Don't Read Another Book Until You Watch This 

"It's not about how many books you go through, it's about how many books go through you"

Damnit, I just saw a book titled "Don't watch another youtube video until you read this!". What should I do?

The real title of the video should have been: "Don't read another self-help nonfiction book until you watch this".

Not quite. Novels bring you joy even if they're not useful for your daily life and even if you can't implement them in a real context. Reading widens your vocabulary, strengthens your imagination and teaches you general knowledge.

I've literally read my whole library back when I was a kid. I've certainly read more than anybody I know. All of those were fantasy books and the amount of books who "went through me" is probably marginal. Nonetheless I'm eloquent af in my mother tongue, I've not seen a word I didn't know the meaning of more than once a year after 5th grade and my writing and reading comprehension were always miles above my peers. Yes this time could've been spent reading "better" books but just reading fantasy bs as leisure is going to do your brain massive good anyways. Not everything has to be productive and pinpointed to a goal all the time.

This is so true. I remember I tried to read the book "Refuse to choose" by Barbara Sher because a friend of mine told me it was life changing. The problem is that I wasn't interested in the topic of the book at all. Indeed it took me over 2 months to read a 280 pages book that I now barely remember. On the other hand I decided to start the book "Unscripted" by M. J. DeMarco because I was genuinely interested in the topic and I really enjoyed it, his words were like a gold waterfall flowing into my brain and I finished the book in 2 days because I couldn't stop reading... that book have 420 pages.

I feel like this video is about non-fiction books only, this probably should be mentioned in a vid.

Stopped reading my book to watch this video. Information makes sense. Gotta continue to read my book now.

Littered throughout this video Andrew makes claims such as “most books give you the 80/20 of its content in the first chapter”, “you should feel urgency when you’re reading books” and to try to “drive up the speed of audiobooks” without any arguments to support them. He commonly makes these types of claims as if they were derived a priori. The problem with this, as well as the content of all these other RU-vidrs who are so enthralled with the notions of hyper-productivity, output, and efficiency that famously pervade American culture and now ever-increasingly the rest of the first world is that they fail to consider the possibility that there are more ways to live one’s life than to start your day off time-boxing every 5 minutes of your 16 waking hours with optimized workflows and maximum output as if one’s a carbon-based machine learning algorithm. Similarly, there are more ways than one to establishing a relationship with books, and constructing a prescriptive list for people on how they should approach books is ironically an unwise thing to do in my opinion. As far as I can tell for these productivity RU-vidrs, 90% of their libraries are only composed of self-help books, and they by in large all read the same exact thing. The predictable outcome is that they all form a conceptual framework on the nature of books that comically fails to consider every single other genre of books that exists. Literature is almost never mentioned and non-fiction doesn’t seem to exist for them. Reading for pleasure is an idea outrightly ignored because it clashes with the drive to squeeze the productivity out of everything. If you’re reading books on history or mythology, there are no 80/20 life hacks. Books on philosophy often ask the reader to slow down even further than their normal reading speed and to ponder the book with much time, with which one’s thoughts may evolve with multiple rereadings, rather than speeding up and posting your final summary on Notion. There are many other examples of approach that failed to be considered. There is simply no nuance in these videos, unfortunately. Just some constructive criticism. I am actually a fan of Andrew, Thomas Frank, and all those other guys. I have the instinct and temperament to quantify everything as well, but that can be just as illusory as viewing life in a binary of compulsory efficiency vs wrongful inefficiency, which is the moral framework we are now all prescribed in the 21st century where CEOs and entrepreneurs posture themselves as the authentic deliverers of wisdom.

"Don't Just Read Books, Show That Through Them You Have Learned To Think Better, To Be A More Discriminating And Reflective Person." - Epictetus

Remember to maintain a good posture when reading

Yes!!!! Reading is one of the best gifts we can give ourselves. We can learn just about anything through reading ♥️

Overall, I really liked the video, but as someone who actually has a learning disorder I feel that the comparison of forcing yourself to read as "giving" yourself a learning disability was in poor taste.

