Reading Summaries Is Not the Same as Reading Books
Summaries are tools that we use to understand the books we read, and here’s how to use them effectively for reading.
Reading a summary doesn’t count as reading a book.
One time, I saw my friend wanted to read a book, and he said, “Let me check the summary on Youtube or Google.” I thought it was a good idea before reading the real book or buying it. Even so, he didn’t read the book. He just watched and read the summaries, then avoided reading the book.
He was actually interested in reading the book, but he didn’t actually read it. I feel a little bit disappointed because it was a good habit to build by reading books, which I was trying to build too at that moment.
Even so, he didn’t try to read books and just find a “shortcut” to the implementation guide or summaries.
The problem with summaries
It’s just a brief explanation or understanding from the writer who reads the book.
For example, if I made a summary of Atomic Habits by James Clear, it wouldn’t be the same as what you would understand if you read it yourself.
This is why reading a book summary doesn’t work the same as reading a book.
You are not actually experiencing the real book.
If you have a friend who knows what driving a car looks like without really experiencing driving a car, do you really trust him to drive your car? Well, that would not be a good idea.
It is the same as reading summaries from a book.
You don’t feel or really get into what the author is trying to say or explain in the book because you just read the summary or a small explanation. That small explanation, even if not from the author itself, sometimes ends up with a different interpretation.
That’s why we can’t replace summaries with reading the actual book.
Summaries are addicting sometimes.
I have tried reading summaries from a great writer or billionaire like Bill Gates book summaries, and I found it interesting.
Not all of the summaries can be easily understood, but you can search for them from other people or on Google; there are tons of summaries. From the great writer or even the author itself, it could be addicting to read their own summaries of the book they read or wrote. I personally like to hear or watch some YouTube video summaries to really understand the book through visualization.
It helps me understand more than just some words.
Even so, it doesn’t really give me the real feeling of the book.
It’s just like I know it, but it didn’t hit me in my mind.
It’s like watching a Youtube tutorial or content.
This is why I stop reading or watching summaries too much and really do “the thing,” which is reading the book itself, because reading summaries doesn’t really mean reading the book itself.
Summaries are optional.
Summaries are not useless if you use them properly as guidance.
Summaries are not useless if you are using them for the right purpose.
Summaries are not useless if you are using them to improve your reading comprehension.
1. Book summaries are a tool.
Tools are not useless if we know how to use them.
The same is true of summaries when we use them properly for a proper purpose. For example, I use summaries before buying the book. The key here is just to understand and help me double check as to whether I thought I needed that book or not in the first place.
This is a great way for someone to decide whether to buy an expensive book or not (because books nowadays are not cheap for most people).
2. Summaries are made to make us understand more after reading, not vice versa.
It could be our “open eye.”
If you have read a book and then you didn’t really know or understand the book you read, go ahead and read summaries from other people. It helps you to open up about what you didn’t know was in the book and what you didn’t get a hang of from the passages of the book.
This is pretty beneficial for people who are struggling to read a book because you can easily understand some “key takeaways” and “tips.”
3. Summaries can give you more time to get to the main point of the book.
I read the 5-second rules by Mel Robbins.
I thought it was just an idea about how 5 seconds of counting from 1 to 5 can help me get rid of procrastination, but it was expanded into one book (even though it is).
If I read the summaries, I would get to the main point already and understand easily that this book is about counting from 1 to 5 or dealing with procrastination.
I can then skip some chapters because I already understand what the main point is.
Summaries are not only writing about a main point or ideas you understand, but more of that. If you find yourself not really understanding the book summaries you read or find, you can make them your own using this template for free.
This way, you can use the template to summarize or take notes on the book you decide to understand or study.
Here’s another tip: if you know what the author is going to say, or if you just skim it and then realize, “I actually know this,” you can skip the chapter or passage if you want. Do not force yourself to read word by word if you can just jump to the next chapter. It’s your own rule to read how you want.
Things to do
To sum it up, here’s how you can use summaries as an effective guide to reading books.
- Using it for double-checking whether you decide to buy the book or not.
- As an eye-opener about what you don’t understand.
- As a tool to save you some time from reading the book.
Remember that summaries are a tool, not the actual book.
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