I have to repeat myself again, this time I’ll be short though. Reading non-fiction books is a big waste of time, 99% of cases. Counterintuitive, I know, but I have my reasons to say it. At a glance:

  1. If you think that reading something that you don’t need right now is important because it could come handy in the future, know that this is virtually never true. By the time you’ll need a specific piece of information, what you previously read will either be outdated or you’ll have forgotten about it. If you come across something that you know you’ll need, better to bookmark it than studying it.
  2. I’ve spent an incredible amount of time reading books during the past few years. None of them made me a millionaire, none of them was worth at all unless I could apply what I learned immediately. Ironically, reading books is a good excuse to avoid doing what you know you should be doing. How’s that for procrastination?

Reading books is good initially, but after a while it becomes just another way to procrastinate. Work toward creating stuffs, and when you find an obstacle, pick up the book that’ll help you solve the problem. Don’t do the other way around. That’s counterintuitive.

Update: I received a lot of critics already, which are always welcome. I would like to clarify one thing: my point is not wherever reading books is bad per se, of course it’s a good way to sharpen your skills, but rather if it’s the best use of your time. For example, if you want to learn about web programming then you should pick up an idea and work until you get stuck, ask for help (which may include books), and then repeat until you get where you want.