I like to read. And there are so many authors and so many topics to choose from that there is literally an endless supply of materials to look at. But I’ve leaned that the quantity covered doesn’t correlate with the value gained.
When it comes to good books, especially non-fiction, what you get out of them is usually correlated with what you bring to them. If you’re quickly skimming through a book, you may learn some interesting things, but it usually won’t have the lasting impact of a careful, thoughtful, engaged reading. In both cases you may physically see the same words, but because of the difference in the speed, intent, and focus, the impact of the words is not the same.
Of course, I’m talking about good books—really good books—not just anything that gets published. Some material isn’t worth spending your time on. Other times, a quick skim may be valuable in giving you an idea if you really want to invest time into deeply ingesting what the author has to say. It’s in the slower, focused, active kind of reading where we not only mentally engage with not what the author is saying, but also encounter the implications of this message—the questions it provokes, and the ways it might affect our life or perspective.
No, we may not cover the same amount of material as when we go faster, but if it’s a good book, the benefits of taking our time to fully engage what the author is telling us are usually well worth the time.