How to Be a Smarter Reader in the Age of AI - Ep. 30 with Alex Wieckowski

Alex Wieckowski is on a mission to make you fall in love with reading again—and he thinks AI can help.

Alex, who writes a newsletter that captures lessons from books he’s read and tips to become a better reader, Alex & Books, is a creator with over 1 million followers across social platforms. He’s also the author of a book of quotes that will inspire you to read more, Learn to Love Reading https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Love-Rea....

We spent an hour talking about how Alex uses AI to be a smarter reader, and we tested out a few strategies live on the show, including:
prompting ChatGPT to recommend books that will help me lead a creator-run business better,
understanding the deeper themes in Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddhartha https://www.amazon.com/Siddhartha-Her... with - large language models, and
using AI to create an actionable strategy for Alex to build a course based on the frameworks in Alex Hormozi’s business strategy book $100M Offers https://www.amazon.com/100M-Offers-Pe....

Alex clued me into what he’s learned about developing a good reading habit, and his best advice on how to reignite your passion for books. We also discuss Alex’s predictions on how companies like Neuralink, which make use of a brain-computer interface—a technology that allows users to control external devices through brain activity—will change the future of reading and books. Here’s a link to the transcript of this episode.

This is a must-watch for book lovers, people struggling to finish books, and anyone who wants to take their reading to the next level with AI.

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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Teaser
00:00:34 - Introduction
00:01:36 - Choose physical books over e-readers to boost your memory
00:02:54 - Alex's take on how long books will stay relevant
00:07:40 - Prompt ChatGPT to find your next read
00:13:50 - Articulating Dan's taste in books with AI
00:15:46 - Use AI to find books tailored to solve your problems
00:33:32 - How to use AI as a personal study buddy
00:41:19 - Prompt LLMs to turn insights from books into actionable strategies
01:02:10 - What Alex's rule around buying a new book is
01:16:36 - Alex's advice for anyone who feels like they don't have time to read

Links to resources mentioned in the episode:
Alex Wieckowski:   / alexandbooks_  
Alex’s newsletter: https://alexandbooks.beehiiv.com/
The self-improvement book that got Alex into reading: How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friend...
The books that Dan is reading: Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky https://www.amazon.com/Children-Memor..., Pragmatism as Anti-Authoritarianism by Richard Rorty https://www.amazon.com/Pragmatism-as-...
The books that Alex is reading: Never Enough: From Barista to Billionaire by Andrew Wilkinson https://www.amazon.com/Never-Enough-B..., $100M Offers by Alex Hormozi https://www.amazon.com/100M-Offers-Pe..., Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse https://www.amazon.com/Siddhartha-Her..., Outlive by Peter Attia https://www.amazon.com/Outlive-Longev...