Snippet: Do You Want to Read More Nonfiction Books?

Snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

Here’s one from Tevin Wax in a post called “Work Out Your Body and Your Soul”:

“If you read for just 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening, you’ll get through multiple books a year, even big books that demand your attention and focus”

I read a lot related to my work. Two of my StrengthsFinder strengths are "Learner” and “Input.” So researching a topic for a sermon is fun for me. Listening to podcasts and reading articles is fun and easy. These “snippets” posts are a way I try to leverage something I love to do.

But for some time now, listening to podcasts and articles (on the Voice Dream app) has been cutting into the time I use to devote to reading and listening to whole books.

So there’s a book I’ve been wanting to read for weeks now. Not just listen to it but read it carefully and mark highlights.

Reflecting on the above snippet, I realized I could have finished the book weeks ago by developing this simple 15/15 habit.

So I did it and finished it in about five days.

I’m a fairly slow reader so I have a hack I use when I want to read faster but need to highlight the book.

I download the book on Kindle and, as I read it on my iPad, I listen on Audible or Scribd at high speed on my iPhone.

It’s amazing!

I don’t know if it can work for most people, but I doubt just “giving it a try” is sufficient to determine if it works for you. You may have to train a little with practice.

But even reading slowly without my hack, the snippet is still true. You can read a lot of substantial books.

You can do the same thing with one of the new BibleProject courses or prayer or focused conversation with your spouse or a friend.

It adds up quickly. Three and a half hours a week by taking two 15 minute slots.

Give it a try!

Photo by Road Trip with Raj on Unsplash