• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Farnam Street Logo

Farnam Street

Mastering the best of what other people have already figured out

  • Newsletter
  • Books
  • Podcast
  • Articles
  • Log In
  • Become a Member

Mortimer Adler

Mortimer Adler on Understanding What You Read

One of our goals when reading is to find and elucidate the key sentences in a book. Independent of whether we agree with these key sentences, we first need to digest them — to capture the …

Continue readingMortimer Adler on Understanding What You Read

Reading a Book is a Conversation Between You and the Author

Marginalia—those tiny notes in the side margins of a book—is a contentious subject. Some people view this as a necessary part of the reading process. Others view it as sacrilege. This beautiful …

Continue readingReading a Book is a Conversation Between You and the Author

The Necessity of Marginalia

Francis Bacon once remarked, “some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” Reading and writing often go hand in hand. Reading is not a passive skill …

Continue readingThe Necessity of Marginalia

The Top 3 Most Effective Ways to Take Notes While Reading

  There are three steps to effectively taking notes while reading: At the end of each chapter write a few bullet points that summarize what you’ve read and make it personal if you can — …

Continue readingThe Top 3 Most Effective Ways to Take Notes While Reading

The Art of Reading: Analytical Reading

Analytical reading is the fourth part in my series on ways to improve our reading skills. The first rule of analytical reading is that you must know what kind of book you are reading. Are you reading …

Continue readingThe Art of Reading: Analytical Reading

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 …

Continue readingSave 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 …

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

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 …

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

Discover What You’re Missing

Get the weekly email full of actionable ideas and insights you can use at work and home.


As seen on:

New York Times logo
Wall Street Journal logo
The Economist logo
Financial Times logo
Farnam Street Logo

© 2025 Farnam Street Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Proudly powered by WordPress. Hosted by Pressable. See our Privacy Policy.

  • About
  • Sponsorship
  • Support
  • Speaking

We’re Syrus Partners.
We buy amazing businesses.


Farnam Street participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising commissions by linking to Amazon.