More advice on reading, sent to a friend

On knowing your enemies.

My friend,

I only just sent my last letter, and I haven’t given you the time to reply, but I felt there was something I needed to add. So I thank you for your patience, and if I have used all of that up, I ask for your forgiveness.

In my last letter, I gave you some advice on how you should pick what you read. I gave you advice on how to read. I even suggested some books you could read. I hope you’ve read some Dostoevsky by now. But did you notice that all of that advice looked to the future? It was advice on what you should do as you are looking forward in time. And sometimes you need to remember to look back just as often as you look forward. That’s what I forgot when I wrote my last letter. So today, let me give you some more advice.

On occasion, you should look back over the argumentative books that you have read — the philosophy, history, politics, etc. Maybe do this twice a year, if you’re someone who needs a schedule. You should ask yourself which books benefited you the most, which books you found to be disappointing, and which books were pleasant surprises. You do not have to write the answers down. The important thing is that you should ask the questions and really think about the answers.

Then, ask yourself this question: did you read these books because you thought you would agree with them?