My current shelfie. I’ve collected a few new books this summer. These will all be fast reads for me. Read this thread to see what I mean: 
I try to read 250-300 books each year. That means about a book each day, six days a week. But I’m not a supergenius speedreader; I’ve just figured out how to “triage” my desire to read broadly.
Most of the books I read each week will get 20-30 minutes of my day. I’ll focus on the TOC and the introduction of nonfiction works to get a map of the contents and organizing ideas of the book.
Then I begin quick reading. This is like driving through on the interstate; it’s fast, I don’t linger, and I miss a lot. But I see the broad landscape.
Sometimes this will lead me to return to a book or to a chapter or passage for a slower read. Mostly it gives me a sense of what the book’s claims are, and how it supports those claims.
During this first, fast read I don’t underline or highlight. The most I’ll do is make an occasional vertical line in the margin, like planting a flag on a spot that’s worth revisiting. Like this:
Here’s an important part: this reading is done with only a pencil in hand. I put aside all screens, since I find I’m too easily distracted by them. If I want to look something up, I make a note *in pencil* to do so later. Focus on the reading for now.
This is fast, fairly shallow reading. It’s like tasting someone’s cooking before deciding to order a whole meal. It broadens my knowledge, but it doesn’t do much to deepen it. For that, I need more:
Some of my reading, then, falls into the second category of my triage: books I read more slowly, in order to give myself time to take in the arguments more carefully. This is more like hiking than driving through on the highway.
In this stage - which might only get a few minutes of each day - I allow myself to return to a book repeatedly so that I take in a chapter or two and then have a whole day or more to ponder what I’ve read.
This kind of reading is often connected to my research or work, and especially to topics where I am aware of my need to learn from those who have had time to develop expertise I need but may never master.
When I finish any book or chapter in these first two stages, I do one more thing: I write a brief reflection. It need not be long. But writing makes me an active reader and not a passive observer. I enter the conversation through writing.
The end of the day brings me to the third stage: reading for delight. I like most of my reading, but I want there to be time for reading I don’t have to do. This is neither a fast drive nor a slow hike. This is sitting down to gaze at the landscape.
This summer I’ve had two books I’ve gazed at slowly, taking them in as I’ve traveled, allowing me to think with the authors across landscapes both literal and figurative. I’ve read them for delight and with wonder. Stegner is a favorite of mine; Thiele is a clear writer.
I read other things, too. Every day I read from the Revised Common Lectionary (for too many reasons to go into here. Short version: I need poetry, ancient wisdom, and commentary across a vast community of space and time.) And I read news, etc.
Most of my reading doesn’t get a written response from me, but I try to give it all a moment of breathing after I put down the text; I take a little time to let it sit. Maybe only a few heartbeats, but I want to let the author’s voice echo for a moment.
There’s more I could say, but this thread is already a lot for you to read. Want to learn more about how to read a lot fast and (fairly) well? Take one of my classes and I’ll teach you there. If you’re not in school and want to consult, if I have time between books, let’s talk.
Whoever you are, and whatever you are reading, I hope it brings you and your neighbors joy, and flourishing, and deeper life. Peace be with you, both inside the pages and in the times of contemplation, conversation, and commentary that follow.
Possibly of interest to @EvanSelinger and @swensn
By the way, this is what I mean when I refer to "contemplation, conversation, and commentary." That trio has a long history, and it also teaches us more about how to read: slowperc.blogspot.com/2018/01/contem…
It pleases me that a tweet about reading books gets this much attention. I hope that this thread has people scanning their shelves for old favorites, sharing books with friends, and filling their pans with new sentences and pages, in search of golden words.
