Literary Gluttony—How to Consume More Books This Year　文字饕餮——今年如何多消化些書

Literary Gluttony

—How to Consume More Books This Year

文學(xué)饕餮——今年如何多消化些書

Scott H. Young

斯科特·H. 揚(yáng)

作者簡介

斯科特·H. 揚(yáng)（Scott H. Young），美國著名大學(xué)生博主、網(wǎng)絡(luò)撰稿人，文章主題多與工作效率、生活習(xí)慣、自我提升有關(guān)。他曾登上“該死的，要快樂！”（Be Happy Dammit!）脫口秀節(jié)目，寫過《七大訣竅讓你擁有無咖啡因的清醒早晨》（7 Tips for Morning Alertness Without the Caffein）等輕松的文章，并著有《苦讀少，學(xué)得多》（Learn More, Study Less）一書。

本文于2008年1月8日刊發(fā)于lifehack.org網(wǎng)站。文中，作者提出了兩個(gè)看似簡單卻不好回答的問題——“為什么要不嫌麻煩地多讀書？”“今年如何多讀些書？”文章語言平實(shí)，卻道出了不少實(shí)用的讀書小竅門，但愿能幫你輕松提升閱讀量。

Over 40％ of Americans claim not to have read any books in the previous year. The survey was last conducted in 2002, and noted falling reading rates from previous years. I'm sure if you're reading through lifehack.org that you probably don't expect reading to stop after you graduate. Yet, with such dismal statistics, how can you beat the odds and read more books this year?

Why Bother Reading More?

I'm sure you've seen the advertisements where famous celebrities sit next to a stack of books they haven't read and tell you to read more. While I agree with the message, the posters take for granted that ordering you to read more is enough to convince you that you should bother.

I usually read 50-70 books each year and I believe it is one of the best investments of time and money I can make. But I wasn't really sold on the process of reading in my spare time until a few years ago. I might only have read four of five books outside of class in 2002. My decision to build the habit of reading more books came from being sold on the benefits of reading more. Here are some of the reasons to start:

Knowledge.

It only takes reading 10-20 books on a subject until you know more on that topic than most of the population. Read 200-300 books on a subject and you're an expert.

Flow.

Unlike the passive activity of television, reading takes mental effort. This mental effort results in keeping your mind sharp and engaged.

Self-improvement.

A book doesn't have to be in the self-help aisle in order to give you ideas for improvement. Great works of fiction, books on science, culture and philosophy are full of ideas that you can't get just from skimming an online article.

Awareness.

What's happening in the world? What trends are continuing into the future? Where is the world headed? Unfortunately just flicking through the 24-hour news programs on television are more likely to give you advice on the latest antics of Britney Spears than a broad perspective on the world.

Power.

Ignorance is not bliss. You can't change something you don't know about. Learning about yourself, science, culture and the world as a whole gives you a power most people lack—awareness.

Pride.

Not the most noble of benefits, but it still is a plus. Reading classic works of literature gives you the ability to know what people are referring to when they reference ideas like “doublethink”or quote Shakespeare.

Changed outlook.

This one is harder to realize until after you've read a few dozen books, but reading great books can completely change your outlook on life. Books force you to think, and while you may feel you're doing a good job of that already, they can make you think in ways you hadn't even considered.

There are many other reasons for reading and I suggest you come up with your own. But wanting to read more (like wanting to exercise, drink less or get promoted) doesn't make it so. Reading more books requires forming the right habits so that reading becomes an automatic activity, rather than a chore.

How to Read More Books This Year?

Here are a few tips for boosting the amount of books you can read:

Speed-reading.

Speed-reading has been attacked by all sorts of people for being fake, compromising understanding or based on junk-science. I think this is based on the misconception that speed-reading is all about a magical technique that allows you to blur through pages, rather than plain, common-sense habits to make reading faster. There are entire books on speed reading, but here are a few tips that have stuck with me since I first learned to speed read a few years ago:

Use a pointer.

Run your index finger beneath the text on the page. This keeps your eyes focused on a specific point on the page. After a week or two of adapting to using your finger, this can boost your reading rate considerably.

Practice read.

Practice reading means “reading”slightly faster than you can actually comprehend. While you won't get any new information from practice reading, this trains you to read without needing to sub vocalize (repeat the words in your head).

Start a morning ritual.

Recently I decided to set aside time for reading each morning. Following when I wake up at 5:30, I read for an hour and a half. This lets me squeeze in reading time on a schedule that would otherwise be too busy during the day. Even if you can only devote 15-30 minutes of reading each morning you can read 20-30 books each year.

One book at a time.

Trying to multi-task between books is wasting your time. My rule is that I should continue reading one book until I finish it, or decide to quit it entirely. Putting one book on hold to start another just crowds your to-do list.

Carry a book with you.

If you plan on going anywhere, keep a book with you and you can read if you are forced to wait. Throughout your day there are probably many moments where you have to wait for a few minutes in lines, during breaks or when traveling. Having a book with you means those moments aren't wasted.

Audio books.

Most popular books have audio versions. While the audio versions are more expensive (use the library), you can have something to play in your car when you are driving or in your iPod when walking around.

