Still Stuck With That Book? That's Okay!

07 Nov, 2023

You pick a non-fiction book. It's about 450 pages long. You read regularly. But it's been a month and you haven't finished it yet.

What happens now?

Guilt takes over you!

Why? 'Coz according to most of the internet, you're supposed to finish a book in a week.

Go on YouTube and you'll find TED Talks like "How I read a book a day?".

And let's not talk about those speed reading techniques and blah blah blah.

For a really long time, I believed my reading pace was not up to the mark. Thanks to the internet!

So, I tried different reading techniques. And guess what? I hated 'em all! Why? 'Coz they ruined my reading experience!

Then, I just gave up on the quick reading thing. But not being able to finish a book in a week bothered me.

However, a few weeks ago, I bumped into a video of Matt D'Avella. Matt talks to Ryan Holiday about reading and remembering what you read.

And Ryan drops this gem:

Reading is a pleasurable activity, I enjoy doing it. You'd never hear someone saying "Dude I had the fastest sex" or "You should see how fast I can scarf down food at this fancy restaurant", right? I'm having a conversation with Ernest Hemingway or Marcus Aurelius. These are like the best people in the world. I wanna take my time and enjoy the conversations with them.

Listening to this, all my guilt of not reading fast just vanished into thin air.

It's so true that when we read a book, we are having a dialogue with the author. And rushing that amazing conversation doesn't make sense. Just let it flow at its own pace!

So yeah, I'm finally done with the idea of reading a book a week. I'm happy that I read regularly at my own pace!

To guilt-free reading! 🥂