How To Read Difficult Books 

I don't know about anybody else, but I have this problem of reading where I'll be into it and then, all of a sudden, my mind wanders off on the last thing the author wrote, but my eyes will still be going down the page without actually understanding anything. I'll go back to reread the passage, but sometimes I'll be reread the same passage 7 times.

Don't feel bad about selling books you've written in! I personally don't like to highlight, but I absolutely adore reading other people's notes, and I'll often buy a book entirely because someone has marked it up. It's a really neat way to get someone else's perspective :)

Rereading is especially important as you get older. Life circumstances and experiences give different meaning each time you reread a good book.

I simply Kant highlight a book

How to read difficult books? Slowly.

Re-reading is so important to me. When I'm reading a philosophy book, I usually blast through it once as quickly as possible, then I relax for a while and try to get a grasp of the text and then I go back, read the whole thing again very slowly and make notes (trying to rephrase the most important points) to really make sure I get it. It takes up a whole lot of time, but with dedication, there is nothing you will not be able to understand this way.

How to read a book is pure ideology *Sniff sniff*

2:43 cf. is originally short for the Latin "confer" which means compare.

"Highlighter" *eye twitches*

Being an inveterate reader since the age of 3 (I'm now in my 60s), I was delighted to discover that I've naturally employed all these tips along the way (except for reading while riding; I'm plagued by motion sickness which even pills don't allay) and they are all excellent. Thought you might like to know, though, I keep most of the books I've read, have for decades. Also being a conscientious highlighter and note taker (in books and separately), here's something to which you might look forward: Frequently I'll open a book I read years ago, become engaged in the notes I took and discover an enlightening intellectual diary!

I can't highlight books, it gives me pain. What I do is I stick a paper on the end page and, when I find something of interest, I write the page number, the line number and the word where the relevant Idea begins. So, for exemple, I can write 35.13.03, which means page 35, line 13 and third word. If the line is closer to the bottom of the page, I count from the bottom up and underline the number with the line in order to know that I must count lines from the bottom. If someone finds this helpful I will be glad to know that one book less is being hurt.

3:17-3:26 I mean, kids would draw dicks and write weird shit in my high school math textbooks, but the school would always reuse those, so I doubt those charities would mind very much :P

The timing for this was perfect! I just started Spinoza's "Ethics" and the way he structures his writing took me by surprise, it's very much like reading a code of some sort. Hopefully these tips will help me out, Thanks Olly!

I actually like to read used books because of what the previous readers highlighted or took notes on. I find it interesting to see what others found interesting.

My issue with reading is that I have severe ADHD. Concentrating on the text and actively digesting the information while keeping my mind from drifting off on a random cloud is very difficult. Does anyone here have tips for dealing with this issue?

This has all been really helpful. Now I may finally be able to comprehend the complexities of the literary masterpiece "Horrible Harry"👍🏿

Thanks for making this video. I love reading but lately I've been feeling more self conscious than usual about my intellect and how sometimes I struggle to read certain things due to ADD and depression. These tips and hearing about how you process your reading materials is not only helpful but comforting.

Why have your recent videos been all black and white? It looks a bit like the 'before' footage in ads

Super :) a very enjoyable video, thank you!

Thanks for the tips. As a dyslexic person I used to shy away from reading long or difficult text, still do really but I’ll give your tips a go and see if they help. I remember being told not to read two books, that focusing on one was better then splitting between two but I find I either get bored or I don’t remember what happened the previous chapter. I’ll see if your two books idea works better, thanks again. Love the videos.

I appreciate the tips very much, thanks.

Even though I am working in a somewhat different field, I am gearing up to take on a project that, done right, will be fairly research-heavy. I plan to make good use of these pointers; thank you for bringing my attention to some of the 'book taboos' that would have certainly held me back!!

Good timing, I was just in the process of trying to motivate myself to read tbh

Thanks Ollie This was much needed as I am pushing through Simulacra and Simulation.

You literally just explained how I read...I even had the same neurosis about rereading passages. Weird.

"Or, if I'm ever going home to Newcastle..." (with correct pronunciation) *HAMMERS LIKE BUTTON*

0:30 Books: This one's looking both of us at the same time! Olly: [Chattering]

This is just what I needed! Thanks mate

This wasn't a video on how to read difficult books (which I was expecting) and more just general tips on how to get the most out of books (you did well though, don't get me wrong!). If you have tips on reading actual difficult books, such as philosophy texts by Kant (very difficult language), then I would appreciate anything you could offer on this as well :)

Thank you so much for this video, I'll be entering uni soon and I found this particularly useful!

