Ask HN: How do you read technical books?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30380663

by valzam • 4 years ago

7 2 4 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I am reconsidering my setup for reading technical books in the most efficient (i.e. knowledge retaining) way. I am wondering what other people on HN do.

I normally read books on my kindle but this doesn't work for technical books with graphics and the need to go back/forth between pages. Normally when I know I won't be implementing anything I will use my iPad to read a PDF, but I've found that reading technical books without keeping notes isn't very useful. This means my laptop would be the best way to read and write down notes, but I would rather not sit at my desk even more than I already do.

themodelplumber• 4 years ago

(Just to share my experiences, maybe some of this helps a little, but I don't read many technical books for knowledge retention anymore; it's more like reading for knowledge gap-fills which don't require much in terms of retention. I love the books for that part though.)

My first stage is to start a file where I write my own guides/books as a reference. The subtopics here are things like a to-do list, questions list, project area, log, resources area. I try to get some pseudocode in the log or project area as soon as I can, for things like language learning. I find this is really fast for my own learning style, compared to starting with the books and particularly those using a linear teaching method.

Have you tried reclining or laying down with a laptop and possibly a laptop stand/desk? When I need to read books on the laptop I find this really comfortable. It took some experimentation to find my best setup though, like which lumbar support to use for which chair, when to use trackball vs. touchpad, etc.

bwh2• 4 years ago

Physical book, highlighter, and pen for taking notes in the margin.