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Reading

Seneca On Reading

The more I read Seneca the more I like the man. I read Susanna Braund’s translation of De Clementia in 2011 but never got around to reading more. My mistake. Writing in Antifragile, Nassim Taleb says of Seneca: His work has seduced people …

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Save Time: Intelligently Skimming a Book

The second reading level is called inspectional reading, or reading to inform. In effect, you’re skimming a book. The point of skimming is to get the gist of something and determine if it’s worth understanding in greater detail. …

Read moreSave Time: Intelligently Skimming a Book

The Four Levels of Reading: Improve Skills One Level At A Time

One of the secrets to acquiring knowledge is to read. A lot. My Hero, Charlie Munger, said it best “In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time – none, zero.” Picking …

Read moreThe Four Levels of Reading: Improve Skills One Level At A Time

The Most Effective Way to Retain What You Read

One of the keys to getting smarter is to read a lot. But that’s not enough. How you read matters. But reading is only one part of the equation. It’s nearly worthless if you can’t remember and apply what you read. To learn …

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The Buffett Formula: Going to Bed Smarter Than When You Woke Up

Your mind grows stronger or weaker each day, depending on how you use it. Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger built their extraordinary success on a foundation of continuous learning. They showed consistent learning compounds, building …

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Haruki Murakami on Reading What Everyone Else is Reading

We’ve all been there. At the bookstore looking for a book to read. On one side of the store is the safe bet. The best-selling books that everyone else is reading. These are (generally) mediocre books that time hasn’t yet …

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Niccolò Machiavelli on Reading as a Cure for Boredom

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) offered ruthless advice in his timeless classic The Prince, which was inspired on Xenophon’s Cyrus The Great: The Arts of Leadership and War.  Based on force and ruthlessness, Machiavelli offered advice on …

Read moreNiccolò Machiavelli on Reading as a Cure for Boredom

On Reading and Books

On Reading and Books — an essay by German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), who influenced some of the most prominent minds in the world. Ignorance is degrading only when it is found in company with riches. Want and penury …

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C.S. Lewis on Reading Old Books

Read moreC.S. Lewis on Reading Old Books

What did Steve Jobs Read?

I’ve always wondered just what influenced Steve Jobs thinking? Walter Isaacson‘s biography of Steve Jobs provides an unprecedented look at not only Steve Jobs life but the books which influenced him. For such a success, there is …

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Reading Fiction Stretches Our Imaginations

Aristotle claimed that poetry—at the time, he meant the epics of Homer and other tragedies, which we now call fiction—was better than history. He argued that fiction tells us what is possible, whereas history tells us only what has …

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