while the latter unfolds as a slower, more romantic endeavor. I thought it might be interesting to briefly reveal the method I’ve honed over the years for my professional reading. It’s simple, and the basics should sound familiar to any serious nonfiction reader, but it has served me well. H e r e ’s t h e s t r a t e g y : I read with pencil in hand. Recently I’ve been using Ticonderoga #2 soft lead pencils as their footprint on the page is pleasingly gentle. But the writing implement doesn’t really matter, and I’ll fall back on a brutish ballpoint Bic if that’s all that happens to be available. When I find a passage I want to remember, or an allusion or citation I might need, or a stylistic approach that catches my attention: I mark it in the margin. Sometimes I scribble a few notations if I want to ossify a non-obvious observation or insight about what I’m marking. Then — and this is the key optimization — I cross the corner of the page with a clear line. Here, for example, is a recently read page from Michael Harris’s book Solitude (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product /B01M594GM7/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=stuhac20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2& creativeASIN=B01M594GM7& linkId=a177a9f5e39548adbac2a6f243023c79) (which, interestingly enough, is different than Anthony Storr’s 1988 classic of the same
title (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743280741 /ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=stuhac-20&camp=1789& creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0743280741& linkId=59a249d56961e67311998b19441ff6ea) which I just acquired today). Notice the mark in the upper right corner that indicates a few interesting citations below have been identified for potential further review:
Here’s another example from Laurence Scott’s The
Four-Dimensional Human (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product /0393353079/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=stuhac20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2& creativeASIN=0393353079& linkId=6a5e7af46259a1470efc5a3bd8c52914). Once again, a mark in the corner identifies the page as relevant, and a scratched line below highlights a passage that captures an idea useful to my purposes:
The key to my system is the pencil mark in the page corner. This allows me later to quickly leaf through a book and immediately identify the small but crucial subset of pages that contain passages that relate to whatever project I happen to be working on. My copy of Scott’s book, for example, has around 30 pages marked (I just counted). It will take me less than 10 minutes to review in totality the elements of this treatise that are potentially relevant. (To emphasize the obvious, this doesn’t mean that Scott’s book only contained 30 pages that interested me: it’s a complicated and interesting work of literary techno-social criticism — which came close to winning the Samuel Johnson Prize two years ago (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/11/samuel-johnsonbook-prize-shortlist-revealed) — that I found thought provoking throughout. These are just the number of pages that happened to be relevant to what I’m working on at the moment.) When it comes to my research process, this is about as complicated as it gets — at least with repect to how I process relevant books. As I work on a new writing project, a growing number of volumes fill the
shelf next to my desk, each marred with intentional pencil scratches. When I think I need a particular source, I pull it from the shelf and after a brief review of my ad hoc annotations find myself fully engaged with what it has to offer. Simple. But effective.
21 thoughts on “How I Read When Researching a Book” 1. Pingback: How I Read When Researching a Book – News Feed Center | The Internet At A Glance (http://newsfeedcenter.com/how-i-read-whenresearching-a-book/) 2. D E V says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 4:33 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374549)
Please do come out with a book that criticizes the “plugged-in” nature of the 2010s. Smartphones have ruined a generation, even while adding considerable utility. But once again, like you did with Deep Work, offer a solution instead of a criticism—instead of what not to do, what to do instead. And there’s plenty that can be said about the latter. REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374549#RESPOND)
3. S H A W N says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 6:22 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374555)
Thanks for sharing your processes, Cal. Would love to hear more about your note-taking and storage process in great detail! REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374555#RESPOND)
4. D A V E B says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 6:57 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374557)
This is pretty well exactly what I do, except I do it on kindle with notes and bookmarks. Benefit of Kindle is I can tap notes and get a list of all the book’s highlights and bookmarks in one place, with ability to filer on note
colour or for bookmarks. Can use different colour highlights for different contexts too. Better than a paper book…. REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374557#RESPOND)
5. M A R says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 9:09 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374566)
Thank you REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374566#RESPOND)
6. S A N T O S H S A L I says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 9:26 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374567)
I read a lot and often miss the trees in the woods. This method is really interesting and good to keep track of important readings in a book. It will be great if you also point about reading that you for professional life (aka – academic reading). Thanks asking this as I am engaged in similar process.. REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374567#RESPOND)
7. K E E V E says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 9:50 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374570)
Like the above comment, i’m also interested in how you read scientific papers, both the hardcopy and softcopy versions. And do you compile the main ideas and thoughts somewhere in an app that aids subsequent recollection? REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374570#RESPOND)
8. K I R A N says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 10:10 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374571)
What about reading and annotating e-books & kindle formats?
REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374571#RESPOND)
1. D E V says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 7:44 PM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374592)
There’s some inbuilt highlighting features I’ve found useful, also you can add notes, if I’m not mistaken, via the touchscreen keyboard or, on older devices, the physical one. All these highlighted quotes then can be listed for a summary of the key points. REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374592#RESPOND)
9. A V I says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 10:13 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374572)
Prof. Newport, Thank you for this very important and timely article. One question: how does your approach change (if at all) when reading papers instead of books? REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374572#RESPOND)
10. G E O F F E N G L I S H ( H T T P : // W W W.C H R I S T I A N VA LO U R .C O M ) says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 10:13 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374573)
A great and intuitive method. It highlights a potential shortcoming in my research philosophy which is that I perhaps mistakenly believe that to extract anything meaningful out of a book, I ought to have a good grasp of the overall message of the book. I.e. I feel compelled to concentrate on every word of the text until the end, in an effort to avoid quoting it out of context. Despite the fact that I know this over-the-top (if not plain false), I still commonly fall into the trap. Even if I don’t plan to do this, I often still get distracted by my own thoughts, or I get overly absorbed in the content and slow down my
reading speed. Thanks for the tip Cal, I’ll endeavour to keep honing my research efficiency. REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374573#RESPOND)
1. G E O F F E N G L I S H ( H T T P : // W W W.C H R I S T I A N VA LO U R .C O M ) says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 10:13 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017 /08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374574)
Forgive me… Prof. Newport. REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374574#RESPOND)
11. T E R R I A L E X A N D E R says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 10:18 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374575)
Your generous tips and highlights into studying are valuable as an adult student returning to school as an undergrad. REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374575#RESPOND)
12. L U - H A I says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 11:42 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374579)
These work better https://www.amazon.com/Post-Markers-AssortedBright-670-10AB/dp/B007QFATEO (https://www.amazon.com/PostMarkers-Assorted-Bright-670-10AB/dp/B007QFATEO) REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374579#RESPOND)
13. S T E P H E N L I V E R S A G E says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 2:56 PM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374584)
Thanks for the share, Cal
When you say you highlight a passage which is useful to your purposes, is that an argument which supports your position? How do you, when researching, ensure that you’ve addressed any counter arguments or perhaps even addressed any biases REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374584#RESPOND)
14. A N T H O N Y H S U says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 3:03 PM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374585)
Any reason you mark the corners of the pages with a pencil mark rather than just dog-ear the page? REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374585#RESPOND)
15. H U G O says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 5:35 PM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374587)
Does your system change when you read academic papers? REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374587#RESPOND)
16. G R A N T O R I N O says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 6:02 PM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374590)
Cal- off topic (but will check out the books) but CONGRATS for your impressive mention in Barron’s. Perhaps the tycoon can build you an entire building to work in at the University:) REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374590#RESPOND)
17. S E A N ( H T T P : // W W W. S E A N H O G U E .C O M ) says: AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 11:16 PM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374601)
I mark up the pages, then dogear the lower corner. I’m also interested if you do any kindle based research. I find I select far less text when reading paper. On the kindle it is easy to select every little
thing. REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374601#RESPOND)
18. G E O R G E says: AUGUST 15, 2017 AT 2:20 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374608)
I find that a small blacked out triangle does the same for me. Very visible and hard to miss, without damaging the pages or making the book hard to close (as a dog’s ear would do). There’s a lot to be gained by doing this with a paper book, rather than a smart device. The act of writing by hand reinforces the learning. REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374608#RESPOND)
19. G E O R G E says: AUGUST 15, 2017 AT 2:43 AM (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14 /HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK/#COMMENT-374611)
Oh, and I’ve done this with your book Cal. There are plenty of black marks on the pages. REPLY (HTTP://CALNEWPORT.COM/BLOG/2017/08/14/HOW-I-READ-WHEN-RESEARCHING-A-BOOK /?REPLYTOCOM=374611#RESPOND)
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