The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life: How to get more books in your life and more life in your books by Leveen, Steve

 I read a lot and until the last couple of years, I've read mostly fiction. I've expanded my reading interest to include many non-fiction books. I was doing research on how to read non-fiction books better and came across a book review on this book. I purchased it and as I was reading, the chapters on building your own library hit home. I have been keeping a list of books that I've read for a while now, and this helped me come up with a plan to organize my library to help me instead of just some papers I had stashed away in a notebook.

Most of this book applies to non-fiction books, but it can be helpful for other type books.

In The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life, Steve Leveen offers some common sense and practical advice on how to get more books in your life and more life from your books.

His recommendations are refreshing, as when he advises on when not to read a book and why not to feel guilty if you missed reading all those classics in school. He helps readers reorganize their bookshelves into a living library of books to enhance your reading life. Separate chapters are devoted to the power of audio books and the merits of reading groups.

 Uncovering the Books That Will Change Your Life

Never force yourself to read a book that you do not enjoy. There are so many good books in the world that it is foolish to waste time on one that does not give you pleasure . — Atwood H . Townsend

I have purchased a couple of books that I just couldn't read. I hated to do it, but I just had to lay them down and forget them. I also, purchased a book that I wasn’t ready to read at that time. I laid it down and came back three years later and really enjoyed the book.

The author states, to get the most out of your reading adventure, you need a list of books you want to read. It needs to be your own list, one you create. Only you can know what books may interest you. It’s okay to ask friends and family for recommendations and it’s okay to search the internet for book recommendations. You might just find an author or books that you would never read that you may enjoy.

Before starting your list of books, begin by choosing a method for keeping your list. It should be a list that will continually grow and evolve as your interest or taste changes. To get the most out of your list, I suggest using an electronic version. Some people prefer a notebook Journal. Choose whatever is comfortable for you. I use a note taking app called Notion. The main reason I suggest an electronic version is over time you will add or change headings, delete some or decide to rearrange some. It’s hard to do in a notebook.

 One easy way to start is with the authors or books you already know you want to read. Write them down under headings that make sense to you. Perhaps there are a few business or professional books you’ve been meaning to read, books about your next career, and books on places you plan to visit. Write these down.

This list will also be where you write down the recommendations you receive from various sources. When you add these books, include a note on how you came to add them and when. Name the friend who recommended the book, the book review you read, or the movie you saw and then heard that the book was better. These comments will be helpful reminders in the future as you weigh the importance of various titles.

The author asked do you have a list of what you’ve already read ? Most people he talked to do not but wish they did.

Such a list is like a diary, offering us perhaps even more insights into ourselves than the conventional kind. A list of books that meant something to you becomes a sort of book biography. Try to reconstruct such a list and you’ll be in store for some rewarding self - knowledge.

It would probably be impossible to try to record every book that was important to you, so just list any of the books you’re really glad you read.

As you list the books you’ve enjoyed, ask yourself why the book was important to you. Was it the author’s style that you liked so much? If so, perhaps you’d like other books by that author. Make the author a heading in your List of Candidates. Was it the topic that meant so much? Make that a heading. Perhaps a classic you read in school touched you. The classics, too, can be a heading.

In making your List of Candidates , cast your net wide . Be liberal with categories and interests.

Write down your ideas and categories no matter how evanescent they appear in your mind’s eye, and even if they aren’t part of what you think your future will bring. If they seem unlikely, so much the better; your adventures will contain that many more surprises.

You can now enjoy finding the best books in your areas of interest.

Don’t expect to come up with all your categories of interest in one sitting — or even many sittings.

Do expect your list to evolve and expand and become ever more valuable to you. Feel free to follow new paths without feeling any obligation to read the books.

You may find as you create your list that you are doing more than writing down your interests; you are also setting goals. For nearly every goal is supported by reading — from improving your professional life and learning a new skill to traveling and nurturing personal relationships. Your List of Candidates is not merely a guide to your future reading: it is a guide to your future.

Italo Calvino, the acclaimed twentieth - century Italian novelist and champion of the classics, recommended that fully half the books in your library belong to the to - read section.

What are your categories? Fill them with books you’d like to read and start gaining the satisfaction of knowing you have a pantry full of good food for your mind and spirit.

Remember to also have a shelf for books that don’t fit any category.

Will you read all the books on your list, or even in your library? Definitely not, and put no such obligation on yourself. What’s important is that you take charge of your reading life and radically increase the quality of the books in the pool that you select from.

2. So how do you get more from your reading?

In the many books on how to improve your reading, one point stands out: if you want to read well, read actively. Ask questions about what you’re reading. Highlight areas that mean something to you or that you want to go back to later.

Walter Pitkin wrote in his Art of Rapid Reading: “You will get little or nothing from the printed page if you bring to it nothing but your eye.”

So what does a reader do, besides asking questions and highlighting, to read actively? The advice - givers all agree that you should not start by reading the first sentence of a book and then plow your way through to the end. 

Instead, begin by previewing the book. Read the index, review the table of contents, look at any pictures that might provide an insight to the contents, think about what you know about the subject and what you hope to gain by reading the book. Then read a few introductory and concluding paragraphs from each chapter. That is where most writers sum up their major points. 

Now you’re ready to read the book.