This was incredibly helpful! Thank you so much!

I'm so happy you mentioned you read two books at once. I tend to do that as well but never thought it was useful. Now I can take a better approach to reading...

Effective reading: engaging in the material. Thanks!

Thank you! This was very helpful! If you have any more tips at all please share!

your tips are really great and we could add some tips which I use: 6 find the purpose of why you are reading that book 7 try to watch the reviews or the implications of that book 8 figure out all the terminoligies in that book . I really enjoyed the video thanks olly

I have a thrifted copy of The Pleasure of Text by Barthes and it’s scribbled, circled, underlined and written all over. That adds to the charm.

Currently doing my PhD, and fuck yeah - TEAM HIGHLIGHTER! I am glad I am not the only one. I want to add to the tips you gave in the video that I found it really helpful to index articles and books. I highlight them, assign indexes and write down what is on each page. The indexed points then go onto index cards (of course, this can also be done on a computer, but I am extremely haptic when it comes to study and need to write things by hand).

I still can't quite believe how awesome this channel and it's viewers are!

I used highlighters in books for a while, but later found it more helpful to use those little mini-sticky notes. Easier to find than flipping through for a highlighted passage, plus you can write short notations on the sticky note. And, you don't have to mark up the book!

I fucking love this channel

Thank you! From someone who has auditory processing disorder which is basically I have reading comprehension difficulties, I've always question why other RU-vidrs like yourself read a lot. So, I am happy to find someone thought of making a video about their suggestions. I will try follow your suggestion. I am following your suggestion right now. Recently, I've try just reading three books(like the beginning of the week). Two books at home and one book on the go. The book that is on the go is a graphic novel or comic because it is easier for me to immediately to get into the book and out of the book when the bus stop(the graphic novel that I am reading is Persepolis). For the books that I read at home, I have a difficult book (like Gravity's Rainbow), and I read for an hour. After I read this difficult book, I read a book that is less difficult (like The Alchemist), and I read this for thirty minutes. This is an experiment that I will probably continue. I probably will start marking my book since Gravity's Rainbow is difficult to follow or have the audiobook in the background reading it because I tend to mark my book when I hear it being read. I felt I should share this.

Can you make a master list of your favorite philosophy books that you reccomend to others? I've been binging your videos for the past few days and think what you are doing is wonderful. Thanks!

Great tips, really like those glasses on you too!

DO NOT HIGHLIGT OR UNDERLINE BOOK WHICH ARE NOT YOUR OWN!!! It not only pisses librarians, but it pisses people like me too. I hate to read books which are full of notes and lines, especially when I'm reading phylosophical, pscychological (...) ones when I want to challenge myself mentally and to figure out things on my own way, not in someone else's footprints. I'm also working at a library where we are digitalizing books and highlights simpy just makes our work harder :D

One thing I found really helpful is reading with some friends/starting a book club. I tried and failed to read nietzsche's thus spoke zarathustra a few times and then I found some other friends who were also having trouble with it. We would meet up once a week or so to discuss some concepts or go over tricky parts together. Not only did it help us understand better but it also forced us to actually read it, the same way starting a workout group forces you to go to the gym.

the "read two books at once" tip is similar to my general approach to my work as a technologist: i find i am more effective with research & development if i am working on more than one project at a time; i'll find novel solutions to related issues/concerns and apply them across seemingly-unrelated tasks.

I often get lost in a book. I have to be careful that I don't have anything too important to do on these occasions. I will try adding another book and see if that helps. It is a very good idea. Thanks! :)

Highlighting a book is very useful for rereading it. A lot of the time I want to reread a book but don't want to go through the whole thing I have trouble trying to find the important parts, but if I've already highlighted it I can find them easily.

Thanks for the mary shelley rec

Hi, I'm a colleges student studying a level philosophy, history and politics. I just wanted to say thanks for this video it's really helpful with my reading for my subjects but also for my own personal studying of anarchism and the post left. Thanks for making this video :)

My instinct is for some reason that I'm not allowed to read more than one book at once, like I'm not showing enough commitment to the book in hand or something?? But the way you explained it makes perfect sense. I'm going to start reading two books together, perhaps a theory book I find extra challenging, teamed with a more straightforward, methods-based book (PhD student) to contrast.

