The Art of Not Reading

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. II, Chapter 24, § 295 (tr. Adrian Del Caro and Christopher Janaway): Therefore with respect to our reading the art of not reading is extremely important. It consists in our not picking up whatever happens to be occupying the greater public at any given time, such as for instance political or literary pamphlets, novels, poems and so on, which currently make a lot of noise and even reach several editions in the first and last years of their run. On the contrary, we should consider that whoever writes for fools always finds a large public, and we should devote the always precious and carefully measured time set aside for reading exclusively to the works of the great minds of all times and peoples, who tower over the rest of humanity, and who are distinguished as such by the voice of fame. Only they really shape and instruct us. Of the inferior we can never read too little and the good never too often. Bad books are…

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