maraoz.comHow To Read
I am what you’d call an avid reader. This year, 2025, I read ~50 books. I’ll go ahead and declare myself an expert in reading (?). So, I want to share how I read, because I heard some dumb shit about reading, and because I want more people to read more.
I want YOU to read more. In fact, I want you to read a lot. Life gets way more interesting when you interact with people who read a lot.
I.
All the people I admire read a lot. Maybe that’s why I also read a lot (you tend to become what you admire).
My mom tells me the first time I ever earned money (tooth fairy), I asked to go to a bookstore. I just love reading, and books. If I had to pick my favorite human invention of all time, it’d probably be books or toilets. I just can’t imagine how my life would be if those two didn’t exist.
One of the secrets of reading a lot: I read whatever the fuck I want. I never read a book because I have to. I never read Important Books™. I never read books to “get informed” about a topic. I never read a book just because someone gifted it to me. I never finish a book I don’t feel like finishing. I just read whatever the fuck I want, and you should too.
I don’t care if it’s corny, if it’s childish, if it’s useless, if it’s stupid. I get curious about Egypt? I read a popcorn novel set in the Nile. I get obsessed with some historic character like Erwin Schrödinger? I read the books he wrote. I read his biography.
I don’t know what to read? I re-read a classic I love. I usually find new lessons in books I read a long time ago. Or not, but I don’t care.
And you shouldn’t care either. Just read whatever the fuck you want!
In case you need permission, for some weird reason, here’s me telling you: You have permission to read whatever the fuck you want!
For example, fiction.
II.
Reading is the best way to live other people’s lives. To get into other people’s minds. And not just real people have amazing lessons to teach, fictional people too! Good fiction is as plausible as real life.
Most creative endeavours are about building fictions that work. If you don’t know about the best fictions written, you’ll only have one to build upon: the one you call reality: your life, your story, the character you’ve built for yourself. Reading fiction gives you flexibility for the mind. Good fictions are games worth playing, for you and for others. Read fiction.
People say fiction books are useless, so they only read non-fiction. You can’t, however, write a non-fiction book about how to fall in love with a waitress in a café, ask for her number, go on a magical first date, get married, and have 3 kids. A fiction book might inspire you to do that, though. That might be more valuable a lesson than anything you’ll read in non-fiction books.
Reading fiction is like being part of a carnival parade. You dress up as another character, and stop being yourself for a while. A ritual of embodying an archetype. Take off the weight of being the same old you. You can live another life for a while and notice it’s also plausible. Or that it’s not as romantic as you once thought. Maybe going back to your normal life after reading brings you a new kind of peace.
I never liked the phrase “an image is worth a thousand words”. There’s words that evoke images so strong that they pierce your heart and remain with you forever. The evocative nature of language allows you to instantiate a simulation that will live with you. Reading fiction is putting your brain to work to simulate other realities.
Fiction talks about the truly important topics. Neil Gaiman says something like: “Fiction is telling lies to talk about important truths”. Truths that are hard to talk about explicitly. I find fiction to be one of the best ways to pass on implicit knowledge.
A book about the importance of friendship in hard times would be cringe. But read Lord of the Rings and you’ll understand it even if you never lived hard times. Reading fiction lets you live many lives.
They say smart people learn from their mistakes, and wise people learn from the mistakes of others. Fiction readers can learn from the mistakes of fictional others!
Read fiction! But, hey… also, read non-fiction.
III.
Read non-fiction. Non-fiction lets you dive deep into whatever thing you’re obsessed with right now.
I want to understand how something works? Well, to be honest, I first watch a couple of YouTube videos about it. If I’m still curious and need a bit more of depth and primary sources, I read a book by someone with real experience.
The best non-fiction scratches an itch you have. You’re not doing homework, or “getting educated”… you’re following a scent that caught your attention.
And yeah, sometimes you learn useful stuff. Sometimes you don’t. Sometimes the first chapter is amazing and then you drown in a gazillion boring examples and repetition. That’s fine. Stop reading and move on. Do not finish those books! You don’t owe the author anything.
Read non-fiction the same way you read fiction: because you want to. (I actually rage-refund many digital books if they suck after the first chapter, which happens a lot with books written post 2000). Many people treat non-fiction like some sort of honorable quest for knowledge. They think they need to highlight, take notes, memorize, apply lessons. Fuck that. Just read it like you’d read a comic strip. If something sticks, great. If not, also great.
Next… what is the best way to read? What’s the best format for books? What’s the optimal time to read? None, of course!
IV.
Read in many formats. Read in different places, times, and modes.
I read most of my books in Kindle e-reader. I read like this every night before falling asleep. Kindle is a fantastic invention that lets you reads with lights off, without bothering your partner or messing with your sleep.
(By the way, given it’s a digital format, I use a pretty large font. I never understood why anyone would read with tiny fonts on an e-reader! Maybe my only “commandment of reading” is: make it as easy as possible for you to read. That includes: good lighting, huge fonts, and comfortable positions. If you have to stop reading because your eyes are tired or your body aches, you’re doing it wrong!)
Kindle is, however, not ideal for daytime reading. So, I also own many physical books. I just love having the house filled with books everywhere! Some have such pretty covers… There’s books I read on Kindle and then bought a print copy to have physical object to remind me of its important ideas. Physical books are beacons. Books are pretty cheap and make me happy, so I encourage impulsive buying.
V.
Read whatever the fuck you want. Read fiction. Read non-fiction. Read in many formats. Read every night, on different times of day, on different places.
In other words, read generously. Be generous to yourself, to artists, to thinkers, to your senses, to circumstances.
I challenge you to read 12 books next year. If you follow my advice, it should be easy.
Want a classic?
Read 1984 by George Orwell.
Prefer audiobooks?
Listen to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
Like space stories?
Read Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.
Want a biography?
Pick any of your heroes and look for their biography.
Don’t have any heroes?
Read Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.
Don’t know where to start?
Grab any random book from your home.
Don’t own any books?
Go to the store and ask for an easy-to-read beginner-friendly recommendation.
Still lost? Go to one of my yearly book posts and read through my reviews: 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021
Don’t even know how to read? Then how the hell are you reading this article?
Final Words
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Acknowledgments
Cover photo by Grok Imagine.