How to make more time to read

Many of us would like to have more time to read, but life can get in the way of picking up a book. You will find plenty of well-meaning advice online, such as “remove all social media apps from your phone”, “don’t watch TV in the evening”, but the recommendations are often unrealistic. So what … Read More

Textual maps and the future of text

A few months ago, we hosted a workshop about the Future of Text with publisher, developer, and researcher Frode Hegland. We talked about how the medium shapes the message; how interactive digital text can transform the way we consume information; and how we can break free from the paradigm of the printed page. Frode leads … Read More

Interview: Using books to navigate life with Juvoni Beckford

A few months ago, a tweet popped up on my timeline, where Juvoni Beckford shared an incredible achievement: reading 450 books over the course of a decade. As someone who loves reading and thinks that everyone would benefit from reading more books—whether fiction or nonfiction—I was understandably impressed by Juvoni’s consistency. Juvoni Beckford is a … Read More

How to take smart notes

While there are hundreds of thousands of books on the generic topic of writing, very few concerns themselves with note-taking—perhaps because it’s not considered an intellectually challenging task by many, or perhaps because many people don’t realise how bad they are at taking notes. Looking at a blank page and struggling to find inspiration? Experts … Read More

How to read a book

When I was a kid, my parents struggled to understand why I always looked so tired. We had a curfew and were usually pretty quiet after bedtime. What was happening? Well, I was reading. Sometimes until dawn. Treasure Island, The Lord of the Rings, His Dark Materials, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The Count … Read More

Active reading: how to become a better reader

Highly effective readers use a collection of mental processes called active reading in order to retain more of the information and make the new acquired knowledge more useful. Reading in a passive way isn’t an effective way to understand and learn. In order to stay focused and retain more information, it’s important to be highly … Read More