How to read 'heavy' books?

[UniversalSet]

Hello everybody! How read heavy books like 'Origin of Spices', Adam Smith, Plato (philosophy, history, engineering, mathematics books?) It worthless to read like novel, but how else? Take notes? But how? Im 'beginner' in reading, and would like listen any your advice.

[Sharill Rasowo]

Most people would disapprove of this but if I were a new reader, I would go for the simplified versions of the books. Thats what I used to do when I was given assignments involving heavy books.

[lisalynn]

Heavy books take a lot of time, slow reading, short stints, and a lot of contemplation about what you just read.

[luz0928]

Maybe if you concentrate more and have a schedule to read a certain amount of pages each day. That way the reading can become a habit.

[CinWin]

Why are you trying to read "heavy" books if you don't enjoy them? Life is too short.

[DATo]

Most people would disapprove of this but if I were a new reader, I would go for the simplified versions of the books. Thats what I used to do when I was given assignments involving heavy books.

I agree with you. Sometimes it is better to read a critique or a book ABOUT the book rather than attempting to read from the original source.

Possibly of interest ..... There is a branch of the website Spark Notes which is called "No Fear Shakespeare" (Google it) which "translates" the original Shakespeare into everyday modern language. It is quite useful. I pride myself on believing that I am pretty good at interpreting Shakespeare but I recently found that I was wrong in one instance and probably in many more.

For example: I learned in the No Fear Shakespeare translation that at the end of the play, Midsummer Night Dream Puck says, "Give me your hand if we be friends and Robin shall restore amends." I always thought Puck was asking to shake our hand in saying goodbye, instead he is addressing the audience at the play through "the fourth window" and asking for applause ("...give us your hand") for the play, and if the play wasn't good enough, if still applauded, Robin (Shakespeare talking through Puck) will "restore amends" (write a better one in the future to repay the debt of the applause).

/

[ChillyBookworm]

I've also wondered this - I've got The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene on my bookshelf waiting to be read but it's very heavy with physics (and I even did an astrophysics degree!), and takes a lot of effort to stay focused and absorb what it's telling you. I think maybe the best way is to take it slow, maybe have another book on the go at the same time that is much lighter and easier to read, so that you can switch back and forth?

[SunVixen]

Hello everybody! How read heavy books like 'Origin of Spices', Adam Smith, Plato (philosophy, history, engineering, mathematics books?) It worthless to read like novel, but how else? Take notes? But how? Im 'beginner' in reading, and would like listen any your advice.

I like to read "heavy" books (history, economics, psychology), but this is simply because I like history, economics and psychology. If you like some kind of science, then reading "heavy" books on this science will be very easy for you.
However, if I had to read a book about engineering, I would read it with difficulty. Therefore, you must first choose which science you like and start reading books on this science. For example, if you like biology, then you can start with "Origin of Spices", ets.

[Maria Esposito]

I've always been reading and yet have a hard time going through certain books. so don't feel bad about that! For example, I recently struggled with Simone de Beauvoir's "the second sex". The book is close to 1,000 pages, so I decided to take plenty of time to go through it as I continued reading other books alongside it. I gave myself a year and set a number of pages/chapters that I'd read each week. So my advice is:
- don't just read that one 'heavy' book. read it alongside books that are more light hearted.
- do a weekly or monthly plan about how many pages or chapters you're going to read each time, and in how long you want to finish the book. keep colorful sticky notes with timestamps/deadlines in between the pages.
- for each section of the book, take notes, in your own words, of the key takeaways. share them on your social media or with your friends, and have discussions about them.

[HarryPotterLibrary22]

If I'm reading a 'heavy' book I will normally follow it with a much shorter, light-hearted read or be listening to a fun audiobook at the same time

[Jolyon Trevelyan]

With my eyes.

[Henrytbab]

Hello everybody! How read heavy books like 'Origin of Spices', Adam Smith, Plato (philosophy, history, engineering, mathematics books?) It worthless to read like novel, but how else? Take notes? But how? Im 'beginner' in reading, and would like listen any your advice.

If you really want to understand them, I would say you should take as much time as you want.

[Yearly Joy Besoy]

I mostly read heavy books by reading through a couple of chapters then I will take a break before continuing.

[readsbyarun]

Heavy books are sometimes difficult to read. but reading on different small phases would definitely help you in reading it.

[Bigwig1973]

I always try to read a book as if it were a story the first time around because in the case the writer intended it to be a story, then I will be more likely to pick up on those elements. This also helps your mind to become familiar with the writing style and terminology, helpful when dealing with older writing that contains words that are esoteric and archaic. My parents basement was full of books and I was reading books (Like Lines and Shadows,The GodfatherThe Scarlet Letter, Sherlock Holmes, Edgar Allen Poe, Time Life Books) that had so many words and concepts that were totally unfamiliar to me. It would have been a terrible chore to look up every word I didn't recognize in the dictionary because there were simply too many. Looking them up would ruin the story! I generally skip the preface to books for a first read because I don't mind spending time to gain that first initial reaction and to keep it my own. However, a lot of people, most people probably would disagree because knowing the purpose of a book or why it was written allows you to adjust your mind - like the difference between watching a comedy and a documentary, I guess. Why you are trying to read these books might be a good question to answer for yourself. Because they are a challenge? Because it's on your list of things to do? Because you want to learn? What do you want to learn? Some books are harder than others. I was disappointed in War and Peace because it is so built up and realized later that because I grew up in the U.S. rather than Russia, I had a harder time keeping the characters straight because there are a lot of characters in the novel, oftentimes with similar names all which were unfamiliar to me at the time - the story for me got lost just keeping the characters straight. I felt as I were a bad person but, since I loved Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, I wasn't totally awful. Some books, I believe, are supposed to be hard because they are intended for people who think like the writer or because the subject itself is very hard. In many cases, it would be similar to trying to read a book written by a mechanic for mechanics using terminology and language mechanics understand and for the purpose of winning or settling a debate which the mechanic also assumes the reader knows and understands. At least with a lot of philosophy this seems to be that case. Books like those often need to be read with a math mind set, rather than in story mode. Or when you're in the mood for organizing something. Etc. Good luck!