How do you read heavy technical books without getting, a little bored?
Posted by Kiiwyy@reddit | ExperiencedDevs | View on Reddit | 61 comments
I've been meaning to read some ML books and Compilers, but they feel a little heavy to read, mentally I mean.
Reading documentation feels easier imo, but I really like reading books, so I just wanted to ask how do you do it, or what's experience reading those books.
ChibiCoder@reddit
Don't try to read them cover to cover. Do little coding exercises on the content of each chapter. This will also dramatically improve your retention of the content.
lesimoes@reddit
I use to read one chapter at time, think about it, try to connect with my daily work and move on.
RunnyPlease@reddit
If you do this enough you’ll get very good at the skills needed to truly make use of technical documentation.
Things may be “heavy” to read but you’ll be able to decide how much of it you actually need to lift for your current purpose.
dual__88@reddit
Most of those aren't books like novels are, they are more like college level textbooks, of course they are hard to read. You can't just leisurely browse through them. If you want an easy read ask an llm or read some tutorial on some specific topic.
TheRealStepBot@reddit
Be interested in the topic? Idk just spitballing here
wiriux@reddit
Yeah. I don’t understand the problem here. Any subject that interests me won’t bore me regardless of how hard or tedious it is to learn (such as physics).
It’s clear OP doesn’t like ML that much.
HowTheStoryEnds@reddit
Some books can be tedious and rambling at the same time at times making for a hard even if interesting read.
TheRealStepBot@reddit
Don’t you all hate your job that you have no interest in as much as I do fellow kids.
Honey-Entire@reddit
Don’t try to read them for fun. Read them for a specific purpose.
HowTheStoryEnds@reddit
If I read them for fun I usually read multiple books during the same period about different subjects, keeps this varied and you can just put a book down for a while if not captivated.
SongFromHenesys@reddit
Exactly. I cant even comprehend how can one read a technical book of some sort without the context of trying to become better in a particular field they're currently working on or trying to solve a particular problem.
Icy_Cartographer5466@reddit
Why can’t you comprehend that some people are genuinely passionate and curious about technical things? How is that any different from someone who likes to learn about birds or cars or Napoleonic history?
DanFromShipping@reddit
There's always that one kid at school who read the dictionary for fun. That's the kid who becomes that coworker that somehow knows everything off the top of their head and leaves you thinking why you're even there sometimes.
Sheldor5@reddit
knowing a lot has nothing to do with using that knowledge to do a good job
josephjnk@reddit
Knowing a lot is not sufficient for using that knowledge to do a good job. They are clearly related though; if you don’t have the knowledge at all then bringing it to bear is not even an option.
josephjnk@reddit
Some of us just enjoy reading or accumulating knowledge for its own sake. It’s fine if you don’t, or if the interest is topic-dependent. There’s subjects I can just hoover up and topics which are a slog for me. “Read for a specific purpose” is a reasonable way to get through the slog ones if/when I need to.
coder155ml@reddit
Eh
SagansCandle@reddit
I got to where I am by reading reference manuals. I literally buy the biggest book I can find on a technology and read it end-to-end.
It's work. It's not fun. You do it because it's necessary. Sometimes it's boring. Sometimes it's interesting.
It's good to remind yourself that not everything you do is going to be entertaining.
sionescu@reddit
By reading only when genuinely interested in the topic, not because of the generic (FOMO) feeling the need to stay up-to-date.
BeauloTSM@reddit
I only really ever read stuff I'm interested in. Programming languages, compiler construction, and in general theory of computation has always been interesting to me, so I don't get bored reading any material on them. ML bores me into oblivion though
SnooApples8349@reddit
Simple - take notes with a pen & paper. Reason through any syntax or examples that don't make sense. Every line.
Summarize your takeaways at the end of sections. Oftentimes I walk away with opinionated and useful frameworks about problems I've never encountered before by writing short essays to myself.
Date and title every single entry in your notes. Seems stupid but it helps me stay focused and remember what I'm reading between sessions.
Then, build something small but meaningful. Being a statistician as well as a programmer, I had to read A TON (even after grad school) before I felt ready to really practice as one. Forcing myself to make simulations and implement basic patterns based on my notes and the text helped me so much.
Vedris_Zomfg@reddit
Read just a chapter a day, maximum 2.There is no benefit in reading 200 Pages and finishing an book every week and don’t remember anything.
I approach technical books and soft skill books like this. For the soft skill books I try reflect every chapter, learn from it, and make notes for my desk.
ShroomSensei@reddit
A little bit every day, if I am really serious about getting through a technical book i'll take 15-30 mins of the work day to go drink some coffee and read through it while on the clock. 10 pages a day will get you through a 200 pager heavy technical book in just a month. I almost never read that fast unless I am reading with a goal in mind.
