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9 Best Articles in 2021
Dan Shipper
Surgical Reading: How to Read 12 Books at OnceDan Shipper
~13 min read · 2020-06-23 · How to efficiently get what you need out of reading, multiple books at a time
productivity
books
reading
Most highlighted
Reading shouldn’t be about checking titles off of a todo list, it should be an exploration of what fascinates you. 
when I’m reading a non-fiction book, I focus on locating and removing the most valuable pieces of information from it quickly as possible
My goal is to quickly locate valuable knowledge and use the information I acquire in the real world to solve problems.
Farnam Street
How to Remember What You ReadFarnam Street
~15 min read · Aug 16th · The benefits of reading are negated if you forget remember what you read. This article discusses a tested system to increase retention. Learn how to use active reading to remember more from books.
career
books
brain
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A lot of success in reading boils down to preparation. What you do before you read matters way more than you think.
Focus on some combination of books that: 1) stand the test of time; 2) pique your interest; or 3) challenge you.
The investment we make in reading should have a positive, lasting impact on our lives.
Aeon+Psyche
How to gain more from your readingAeon+Psyche
~17 min read · Jul 7th · There’s more to words than meets the eye. Deepen your appreciation of literature through the art of slow, attentive reading
books
career
productivity
Most highlighted
From reading deeply, you gain experience as well as knowledge: you gain from reading literary works in all their unique particularity.
You probably already enjoy the ways that literary works entertain you, instruct you, move you. Recognising and understanding how they accomplish these things will enable you to deepen your appreciation still further and gain even more reward.
There’s more to words than meets the eye. Deepen your appreciation of literature through the art of slow, attentive reading
Scott Young
Seven Easy Habits to Read More Books Next YearScott Young
~15 min read · 2020-01-03 · Reading books is one of the best habits you can create for yourself. Here are seven easy habits you can implement to finish more books next year.
books
Most highlighted
Reading is a habit of compounding growth. Learn more and you’ll generate ideas and enthusiasm for making other changes.
your goal isn’t just to read, but to turn that knowledge into an actual skill or accomplishment
your goal isn’t just to read, but to turn that knowledge into an actual skill or accomplishment
Guardian Books
Thirty books to help us understand the world in 2020Guardian Books
20+ min read · 2020-10-18 · The climate crisis, gender, populism, big tech, pandemics, race… our experts recommend titles to illuminate the issues of the day
books
culture
book recommendations
Guardian Books
The 100 best books of the 21st centuryGuardian Books
20+ min read · From 2019 · Dazzling debut novels, searing polemics, the history of humanity and trailblazing memoirs ... Read our pick of the best books since 2000
books
fiction
Guardian Books
Can ‘smart thinking’ books really give you the edge?Guardian Books
10 min read · Aug 21st · Trust your gut, boost your memory, de-bias your decision making… can we train our brains to perform better?
productivity
brain
books
Most highlighted
A decade ago, the fashion was to be pessimistic about the prospects of improving our thinking, and even about the value of thinking at all.
billionaires are shooting themselves into the stratosphere in penis-shaped spacecraft while record numbers of the precariously employed rely on food banks
A decade ago, the fashion was to be pessimistic about the prospects of improving our thinking, and even about the value of thinking at all.
Ness Labs
Building an antilibrary: the power of unread booksNess Labs
7 min read · 2020-10-29 · Unread books can be as powerful as the ones we have read, if we choose to consider them in the right light.
books
Most highlighted
For Umberto Eco, a private library is a research tool. The goal of an antilibrary is not to collect books you have read so you can proudly display them on your shelf; instead, it is to curate a highly personal collection of resources around themes you are curious about. Instead of a celebration of everything you know, an antilibrary is an ode to everything you want to explore.
an antilibrary may even be an antidote to the Dunning–Kruger effect, where we tend to overestimate the extent of our knowledge. Whether in a private or a public library, being surrounded by books we haven’t read yet—in the case of Umberto Eco, too many books to read in a lifetime—is a humbling experience.
Guardian Books
Why do so few men read books by women?Guardian Books
4 min read · Jul 9th · No matter if it is Austen or Atwood, the Brontës or Booker winners, data shows men are reluctant to read women – and this has real world implications
equality
culture
books
Most highlighted
Female authors through the centuries, from the Brontë sisters to George Eliot to JK Rowling, have felt obliged to disguise their gender to persuade boys and men to read their books.
