These blog posts are short, daily ideas on reading deeply, taking notes, and applying the ideas. Each post is written by Eddy Hood with the goal of encouraging readers to pick up a book in favor of technology.
I saw a unicorn at the grocery store today. Someone in an inflatable costume waddled down the cereal aisle as a giant, pink magical beast. I’m not going to lie – it was a great way to start my Monday morning. OK, onto today’s reading thought. I have a little trick to stay focused whileContinue reading Read the Next Sentence (Fully)
I’m a big fan of Michel de Montaigne. To my knowledge, he was the first one to write personal essays. From 1533 to 1597, Montaigne lived in Southern France near Bordeaux writing about his experiences with friendship, death, and even his failures and frustrations in the bedroom. While he was the first to do this,Continue reading Why You Should Read Montaigne
When my brain feels like a New York City traffic jam, which is more than I’d like to admit, I crave a good book. Why does that happen? Why, when life gets so nutty, do I reach for journals, books, and long walks? I’d be curious to hear your thoughts in the comments. Here’s whatContinue reading Why I Crave Good Books
I’m behind in my reading for book club. We’re studying Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky at a pace of 20 pages a day. How far behind am I, you ask? About 100 pages. Should I stress out? Worry? Berate myself for letting work and life get the better of my reading habit? What IContinue reading I’m Behind in My Reading. Now What?
I just got back from a work trip to Chicago, and now I’m staring down the barrel of a week’s worth of emails, to-do list items, and chaos. I had a small panic attack this morning until I remembered my thinking ritual. It’s a morning routine that keeps me out of anxiety land. If youContinue reading Create a Thinking Routine
Last night, my son lost the ketchup which taught me a valuable lesson in reading. In his mind, we were out of the red stuff. A few days ago, he made hotdogs and used the last of it. By throwing the bottle away, he created a reality in his head that we were all out.Continue reading The Ketchup Bottle Effect: How Our Biases Shape the Way We Read
Yes, we are werd and we’re proud of it! The definition of weird is “Of strange or extraordinary character.” Given that the average adult can sustain optimal attention for an average of 67.01 seconds according to a study at The University of California, book readers are by definition – weird (Simon et al.). We areContinue reading Are Book Readers Weird?
A book is an investment of your time, and that’s likely why you struggle to finish them. In today’s world, we’ve shifted from deep investments of time to craving soundbites, summaries, and videos played at double speed. We believe that speeding up will somehow make everything fall into place. But it won’t. The truth is,Continue reading Why You’re Not Finishing Books (ANd WHat to Do About It)
Sometimes we feel anxiety when we read. This feeling usually shows up when we don’t understand what we’re reading or aren’t keeping up with an arbitrary goal—like reading 100 books a year because some YouTuber said it was a good idea. Let me be clear: reading should never cause you anxiety. Consider the difference betweenContinue reading Does Reading Give You Anxiety?
I’ve grown as a reader. I can tell because books that once made no sense to me are now intertwined with my soul. The more we read, the better we get at focusing, visualizing, and thinking. Reading is like going to the gym for the brain—if you read well. Speed-reading or skimming doesn’t offer theContinue reading 5 Books I HATED but Now I LOVE