How I Read— with Ranjan Roy

A series where we ask successful professionals about their reading habits, techniques that help them fit reading into their busy schedules, and general advice on becoming a smarter reader.

1) What tools do you use in your reading?

I’m a bit obsessive when it comes to a reading system. My favorite tool for reading is any form of digital highlighting — I used to use Evernote, and currently use Highly for Chrome, Instapaper (as a Read-it-Later), and Kindle Highlights for books.

I set up IFTTT to maintain all my Kindle Highlights and Instapaper highlights in a Google Sheet, just as an archive. I also love this script from Shopify founder Tobi Lutke, that emails you one random Kindle highlight from your collection each day.

The most important thing for me is making what you’ve read accessible, to keep that knowledge alive in some capacity.

2) How do you structure reading into your day

I’m reading in some capacity throughout the day — whether it’s skimming headlines, reading shorter pieces in totality, or deciding what to save to read later. Usually in the evenings I’ll block off an hour to make my way through longer pieces. Once a week I’ll spend time going through archived highlights just to remind myself of what was consumed.

I’ve never quite nailed a routine with books. My preference is reading on a Kindle Paperwhite (to prevent any distracting notifications), and if I like a book, I’ll usually binge-read in a few nights. However, I still aspire to setting aside more dedicated routine “book time”.

3) In the flood of information, how do you choose what to read?

Given our entire business is helping others find smart things to read, I can confidently say that our Edge News algorithm is my primary source of content recommendation (happy to explain this in more detail to anyone interested). I have Twitter open throughout the day and have spent years refining my feed. I use Digg Reader and still believe in the power of RSS.

I approach any article sent by a friend with a dose of skepticism, but any book recommendation with a great deal of trust. And I refuse to click on any article link I see on Facebook.

4) Lightning Round

Preference: Paper or Digital

Digital.

Do you read only one book at a time, or manage multiple?

One book at a time.

If you start a book, do you feel you have to finish it?

Yes, though would like to change that.

Fiction or Nonfiction

Nonfiction.

5) Why do you read?

I love learning, so I love reading. Whether it’s diving deeper into the familiar, or venturing into the unknown, there is nothing better than discovering more about the world around you. It can be a great link, a mind-blowing fact, an enraging quote, a dose of inspiration, I firmly believe reading should not be the means, but the goal itself.