超過40％的美國人稱自己在過去一年里沒讀過書。上次開展這個(gè)調(diào)查是在2002年，那時(shí)的閱讀率與前些年相比已有明顯下降。我確信，如果你讀lifehack.org上的文章，你畢業(yè)后很可能不會(huì)停止閱讀。然而，面對(duì)如此凄慘的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)，你怎么才能戰(zhàn)勝不利條件，并在這一年里多讀些書呢？

為何要不嫌麻煩地多讀書？

相信你看過這樣的廣告：名人們坐在自己沒讀過的一堆書旁，告訴你要多讀些書。我贊成他們傳遞的信息，但這類廣告想當(dāng)然地認(rèn)為，命令你多讀些書就足以說服你——你應(yīng)該不嫌麻煩地去讀書。

我通常每年讀50～70本書，并相信這是時(shí)間和金錢的最佳投資方式之一。但實(shí)際上，直到幾年前，我才接受用空閑時(shí)間讀書這個(gè)觀念。我2002年在課外讀的書只有四五本。我決定培養(yǎng)多讀書的習(xí)慣，是因?yàn)槲医邮芰恕岸嘧x有益”的想法。開始多讀書的原因如下：

獲取知識(shí)

你只要讀10～20本關(guān)于某個(gè)主題的書，就會(huì)比大部分人都知道得多。讀200～300本關(guān)于某個(gè)主題的書，你就成了這行的專家。

活躍思維

和看電視這種被動(dòng)活動(dòng)不同，閱讀需要耗費(fèi)腦力。這種腦力活動(dòng)能讓你保持思維敏銳、思想集中。

自我提升

不一定得是放在“自助類”架上的書才能讓你獲得自我提升的理念。偉大的小說和科學(xué)、文化、哲學(xué)類書籍都充滿了你僅憑瀏覽網(wǎng)絡(luò)文章無法獲得的理念。

洞察世事

世界上正在發(fā)生什么事？未來事態(tài)將如何發(fā)展？整個(gè)世界將走向何方？不幸的是，每天24小時(shí)的電視新聞向你提供的很可能不是廣闊的全球視野，而是布蘭妮·斯皮爾斯1的最新八卦。

獲得能力

無知并非福祉。你無法改變你不了解的事物。學(xué)著了解你自己、科學(xué)、文化和整個(gè)世界，它將賜予你一種大多數(shù)人都缺乏的能力——洞察力。

驕傲自豪

這不是最高尚的好處，但不失為加分的亮點(diǎn)。如果你讀過經(jīng)典文學(xué)作品，起碼別人提及“雙重思想”2或引用莎士比亞的名句時(shí)，你能知道他們?cè)谡f什么。

改變看法

這一點(diǎn)比較難理解，除非你讀過許多書。然而，閱讀杰作可以徹底改變你對(duì)生活的看法。書籍迫使你去思考。你或許覺得自己現(xiàn)在很有想法，但它會(huì)讓你用前所未有的方式進(jìn)行思考。

此外還有很多閱讀的理由，我建議你找到自己的理由。但只是“想要”多讀些書（就像“想要”鍛煉、“想要”少喝酒、“想要”升職一樣）不會(huì)讓愿望成真。要讀更多的書，就要養(yǎng)成正確的習(xí)慣——讓閱讀成為自覺的行為，而非討厭的事情。

今年如何多讀些書？

以下是一些幫你提升閱讀量的訣竅：

快速閱讀

很多人抨擊快速閱讀，說它很虛偽、影響理解、以垃圾科學(xué)為基礎(chǔ)。我想這是因?yàn)槿藗冃拇嬲`解，認(rèn)為快速閱讀是能讓人一目十行的神奇技巧，而不是提升讀書速度的普通閱讀習(xí)慣。談快速閱讀的書很多，下面則是我自己使用多年的一些訣竅：

用手指示

用食指點(diǎn)著書頁上的文字。這能讓你的目光集中在書頁上的某一點(diǎn)。試著用手指這么邊點(diǎn)邊讀，一兩周后，你的閱讀效率會(huì)有顯著提升。

練習(xí)閱讀

這意味著“閱讀”的速度比你能理解的速度稍快一些?；蛟S你從中得不到什么新知識(shí)，卻可以改掉“默讀”的習(xí)慣，不用再在頭腦中重復(fù)每個(gè)單詞。

開始晨讀

最近，我決定每天早上擠出一點(diǎn)時(shí)間閱讀。我每天5:30起床后，讀一個(gè)半小時(shí)的書。這讓我從忙碌的日程里擠出了閱讀的時(shí)間，否則我白天太忙會(huì)沒時(shí)間讀書。即使你每天早上只能擠出15～30分鐘的時(shí)間閱讀，每年也能讀上20～30本書。

每次一本

同時(shí)讀幾本書只會(huì)浪費(fèi)時(shí)間。我的原則是堅(jiān)持讀一本書，一直讀到最后一頁或是我決定放棄時(shí)為止。一本書還沒讀完就開始讀另一本，這樣只會(huì)打亂你的讀書計(jì)劃。

隨身帶書

如果你準(zhǔn)備去某處，隨身帶本書吧，將等待時(shí)刻變成閱讀時(shí)光。一整天里，當(dāng)排隊(duì)等候、工間休息或在路上時(shí)，你很可能需要等待幾分鐘。隨身帶書意味著不會(huì)浪費(fèi)那些時(shí)間。

有聲讀物

大多數(shù)暢銷書都有“有聲版”。雖說有聲版比較昂貴（你可以從圖書館借閱），但你開車時(shí)可以在車上“聽書”，散步時(shí)也可以用iPod“聽書”。

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1．布蘭妮·斯皮爾斯，昵稱“小甜甜布蘭妮”，美國流行歌手，以個(gè)性十足的青春氣息和動(dòng)感強(qiáng)勁的舞姿著稱。

2．“雙重思想”是喬治·奧威爾在政治諷喻名作《1984》中自造的新詞，指一個(gè)人能同時(shí)接受兩套相互矛盾的理論。