How To Read More Like Ryan Holiday

About this Video

• Video Title: How To Read More Like Ryan Holiday
• Channel: Daily Stoic
• Speakers: Ryan Holiday
• Duration: 00:18:07

Introduction

This Daily Stoic video features Ryan Holiday discussing how to read more effectively and efficiently. He emphasizes the importance of reading as a moral duty and a means of gaining wisdom and understanding history, thereby gaining insight into current events. Holiday shares personal strategies for making time for reading and building a sustainable reading practice.

Key Takeaways

1. Reading as a Moral Duty: Holiday underscores the importance of reading, framing it not just as a hobby but as a moral obligation, given the historical struggles people faced to gain access to knowledge.
2. Reading for Historical Understanding: He argues that reading history provides invaluable insight into current events, enabling better prediction and understanding of the present. He cites Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War as an example.
3. Effective Reading Strategies: Holiday advocates for active reading, including note-taking, highlighting, and transferring key information to notecards for later use (commonplace book). He emphasizes the value of rereading books to gain new perspectives.
4. Time Management Techniques: He suggests finding consistent reading times that work with one's schedule (morning, lunch, before bed), and even embracing "binge reading" periods to delve into subjects deeply.
5. The Power of Re-reading: Holiday highlights the benefits of revisiting books, emphasizing that re-reading allows for deeper understanding and new insights as the reader grows and changes.