Well, shit. I just bought "Don't watch another video until you read this book" on amazon. Now i'm screwed.

"employ your time in improving yourself by other mens writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have laboured hard for"...... Socrates

I always invest in books. Fearlessly. I love it when authors say things like "this took me 15 years to realize". It just took ME 15 dollars.

Ur timing is perfect, thx alot

I spent so much time reading 'the classics' and the 'bestsellers' and then realized I liked the books I read in middle school (a lot of Percy Jackson, Ranger's Apprectice, and trashy sci fi) better so now I read that instead.

Man you are a Guru. I have involuntarily done this before watching your video. This makes so much sense.

"You are experiencing someone else's lifetime" will be a fascinating mindset for me to enter Star Wars: Thrawn with.

This is awesome. What's really awesome is that I have naturally been doing this without realizing it. Thank you for your videos

I grabbed a best Dating book, I went through it. I finished reading this book last 2 months back . But am still single . You know why? I didn't took any action on information mentioned from dating book. In this book , author precisely mentioned to go out and approach girls as much as possible. But I didn't. I just read book , ideas presented in that book made me excited, i grabbed a cup of coffee and and I kept it back to my wardrobe. That's it. Nothing happened. Am still single broken guy.. So here is my takeaway, no matter how many books u read, u must go out and try and take action. Do something about your idea/information. Execute, fail, fall, get critics, ..That's how u progress. Anyway am i start to approch girls from this new year 2021. Wish me good luck guys 😉😀

I love how your passion seeps through your words as you explain :)

Dude. You’re the best.

I'm listening to this video 2x speed: I think it was worth it.

I think it's always good to focus on a certain subject while choosing your books, so you can relate concepts of the books to make more connections.

This is the second time I watch the video. Man, this is pure gold. It’s so good that I’m shocked as with the first time. Keep up the good content!

This channel deserve 5star 🌌

I'm new to your channel but I learned more than I could ever imagine thank you so much now I know how to read better than I used to

I have dyslexia and always had trouble reading but I love picking up a real physical book to read. I actually started listening to the audio while I read and I noticed now much easier it was for me to both read and retain the book. Even with a reading disorder that trick really does work

1. If you're reading a classic work and it's hard going, that usually means you are provoking your limits. To extend your limits (increase understanding, increase level of being) you have to provoke your limits. 2. Books reside in a hierarchy. Think of a mountain. Genre type books are at the base of the mountain; the greatest classics are at the summit. The higher up the mountain the more rare the books are and usually the more effort of attention is needed to engage them. Many mystery novels, few epic poems. 3. Some books contain language like higher visual language, or even if it's just concepts and words, that once you have it in you you are able to see and know things you couldn't see or know without having that new language in you. This means some books you just have to read on faith that it is above you. If you put value only in what entertains you or holds your interest you will miss this.

I respectfully disagree. I read about 6 hours a day, and I love every moment of it, because I feel bigger after learning something difficult. But the thing is, I dont read books that arent technical in nature. Im a programmer, robotics engineer and technology nerd in general, and all the books I read are about protocols, design patterns, in depth reference of a language, data streaming technologies, deep learning, astronomy, visual graphics, game design, computer vision, and many more. But each an every single chapter of the books I read taught me something, and sometimes the concepts are so awesome that I end up reading a whole book again. I know for most people reading a lot is not good, but in my case, reading makes me feel like Im evolving, things I thought were difficult years ago, are totally easy now. And I excercise a lot every single day, sometimes I read while exercising. I feel like I have superpowers, and the best part is that every single day I get better. I get shivers just thinking how im gonna be in a year from now. I think that we totally underestimate the real power of the human body. Just look at the placebo effect. Its a proof that our body is way more capable than we think it is. Dont underestimate yourself, you have only one chance of living. Why not try to be better every single day and see where life takes you? for me, its been an awesome journey, and Im just starting.

