On a small white table beside my favorite reading chair I have five books. (Previously, I had thirty or so books there and decided that was too much). It was hard to pick those five! And it was easy.

Hard because I have over a hundred unread books to choose from in my office. Easy because I go through and ask myself, “What’s most interesting right now? What’s most relevant?”

Here are the five I have today:

• The Practice, by Seth Godin
• Willpower Doesn’t Work, by Benjamin Hardy
• The Self-Managing Company, by Dan Sullivan
• How To Get A Meeting With Anyone, by Stu Heinecke
• The ABC Model Breakthrough, by Dan Sullivan

I read them throughout the week, a chapter or two in one, then putting the book down to take action and apply what I’ve read.

I focus on the idea of clearing them, rather than finishing. I used to think I had to read every little word in a book for it to “count”.

If I like the book and it’s staying consistently useful, I’ll read all of it. If not, I’ll scan my way through sections that seem less relevant.

This works well for me and I tend to find beautiful, unexpected complements from one book to the next that strengthen a concept I’m learning or contrasting ideas that sit in tension and help me find new questions to ask, new ideas to consider.

How do you approach reading? What works for you?