When I was repeating my final year of high school, the atmosphere in our class was oppressive. Everyone was under great pressure and short of time, but I still often made time to read books outside the curriculum. One evening, after washing up and after the dormitory lights had gone out, I took a desk lamp out onto the balcony by myself, intending to read some of Richard Dawkins’s The Selfish Gene.

A roommate said, “It’s not too late to read it after the college entrance exam. You’ll have plenty of time then.” I replied, “If you don’t have time to read now, you won’t have time later either.”

I do not know whether he now has enough time to read. What I do know is that my habit of reading whenever I could fundamentally changed my life.

Before university, books were my biggest expense, mainly popular science, literature, and history. During the summer before university, I finished Engels’s Anti-Dühring, which marked my entry into Marxist theory. My university had a strong reading culture. Its library, student societies, and courses introduced me to many interesting books. I also found websites and techniques for legally downloading free ebooks and became completely accustomed to reading digitally, greatly reducing the cost. I read countless books at university, touching on almost everything except highly specialized science and engineering works.

I would like to share some of my experiences and thoughts about reading, in the hope that they offer some inspiration.

1. Never Count on Reading Tomorrow

If you are always thinking “I’ll read tomorrow,” you do not yet love reading enough. “Tomorrow follows tomorrow; how many tomorrows there are!” Whenever I started thinking “I’ll do my summer homework tomorrow,” I invariably put it off until the last day. How much more easily could I postpone reading, which nobody was forcing me to do?

I greatly admire Ms. Peng, our translation teacher. Her love of translation borders on obsession. Many people wonder why she is so productive. The secret is simply that she translates and marks translation assignments whenever and wherever she can. Once, for example, she was traveling with her husband when they unexpectedly encountered a traffic jam that looked likely to delay them for a long time. Instead of complaining, she started marking assignments in the passenger seat. By the time they cleared the traffic, she had finished marking them.

Although my English is a mess, I have always regarded Ms. Peng as a role model. I have also always thought that hers is a truly happy life. I do not mean that I want to become a translator or a translation teacher, but that the happiest thing is to make something you love your profession.

Reading is driven by interest. Whenever you want to read, start immediately, even if you only glance at a couple of lines. “Read now” and “read tomorrow” are only a thought apart. The key is whether you have discovered the pleasure of reading and genuinely enjoy the process.

2. Do Not Force Yourself to Read Books You Dislike

Books are essentially carriers of written words; written words are carriers of language; language is a tool for conveying experience. Some experiences interest you and others do not; some are useful to you and others are not. Likewise, some books engage and inspire you. Others are beyond what your present experience and knowledge allow you to understand and are not suitable for you, so naturally you will not enjoy them. Forcing yourself to read such books only wastes time.

I once knew a young woman who claimed to love reading. At first I believed her and even gave her two books. Later, when we met, I handed her another and recommended it: “This one is quite good. You can start by looking at the contents.” She took it and said very earnestly, “I like to start on the first page. I think every word the author writes has a purpose.” I nodded, and she began. Within half a minute, before finishing even one page, she smiled awkwardly and said, “I’ll read it tomorrow. I have other things to do today.”

Only then did I realize how little emotional intelligence I had shown. She was certainly not a book lover. For someone like her, maintaining the image of a reader was what mattered. Actually asking her to read put her in an embarrassing position.

In fact, most books on the market are rubbish and not worth reading. Readers need the ability to choose. Even worthwhile books require different approaches: some deserve close reading, some skimming, and some selective reading. With enough experience, you naturally learn what to retain and what to skip. If someone tells you, “I always read books from beginning to end,” that only shows a lack of reading experience. They cannot possibly be someone who has read a great deal. (Hua Shan emphasizes reading from beginning to end, but I think he means working carefully through the classics. I do not believe he reads rubbish books from the first page either.) (Some articles claim Mao Zedong read the Twenty-Four Histories several times. In fact, his reading was mainly selective, with a different focus each time. The Twenty-Four Histories are not easy to read straight through.)

3. Read Actively, Not Passively

That means thinking continuously as you read, taking notes diligently, annotating frequently, and writing reading reports when possible.

Active reading requires recognizing that books are only records of experience, and every author’s experience is limited. You learn from them, but you also have experiences of your own. In many respects, you know more than they do, and your views may be more accurate. Once you remove the mystique surrounding books, you will no longer blindly accept every passage. Instead, you will develop your own thoughts and insights, notice how the content relates to your own experience, and feel an urge to express yourself.

The habit of taking notes can also serve as a reminder. If you suddenly notice that you have not written anything down for a long time, your thinking may no longer be active. At that point, taking a break may be better than continuing to read.

As for reading reports, they take some effort but are genuinely useful. Reading something does not necessarily make it your own. If you can write about it, however, that at least shows that you understand what you have written.

These three lessons can be summed up in one phrase: replace “read tomorrow” with “read now.” The more you read, the more naturally you distinguish good books from bad. The more you read, the more different viewpoints you encounter, inevitably generating thoughts and a desire to express them.

To finish, here is “Sun Quan Encourages Learning.”

At first, Sun Quan said to Lü Meng, “You now hold responsibility for important affairs; you cannot neglect learning!” Meng excused himself by saying that military duties kept him busy. Quan replied, “Am I asking you to master the classics and become a scholar? You need only read broadly and learn about past events. You say you are busy—but are you as busy as I am? I read often and believe it has benefited me greatly.” Meng then began to study. Later, when Lu Su passed through Xunyang and discussed matters with Meng, he exclaimed in surprise, “With your present ability and judgment, you are no longer the old A-Meng of Wu!” Meng replied, “When you have been apart from a scholar for three days, you should look at him with new eyes. Why are you so slow to recognize this, elder brother?” Su then paid his respects to Meng’s mother, formed a friendship with Meng, and departed.