Michael’s Badass 3 Book Theory

Hi, it’s Michael again!

As you guys know, I like to read. I guess that’s an understatement, I love to read.

I read a lot and I try to read in all subjects. Currently I have been reading Charlie Munger’s ( Warren Buffet’s partner of over 40 years ) book, Poor Charlie’s Almanack ( which is basically a modernized version of Ben Franklin’s, Poor Richard’s Almanack ).

One of my favorite quotes ( & there’s a lot from Charlie ) is, “in my whole life, I have known no wise people ( over a broad subject matter area ) who didn’t read all the time – none, zero.”

I could not agree more with this and it’s the same basis for which I started reading so much early on. At some point in your life, looks will fade, you will get old, and you need something more to add to a conversation than what happened on the weekend.

My dad always had these wild stories and facts that he would throw into conversation out of nowhere. As a kid, I thought it was amazing how much he knew. He would take an old saying like, “he’s not worth his salt” & when we would all look at him with a confused expression, he’d go on to explain, “they used to pay people wages in salt, that’s true”. And it is true, salt used to be worth more than gold in some parts of the world ( he later sent me an amazing book called, Salt: A World History ).

Lauryn frequently catches me hopping from book to book. Often I won’t have even finished a book, but I switch in another one. I typically do this with 3-4 books at a time. I have a theory on this and it has worked for me for years ( it may not work for you, but it doesn’t hurt to try ).

My theory is that reading different types of books actually increases my retention and creativity.

When you read a book from one author and then switch to another author, you hear different points of view and speaking in your head. I believe this helps the flow of creativity and it also helps me get through dry books.

It’s quite difficult to sit down and read a really dry book ( think of your textbooks in school ). If you pair the dry reading with a fascinating fiction or biography, it can be much easier ( at least for me ) to slam through the book and actually retain the information.

What do you guys think of this theory?

If you’re up for the challenge I recommend starting with 3 books. Try a fiction, a biography, & a non-fiction preferably related to a subject area you find stimulating. Recently for me it was, Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind, Fifth Edition. I was able to get through this book in about 4 days which is quicker than I would have read it if it was the only book on my table, and I retained a lot ( women – I now understand 5% of the reason you do things, before it was 0% ).

So! Read a chapter or two at a time and then switch books. See what works. If you can sit in a quiet part of your home and throw on some noise canceling headphones that also helps a lot.

Do you guys think this 3 book theory would work in the dating world? Grab an interesting partner or two to get through the boring bland one? Hahaha, just joking… I think this has been tried before with mixed reviews? Cheers! – michael

“Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.” -Voltaire

{ PC } | lauryn’s dress found here.