Thanks for the helpful tips past Abi

thank you those are very helpful for reading in general but i have to say not for reading stuff to write an assignment about a specific topic in my opinion. first i can't highlight in books from the library. i can't read on the go because i am sitting at home reading and writing and i can't read another different book, because i am reading like 5 books but all on one topic and i don't have the time to read another totally different book and reading two books on the same topic but switching constantly is sometimes confusing. But this video was clearly not made for such kind of reading but meant for general reading of difficult books and i like the tips for that. i am looking forward to the time i can read out of pure interest again.

Also, it sounds like something silly, but following the text with your finger speeds up reading by a massive amount, because it's less easy to miss things and also easier not to get lost. I would only recommend it for when you're in a rush, though, because it looks kind of silly.

thank you so much for this

Excellent video.

Thank you!

Another great tip is don't be afraid to read reviews! Many academic books (especially recent ones) will be reviewed in journals maybe even more than one. They're helpful for getting the big overview of the book, especially if the author's prose is challenging.

You look cute with glasses!

Captain's log, 2019: It is day 4 of reading Finnegans Wake. I've just passed the 50 page mark. Conclusion thus far: I have no idea wtf I am reading.

I know that I am late to comment on this. I just found the channel and have been binge-watching. I also have a strategy that will make most people cringe, but I found it incredibly helpful (especially reading books unrelated to my field in which I have little personal or educational background or context). If I know that a text is especially difficult to read, I will sometimes buy the cliff's notes or look up others' summaries and reviews of the book. Then, I will read a portion of the text, read the cliff's notes on that section, think about it, and then read that portion again if I want a deeper understanding or do not agree with the outside information. PLEASE NOTE: I actually read the text and do not read the cliff's notes in place of the actual text.

I usually find it very hard to focus on reading because of adhd but i will be trying out this advice! Specially the highlighting one because sounds like itd make it more fun n engaging

I'm just starting to read philosophy. And my biggest problem is that I don't know where to begin. There is just too much to read. Do you have any lists of philo books that I could start with? Thanks

How many books have you read this year? I've read 30 *virtue signalling intensifies* which is a lot compared to some of my friends, but I'm also heavily dyslexic. I've always read a lot and pushed myself, but I also find it a chore and the words can blur together. I sometimes wonder if I'd be able to read many more if I wasn't dyslexic, and it makes me kind of sad because it's both something I love a lot and struggle with.

Reading has always been hard for me, ever since I was a kid. I don't have dyslexia but I do have ADD and reading just wasn't a strong suit for me. I've found that audio books help me a lot because it keeps me on pace with the story and helps with processing the actual words. For some reason I have a hard time with taking words from a page and actually absorbing them into my mind when I'm just reading. Narration and reading is perfect.

That last tips really hits home. When I was a kid, my parents sorta used to brag to others how their kid (i.e me) is such a bookworm, could read thick books, read fast, and a lot. This kinda gets into me, making me feel too "embarrassed" to reread chapters or passages when I don't understand it. Now I know better, thanks Olly.

I do the exact same things. I made it a habit to purchase the books that I found interesting in the library to take advantage of highlighters and side notes. I use Audible for more clarity to verify that I know what I know. With blogging, I have a habit of going back to re-read books or replay Audibles to recall various points that I wish to make. Re-reading does spark more moments of insight at times.

Thank you

I've got that exact same edition of Shakespeare's complete works. One of the best books I own!

Highlights and notes are the most fascinating thing to study. In old books you can see whose book was it. If it was passed on or belonged to someone interesting. And in recent books it's good to see someones perspective. Others might pay attention to something i would miss otherwise!

yeah I agree to read two books at once( even though i already read like five books at once wich does help me a lot )

background music is too foreground. Why have moozac anyway?

*Goes into a library full of medieval manuscripts with a big fat green highlighter*

Tear a piece of paper, use it as a bookmark and also use it to highlight points of interest by writing on the paper. Make up your own shorthand. For example, "69.13" - plato life For page 69, line 13, the quotation marks for a quote, about life by Plato. Or just the page number and "- statistics" or whatever you're referencing. If you want to write out more, just place more bits of paper (maybe a full sheet hid and folded at the back page) or use post it notes. And if you really really have to write in the book because you're scum then just use a pencil ✏

I bounced off of The Last Man. Reading it was like wading through treacle. I kept waiting for the plot to get started.

