There’s a question I need to start asking myself, when I’m reading a book or an article or a blog post or what have you:

What do I take away from this?

There are two good reasons I can see to read anything: to be entertained, and to be edified. All too often, especially when running down the posts in Google Reader, I find myself reading to fill time: I achieve neither. We’ve all done that, it’s a waste of time, and it’s not what I’m talking about.

When I read something that is worthwhile, what is that makes it more than simply filling time? Surely it must be because something about the work sticks with me. And yet, I can’t presume that just because I read a post/essay/chapter carefully, and understood what it was saying, that I will retain it. Perhaps I used to be able to, but they say that memory is the first thing to go.

Having read a worthwhile passage, and understood it, I need to stop, and reflect, and savor, and say, “What do I take away from this? What have I learned? What do I want to remember?” I need to do this, not simply when something strikes me, but as a conscious, explicit decision. Otherwise, while not necessarily wasting my time, I’m not making the best use of it. I’m like a man who sees a beautiful painting, recognizes that it’s a beautiful painting, and forgets it the moment he turns away. Choosing not to respond to the Good, the True, and the Beautiful deadens one’s ability to respond in the future.

Sometimes there will be nothing to take away, and that’s useful information as well. One can at least avoid the author/blog/subject in the future.

(But what about reading for pleasure: surely one can read simply for fun? Sure…but even there, there ought to be something to take away, if only the memory of the enjoyment and the desire to share it with others. And sometimes, there can be quite a bit more than that.)