Death by Summary
Most people I know had a reading era in their childhood. Borrowing books from the library and engaging in discussions surrounding popular series is a fond memory I have of my childhood. It's hard for me to forget receiving Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on release day and feeling such awe at the culmination of a grand story I had already been following for a few years. My reading comprehension wasn't perfect, and I had, admittedly, skimmed over a few of the longer paragraphs. Then again, I was, what, 9? There's a re-read due for the Harry Potter series, if I'm being honest, just so that I can fully understand what was going on. However, whether for fiction or non-fiction, there is a recent trend I have noticed online of people trying to read more by reading less; consuming book summaries is being considered as an appropriate replacement to reading. I categorically disagree.
The Death of Comprehension
Reading comprehension. I had never really thought much about it, and I've always associated it with English tests in school, divorced from how applicable it actually is to the real world. A quick Google search reveals a set of search results overwhelmingly dominated by worksheets and practice tests, so I doubt I am alone in thinking this. However, I've picked up reading again, and I started reading in a, I'd like to say, sustainably voracious way since 2021. It took several read books for me to realize that I am actually taking in more from the written word; my reading comprehension has actually improved.
Stepping into Stories
I used to struggle to read fiction. It felt slow, and I had difficulty with visualizing what was going on based on the descriptions provided. Characters all felt and sounded very similar to me, and my reading pace with fiction was just not as quick as it was with non-fiction. I had decided to read more fiction this year, especially since I had wanted to finish a large portion of Brandon Sanderson's fantasy books before Wind and Truth came out in December. What ended up happening is that I started to read many more fiction books (even when excluding books by Sanderson). It simply felt easier to read fiction.
I've brought up the example of fiction, but I'm sure that many people feel the same way about non-fiction. I've heard various complains from friends about how slow and boring non-fiction books are, and how it's difficult to maintain a long attention span when authors pile up evidence and elaboration without really caring to be concise. These are valid complaints that mirror those that I had for fiction, and I don't think reading more non-fiction would necessary remove all of the problems; some of us might be naturally more inclined to one or the other. However, at least in my personal experience, exposure to different genres and mediums definitely helps to build reading comprehension.
Rewiring the Brain?
Reading might have other benefits that go beyond mere comprehension, such as the acquisition of more knowledge, better communication skills, enhanced empathy (from fiction), and just a good fun time. However, it's in comprehension where I've personally experienced the most significant difference, where my brain has been "rewired" the most. Reading more helps you to read more in a positive feedback loop that probably ends up with a Goodreads reading challenge that you might actually succeed in.
With this in mind, it makes sense to read more, and not less.
The more you read, the more you will be able to read. I had been inspired to write this post by a YouTube comment suggesting summarizing books using AI and then reading the summaries instead to learn most of the important points. Summaries (such as those on Blinkist or Shortform), are counter-productive for anyone who wants to be considered as "well-read". I admit that you can indeed get the most important points from just a 15 minute audio summary. However, you aren't rewiring your brain; you're only maximizing for knowledge acquisition. While I might not remember the minutiae of a book, and my understanding of its core points might be similar to that of someone who has read the summary, there are other benefits to reading than just the knowledge obtained. These benefits are stripped away in the summary.
Summaries kill reading comprehension. The most legitimate use of book summaries is as a filter, as a way to learn more about the key ideas of a book before deciding whether or not you want to commit to reading to it. They are a tool, and not a drag-and-drop substitute, for reading.
The Death of Understanding
When I say "understanding", I mean understanding the author's perspective, and respecting the author's intents. Books aren't blog posts. Skim through this article all you want, but if I ever write a book, well... read it however you like, honestly. But that doesn't mean I'll be happy if you skim through it.
The Page as a Canvas
Humans are not only rational, but also deeply emotional creatures. When reading a piece of non-fiction, the same point might be elaborated countless times by the author, and one possible gut response to that is to skim through until something else interesting appears. This is considered valid by some, who emphasize that intellectual curiosity is the main purpose of reading. This might be a controversial point, but reading non-fiction isn't just to satiate intellectual curiosity. If you want to understand art, you don't "skim through" it; you can't skip every other frame of a movie, appreciate a piece of art through a cursory glance, or dance to just the chorus of a song on eternal repeat.
Books aren't just sources of information. They are a form of art, and have a corresponding sacred and emotional component. This doesn't mean that you need to finish every single book you start (saying that would contradict previous advice I had given on how to read more books), but it does mean that there needs to be an attempt to understand it.
A Defense of Long-Winded Tomes
When writing non-fiction, conciseness is key. However, this idea works differently on different scales. At the micro level, concise language involves getting the most meaning out with the least number of words. It involves cutting back on repetition of similar words, overused sayings, and meaningless "office" talk. When scaling this up to the level of chapters and books, conciseness involves asking yourself the question: "Is every point I am making important, necessary, and well-substantiated?"
In the hierarchy of all the key ideas, some of them will invariably come up on top. This does not mean that the other ideas should be ignored, as they are in the case of most summaries. Sometimes, the most enlightening ideas I have read in a book are among these smaller points, doomed to be ignored by book summaries. If a summary for 12 Rules for Life only consisted of the 12 rules themselves, it loses a bulk of the original book's meaning and intent. It is a long-winded book that seems to steer away from the main point of each chapter before trying to tie things up nicely in the end, but it's in those journeys where the destination is unclear where the most effective points are being made.
Just because a book is long, doesn't mean that the author isn't being concise. While some writers might be bad, most writers seem to have good reasons to be long-winded. By giving the author enough respect to read their work deeply, we find ourselves truly reflecting on the points being made and the emotions we are feeling as a result. This deep emotional connection to the material can't be obtained by reading a short excerpt of its contents.
There's a reason why most movie adaptations are worse than the books they're based off of.
I don't actually hate book summaries. I have definitely read books that I didn't really like, and wished that I could have read a summary instead. I can imagine that summaries are also more useful for shorter books, since less of the experience is lost. Furthermore, as mentioned, summaries are useful in filtering out potential next reads. Abridged versions are much better at respecting the author's art, and are justifiable replacements for the originals. Ultimately, this is just the opinion of someone who appreciates writing and likes to finish books out of respect for the craft.