[Eng] Reading Triage
How to Juggle 8 Books at Once
Too many books on the plate...
There are always too many books to read, and more keep showing up. That's partly because I can't narrow things down to just a few categories. But honestly, that's not such a bad thing. Having broad interests matters—especially when you’re reading books from different domains at once.
What I'm Reading by Location
In my office
- Carl Sagan, Cosmos
At home
- Jordan Ellenberg, How Not to Be Wrong
- Chris Miller, Chip War
In bed
- Hugh Aldersey-Williams, Dutch Light
- Peter Bernstein, Against the gods
Walking or in the car
- J.D. Rockefeller, The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to His Son
- Charlie Munger, Poor Charlie's Almanack
- 김대식, 인간 vs 기계
Somehow, I'm managing to keep up with all of these. But without a bit of triage, I'll end up leaving a few sitting on the shelf for far too long.
Triage
At home, I'm prioritising Jordan Ellenberg. I usually save Chip War for bedtime. After I turn off the lights, I'll read Dutch Light on my Kindle. If it starts to drag, I'll switch over to Against the gods for a change of pace.
When I'm out walking, I listen to Charlie Munger. When I'm driving, I put on J.D. Rockefeller. And if they start feeling repetitive, I'll jump over to 김대식 instead.
Juggling eight books isn't easy. But I know it's probably inevitable for me.
Setting a constraint that stops me from starting a new book might help—if and only if it actually works. I'd rather build a proper triage system that accounts for my urges.