I've been beating myself up for collecting more books than I actually read, not knowing what good it could actually bring.

Reading is a habit that one needs to create. And generally the desire for reading exists in every person, you just have to put yourself into a position to get a book of your interest and to feel that joy of reading good literature.

I have hyperlexia and I can not even fathom the fallacious belief that people think reading is boring. It’s free knowledge.

Wow. Amazing Video. Thank you so much Andrew.

My YT is filled with so many productive people, every title on my home page be like ‘How I study 10 hours a day’ or, how this helped me form a business. Why can’t we just have fun?

I like the JIT and JIC! Thanks!

that's absolutely right

I like to listen to audiobooks because it's like listening to an interesting podcast while doing something else at the same time.

I have to say you are full of good ideas, thank you so much for passing on your wisdom :-)

A channel called “productivity game” summarizes books if it helps anyone.

Brilliant points!

Yo, that JIT va JIC metaphor is eye opening

I'd say that YT is a better use of time than reading. It's free, you go straight to the answer to your question, and you're done in a few minutes

This is a great video, I found this most rewarding as I'm already doing all of this pretty much 80% One thing I've found helps strengthen your own personal foundation of learning is always going back to the beginning and hearing from someone else on the same subject. I also like to approach a subject in which case I haven't a clue by 360 so buying books by different authors on the same subject or on similar subjects as the information I have found through experiences always connects first within your subconscious. One last thing audiobooks and reading the same book can really help with learning a new language, Great channel. 2021 Will be the greatest year for all of us, truly magical, God bless!

love this channel

Thanks dood. Very helpful indeed. Nice looks too

I hating reading in school! But once I started choosing the books I wanted to read, it was way more enjoyable and beneficial for me. Great video! 😁

This was an absolute pleasure to watch! Took so many valuable notes! Thankyou for your WISDOM!

Truly, this is something that everyone would gain tremendous value from before starting a reading habit. Like Andrew said, it will save hundreds of hours that could get wasted reading books that one would never really implement.

I live by this and love it

I have horrible ADHD. I’ve been trying to read more to help my working memory (something with ADHD) people are poor with). Ehhh I started a book but retained nothing so now I’m starting a different book. I’m sticking to short books for now. Wish me luck

Totally makes sense. When you pick a book/habit you don't like, you basically self-sabotage. Do yourself a favor and pick something you can enjoy that has a good deal of carryover into a major goal of yours and do that! Everything else means slow and painful progress

Good advice altogether, though I prefer nonfiction as they're just pure fun, and can sometimes teach you more about life than any self-help book ever could.

Nobody : Me watching this video : dammm he is wise, I wonder where he got all his wisdom from...

Even if something is productive It doesn't mean you should do it So good 😍😘

This was a very value video. As someone who's consuming as much self improvement content as possible at this stage in my life, I needed to hear this! Thank you Andrew Kirby

Love u man

"It's about how many books go through you" 😳

It may not be worth it to increase the speed of audio books. Doing so makes it more challenging to absorb all the information, and ultimately results in having less time to reflect on what the book was getting at--which is the most important part of reading.

11:52 actually this is the trick i use when i am in a crowded area or too many family members in a room.....

Wow, Great Video. Thanks

Yes Andrew! Excited for this one

I'm a university student, currently studying business and IT. Despite this I really enjoy reading about physics, astronomy, biology... Even though they don't give me information I can apply in my everyday life I really enjoy reading about these topics, not because they are useful but because they are interesting. I therefore don't really agree with some points you made here

I am now halfway through the video and a thought just popped up in my head: There can also be a right time for a book. A few months ago, I began reading "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert and it was "okay". I put it away and a week ago I started it ago (don't know why) and it changed something in my thinking! I don't know yet, if the book was life-changing, but the book went through me!

