How to Analyze Books like a Renaissance Scholar

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Timestamps:
00:00-1:24 We can't read properly
1:24-1:55 System overview
1:55-6:34 1 - Selection
6:34-9:40 2 - Inspection
9:40-15:45 3 - Note-taking
15:45-21:42 4 - Analysis
21:42-29:12 5 - Archiving
29:12-32:58 6 - Synthesis
32:58-33:58 Newsletter

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This video was sponsored by Consensus

[odysseas__]

Get a free year of Consensus Premium by visiting www.consensus.app and checking out with the promo code odysseas !

[lnjvc]

BRO I just wanted to search for a video on how to analyze better, I open youtube and you posted a video 40s ago hahahahah

[ClairePontin]

I loved that this was your own take on Zettelkasten, Mortimer Adler, learning theory and mind mapping, but without mentioning them specifically or getting dogmatic about any of them. None of “you must do it this way”. Nice job - very useful. Thanks.

[daedyg]

I think this has clarified an issue for me. Often I feel like I’m missing the ‘bigger picture’ when reading classics but from watching this I’ve learned that’s not just okay but an important part of the process.

I read the book as is, entertain any questions or inconsistencies and once I’ve finished
(instead of using spark notes to tell me what to think) i write about these ideas and research the bigger picture separately so that I can see how the idea ties into the book.

Learning the themes is supposed to happen AFTER the reading and note taking. Not during. This is the discovery process and the part that you derive meaning and satisfaction from!

Thanks!

[dylanl]

It’s always a good day when Odysseas drops another video

[excellent_potato]

I won't lie, I just got fed up with my university professors' study material (ppts, pdfs, etc.) after my mid-semesters. They don't fulfill anything, just good for getting better grades. But, lately, when I read a industry-standard book on such a subject, I am always amazed at how detailed and granular they get on everything. This is the video I needed because I have come to realize that I don't really remember the concepts well after finishing the book, or hell, even a chapter. I need me a system that can break them down, throw them into Anki for active recall, and keep learning. I haven't watched the video yet, but I will edit this comment once I do. I may have some questions, heh.

Edit: Going to be a long string of questions and stuff, so sorry for it.
1. Selection
Nothing much to ask, but I really want to know what you read for fun. We see your "academic" side a lot in these videos, and I was really surprised when you mentioned reading Manga. Would love to see your book list for fun reading.
2. Inspection
As a student, this is extremely helpful. Before a new semester starts, I go over everything I will learn from it, and then get a general idea of the whole subject. However, I am not sure I can do this with fiction books. Like, if I do inspect it, more often than not, I will get spoiled. Some Table of Contents have chapter titles that are also very spoiler-ish, so I (personally) never even check the ToC and just jump right in. I was wondering, what do you do with such books? Do you still go over it the way you mentioned in the video?
3. Note-Taking
Now, this is a bad habit of mine, but if I start taking notes and highlights, I always have this nagging feeling at the back of my head to specifically look for stuff to highlight and take notes on. This sort of breaks my immersion or the flow from the book and spirals me down to another rabbit hole. Like, if I do take notes, I want to write something "good". Thinking like that, I waste a lot of time on THINKING what to write, instead of actually writing and moving on to reading. I don't know if others go through this as well, but I'd appreciate if you share your thoughts on this.
4. Analysis
Again, something weird to ask, but how do you analyze a fiction book? Or a book you read for fun? Do you even do it? I mean, if you are a writer liking those fields, then probably you can analyze it to suit your writing needs. But how do you analyze them to "improve your writing"? It's more general, and I know mini-essays help, but to write them, you need to know what to write first.
5. Archiving & Synthesis
This is something I am doing after watching your old videos. I am still not good at it, but I do enjoy it. I just want to know, how do you manage to do this and also have time for reading? Do you do every step for a book and then move on to read another book, or do you read multiple books and simultaneously do the steps? As a CS student, I have so much stuff to do that I fear I can barely find time to explore other fields. And if I do read and explore, I am scared of being stuck on a single book and feel like I haven't learned much. When I analyze, archive and synthesize, I do feel I am learning and feel good, but there's also this annoying feeling of missing opportunities to read more, explore more and learn more. This is overwhelming and hard to ignore. I really want to know your mindset regarding this.

