# Books 📖 > [!cite] > [To not read] is like trying to build up material culture from scratch in each generation. No one in his right mind would want to start reinventing the wheel, fire, electricity, and the million objects and processes that we now take for granted as part of the human environment. > *[[Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi]], [[Flow – The Psychology of Optimal Experience]]* > [!cite] > If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren’t broad enough to sustain you. > *–[[Jim Mattis]], [[Call Sign Chaos – Learning to Lead]]* > [!cite] > “For books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them.” > *— John Milton* Through reading, you have the privilege to learn through other's experience. You explore unseen worlds. You get to know people you would have never met. Reading forces [[Deep Focus]]. These booknotes vary greatly in effort and length. Some, like [[Deep Work – Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World|Deep Work]], are extensive, including action items, chapter summaries and key points. Others consists of a few sentences jotted down. Either way, I hope you discover an intriguing idea or your next read! *** ## Currently Reading 📚 ![[Currently Reading (Auto-Updating)]] *** ## Favourite books → [[Favourite books]] *** ## Books read ![[Books Read (Auto-Updating)]] * Show *all* books alphabetically: #book * By genre * Show *non-fiction* books: #book/nonfiction * Show *fiction* books: #book/fiction * Show *biographical* books: #book/biographical * By time * By year read: #read2020 | #read2021 *** - [[C.S. Lewis]] on reading old books: [lewis-incarnation-intro.pdf](https://www.bhmc.org.uk/uploads/9/1/7/7/91773502/lewis-incarnation-intro.pdf)