---
aliases: ["Reading & Books"]
Is A: Topic
---
# Reading & Books

Reading and books covers the practice of reading deliberately, choosing what to read wisely, retaining and applying what is read, and the broader role of books as a source of ideas for writing and thinking. It encompasses reading habits, book selection strategies, note-taking from books, and the intersection of reading and content creation.

## Why this matters

Reading is the primary input channel for Refactoring's content. Almost every newsletter essay and podcast conversation trace back to an idea encountered in a book, an article, or a research paper. Reading more — and reading better — directly improves the quality and originality of the output. The evergreen note [[reading-more-by-reading-better]] captures the core insight that reading speed matters less than reading strategy. This topic connects tightly to [[responsibility-learning]], which covers the operational side of maintaining a reading habit, and to [[procedure-evergreen-note-writing]], which turns reading into reusable knowledge.

## Key resources

- [[reading-more-by-reading-better]] — the principle that strategic reading outperforms speed reading
- [[the-compound-effect-in-knowledge-work]] — why consistent reading compounds into expertise over time
- [[note-range]] — David Epstein's case for reading broadly rather than narrowly, which informs book selection
- [[note-on-writing-well]] — a book that changed how both reading and writing are approached
- Ryan Holiday's reading list newsletter — consistently excellent non-fiction recommendations

## Notes

- The most important reading skill is not speed but selection — choosing the right book matters more than finishing every book you start
- Taking notes while reading is non-negotiable for retention; without notes, the half-life of a book's ideas is measured in weeks
- Rereading great books is underrated — the best non-fiction books reveal different things on second and third readings because the reader has changed
- Audiobooks count as reading and are particularly useful for narrative non-fiction; dense analytical books work better in print where you can annotate
- The biggest trap in reading for content creation is the temptation to summarize rather than synthesize — the value is not in retelling what the book says but in connecting it to original thinking
