Turning Pages or Chasing Insights? Rethinking the Race to Read

If you've ever felt guilty about abandoning a half-read book, this might sound familiar: the pressure to finish every book, or else it 'doesn't count.' But what if the real secret of lifelong learning is not in tallying completed volumes, but in how we approach each page? The author, admitting to starting a thousand books a year and finishing only a fraction, shares an unconventional journey from page-count guilt to joyful, strategic reading. Along the way, expect confessions, quirky rituals, and irreverent opinions on what truly matters in the reading life.

The Vanity of Book Counts: Why Finishing Isn’t Everything

From childhood, society has taught us that reading is not just about learning—it's about status. The more books you finish, the more “well-read” you appear. There’s a quiet prestige in being seen with a stack of classics or boasting about the number of books conquered each year. For many, finishing a book—especially a difficult one—feels like earning a badge of honor. But what if this focus on completion is missing the main idea of reading itself?

Consider the story of a lifelong learner who browses nearly 1,000 books a year, yet only finishes between 70 and 100. At first glance, this might sound like cheating. Isn’t abandoning a book halfway a sign of failure? Many believe that if you don’t read every page, it “does not count as reading.” But this is a myth rooted in cultural programming. As the author confesses,

“The number of books we read is purely a vanity metric that we use to impress other people.”

This obsession with book counts shapes our reading habits. We push through books we don’t enjoy or understand, just to say we finished them. We treat books as sacred objects, believing that value only comes from reading cover to cover. Yet, research on lifelong learning suggests that active, engaged reading—where you seek insights, question ideas, and reflect on what matters to you—leads to deeper understanding than simply turning pages.

There’s also a widespread notion that abandoning books is “cheating.” But what if the real “cheat” is spending precious time on books that don’t serve your curiosity or goals? The book selection process should be personal and flexible. Skimming, sampling, or even quitting a book halfway can be smart strategies for maximizing learning and engagement. The true value of reading comes not from the number of books finished, but from the insights and inspiration you extract along the way.

• Society values reading as a status symbol—more books, more prestige.
• There’s a widespread notion that abandoning books is ‘cheating.’
• True value comes not from finished books, but from what you extract from them.
• Reading should serve intellectual curiosity, not vanity metrics.
• Throwback to the days when finishing the hardest book seemed like a badge of honor.

Filling the Funnel: The Art and Science of Book Selection

In the quest for meaningful reading, the secret isn’t just in turning more pages—it’s in filling the funnel. This approach is both an art and a science, blending curiosity with a smart book selection process that uses technology and a dash of emotional distance. The goal? Bring as many books as possible into your orbit before deciding what goes deeper.

Book Summaries: The First Filter

Imagine having thousands of books at your fingertips, but only a handful of hours. That’s where book summaries come in. Platforms like Shortform and Blinkist distill the essence of popular non-fiction into clear, actionable insights. A one-page summary can reveal a book’s main ideas in minutes, letting readers decide if a deeper dive is worthwhile. If a book isn’t on Shortform, a quick Google search—“[Book Title] summary”—often uncovers a concise overview. This layered approach not only saves time but, as research shows, previewing a text builds an expectation framework that enhances reading comprehension.

Fetching Recommendations: Building Your Funnel

How does one discover what to sample? The answer lies in a personalized funnel of recommendations:

• Goodreads: More than a review site, Goodreads gamifies reading. Track what you’ve read, see what friends are enjoying, and explore community favorites. For some, it’s even a badge of honor—being among the top 10 most followed users in the UK, for example.
• Twitter and Podcasts: Authors, thought leaders, and podcast hosts often share their latest reads and hidden gems, adding fresh titles to your queue.

Digital Tools: Tracking and Sampling Reads

There’s no guilt in acquiring more books than you’ll ever finish. The selection process is about curiosity, not obligation. Tools like Kindle and Audible make impulsive sampling easy—buy a book with a click, or add it to a Todoist “Books to Read” list for later. Whether you purchase instantly or toss recommendations into a digital queue, both methods keep your funnel flowing.

‘Fill the funnel’—bring as many books as possible into your orbit before deciding what goes deeper.

By leveraging summaries, recommendations, and digital tracking, readers can personalize their journey—sampling widely, chasing insights, and only committing to what truly sparks interest.

Making Reading Effortless: Rituals, Tools, and the Joy of Skimming

For many, the biggest hurdle to reading more isn’t motivation—it’s friction. The secret to building lasting reading habits is making books as easy to reach as your phone. That’s where rituals, smart tools, and a fresh look at active reading strategies come in.

Audiobooks: Doubling Your Reading Opportunities

Imagine doubling your book intake without carving out extra hours. That’s the magic of audiobooks. Since discovering Audible in 2017, one reader saw their book consumption double—simply by listening while driving, walking, or cleaning. “I really need to become like a paid ambassador for Audible and Kindle—except, you know, I’m not.” Audiobooks lower the barrier to entry, weaving stories and insights into the busiest routines. Whether at the gym or on a commute, every idle moment becomes a chance to learn.

