A New Experiment

Three months back I was talking to a colleague about a book I had read. I remember the book — name’s not important — had left an impression on me. However, when I started recounting what the book taught me, I became tight-lipped. I couldn’t remember the takeaways. I must have spent at least ten hours of my life reading that book, and here I was — not able to recollect what it I had gained in those hours. That day, I started reading the book with a pen in hand. I would jot down any point that I wished to remember on the front pages. Now, at least I can go back to the book I’d read and glance at the key points. But that’s not enough, I found out.

Yet another conversation — this time with my wife — is pushing me to change, rather evolve, my habits again. She complains that I read a lot but rarely share with her. I can go back to the points that I write on front pages of the books, but what about all the interesting articles I read, and podcasts that I hear. How could I remember those learnings and share with her? When I travel to a place I make copious notes, for I know what only those notes will help me with the content when I sit down to write the story of that place. I don’t do that when I do armchair travelling or learn about a new subject. 

One way out is to share my key learnings in small takeaways notes. And do it consistently. I feel this will help me not only remember but also share interesting stories that I come across with others. In my reading lists are many a books that have been added from others’ recommendations. However, I haven’t found a good newsletter that keeps me updated not only about the books but also interesting journals, interviews and that cover a range of topics. With that in mind I hope what I capture in these notes are valuable to you all as well. 

So, here I start a time bound experiment. I will write a weekly newsletter for the next five weeks on the topics mentioned above. If you like them, give me a thumbs-up (like/comment) so that I remain motivated to continue drafting them. Better still, share with others who may enjoy this.

I call this newsletter ‘3 Points Perspective’, which is a known term. My decision to use this is to simply capture only three learning that I have had in the week that passed. I aim to summarise some of the books I am reading. But these books are not going to be new launches. I usually read books that have been recommended to me, and most likely have been in the public domain for at least a few months. But I still hope I will be able to highlight a few books with a perspective that will help you decide if you should spend time reading them.