For a few years, I treated books the way I treat my RSS reader: triage, skim, move on. I kept a list of books “read.” The list felt good. The retention was terrible.
The shift came when I started reading Invisible Cities and realized I couldn’t skim it. Calvino’s sentences don’t yield their meaning on first pass. You have to slow down or you get nothing.
So I slowed down. And I noticed something: I was actually thinking about what I was reading, instead of just processing it.
What changed
I stopped tracking pages per day. I started keeping a small notebook next to whatever I’m reading — not for summaries, but for single sentences that stopped me. Fragments I wanted to hold onto.
I read fewer books now. I probably understand them better.
On technical reading
This applies to programming books too, maybe especially. I used to read through a chapter on some new system, feel like I “got it,” and then struggle to apply anything two weeks later.
Now I read slower, try things as I go, and write short notes on what surprised me. The process takes longer. The knowledge lasts.
Calvino is still on my nightstand. I’m on my third pass through Invisible Cities. There’s still more in it.