I've moved most of my reading activity from books to long-form journalism articles, Stratfor, HN, and Quora. That said, books have not completely left my life. There's a certain cross-section of really really smart people, who encode their ideas only in books. These ideas are foundational, they provide the bedrock on which I understand the rest of it.

These ideas, you think you've read half a book and gotten the gist, but as time wears on, the ideas take on new life. Take, for example, a book like Guns, Germs, and Steel. I'm not going to go back and reread that book, but the underlying idea of geography as a fundamental determinant of society, is worth revisiting as time goes on. Because you miss things. You miss the full depth of what and how.

I find myself reading fewer books, and spending more time with each one. I savor each chapter, considering the implications over the next day before I read the next. The latest book I've read is The Dictator's Handbook, and I've found it pivotal. It places so much in perspective. The idea that corporate governance and small-country tyranny would have so much in common is something you just agree with because it sounds so right, but the book actually walks you through how and why.

That's what I'm looking for in a book. Something that totally changes how I look at a certain aspect of the world. Anything else just isn't worth the time.