Read it in between sets at the gym, audio book (only works for some), etc. I prefer doing it at work.
PoopsCodeAllTheTime@reddit
Slowly, putting it away often
Ok-Cicada8077@reddit
1- Audiobooks if available 2- Book club if the subject has broad enough audience 3- For deep subjects with a narrow audience I would combine it with a project 4- Recently I started using Claude Code as a reading companion. I would read a chapter, and load the full text, or an interesting section and chat about it. I sometimes summarise what I understood and ask if I missed something and it gives insightful observations. Other times I would ask it to represent it in a way that is pedagogically fit for my learning style. For instance as an infographic or interactive playground.
Reasonable-Pianist44@reddit
Ask yourself why are you doing this? "I want the money!"
That's enough to motivate me. Although reading it at 18:00 may not work for me.
I have ADHD and best for me would be an hour before I sleep or just when I wake up for books for the books I don't enjoy but have to read.
Let's not forget that for most people it is best to take notes even if you will never read them to increase retention.
SirIrrelevantBear@reddit
That is how you know it’s working
maxwell__flitton@reddit
Hey I’ve written 5 technical books including the O’Reilly async rust book and the rust and web programming books for Packt. I can chow through books while having a full time and a family so will share my perspective.
The brain is a muscle. you fire specific neurons for an activity and these neurons get insulated over time the more they’re used. The more they get insulated, the less energy it is to fire them. An obvious example of this is muscle memory. Throwing and catching requires concentration. But over time with practice those neurons get so insulated that you can throw and catch without thinking about it. This is where the fun comes in. Because you no longer have to think about, you can do more things like play a sport where you’re concentrating on other players and implementing strategy. This is also why addicts struggle with falling off the wagon, the frequent liars lie without thinking about it.
Like other muscles when it comes to reading you’re going to have to start small. For me, 10 minutes once a day I had to read part of a book. As long as the book was enjoyable that’s good enough. Just like starting a weight lifting journey, you start with light weights. Once this becomes easier you start reading drier more technical material, And over time slowly ratchet up the duration you’re supposed to read. You will get to the point where it becomes effortless and enjoyable. You will be able to have parallel thoughts while reading and will be able to connect dots with other things quickly. Like in sports or playing a musical instrument, you will be able to do more cool things with it. Just like tracking weights or other metrics, you also need to periodically test yourself against the stuff you’re reading. Feed a passage into ChatGPT and get it to ask you questions on it.
If you do this consistently you will have a superpower. It’s shocking depressing how many people (including highly educated) can’t actually read. They can’t retain information about the thing they read, their mind wanders, and they insert and makeup all sorts of things that are just not in the text. (Note: wrote on phone while waiting in a hospital so sentence structure may not be great)
Diligent-Floor-156@reddit
I mostly didn't. Only read one of these heavy books because I was lacking basics in electronics, so I got the electronics for dummies and another one for radio enthusiasts. Other than that, the few really technical books I got I just read the relevant parts to whatever I'm trying to solve, never read one from top to bottom. Can't really imagine someone reading the definitive guide to arm cortex-m4 in a linear way. But to each their own.
Never been a handicap, tbh in this field I often feel like opening a book (paper or pdf) already puts you above most, let alone reading it fully.
Unlucky-Ice6810@reddit
Don't just read about compilers. Actually write one from scratch and use the books as reference. I don't know how people get information reading cover to cover imo. A lot of these books discuss technical topics assuming the reader have context into the problem it's solving.
SagansCandle@reddit
I got to where I am by reading reference manuals. I literally buy the biggest book I can find on a technology and read it end-to-end.
It's work. It's not fun. You do it because it's necessary. Sometimes it's boring. Sometimes it's interesting.
It's good to remind yourself that not everything you do is going to be entertaining.
tifa123@reddit
I could not agree more with this opinion. I usually read boring documentation at work because I need to improve my understanding of how a technology works.
MaximeGosselin@reddit
For me, most of the technical books I’ve read were done a bit at a time before going to bed. My partner used to laugh at me and call them my “geek books.” I’d usually read for about 15 to 20 minutes each night.
Funny enough, most of my thinking about what I read didn’t happen while reading, but during more automatic moments, like eating, showering, or driving to work.
I’ve rarely read a technical book straight through. I need time between sessions to let things sink in and actually process what I’ve learned.
MaximeGosselin@reddit
Another way to stay engaged is to read in parallel with a colleague, kind of like a book club. You each read a bit on your own, then discuss it together the next day.
StevenJOwens@reddit
Yeah, there's a difference between narrative written works and deep written works. Our brains are happier with narratives.
turningsteel@reddit
I just do a chapter a day. It's like going to the gym. Set a schedule and follow through. I'm almost always bored though.