He runs this channel super smart, making this a video series encourages watching all the other ones right then and there= high engagement and watch time. Also when he publishes privated videos per link viewers feel like it's some exclusive knowledge and don't want to miss out. Make videos about strategies for running a RU-vid channel pls.

3:02 no my friend. Knowledge is power, but knowledge without action is useless, if you know how to change your life is not the same as actually doing it. Many people know what is procastination or bad habits that they regret, but they keep doing them regardless.

Thank you !!!!!!!

I bow down to you. Thanks for this wonderful videos and for sharing your valuable knowledge.

Read what you know will be beneficial to you. Sometimes self help just turns into shelf help if it’s of no interest😆

I agree 💯% , it's about how many books go through u.👍

summary " read only when you need to deep dive in topic and when you are excited".

Great points! Reading and listening engages more of the brain and helps with that recall and absorption!

When he said listen to your heart near the end of the video I immediately heard the song: listen to your heart by Roxette.

This was an incredible video😍 Thank you!

I have a concern with your talk, perhaps it is because we are from different countries or generations. I agree that Knowledge is Power. I believe that Wisdom is the effective use of Knowledge. I do not believe that Knowledge and Wisdom are interchangeable. Far too many times, I have seen Knowledge misused for selfish reasons to the detriment of others; I believe that this is not Wisdom, but Foolishness. What are your thoughts on this?

I agree, very brilliant observations, this is exactly how I approach books, except for listening at 2x, that's just dumb, if you don' have time to listen to it at 1x then just skip it

i wanna hug you because i love your content!!! so valuable 🙃💫

Well Mr. Kirby, good Job. But it gets interesting when the tension field between self-optimization, human-mechanization and feeling is ... tensed. MORE MORE MORE.

i used the simultaneous audiobook + book (usually pdf from gutenburg lmao) combo all the time in school it definitely helped me keep my attention for hours at a time the night before the report was due

Nice one 🙌

It doesn't matter how many books you go through, it's how many books go through you~Andrew❤️

I really loved this advise, thx for existing!

So much valuable information in this video 🙌🏻thank you 🙏🏻

Reminds me of how Erich Fromm explained the difference between a having and a being mindset by the way people read books. btw: I do judge books by their cover. I often buy books, because I like how their cover looks or even feels. So far not a single one among them I didn't enjoy reading. A few even became some of my fav books.

The first question an intelligent person asks when reading is "What do I intend to do with this information."?

Tai Lopez made the trend that the more you read, the more successful you'll be... What a load of self-help crap

Love from INDIA 🇮🇳

Surely reading a book is an exercise in visualisation and processing that's going to be good for your brain whether or not it's going to make you a super rich entrepreneur or whatever. Which I think is the point of this channel?

"books aren't popularity contest. They should be a value contest". No truer word has been said. I remember when I picked up twilight or 50 shades of grey because they were popular. I cringed and regretted every penny I spent. Versus when I picked up the Alchemist or MJ DeMarco's book, that was ANOTHER story. It seemed time flew by wayy too quick when I was reading them.

Thank you for this video, salam from Indonesia 🇲🇨

Dang.... It took me like... A few days to realize that the 7th day is literally dopamine detox and not a video about dopamine detox for the challenge

First research on Google on what book to read and what not! That's very important. I have read a lot of self development books and found out they have one central idea and they explain it in like 400 pages with examples. You just need the gist of that and not more . Otherwise you are wasting your time. Don't read a book from start to finish unless it is a textbook of ultra Pro max quality and that matter s to you .

Loved this video Thank you so much 💙

Thanks Mr. Gopnik, for the advice & saving my time! ;D

Pro Tip - Goodwill Books, a lot of times the books are in almost mint condition and you can find all sorts of great finds for $1-3 a book. (Go to goodwill in higher income communities and college communities.)

A Young man with such a great knowledge of analysing information. i really appreaciate your videos just like you said we gain knowledge of a life time in just a few hours by exploring books that really interest us in our current situation.

What are the best books to read to learn how to learn and read quicker?