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How Does a Digital Minimalist Find Interesting Books to Read?


Chapters

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0:9 Question for Cal about how a Digital Minimalist finds books to read
0:22 Cal's thoughts on reading
0:45 Cal's advice on to listen at his monthly books
1:18 Cal's thought on mental pull-ups for the brain

Transcript

I will do one more question here. This one's from Alexander, who asks, "How does a digital minimalist find interesting books to read?" Well, my advice here is don't overthink it. Books are interesting just by definition. It's someone who has thought a lot about something, be it a fictional world or an idea or a period of history or event, and they have put a lot of effort into getting their thoughts on the paper.

Just read. Don't overthink what you read. You're more likely to do more reading if you don't care so much about what it is exactly that you're reading. Go back and listen at the beginning of this episode or from last month or the month before the segments I do on the books I read each month, and you will see it is all over the place.

I'm not trying to impress anyone. I'm not trying to rigorously expand my knowledge of some niche area. I just wander all over the place. I've been obsessed recently with Hollywood figures. Why not? Let's read a bunch of books about that. I'll read random fiction. I'll throw in straight up self-help, but then I'll mix that in with essay collections and journalistic non-fiction.

I don't care. I grab stuff. I finish, like I need a new book, I grab stuff. I don't overthink it. You shouldn't overthink it either. Reading is like calisthenics for your ability to understand and think about the world. Don't sweat exactly what grip you're using on this metaphorical pull-up bar.

Just get on that bar most days and do some exercising.