I picked up Learn to Love Reading by Alex Wieckowski after learning about his site, Alex and Books. I like books and figured I’d find a kindred spirit, then I noticed his book and was ready for an insightful look at how to turn reading into a passtime you love.
Unfortunately that’s not what I got. Learn to Love Reading is a collection of quotes from various people (including some I find abhorrent) on why they like reading. While it’s a different book than I expected, that doesn’t mean there was no value in it.
Let’s highlight a few quotes I thought were worth tracking.
If you read only the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. – Haruki Murakami Page 15
This does mean you need to spend time looking for your own books that you find interesting and diving deep into subjects instead of just following the well beaten path of popular books.
People say they don’t have time to read but it’s just not true. The average person today reads more words per day than ever before. If you add up all the emails, Instagram comments, texts, tweets, and news articles you read on a daily basis, you’re actually reading the equivalent of a 200-page book each day. – Neil Pasricha Page 78
The biggest “problem” with reading is that it requires singular focus and each book doesn’t have a team of researchers behind it tweaking what you’re going to see next based on the latest research. They are not continually optimized to be engaging.
I find this to be one of the best things about books.
The quality of your thoughts is determined by the quality of your reading. – James Clear Page 89
I read plenty of fantasy and light fiction, but I also read fiction that challenges me. I read lots of non-fiction to try and be a better person.
Books allow you to fully explore a topic and immerse yourself in a deeper way than most media. – Mark Zuckerberg Page 120
Ironic as Zuckerberg makes millions on making sure we engage in shallow ways on his platform.
ORLY
ORLY – Oh Really, for things I find suspicious.
Now there was one quote that raised my eyebrows and made me question the entire book.
There is an undeniable correlation between functional illiteracy, poverty, and crime – in fact, eleven states predict their future need for prison cells based on the reading levels of their fourth graders. Books can change lives, yes, and so can the lack of them. – Roxanne Coady Page 7
No other quote in the book really required a bunch of research to verify if the statement was true, but this sounds so much like a political talking point that I couldn’t let it pass. The verdict is, no prisons do not predict future need based on 4th grade reading scores.
This didn’t even take me long to find reputable sources on.
Should You Read Learn to Love Reading by Alex Wieckowski?
I’m going to say no it’s not worth the hour you’ll spend flipping the pages. Sure there are some decent quotes, but you could use that hour for much better things. I’m taking this book to the used book store to hopefully get some credit to purchase something useful.
DO NOT purchase Learn to Love Reading.
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