For the top 10 bestselling female authors (who include Jane Austen and Margaret Atwood, as well as Danielle Steel and Jojo Moyes), only 19% of their readers are men and 81%, women. But for the top 10 bestselling male authors (who include Charles Dickens and JRR Tolkien, as well as Lee Child and Stephen King), the split is much more even: 55% men and 45% women.
New this week
Classic Crime Novels That Still Thrill Today
The New York Times
Authors pull out of Frankfurt book fair over presence of far-right groups
The Washington Post
Female Spanish thriller writer Carmen Mola revealed to be three men
Guardian Books
A Carnival of Snackery by David Sedaris review
Guardian Books
My favourite overlooked Black writer – by Bernardine Evaristo, Margaret Atwood and more
Guardian Books
The Every: When Big Tech rules all, don’t say Dave Eggers didn’t warn us
Ars Technica
Dune: science fiction’s answer to Lord of the Rings
Guardian Books
It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the ultimate question
NPR
Day One at The Every: An Excerpt From Dave Eggers' New Novel
WIRED
What Jane Eyre and Oliver Twist tell us about talking to strangers
Aeon+Psyche
The Most Influential Sci-Fi Books Of All Time
Book Riot
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Literary Hub
The 25 Most Iconic Book Covers in HistoryLiterary Hub
~12 min read · Oct 7th · First things first. What makes a book cover iconic? There are no hard and fast rules, of course—like anything else, you know it when you see it. But in order to compile this list, I looked for reco…
design
books
Book Riot
The Most Influential Sci-Fi Books Of All TimeBook Riot
20+ min read · Oct 12th · The most influential sci-fi books of all time examine humanity's longest-held hopes and deepest, most visceral fears.
books
Most highlighted
What do we talk about when we talk about science fiction? Is it our hope for the future, or our fear of creating the very thing that will destroy us? If the most influential sci-fi books of all time are any indication, the answer is both.
The Drift
Persistence PaysThe Drift
~12 min read · Sep 27th · One might feel compelled to ask why so many of these books exist, but the main reason is obvious: money.
parenting
books
NPR
It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the ultimate questionNPR
3 min read · Oct 17th · The first Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book was published in October 1979. Fans are looking back at how the series has endured in popularity and why it's still relevant.
books
q4-2021
The New York Times
Help Us Choose the Best BookThe New York Times
Oct 11th · The New York Times Book Review has just turned 125. That got us wondering: What is the best book that was published during that time? We’d like to hear from you. For the month of October we’ll take…
books
Austin Kleon
If a book can be summarized, is it worth reading?Austin Kleon
3 min read · Oct 4th · And if a book can be summarized, is it worth writing?
books
Most highlighted
It is my opinion that if a book’s contents can be adequately “summed up,” so that you really don’t miss anything by reading the summary, it is not actually a book worth reading.
Also, I suspect that the harder you find it to summarize a book you have read, the more valuable it might be.
It is my opinion that if a book’s contents can be adequately “summed up,” so that you really don’t miss anything by reading the summary, it is not actually a book worth reading. (Of course, there’s no way to tell whether a summary is adequate or not unless you have also read the book.) Also, I suspect that the harder you find it to summarize a book you have read, the more valuable it might be.
Vox
The great book shortage of 2021, explainedVox
~11 min read · Oct 6th · Demand for books is way up this year. Supplies are way, way down.
books
Guardian Books
Akala, Bernardine Evaristo, Ben Okri and more pick 20 classic books by writers of colourGuardian Books
~19 min read · Oct 3rd · Twenty contemporary writers recommend overlooked novels, essays and poetry that deserve to sit alongside the classics on our bookshelves
books
Guardian Books
‘I could do with more readers!’ – Abdulrazak Gurnah on winning the Nobel prize for literatureGuardian Books
8 min read · Oct 11th · His lyrical novels about exile and loss enjoy critical acclaim but modest sales. Now he’s Zanzibar’s second most famous son – and £840,000 richer. The writer talks about racism on British buses, Priti…
books
literature
immigration
Guardian Books
Top 10 urban legends in literatureGuardian Books
4 min read · Oct 13th · Writers from Clive Barker to China Miéville and Mariana Enriquez show how city settings for uncanny fiction create a new kind of horror
books
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9 Best Articles in 2021

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