The 80/20 Way to Read a Non-Fiction Book

The 80/20 way of reading anything will give you 80% of the knowledge contained in the text with only 20% (or less) of the effort.

The 80/20 version of the 80/20 way to read a book is this: Read the back cover, then the conclusion, then the intro, then the conclusion again, and dip into the rest of the book very selectively. Always use highlighting for the interesting bits. - Source - Richard’s tutor at Oxford: “Read the Conclusion first, then the Introduction, then the End again, then flick through for interesting arguments or examples. For goodness sake, Richard, don’t read the whole bloody thing, except for enjoyment.”

80/20 book reading steps

1. Read the back cover
2. Skim the conclusion or last chapter
3. Read the conclusion
4. Highlight key passages
5. Read the introduction
6. Read the conclusion again, only the key bits
7. Dip into the rest of the book very selectively