The mind is dulled, not fed, by inordinate reading, it is made gradually incapable of reflection and concentration, and therefore of production…. Never read when you can reflect; read only, except in moments of recreation, what concerns the purpose you are pursuing; and read little, so as not to eat up your interior silence. – A. G. Sertillanges wrote in The Intellectual Life

If we become too involved in the beautiful imitation, we can begin to lose touch with the real thing. – Peter Thorpe argued in Why Literature Is Bad for You that the negative effects of reading outweigh the positive

Most of what makes a book ‘good’ is that we are reading it at the right moment for us. – Alain de Botton said

Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. — Frederick Douglass

Most books are spending their time convinsing you that the authors words are worth trusting. The vast of magority of books are context or justifications. – person.derek-sivers

Read old books, preferably books published before the 1900s, it really alters your psyche to realise how different things were just 100 or so years ago. – About reading

It's common for people who love learning to focus on reading/watching material without synthesizing it. Here are some ideas for how you can accelerate your learning:

discuss what you've learned
try to apply it to something
turn it into a blog post
condense it to a tweet

Misconseptions

Quality matters more than quantity. If you read just one book a week but fully appreciate and absorb it, you’ll be far better off than someone who skims through half the library without paying much attention.
Speedreading is bullshit. The only way to read faster is to actually read more.
Book summary services miss the point. A lot of companies charge ridiculous prices for access to summaries written by some 22-year-old with exactly zero experience in the subject matter of the book. This misses the point of not only reading but how we learn.
Fancy apps and tools are not needed. A notebook, index cards, and a pen will do just fine.
Finishing the book is optional. You should start a lot of books and only finish a few of them.

How to choose a book

stand the test of time
pique your interest
resonate with your current situation.

Reading for understanding

“Marking a book is literally an experience of your differences or agreements with the author. It is the highest respect you can pay him.” – Edgar Allen Poe

A useful heuristic: Anything easily digested is reading for information.

Types of reading

Elementary Reading
Inspectional Reading
Analytical Reading
Syntopical Readin

Effective reading

At the end of each chapter write a few bullet points that summarize what you’ve read and make it personal if you can — that is, apply it to something in your life. Also, note any unanswered questions. When you’re done the book, put it down for a week.
Pick up the book again and go through all your notes. Most of these will be garbage but there will be lots you want to remember. Write the good stuff on the inside cover of the book along with a page number.
(Optional) Copy out the excerpts by hand or take a picture of them to pop into Evernote. Tag accordingly.

tools

tags.to-read

Lists

https://michaelashcroft.com/reading/

Notes

Never forget that spacing out when listening or reading often indicates that something is MORE important, not less important