Does anyone else suck at reading books?

hackman2007

I'm typically not much of a reader, but there are a few topics I'm interested in gaining more knowledge in (Active Directory for example), but for some reason I can't sit down and actually read a book about it. I get about 10% through the book and just get tired of reading it.

This didn't happen with my certification books. I was able to read them easily, but I'm wondering if that's simply because I was working towards a measurable goal?

Is this happening to anyone else or is it just me? And is there a way to get around this?

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Comments

someuser23

Yes, I got my A+ since I was in school at the time and had to stay on top of it but since I'm not in school I get lazy. It's pretty much about how bad you want it. How bad do you need it?

hackman2007

Scott LaRock wrote: »

Yes, I got my A+ since I was in school at the time and had to stay on top of it but since I'm not in school I get lazy. It's pretty much about how bad you want it. How bad do you need it?

I don't really need it per se, just would be nice to have the knowledge.

PC509

Depends on the book, and the writing style. There are some (Project+ Book, for example, from Sybex) that I can't read. Too dry, don't care for the topic, etc.. I'm NEVER going to be a manager, I'm too hands on. I want to be the one configuring things, and fixing things. But, other books, like the Security+ from Darril Gibson was very easy to read. I'm interested in the subject, it was well written and wasn't so dry. Others, like beginning networking or things like that are difficult to read, as it's mostly stuff I know.

One thing you might try: as you're going through the book, fire up a VM of Server 2008R2 or something and do the exercises. Do the hands on stuff in the book to validate what it says. That way, you're not just reading, you're doing. Which is completely opposite of what I was like in school. I was great at reading and learning, but I never did my homework. I never saw the point in doing 100 similar questions to show that I learned it. The only reason I passed was I got perfect or near perfect scores on tests. Now, I do the practice stuff in books to see how it works. It helps on exams, too, as you are comfortable on how to do it, what you need to click to get it done, and what it looks like.

It may be the writing style, or your study technique. Switch it up a little bit. Check out a different book at the library. Take a computer apart and put it back together, making sure you know what all the parts are, what they do, where they go, their interfaces and ports, etc.. I've known A+ certified students that still call the CPU "RAM". They got that from the book, because they didn't fully understand.

Of course, I can read a book on nuclear science (and I do for the fun of it), but I'm not a nuclear engineer or even close. I just know the terminology and basic theory. Back up the book knowledge with hands on.

Active Directory isn't a real exciting subject either, and it can get real complicated, real fast. I'm not sure how to spice it up, other than the hands on stuff mentioned previously.

Akaricloud

In order for me to get through any book I need to be working towards something.

Easy solution though! Sechedule an exam or set goals for yourself otherwise.

drkat

I cant read a damn thing. Any book takes me like a year to read. I get a very glazed over look unless I'm on the job fixing something and need the information to solve a problem. .... Might be why I dont specialize.

sieff

over the years I've just learned to force myself. i don't mind reading Cisco Press books, but its not the type of book I take with me to the beach. I set aside 2 hours a day to read a technology book for my free time. It's from 10pm to 12am every weekday. If I'm reading a tech book during the day its mostly because of a pending exam or I need to read over something for work.

vCole

sieff wrote: »

over the years I've just learned to force myself. i don't mind reading Cisco Press books, but its not the type of book I take with me to the beach. I set aside 2 hours a day to read a technology book for my free time. It's from 10pm to 12am every weekday. If I'm reading a tech book during the day its mostly because of a pending exam or I need to read over something for work.

That's a good idea (setting time aside), however my issue is falling asleep while reading.

CiscoKidd

drkat wrote: »

I cant read a damn thing. Any book takes me like a year to read. I get a very glazed over look unless I'm on the job fixing something and need the information to solve a problem. .... Might be why I dont specialize.

I totally agree with you, I am the exact same way. The Cisco Press CCNA was a hard book to read. My mom needed surgery, nothing life threatening, so I was basically able to read the entire book while sitting next to her bed in the hospital while she recovered.

The last few exams I've taken I've used the CBT Nuggets to study. Then if there is something, I didn't quite get, I'll research that particular topic. Between that and practice exams is my usual study method that seems to work since I can't have my mom having surgery every time I have a major exam to study for.

swagger77

I tend to lose interest in the books and fall asleep. But if its regarding a certification I usually manage to read it through aswell. But I like CBTs better combined with reading.