CombinationNearby308@reddit
I'm actually spending an awful lot of time in the contents page trying to keep a mental map of what the book covers and where. Once I have this understanding, I only use the book as reference when I am actually working on something. Working for me so far.
MangoTamer@reddit
I really need to see what people write on this post because I completely agree. You know you need to read it. The wallet is willing but the mind is wandering.
FlipperBumperKickout@reddit
Find the ones which are well written. Put on some good music and vibe.
waste2muchtime@reddit
Being bored is okay. I read a few pages at a time. Make notes. Move on.
local_eclectic@reddit
I don't. Never have. Don't need to. I'm a hands on learner when it comes to software engineering, so sitting down with a textbook just won't do anything for me.
Possibly-Functional@reddit
I am a weirdo who enjoys it.
DeterminedQuokka@reddit
I mean I don’t get a little bored I get super bored.
I try to go on a lot of side quests and implement whatever the book is talking about.
These days I keep a gpt open and rubber duck with it about whatever I’m trying to learn.
Usually I try to solve sudoku with whatever I’m doing whether it makes sense or not. I have so many weird reinforcement learning starts at that.
kvorythix@reddit
code along with the examples instead of just reading. you'll run into actual problems and then the theory makes sense
throwaway_0x90@reddit
Personally I don't learn by just endlessly reading. I very much prefer "codelab" structured learning. It somehow builds mental-muscle memory if I can immediately
*apply*what I'm learning.QuitTypical3210@reddit
Everything in CS in fundamentally not interesting and boring so I don’t read books on it M
serious-catzor@reddit
In case I get bored I just get bored.
Either way I don't read them like I would read a novel. Reading a technical book cover to cover is pointless. I read only short pieces or specific pieces at a time, I take notes, look things up or try them out.
It's like studying, not like reading about cave men romance or about vampire romance or about optimizing the time a intergalactic empire spent in barbarism.
Just go slow because it doesn't matter if you looked at the words. You need to remember and understand them too.
thisFishSmellsAboutD@reddit
My ADHD brain runs off into 10 new thoughts for each sentence I read.
So I take a few notes for each paragraph, which keeps my brain in listening mode and prevents snapping back into thought tornado mode.
Outside-Storage-1523@reddit
I only read books that I'm interested in, like legacy kernel books from the 90s. I found that using AI and social media does impede my patience to read, so I'm trying to limit my usage of both.
I actually read very little for my work.
SingleAttitude8@reddit
Visualise the goal.
Ghi102@reddit
You could try putting it into practice. Many books (especially those catered towards learning) have practical exercises. Actually do them.
Or if they don't offer one, find a practical way to use the concepts within the book
TopSwagCode@reddit
Rarely I ever really read any technical books after school. Often I like more going deep on a specific topic and reading documentation while building. Problem with most tech books, is that there is either lots of topics I already know, topics that aren't relevant to me, topic order doesn't make sense to me, too much "fluff" / filler text. So sometimes a 1 page blog post is worth more than a whole chapter in some books.
eaz135@reddit
Selecting quality books is a good start. Seems like a Wild West out there these days where people with essentially zero real world experience on things are authoring technical books.
When selecting a book I’m more interested in the author and their background / accomplishments than the actual title / contents.
People who’ve been in the trenches building real shit at big tech tend to have more interesting things to share when they author / co-author technical books.
Unlucky_Data4569@reddit
Take notes to keep your brain engaged.
MerlinTheFail@reddit
Do you have a reason or goal? If not, you're not going to retain most of the information and might as well just get a just of the topic.
You need to implement something that actually USES this information, stop trying to cram information for no reason.
Fakeos@reddit
I read book series like "Head first ..." to get a fundamental understanding of the concept I'm looking for.
If I find it interesting and I want to know more than I go for a more complicated book and step by step you read more and more.
You always need to understand the fundamentals very well. I would even say you HAVE to master the fundamentals, otherwise you will just stay stuck on certain things.
Once that is done, you can grow more.
LukeJM1992@reddit
I found Head First: Design Patterns to be a very fun read! It helped that the examples were all relatively grounded in reality, albeit a bit wacky at times.
Fakeos@reddit
I have it too, not finished yet as I'm more into architecture now, but I really liked it.
Traditional-Heat-749@reddit
You gotta read really good books because it takes a special author to make these topics interesting.
Also a tip I got was to read multiple books at a time, and when you get bored switch. If the book just never gets interesting scan find a topic you like read that. If you can’t even find a small section that’s interesting just get a different book.
allknowinguser@reddit
Man I could never get into those books. For me YouTube does better. But I’m curious to hear others tips
geekpgh@reddit
Honestly I just get a little bored at times. Some of it is really interesting and some of it is not. Just been trying to train my brain that being a little bored is OK.
It doesn’t always work though.