As we pivot to the season of reflection in closing out the year, my wish for you is a compelling book, one that propels you through it.
If you’re resistant to reading, consider reading with a pen in hand and making a visual map of primary points. (Note: this requires owning the copy of the book in your hands – do not write in library books!!). I find this kind of interactive relationship to reading absolutely essential to my ability to engage with topics that seem, at first, challenging or boring.
Your manner of mapping can be totally unique to you. Let me tell you about mine:
There are additional methods for conveying emphasis or nuance. Some juicy bits get specific marginalia. I appreciate the use of arrows, stars, and hearts. They each signify something to me.
Again, I find this kind of interactive relationship to reading absolutely essential to my ability to engage with topics that are challenging or boring. For example, the term "nexus," as presented in the book Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari, is a fundamental concept among tax authorities. It refers to an entity’s connection to a given jurisdiction.
Unfortunately the mere mention of the phrase “tax authorities” triggered something in my lizard brain that makes me want to stop reading. But thank goodness I didn’t stop!
I’m glad I didn’t stop reading, because, as it turns out, the tax concept of nexus is exceedingly consequential in a society that includes heavy use of social media apps and search engines such as Facebook, Instagram, and Google. And the tax concept of Nexus is exponentially consequential in the context of the AI revolution we are currently undergoing.
In spite of seeming boring on the surface, once I sat with it, I realized the concept is quite interesting. I kept reading. Harari went on to explain:
“Traditionally, whether a corporation had nexus in a specific country depended on whether it had physical presence there, in the form of offices, research centers, shops, and so forth. One proposal for addressing the tax dilemmas created by the computer network is to redefine nexus. In the words of the economist Marko Köthenbürger, “The definition of nexus based on physical presence should be adjusted to include the notion of a digital presence.” This implies that even if Google and ByteDance have no physical presence in Uruguay, the fact that people in Uruguay use their online services should nevertheless make them subject to taxation there. Just as Shell and BP pay taxes to countries from which they extract oil, the tech giants should pay taxes to countries from which they extract data.”
Anyway, now that we have some context in place, let me show you an example of my personal manner of mapping in action, using the very same book:
Yes, I find reading abstract, philosophical musings on the history of information systems enjoyable. And, yes, I would like every single person reading this to buy a copy of Nexus from the Piragis bookstore and then invite me to coffee to discuss.
However, I've been told that's not everyone's cup of tea. And so, instead of insisting that you read what I like, I'm simply encouraging you to read -- even if only four pages at a time. That’s usually as much as my brain can handle before getting distracted and moving on to something else. (That being said, I was delighted to find Nexus so compelling as to have read all 400 pages of it in a mere three weeks!)
Maybe you need neither tips nor tricks on how to encourage yourself to read more. Maybe you already have a strong reading habit. If you do, good for you!
Regardless of what you read, be it nonfiction or fiction, my hope for you is to get absorbed in a book. In times characterized by constant floods of information in a digital space, there is something to be said from spending time with a physical book, not only consuming but also thoughtfully digesting what is in our hands.
PS -- If you do happen to read Nexus, though, please let me know so we can dish!
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