Keeping a reading log turned a habit into a conversation. Every great book quietly argues with an older one. The footnotes were better than many novels I read this year.
The short version
The first chapter was slow, and the slowness was the point. Rereading a book shows you how much you changed. Every great book quietly argues with an older one. Good translation is invisible until you compare two of them.
The footnotes were better than many novels I read this year. Abandoning a book is allowed and sometimes wise.
What didn’t
Poetry rewards reading aloud, even to an empty room. Every great book quietly argues with an older one. Reading before bed works best on paper and badly on a phone. I underlined less this year and remembered more.
- Write three lines after each chapter
- Read one old book for every new one
- Borrow before you buy
- Quit books that don’t earn it
Some books are best read in one sitting; others need a month and a pencil. I underlined less this year and remembered more.
What worked
Abandoning a book is allowed and sometimes wise. The footnotes were better than many novels I read this year. Some books are best read in one sitting; others need a month and a pencil.
A short story can hold a whole life in twenty pages.
I underlined less this year and remembered more. Poetry rewards reading aloud, even to an empty room.
Abandoning a book is allowed and sometimes wise. The author never explains the ending, and that is generous.
Leave a Reply