Books in Quicker Forms

Reading full books is great and should never be replaced fully with another form of information because it not only helps you learn but also helps your focus and overall brain function. However, there are a few other forms of getting information from great books that can help you save time and take the fluff out of books that may not be as important to the overall message.

The first way to get the basic understanding of a book quickly is using book summary websites like Spark Notes. I love using Spark Notes for quickly understanding the principles of helpful non-fiction books. There are always some books that I would like to gain the basic principles of but would rather not read in their entirety. When this is the case, I love to use Spark Notes to be able to learn the important messages of a book within just a couple of minutes rather than reading it over a month or so.

Another way I like to consume the knowledge of books is with summaries on YouTube. You can simply type in summary of ____ on YouTube and you will find plenty of videos that will auditorily and visually explain the basics of a book. I am better at learning from sound rather than reading in general and this may be the case for you as well. Especially if you continue to struggle with retaining information while reading, this is a great alternative to reading the entirety of a book but being able to still get the main gist of it.

The last tip I would like to share with you is the practice of using audio books when you find yourself doing tasks that require less focus. If you are cleaning the house, mowing the grass, doing laundry or if you have a job that does not require much of your concentration try putting on your headphones and putting an audio book on YouTube. There is so much time within our days where we could be learning new things and gaining information but we simply don’t even think of it most of the time. If you get in the habit of putting on an audio book while you complete mundane tasks you will be at a significant advantage in life in terms of information gained. Just imagine all the information you could gain if you are listening to audio books throughout your day while still being productive.