Patrick Collison's Manifesto on Reading | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

The speaker discusses their love for books and reading, highlighting the importance of selecting valuable and enjoyable books, and the active process of reading and annotating.

Key Insights

• 🏃 Running and reading may not always bring immediate euphoria but are valuable and important activities.
• ⚾ Filtering books based on their worth and enjoyment can help prioritize reading choices.
• 💍 Actively engaging with books through skimming, skipping, and annotating enhances the reading experience.
• ❓ Learning from influential figures involves exploring their influences and what they admired.
• 🫠 The speaker recommends reading the best book available at any given time.
• 🫥 Leaving books out in visible spaces can increase the likelihood of finding relevance or triggering interest.
• 📔 The speaker underlines and annotates books while making quick notes for future reference.

Transcript

you're a huge reader uh where did this love of books get started i i run quite a bit and i don't even run because i enjoy it that much i mean i enjoy it um but it's nothing kind of in the in the immediate moment it's it's not like it's euphoric or anything close to it i mean it's pretty painful um uh and you know the the greg leman quote about how ... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What motivates the speaker to continue running, despite it being painful?

The speaker acknowledges that running is not always enjoyable in the immediate moment, but they find the sense of accomplishment and the feeling of having completed a run to be fulfilling. They prioritize the act of running for its importance in their life.

Q: How does the speaker filter their reading choices?

The speaker filters what they read by focusing on books that are both worth reading and enjoyable. They prioritize reading the best books available to them, and when they run out of such books, they move on to books that are merely worth reading.

Q: How does the speaker approach the act of reading?

The speaker believes reading should be an active process. They skim, skip, backtrack, discard, and annotate books. They want to be active participants rather than passive consumers of the material.

Q: When does the speaker typically read?

The speaker reads in the morning and evening. They also read while walking, utilizing their peripheral vision to read functionally. They sometimes read while eating as well.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The speaker's love for running parallels their love for reading, where the immediate enjoyment may be lacking, but the sense of accomplishment and importance is present.

• They filter what they read by focusing on books that are both valuable and enjoyable, discarding those that don't meet both criteria.

• The speaker follows the advice of following what influential people admired and dissects their influences to understand their success.