[endina]

I recommend reading the manga “Houseki no Kuni”. This manga explores buddhist philosophy, human condition, the ship of theseus, time and space, existentialism, colonialism, and so much more. The main purpose of the story is to explore the author’s philosophical beliefs. I believe it is on par with many of the classics, despite it being manga. If you choose to read it, please let me know your thoughts.

[rimshaahsan]

I barely stand in 10 mins video usually i get uninterested or read everything through comments but this mann kept me hooked till the end !!!! Waoh .. every notion on how to read a book deliverd by you was so great and so informative .. You are great ...

[erinwys]

This was great! I also use Obsidian, but tend to truncate my analysis of books, mostly due to the excitement of moving on to the next one. But as you were talking, I was going through recent novels I've read and getting new ideas for topics to further analyze.
Last year, and mostly with just fiction, I started reading the entire book, then right when I'm finished writing a summary of the book. It can be as short or long as my memory can manage. In the past I haven't been able to remember plots well, but just by summarizing everything afterwards, I can remember so much more of what I've read. Looking forward to diving deeper into the analysis now.

[OnlineLitScholars]

Well Done! I consider myself a life-long learner, so I have watched a lot of these types of videos and read several "How To Read" books. Your system is elegant in its simplicity and usefulness. And you made it entertaining to watch. Thank you.

[NeoHarter]

Dude, every single time I watch one of your videos it convinces me more and more that you and I are the same person. I literally have the Card Sharps as my screensaver too. 😂😂😂

Love it man

Thank you for the videos I love them all!

[gj]

The analysis tip is life changing ong, thank you so much

[SabsHydranet]

Wow! Your process is extremely similar to mine! I do this with all kinds of content, not just books, but also scientific articles, notes from classes, videos, etc. Thanks for the video! 😊

[huarache]

I can't help but recognize the amount of effort and grinding that you have put through your journey. Thank you for sharing it. Also I would recommend How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler (Author), Charles Van Doren (Author). Plenty of insights and tips to a more deep reading. Cheers.

[VerdantSpirit]

Can I just say a MASSIVE thank you in regards to the free years subscription to Consensus. I've recently had a lecture on using AI in regards to University assignments. I'm not a fan of AI anyway, and the entire lecture consisted of trying to teach a bunch of teenagers that if you try to pass off AI generated work as your own, you will get done for malpractice, and kicked out. So when you first started talking about Consensus I was expecting another Chat gpt. But this is amazing. This is helping you research, rather than spitting out a load of un-citable word vomit scoured from the internet. I showed my University Skills tutor and I'm pretty sure she's going to be encouraging people to use this. So I'll be sending everyone a link to this video so they can get the code and hopefully learn some tips from you in the process.
Once again many thanks.
I've already started using it for my next assignment 🥰

[magpietheory]

Getting into classical education lately so this is perfect timing!

[PalashBackup]

Who are you, so wise in the ways of reading? Seriously though. Why does your voice and delivery have such a nice presence? I want to listen to you, with full attention.

On top of that, you are actually giving good advice. Thanks for making videos. :)

[JannatulFerdous-dvcl]

As a literature student, one thing I have recently discovered is to share my opinions/questions with chatgpt while reading a pdf version of a text. Chatgpt helps me to continue with my idea with logic and references and denies if my thought doesn't go along. I'm loving this process so far!Feels like a new book friend I have gotten and the whole procedure is like a fun conversation rather than some student duty.

[TheEclecticRogue]

Thank you, kind, generous and humble king, for sharing your ways. Very insightful -and inducive to yet another tweak to my Obsidian archive system 😂

[wojciech]

Man, it is seriously comforting to know that there is someone else who is going through the SAME struggles. Currently, I'm in the phase where selecting books is easy (my gut feeling works perfectly), reading is easy, annotating is easy, but what is challenging is to find time to take the notes (not stupid-ass rephrasing of the whole book but creating a mind map so that the material becomes part of my thinking) and to DO SOMETHING with this knowledge. My distant goal is to maybe have a blog or a channel about the topics that I'm passionate about and the even more distant goal is to become an expert on this matter. Well, anyway, your content L U B R I C A T E S my thinking and motivates to push myself further. Cheers!