I Read a Book in 15 Minutes; Here’s How You Can Do it Too

What I am about to say will certainly earn me the wrath of prose gurus and lit-tards – but I will unabashedly say it – I read a book in 15 minutes, much to the chagrin of bibliophiles around me.

A chance encounter on Google Apps prompted me to download Blinkist, an app that summarises non-fiction books so you can finish reading them in under 15 minutes. The premise behind the product, started by Berlin-based startup, Blinks Labs GmbH, is strong – that most non fiction offers certain key insights that you can even read in just a few strongly summarised slides, or “blinks”.

First, I read Henry Kissinger’s World Order, a detailed book that succinctly explains the international world order of the 21st century in 432 pages, in just under 10 slides. The time it took me? 18 minutes!

Next day, I read the international bestseller, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, written by Ishmael Beah, who was a child soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone. His story served me a chilling account of the horrors of war, and how children are drugged and brain washed to fight and kill others. Ultimately, the book taught me how human affection can help us survive the worst of tragedies, and emerge victorious. This one I wrapped up in 15 minutes.

Later, of course, I read Eric Ries’ The Lean Startup, that taught me the beauty that lean thinking is. Many more on my “reading list”. (more on that later!).

Purists may frown – they may even declare that this form of summarised reading is degenerate, and merely a fancier version of “guides” that helped many of us pass school but were largely frowned upon.

But isn’t capsuled reading better than no reading at all? While I believe you can’t replicate this model for fiction, which has an elaborate narrative with its gentle twists and turns, why must you not do this for non-fiction, which comes with a definitive conclusion, and a solid takeaway?

The success of the Android app of Blinkist, which already has anywhere between 100,000 to 500,000 downloads could perhaps easily answer my question. But I have realised that numbers, or the interest of big European and US-based venture capitalists can’t explain the enormity of potential that bite-sized, mobile-first reading such as this offers to us – the time-crunched, eager-readers. But perhaps a tiny sample of it could.

So, here I have attempted to summarise a 3000-word brilliant Economist article on the rise of Gujaratipreneur (Gujarati entrepreneur), in a few slides. You may read the full article here if you have the time, but in case, you don’t – be assured, that you’ll have indeed read it after just going through these slides.

Let me start by telling you what all you’ll be reading in the next five minutes.

So our story begins in Gujarat, which lies on the western coast of India.

Now, let’s move on to the capsules.

Did these summarised capsules murder reading? Didn’t even bruise it, I would say.

But the serious reader in me is still guilty of having told you this cheat code. So, to sign off, and make myself feel a wee bit better, all I want to say is that while I still enjoy my long reads on vacays and lazy Sundays, I’d still like to start my mornings with little capsules as these, than scrounging for days and time to pursue my elaborate reading.

Also read, QRant: The Blinkist App Will Not Lead to a “Smarter You”