‘But never read a book from cover to cover, except for pleasure. When you are working, find out what the book is saying much faster than you would by reading it through. Read the conclusion, then the introduction, then the conclusion again, then dip lightly into any interesting bits.’ What he was really saying was that 80 per cent of the value of a book can be found in 20 per cent or fewer of its pages, and absorbed in 20 per cent of the time most people would take to read it through.
