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Originally Posted by ken nubo  Reading doesn't make you smart, reading excellent books make you smart. So be very selective on what kind of books you read. Nowadays I just read non-fiction books, mainly how-to guide to improve my technical skills, like owning a business or learning a foreign language.
If you like reading, fine, but if you think reading the newspaper, junk magazines, novels and lots of books, it isn't going to make you any smarter. Dumber, perhaps.
So start today by reading only what's valuable and practical and not waste your precious time on useless information. |
There is a lot to be said for broad reading, as well as deep reading. By reading widely, you are exposed to a wider range of ideas. You can also come to have a greater appreciation of the best works, after having contrasted them with shallower ones - and critique them, using critical thinking skills built on works in which flaws are likely more easily found. Perhaps most importantly, to be able to read fluently, one must have read a lot in the past to get to this level: if you can't read without difficulty, reading great works becomes far more tedious and less rewarding.
There are further considerations. One is how well you can write and express yourself; by reading a large variety of well-written works, you can become a much better writer and communicator. I'm not aware of any way to become a good writer short of this, in fact. In this field, both classical rhetoric and modern novels have serious advantages over most technical books. Another consideration is learning to evaluate information for yourself - it's a critical skill, and one which I suspect is best developed by reading large varieties of material, and conscious thought, rather than relying on second-hand information about what is worthwhile.
You mention foreign language learning. For this, unless your goals are purely conversational, it is essential to read a lot, including modern works - many classics use dated structures and vocabulary. This is, to the best of my knowledge, the most effective way to increase your vocabulary from the perhaps 3000 words of everyday conversation to the 20,000-100,000 that you need at least passive knowledge of to be able to read fluently and comfortably.
One concept which appears in several places, including foreign language learning, is that of reading for quantity vs for quality. By reading for quantity, you get massive amounts of input, and greatly increase your understanding. By reading for quality (small amounts of high-quality material, with a great deal of focus), you can fine-tune your understanding and use of words and structures.
[The 'you' above is usually meant to be the general 'one' of English, rather than the specific poster I'm replying to.]