READING FOR CAPABILITY

My library contains several hundred books on religion, politics, and art, with almost no fiction. I abandoned novels decades ago in favour of ideas that explain how the world actually works. Most men my age claim they would read more if they had the time. I have the time because I'm ruthless about what I read and merciless in abandoning books that waste it.

Reading builds capability only when it changes how you think and act. Most reading fails this test. Men accumulate impressive libraries, finish books out of obligation, and remember nothing a month later. They treat reading as performance rather than development.

The alternative requires different principles: knowing when to abandon books, capturing what actually matters, and reading across domains to build frameworks rather than accumulate facts.

Permission to Abandon

If I find a book unexpectedly dull, I put it down and move on. I don't finish a book merely for the sake of finishing it. Life's too short to waste on books that fail to provide value.

This requires overcoming the obsession with completion ingrained in us at school. Teachers assigned books and expected you to finish them regardless of interest or value. That approach made sense in formal education with defined curricula, but it makes no sense for adult reading, where time is limited and purposes are specific.

The first fifty pages usually reveal whether it's worth continuing. Sometimes this becomes clear even earlier. You're looking to see if the book answers questions you genuinely have, offers insights you can apply, or changes your perspective. If none of these occur, move on.

Difficulty is not the same as irrelevance. Some books reward persistence, but many don't. Distinguishing between them requires honest assessment of whether you're genuinely learning or merely enduring.

Books that no longer contribute to your development, that you know you'll never read, or that reflect interests you've outgrown should go. I sell mine on Amazon. Better to have two hundred books you might actually use than two thousand gathering dust out of guilt.

Capturing What Matters

When I come across an interesting line or passage, I write it down in my Drafts app or take a photo if it's longer. This creates a repository of useful ideas I can return to when needed.

The discipline lies in selection. Not everything interesting deserves capture. You're looking for insights you'll actually use, not just clever phrases. Does this change how you think about something? Does it apply to situations you face? Does it connect to other ideas in useful ways?

I often use these lines as starting points for my articles. A theological concept becomes a lens for understanding political behaviour. An observation about art reveals insights into social dynamics. A historical pattern illuminates current controversies. This is where reading transforms from consumption into capability.

Cross-Disciplinary Thinking

The real value of reading across religion, politics, and art lies in how ideas from one domain illuminate others. Specialists often miss insights that generalists catch because they're confined by their field's assumptions.

Religious concepts provide frameworks for understanding human nature that political analysis alone misses. Political philosophy reveals power dynamics that aesthetic theory overlooks. Artistic principles about form and meaning apply to social organisation. The connections aren't obvious until you're reading broadly enough to notice them.

This requires active reading. You're not merely absorbing what the author says; you're testing it against other frameworks, seeking applications beyond the immediate context, asking where else this principle might apply.

When I read theology, I consider its political implications. When I study political philosophy, I notice its aesthetic dimensions. When I examine art, I see its relationship to social order. This cross-pollination produces insights that staying within a single discipline wouldn't generate.

Building Frameworks, Not Facts

Facts without frameworks are trivia. You can memorise dates, statistics, and events without understanding anything that matters. Frameworks let you make sense of new information, predict how situations will develop, and recognise patterns across contexts.

This means approaching books with questions rather than expecting them to provide everything. What principles does this reveal? Where else does this pattern appear? How does this challenge or confirm what I already think? What would it mean if this were true?

Books offer hypotheses about how things work. Experience reveals whether those hypotheses hold up. The willingness to revise your frameworks based on evidence separates genuine learning from ideological commitment.

The Anti-Library

Your unread books aren't shameful. They represent intellectual potential, resources available when circumstances make them relevant. But this requires honest curation, not passive accumulation.

The question isn't whether you might someday read this book. The question is whether you can imagine circumstances where you'd actually choose to read it given competing demands on your time.

Periodically assess your shelves. Which books no longer interest you? Which represent phases you've moved past? Which have you owned for years without opening? Sell them. Your library should reflect your current intellectual life, not abandoned intentions.

Practical Implementation

Before reading, know what question you're trying to answer. Why this book now rather than later? What would make this time worthwhile?

Whilst reading, engage actively. Agree, disagree, question. Notice connections to other fields. Capture genuinely useful passages, not merely interesting ones. Give yourself permission to abandon when value drops.

After reading, identify one insight you'll actually use. How has this changed your thinking? Where else might this principle apply? What should you read next to deepen or challenge this understanding?

The test comes weeks later. Can you articulate what you learned? Can you apply these insights to new situations? Has it changed how you see something that matters?

Common Pitfalls

Reading for status produces impressive shelves without corresponding capability. The highlighter delusion confuses marking passages with learning. Highlighted books feel like accomplished reading but are often just books you glanced at without understanding.

Narrow specialisation produces experts who miss obvious insights because they're trapped in their field's assumptions. Your reading should span domains precisely because connections between them reveal what specialists miss.

Reading without purpose creates the illusion of learning without progress. Every book should address a question or solve a problem. If you can't explain why you're reading this particular book right now, you're probably wasting time.

The Path Forward

Your library should be a working resource, not a monument. Your reading should build capability, not just consume content.

This requires ruthlessness about what you read, honesty about what's worth finishing, and discipline about capturing what matters. It means pruning books that no longer serve you and being strategic about what you add.

The goal isn't an impressive library. The goal is a capable mind.

Richard Morrissey