Digital Readers: Books at Arm’s Reach

With a Kindle or the Kindle app, a library fits in your pocket. Since 2008, this reader’s Kindle has lived on the bedside table, turning bedtime into a reading ritual. The dimmest light, a cozy pillow, and the gentle thud of the Kindle dropping as sleep arrives—these small habits make reading second nature. And if the Kindle isn’t handy, the app on a phone fills the gap, whether in a waiting room or on a train. Even “reading on the toilet” becomes a possibility—though, as confessed, “it doesn’t count if you have to use dirty AirPods.”

Skimming and Summaries: Smart, Not Lazy

There’s a myth that skimming books or reading summaries is cheating. In reality, these are active reading strategies. Using apps like Shortform, readers can absorb chapter summaries at ten times the speed, focusing on insights with zero fluff. It’s not about passively flipping pages—it’s about intent. Skimming and summaries are deliberate choices, helping readers chase insights, not just turn pages.

• Rituals matter: Bedside reading, daily audiobook sessions, and opportunistic summary-skimming build momentum.
• Tools matter: Audiobooks and digital readers make reading effortless, anytime, anywhere.
• Mindset matters: Skimming is an active, efficient way to engage with more ideas.

Making reading effortless isn’t about shortcuts—it’s about lowering barriers and letting curiosity lead the way.

The Blog Post Mindset: Why Quitting Books Is an Act of Genius

In school, most people learn that finishing every book is a badge of honor. The unspoken rule: powering through, even when a book is dull or irrelevant, is a sign of discipline. But what if this mindset is holding readers back from true learning? The Blog Post Mindset flips the script. Instead of treating books as sacred, it encourages readers to approach them like blog posts—pick, choose, and bail at will. As one reader puts it,

“I treat books like I treat blog posts—if they’re dull, outdated, or not for me, I abandon ship.”

This approach is rooted in Active Reading Strategies and Metacognition Strategies. The goal isn’t to complete books for the sake of a scoreboard, but to remember and analyze what truly matters. Mortimer Adler once said,

“...not to see how many of them you can get through but rather how many can get through to you.”

Here’s how the Blog Post Mindset transforms the Reading Mindset:

• Selective Reading: If a book’s value peaks in the first few chapters, it’s perfectly fine to stop there. Intellectual satisfaction outweighs completionist pride.
• Strategic Skimming: Skipping repetitive examples or less relevant sections is not a cop-out. It’s a smart way to extract the gold without wading through filler.
• Speed Reading Tools: Techniques like finger tracking, ruler guides, and reducing subvocalization help readers move efficiently, focusing on what sticks.
• Metacognitive Monitoring: Regularly ask: “Am I getting value?” If not, adjust—skim, skip, or quit. This is the heart of metacognition in reading.

Books are not sacred relics; they’re tools for insight. Treating them like disposable blog posts means using active reading strategies—skimming, annotating, quitting—to make the most of every page. The genius lies in knowing when to move on, ensuring that what you read truly gets through to you.

Going Deep—When a Book Truly Grabs You

Every so often, amidst the flurry of summaries and skimming, a book emerges that demands more than just a passing glance. It’s the kind of book that refuses to be put down, insisting on your full attention. When this happens, the race to read fades away, replaced by a desire for deep understanding and genuine connection. As Mortimer Adler famously wrote,

“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through but rather how many can get through to you.”

For those rare books that truly resonate, the approach shifts from quantity to quality. The process becomes intentional: remember and analyze every insight, apply active reading strategies, and seek to internalize the lessons. This is where a two-tiered note-taking system comes into play. Quick bullet points in Apple Notes capture fleeting thoughts and key ideas as they arise, ensuring nothing is lost in the moment. But when a book truly grabs hold, it deserves more—a rich synthesis in Notion, complete with detailed summaries, top highlights, and personal reflections. Kindle highlights, organized through Readwise, further enrich this process, making it easy to revisit and reinforce what matters most.

But deep reading doesn’t stop at note-taking. The real magic happens when you engage with the material: working through structured exercises, reflecting on questions, and critically applying the book’s principles to your own life. This active engagement cements retention and turns abstract concepts into practical tools. Sometimes, the impact is so profound that sharing the insights becomes a natural next step—whether that’s through a book club discussion, a video, or simply a conversation with friends.

Imagine if gym routines worked like book selection—sampling a new exercise each day until you found the one that truly transformed you. With reading, it’s much the same: most books will pass through your filter, but a select few will invite you to slow down, dig deep, and let their wisdom shape your thinking.

Ultimately, the true value of reading lies not in the number of pages turned, but in the depth of engagement and the lasting change a book can spark. When a book truly gets through to you, it becomes more than just information—it becomes part of who you are.

TL;DR: Forget about your bookshelf tally. Embrace skimming, DNFing, and summary-hopping. Lifelong learning is about curiosity, not competition.