| That is diametrically opposite to how I read non-fiction. Its designed on how I approach a new codebase effectively. first is skimming and context. table of contents, the preclude, intro etc. Then author (interviews, actual work done, other books, friends, enemies) to build a picture of who it is that's talking and what the topic is. 70% books fail this filter. then the book itself, i usually pick 2 (sometimes 3) books on the topic fed by the research I just did. and i'd build a picture of the main points. skimming through the pages to see what the structure is and what stands out for all books. now comes the actual reading. i now start reading in chunks. that make me question things, clear out my understanding and the picture of events, groups and people involved in the subject. this is the most time consuming and usually where i lose interest. i make notes in a few index cards or binder leaves or a text file for when I want to revisit. this format of consumption has proved vastly superior to reading books start to end. I can usually see where the author is biased, pushing agenda or trying to please or oppose some one. and this works amazingly well for old texts (art in 1500s, finance in 1800s, history, programming languages, etc) |