Vesta Cocoon Diary: The Weirdness of Reading
Photo by Johnny McClung (opens in a new tab) on Unsplash (opens in a new tab)
July 27, 2021
Friends who know me know that I am a bookworm (https://www.vistacheng.com/2021/07/eslite-bookstore.html (opens in a new tab)). Because I like reading and read books very quickly (it takes about five to ten minutes to read a typical business and management book), I once held open classes on reading. People often ask me about reading, such as: how to fall in love with reading, how to choose good books, how to write about reading experiences, how to improve reading speed, etc.
To put it bluntly, although I like reading (opens in a new tab) and am happy to share my reading experience and insights with everyone, I do have some quirks. For example, although I founded the largest note-taking community in Taiwan “I Love Writing Notes (opens in a new tab)” and I encourage everyone to write notes, when I read a book, I don’t underline the book or write notes…
If I really need to take notes, I prefer to use cards and sticky notes to organize them, or write them directly in a notebook. Of course, various digital note-taking apps such as Roam Research, Notion, Quip, and Evernote have also been my good friends for many years.
Many people keep books in good condition, mainly so that if they no longer need to read the book in the future, they can sell it for a good price when reselling it in a second-hand bookstore, but I don’t have such considerations or needs. Every book of mine is very clean, and some of my favorite books are even wrapped in book covers. All of this is simply my reading habit. Of course, my family has also questioned me because of this: Hey, are you reading the books you bought?
When it comes to drawing the line in reading, of course one cannot help but think of the book “[Where do first-class people draw the line in reading?”] written by the famous Japanese book critic Eiji Doi. : Deep thinking technology for elite readers](https://www.books.com.tw/exep/assp.php/vista/products/0010895146?utm_source=vista&utm_medium=ap-books&utm_content=recommend&utm_campaign=ap-202107)》 (opens in a new tab).
The author of this book, Eiji Doi, is the founder and ace purchaser of Japan’s Amazon online bookstore. He single-handedly created “The Heart-Thrilling Magic of Organizing Life” (https://www.books.com.tw/exep/assp.php/vista/products/ (opens in a new tab)) which has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. 0010521950?utm_source=vista&utm_medium=ap-books&utm_content=recommend&utm_campaign=ap-202107)” and many other best-selling books, and is known as Japan’s number one book critic. The storytelling channel he runs has accumulated more than one million views.
In this book, Eiji Doi (opens in a new tab) starts with book selection and teaches unique tips, followed by divided readings to help readers expand their business knowledge from shallow to deep, and then grasp the key points and read the door.
I read this book several years ago, and I was deeply impressed by it because the author said: “Don’t draw a line under your existing beliefs. That’s just self-absorption and no new gains.”
I agree with some of his views. For example, the eleven tips for selecting books are quite interesting. If you are interested, you can refer to them! After all, reading not only strengthens what you already know, but also absorbs all kinds of unknowns, so the importance of book selection is self-evident.
In addition, he also mentioned that it is not necessary to read the entire business book, as long as you read the key points, you can generate value. Well, I quite agree with this. For someone like me who loves to read and buy books, even if there is only one sentence in a book that touches me, it is worth the price of admission! What’s more, a book only costs 300 to 400 yuan, which is quite cheap compared to other consumer goods.
I’m glad to know that “When first-class people read, where do they draw the line?” : Deep Thinking Techniques for Elite Reading (opens in a new tab)》This book has been reprinted recently. I am happy to recommend it to you who also like reading.
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Vista Cheng speaks and runs workshops on AI workflows, writing and content systems for companies, schools and public agencies.
