Hi Friends,

A good book can be a peak experience in my life. Reading (and subsequently writing) have transformed most, if not every part of my life. And whether it is a new way of thinking, a quote, or a great story, books have a special way of traveling with me once I've read them.

Currently, I read about 2-4 books a month. I have a few unread books at my home & a few sitting in my audible and kindle account at the moment. So, how do I decide what to read next? Here are a few things I consider when choosing the next read in 3 steps.

3 Filters to Consider

• Consider category: Fiction or non-fiction... Technology or design... Faith or health... Biography or business management. What category is interesting you at the moment? As part of this decision - I also consider when the book was written. Newer books will include more technology and studies to draw conclusions, especially books that follow the 'story-study-lesson' model of writing (think of Malcolm Gladwell). Older books will have stories and ideas that resonate beyond the cultural moment. Said well by Italo Calvino, “A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.”
• Consider relevancy: Not all books need to be relevant, but if it's non-fiction, I tend to avoid 'just incase information' and focus on 'just in-time' learning. Just like learning a language in school, if you don't practice it, the information will get fuzzy overtime. Focus on just in-time information helps avoid paralysis-by-analysis and information overload. In other words, read books that are relevant to what you are doing/learning right now, not 10 years from now.
• Consider format: Finally, depending on the complexity of the subject (deep philosophy versus a biography), I tend to choose the a format that best suites the text. For easy listening books - like biographies, simple stories, and lighter books, I tend to go towards Audible only. On the other end of the spectrum, books that are complex and/or long, I tend to go towards Kindle and Audible, together. The reason: these books tend to get highlighted everywhere. I like to keep my highlights close for easy access, always. And, I want to remove the cognitive load of trying to read the sentences to focus mental energy on the actual ideas the author is presenting. This also makes re-reading very easy because I can listen anytime.

What about paperback books? Paperback books have become a last resort for me. I buy the paperback if I absolutely love the book. This is not because I don't love reading the physical book but because I like to have easy access to the books I've read. I'm making a video soon on this subject soon. More to come.

Finding New Recommendations

How do you find these books? I tend to not go to Amazon to discover new books, as it's algorithms are clever but not always helpful with the points above. I like to find books from people who inspire me. That may be listening to a podcast, going to their website, or talking with friends about books they love.

And then there is this incredible tool: Good Books - This website is an incredible resource to find books recommended by very successful and interesting people and it shows you how many others recommend the same book.

Final Notes

When framing this decision - I am not too concerned with reading 'bad books.' For instance, the book may be confusing, an over-extended blog post, or a book that just doesn't connect with me well. I don't worry about that in my decision making process. Mainly because my reading style is very forgiving. As I mentioned above, my go-to for reading style is a mix of Kindle and Audio book.

This allows me to get through a book fairly quickly. So it's not a huge commitment. This also makes it easy to drop a book in the middle to get an exchange nearly instantaneously. So I don't worry too much about the good/bad book conversation. I subscribe my system to: give it a go. If it's a good read, you will know within the first hour or two.

Tell me, do you have any specific questions you ask as you pick-up a new book?

My favorite finds this week

• Quote: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Henry de Bracton, 13th Century Jurist and Priest
• Resource: Good Books - This website is an absolute game-changer when it comes to finding new books to read. Their tagline reads something like this, "8,500+ book recommendations from the most successful and interesting people in the world."
• Interview: Ali Abdaal Interviewed Benjamin Hardy last week and I loved every minute of the interview. You can see some of the notes from the conversation here.
• Article: MECE Principle - What is the MECE principle? A powerful, problem structuring framework - I was introduced to this framework this week. It has helped me think about time-management and defining problems at their core.
• Quote: "The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." - William James

All in,

David

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By David Iskander

I'm David, a search specialist, and beginner YouTuber from Orange County, CA. My motto is: Whatever you do, do it beautifully. I enjoy making YouTube videos about website design, tech, productivity, and faith.