Farnam Street – How to Read a Book

You know how to read a book. You probably learned how in elementary school. But do you read optimally? Do you get the most out of every hour you invest in a book? If you’re like most people, the answer is “not even close.” And, there is a huge opportunity to become more skillful at reading, retention and understanding.

If you’re a knowledge worker there is no better investment.
You are paid to use your brain – it pays to make your brain as powerful and high performing as possible.

Imagine making better decisions just a few times a week… What would that mean for your career? Your life?

Module One: Farnam Street Ethos

Struggling to hit your reading goals? Learn the simple truths that increase your productivity

Apply Farnam Street’s six core principles to instantly improve your ability to draw insight from what you read

Debunk common reading myths that hold you back

Understand the different levels of reading and explore how to use them for wisdom and insight

Get the inside track on the Farnam Street team & how our partnership came to be

Module Two: Identifying Winners

Learn how to think about your library and why you should own more unread books than read ones

Use Farnam Street’s funneling process to make your books compete for attention before you even think of reading them

Weigh reading a book versus an article quickly and effectively

You’ll never forget to ask yourself the most important question about a book after you see how we frame it

Banish book overwhelm by implementing the four filters Farnam Street uses when deciding to read a book

Module Three: Before We Begin

Most books don’t demand to be read in their entirety… we’ll show you how to decide which do

Why you should start by creating a map of the book – and how to do it in about 15 minutes

How to evaluate a book in 5-10 minutes online or in a bookstore

Engage with a fascinating conversation about reading habits and why Shane reads several books at once

What the Marshmallow Test can teach us about reading effectively

How to spot the single biggest opportunity for most readers. It’s simple, yet powerful

Module Four: Critical Thinking

Find out why note taking matters and the surprising ‘non-system’ system that works for us

Understand the three key steps of analytical reading, including the one almost everyone skips

Evaluate how well you stand up to Shane’s definition of the job of a reader, it’s probably not what you think

Learn to identify when you need to read with extra caution – hint: it’s not when the reading is challenging

Quickly probe at your depth of understanding with our favorite deep reading question: Do I agree with the author?

Channel your learning effectively once you’ve finished the book

Module Five: Exponential Leaps

Our favorite module! This is where exponential wins start stacking up

Generate deep understanding through our process of refereeing the conversation

Hone your ability to spot when a good narrative is covering up faulty logic or misleading facts

Become skilled at the tricky task of comparing and contrasting ideas across context and perspective

Use combinatory play while reading to aid your quest for insight
Learn to spot and gain deep understanding of building blocks and cornerstone ideas
Effectively parse out your own ideas, opinions and insights from your reading
Develop novel insights naturally, as the result of the process

A BONUS WEBINAR:

60+ Minutes of Great Questions
Watch or listen to our no holds barred Q&A webinar. We answer dozens of the most pressing and interesting questions about books, reading, Farnam Street… we even get personal.

This is a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes with Farnam Street and fellow Farnam Street readers.

You asked. We answered.