Reading Tip: When you buy a hardcover book, take off the jacket. Sometimes you’ll find a hidden easter egg like a cool design or message. Ex: Just found one in @hubermanlab’s new book!

This quote hit me like a train: –Henry David Thoreau

The ancient Library of Alexandria held 1 million books. Today the New York Public Library alone holds over 10 million books. Anyone can visit and read books for free. There's never been a better time in history to be a reader.

YC cofounder @paulg on why you need to read books:

"How to Markup A Book" by Mortimer Adler (1941): (h/t @robkhenderson)

Congrats to my friend @jimkwik on his book becoming a USA TODAY Bestseller! "Limitless Daily" is like "The Daily Stoic" but with brain tips. Fun fact: Jim hired me as an additional editor for this book. It was great working with him and being his book-thought partner!

“In reading and writing, you cannot lay down rules until you have learnt to obey them." –Marcus Aurelius

This is a cool idea: It's a Book-Swap machine. You donate a used book and get a token in exchange. You then use that token to select a book from the vending machine. It saves money, trees, and gives you something new to read!

Listening to audiobooks is better than not reading at all. A book in your ears beats a book in your closet.

A few weeks ago I did one of the scariest things an author could do... I shared my manuscript with readers–not just a few, but 200 of them. I was scared to do it, but here's why it was one of the best decisions I've made so far (and why you should do it too). A while back, I heard an incredible story of how Hal Elrod turned "The Miracle Morning" into a massive success (3M+ copies sold). After writing the book, Hal self-published it on Amazon. Then the reviews started to come in. And...they weren't great. But he read each negative review, updated the book based on readers' feedback, and republished it. He did that process again and again. Each time he updated the book, it got better and better. BUT if you're a traditionally published author, you can't do that. You only get 1 shot at publication. So, why not let readers go through your book and give you negative feedback while you can still fix it? I know it's a scary feeling to share your work, but here's how I look at it: If an Amazon reader writes a negative comment about your book, you can't fix it. But if a beta-reader writes a negative comment about your book, you CAN fix it. You want to know what readers find boring, confusing, or repetitive so you can edit or erase those sentences. Doing so will make your book much, much better. And if you're worried about people 'stealing' your book, split it up into multiple parts. I split my book into 4 parts (4 chapters each) so that no one could swipe the entire book. And sent each part out to 50 readers (so 200 readers in total). And the feedback I got was AMAZING. I learned which parts readers loved and found useful, and which parts readers found boring or confusing. Readers also showed me my blind spots, corrected my grammar, and provided me with examples I hadn't thought of. They made my book so much better that I'm going to do another round of beta-readers once I update my manuscript. So is it scary to show an early version of your book? Yes. But is it worth it? 1,000% Yes. ––– PS: If you want a link to the beta-reading platform I used + a discount to it, comment "BETA" and I'll DM it to you. 💬

The brilliant Carl Sagan summarizes the 2,000+ year history of books in 2 minutes:

This is one of the craziest and most fascinating podcasts I've ever listened to. Here's the backstory: Millions of children are struggling to learn how to read. But the problem isn't kids–it's how kids are being taught. In the 2000s, schools stopped using phonics (sounding out words) for a new reading system called three-cuing (guessing unfamiliar words using context clues). But that new system turned out to be based on false data. Researchers tried to show it was ineffective, but politics and publishers got in the way and delayed changes in our reading system for decades. One publisher made over $1 billion selling books to schools on a reading system that didn't work. Now, 20-years later, schools are finally reversing course and going back to teaching phonics. But so much damage has already been done. The podcast is called "Sold a Story" and it dives into the science, history, profits, and politics behind the reading wars. If you're an educator, parent, or teacher, you have to listen to this podcast.

A humbling reminder from Carl Sagan: Even if you read 1 book a week for your entire life, you'd only scratch the surface of human knowledge.

Carl Sagan on libraries: "We are the only species on the planet, so far as we know, to have invented a communal memory. The warehouse of that memory is called a library."

The human mind is fascinating: It tried to convince me I’d be happier if I stayed home today. But I’m always happier when I go for a walk (even in the pouring rain). You may not feel like going for a walk, but you’ll never regret it.

Thank you @AlexAndBooks_

10 Book accounts worth following: - @DylanoA4 - @RyanHoliday - @oldbooksguy - @athenaeumbc - @readswithravi - @booksoftitans - @MattKaramazov - @JoshPhillipsPhD - @SketchesbyBoze - @AlexAndBooks_ What are some others?

Thank you Alex! And thank you for coming out to the live event at Radio City! See you next time through NYC!

A new scientific review looked at the health benefits of reading books. Here's what they found: • Improved memory, empathy, and mental health. • Reduced stress, loneliness, and enhanced well-being. • Associated with better attention and academic achievement.

I hosted another author meetup in NYC! Here are 3 topics we discussed and who joined: 1) Writing a book is one of the hardest professional things you'll ever do, and yet it's addictive. It takes years to create a great book. You have to spend countless hours alone with your thoughts and hundreds of books/research papers. It often takes a toll on your physical and mental health. And yet, it's so rewarding that we all want to write more books. 2) You need a business behind your book. As an author, it's unlikely that you'll live off your book's advance or royalties (unless it becomes a mega-seller). You need some type of business: -Rob has his paid Substack and does speaking gigs. -Spencer owns several businesses. -Jay runs a content agency. -I offer book editing and book marketing services. The modern author needs to be an entrepreneur. 3) Don't sleep on Kickstarter. Jay raised over $30,000 for his upcoming book on Kickstarter. That's more than enough to cover the cost of a book designer, formatter, editor, and printing costs. He also retains 100% rights over his book. This gives him the option of using it as a super lead magnet by giving it away for free later on, which will likely drive a lot of leads to his business and make him much more money than just selling the book for a profit. Here are the authors who joined: - @robkhenderson ("Troubled") - @SpencrGreenberg ("The 12 Levers") - @Jayyanginspires ("Work With The Best")