Hi Librarian (sorta, just finishing my masters in it this month and I've worked in libraries) here, just maybe don't mark in the library book or just remember. However, more likely, we won't notice or care. We replace books all the time. Don't sweat it

Any tips particularly for reading those racoon crusher books like Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, Being and Time by Heidegger, or all of DAS KAPITAL? Got real bloody minded and brute force with hegel after about the halfway mark and the burn out was real. I'm too intimidated by taking on one of those big ass books to start soon, but as a future PhD student I know I gotta take em down eventually.

Also if taking notes a good method is making a dialectical journal. Basically take a page and divide it in two and when you have an important passage either copy it and the page number/line number( if you don't want to keep opening the book like when you have an essay to write) or just write the page number and in the other column write your comments questions criticisms references and the like so you have an ongoing discussion written down as you go along. In that way you have a discussion with the book/author/characters/ideas, rather than just summaries.

Another tip, and one that's been researched and proven to make a huge difference (kind of akin to tip 5), reread the book, not once, but twice. To really absorb the information sufficiently, it's been shown that reading a book 3 times makes a huge difference. Reading twice is good as well, but according to cognitive research, three times is significantly more impactful than two. Cheers 🍻✌🏼

One thing I do with difficult books is what I like to call translation. In Kant for example there are parts which, if not in need of a literal translation, need to be rearticulated. So something like "the synthesis of the manifold of our phenomena" ought to be explained in a way that a philosophically unsavvy friend would understand it too.

Good to know you mr philosophy tube. can you give more idea how to read book and how to easy to remember it? Cause im a slow learner and who to read love philosophy book. Thanks.

One tip that helps me especially with more academically inclined literature, read aloud. I first picked up the trick from my own acting experience for memorizing dialogue, at university I found it's also effective for retaining more boring academically inclined literature as well. It doesn't even necessarily have to be read aloud at full volume, even just mouthing along under your breath as you read can make a difference.

"hey philosophy tube, Olly here!"

God! that is VERY HELPFULLY VIDEO thanks!! you just save my education

I’ve always had trouble reading, but I just started audio book-ing and it’s working really well for me - but am maybe feeling a little bad about not taking notes or anything. Listening to Native Son right now, just sharing lol.

I used to highlight text in my books, fiction or non, but switched to sticking post-it notes in them instead as I felt like a vandal....... It's a difficult one, as with academic books it can be more necessary to do it, yet to me it still feels like I'm committing a cardinal sin. So much so that I've bought second copies of many books I had previously highlighted/written in.

Love it.

Can you make a video about acting techniques? I know it's not the channel's theme but it would be so cool

Instead of a highlighter, I use a pencil. It can be erased (even from library books) and it's not as "intrusive". Also, I don't write anything between the lines, but on the margins, and instead of underlining, I draw a vertical line

"How do I read so many books so quickly?" Any philosopher who's watched her Kant video: "She doesn't."

I quite like reading other people’s notes in second hand books

What are your thoughts on Albert Camus? The School of Life did a video about him but, of course, they missed all the cool stuff like his involvement with Anarchist movements and his antagonistic relationship with his existential contemporaries.

0:55 I read Ahmed's "Queer Phenomenology." I greatly enjoyed it but haven't peeped anything else by her. Would you recommend what you've read so far by her?

How broadly do you read in nonfiction beyond philosophy? To what degree do other disciplines ever inform the way you think about topics in philosophy?

wow you still look MAJESTIC

When you say read two books at the same time, do you mean switch between two books in one reading session or have two books on the go separately?

It's easier for me to make a checkmark by the paragraph or bracket it, a star by favorites sentences. Less trouble and less damage.

I could NOT start highlighting things in books I would start highlighting everything 😂

There is a book that acts as if you are reading two books at once and that is H.G.Well's A Modern Utopia It primarily a political philosophy of a proposed Utopia and upon reading is very reflective of its time and place, (eugenics, socialism, and progressivism all being favoured), it is a wonderful mix of fiction and non-fiction and will alternate between chapters or at the opening or closing of a chapter allowing that time to consider the ideas and absorb them.

I use, like, uhhh those really thin sticky label things which I use instead of using highlighters and writing notes on the book. I do this because I don't like "damaging" books and I lend them out to a number of people, who might not appreciate it lol.