Time waits for no man. For those who love reading, this cliche inflicts a special pain. Time also waits for no book. If we’re going to make the most of our reading time, we must learn to read more, read better. Here is a strategy that has helped me with non-fiction.
In order to read more and read better, we need to begin by deciding which of the over 130,000,000 books printed throughout history you will read.1 For the serious reader, deciding what kinds of books and which books specifically, this will take some serious thought. Fiction, non-fiction, history, romance, science, trades, religion, business, classics, film, politics, science fiction, food, travel, biography, art, health, and on… This is an important decision because you don’t have all day.
Once you know what kind of books you want to read, you need to make a list. If you’re not sure where to begin, look for some reading lists online. If you’re a Christian, you’ll find a couple helpful starters here, The Well-Read Christian. After you have your list, another important decision awaits. Which books will you read fast and which will you read slow. Not every book deserves or requires the utmost time and attention. Some books are only worth skimming and some are worth sounding out word for word for word. Now that you know what kind of books, which books, and how much time for each, begin reading.
Wait! You can’t just open to the first page and haphazardly start reading. This is not the National Inquirer. You’ve gone to great lengths to choose this book. It’s important to you. The point here is not how to read a book, but how to read more, read better. We need some strategy. Here’s a good one.2
C.P.I.C.T.R – Cover, Preface, Intro/Conclusion, Table of Contents, Rest of book. I haven’t thought of a good mnemonic. Comment if you do.
1. Cover: I know you’ve been told that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. That’s not true. Start with the front and back covers. You can learn a lot about a book this way. The title, attitude, personality, and especially who thinks what about the book (endorsements) are all very telling.
2. Preface: The author’s big picture is usually found in the prefatory section. And reading the preface may even help you know how much time the book is worth.
3. Intro/Conclusion: Similar to the preface, you can learn a lot by simply reading the beginning and skipping ahead to the end. Since we’re talking about non-fiction here, we’re in search of answers. This may also help you discover how important the book is to your reading plan. If you already have a good grasp on the intro/conclusion, you may find the rest of the book to be a refresher which you won’t need to read as closely.
4. Table of Contents: In the T. of C. you have a helpful road map to the author’s destination.
5. Rest of Book: Usually the first four steps will take you about 20 minutes and then you’re ready for the rest of the book. But even now, you can’t just tear into the first chapter. A better way to read is to quickly flip the pages, reading only the bold section headings; then reading the chapter from the beginning.
Happy reading! 
- Google: There Are 129,864,880 Books in the Entire World [↩]
- Strategy adapted from Mark Dever [↩]
