Janet started reading “How to Read a Book” and gave me a summary of what she’s read so far. I decided to apply it to “Between 2 Fires,” which I pegged as a book likely to give me a success in my first try.
I don’t remember how I got the book. I do remember it was free – I think it was some “e-mail me and I’ll send you the book for free” offer. He actually mailed it to Switzerland, which moved him up a notch in my book. But getting it for free didn’t help it get read. Perhaps it was the slightly cheesy title design, or my having just read Naim Stifan Ateek’s “Justice and Only Justice” in German, and being a bit sated by the Palestinian Christian topic.
Between 2 Fires is easy fodder for 80/20 reading, because its bulk is an account of a week Jack Kincaid and Ron Brackin spent in Palestine and their encounters, conversations, and observations while there. I skipped those, reading the introduction before and the conclusion afterward, 8 pages total. Basic summary: Palestinian Christians have it bad, and they need our support, because they have the answer to the conflict in the area. You can give support through prayer or through financial gifts to Banner Communications or other ministries active in the area.
Unfortunately, it appears that sometime after 2002 their website has ceased to exist (www.bannerc.com). The same seems to have happened to www.sat-7.org, a Christian Arab radio program. www.win1040.com is still operational, and the Musalaha reconciliation ministry seems to have gained an online presence since, as has the Bethlehem Bible College.
My conclusion: I’ll try the 80/20 trick on other books. If anyone wants to borrow Between 2 Fires to read the bits I didn’t, you’re welcome to do so.
“How to Read a Book” never mentions the 80/20 rule, but it gives you specific tools with which to apply it to books. I am a slow reader, so I’m very excited about this new skills set. Today I covered a 300 page book during part of Joseph’s morning nap. I know enough to say with confidence I’ve spent as much time with the book as I think worthwhile. If I’d just chucked the book on my hunch I would have felt guilty since maybe there was something great in there and I didn’t give it a chance. I can’t express how freeing it is. Maybe the two of us can actually make progress cutting our household book inventory without guilt and while learning a thing or two quickly in the process!
What is the 80/20 rule as applied to books?
The 80/20 rule in general says that 80% of the task takes 20% of the time and the remaining 20% takes 80% of the time. This especially applies if you are a perfectionist. The same idea goes for books if you\’re smart about it: you can get 80% of the content of a book by investing 20% of the time in it that you would have if you read 100% of the book. I might be more conservative and say with 20% of the time you can get 50% of the book, but it depends on the book. This mostly applies to non-fiction, btw. Some ideas \”How to Read a Book\” suggests are looking carefully at the table of contents, reading the publishers blurb, looking through the index, identifying keywords and reading those passages in the book, reading a few chunks (a page or few pages only), reading the last few pages (since most authors can\’t resist summarizing the most important ideas at the end) and all the while asking yourself questions like \”what kind of book is this?\” \”how is it structured\” \”what\’s the author\’s main point?\” etc. That\’s just a taste, but that\’s as much as I gave Stephan and he was able to apply it in his own way, so maybe it will help you, too!
Ugh, Stephan, can you edit so that the first sentence ends in “time” not “task?” Sorry!
Well, I tested the “How to Read a Book” method out on this blog entry … I think I got it! Naw just kiddin, I read the whole thing, really I did! 🙂
Janet: I edited it, but with the anticipated result of several characters having that backslash decor.
Paul: That’s actually a good point to raise. I feel ok doing an 80/20 on a book of an author I do not personally know. I feel ok doing an 80/20 on a blog post, because I’m not the intended addressee. I don’t think it’s right to read personal e-mails or responses to comments 80/20, and I don’t think it’s ok to listen to someone 80/20, though I have done both and will likely end up doing both again. Deciding whether to apply the 80/20 approach is touchy business!