You may think that what I'm about to describe is impossible. I assure you—it happened.
Yesterday, my friend and I both read a textbook. End-to-end. In one sitting.
He read AI Engineering in 14 hours.
I read the original, unrevised edition of The Way Things Work in 15 hours and 30 minutes.
This approach—reading an entire textbook in a single marathon session—is what we call "majoring" a book. And it might just be the antidote to our collective crisis of attention.
When you read an entire book in one sitting—what we're calling "majoring" the book—its entire contents are available in your short-term memory.
Your experience of the characters, or of relevant context from previous chapters is totally fresh. When done, you remember the totality of the book: you can say what wasn't in it, you can experience emotions that are about the entire journey of the text.
This creates a fundamentally different relationship with the material than the fragmented reading experience most of us have become accustomed to. Instead of isolated concepts floating disconnected in your mind, you develop a coherent mental model—a knowledge structure where each piece reinforces the others.
The benefits extend beyond mere retention:
When majoring a textbook, employ these fundamental strategies to maximize retention:
For those looking to take their retention to the next level:
Remember that the goal isn't perfect memorization but rather developing a coherent mental model of the material that will serve as a foundation for deeper learning later.
We choose not to bend as the grip of our attention is softened and lost—we read, against the dying of the cognitive light.
It's far too easy to notice your attention span slowly dying and feel helpless, giving in to that most tragic aspect of an otherwise fantastical technological society. Do not be like those elite college students who can't read books, as described in this Atlantic article.
"I can't read books anymore," a student told me recently. "I can only read articles or listen to podcasts."
This confession has become commonplace, even among our most academically accomplished students. The ability to sustain attention through an entire book—once the foundation of education—is eroding rapidly.
Majoring textbooks is an act of rebellion against this trend. It's a declaration that we will not surrender our cognitive capabilities to the attention economy. It's a commitment to the kind of deep thinking that has driven human progress for centuries.
The practice requires discipline, certainly. But more than that, it requires belief—belief that your mind is capable of more than you've been led to think, belief that the rewards of deep engagement outweigh the dopamine hits of shallow consumption.
Not every book is suitable for majoring. Dense theoretical texts might require more time for reflection, while narrative-heavy books might be easier to consume in a single sitting.
Here's a quick way to test whether a book you'd like to major is compatible with this Reading Marathon:
10 hours is 600 minutes. Use this pace guide to estimate if your book is compatible:
| Your Reading Pace | Maximum Book Length |
|---|---|
| 1 minute per page | 600 page book |
| 1.5 minutes per page | 400 page book |
| 2 minutes per page | 300 page book |
| 3 minutes per page | 200 page book |
The ideal candidates for majoring are books that build knowledge cumulatively, where later chapters depend on understanding earlier ones. Textbooks, particularly in technical fields, often follow this pattern.
Reclaim attentional agency! We hope that the Reading Marathon can inspire you to choose to think in long-form once more.
In a world designed to fragment your attention, the ability to focus deeply for extended periods is becoming a rare and valuable skill. By practicing the art of majoring textbooks, you're not just acquiring knowledge more efficiently—you're rebuilding your capacity for sustained thought.
This capacity transfers to other domains. The person who can read a textbook for 15 hours can also:
In this sense, the Reading Marathon is both an educational technique and a form of cognitive training—a deliberate practice that strengthens the mental muscles most threatened by our current information environment.
The choice to major a textbook is a choice to swim against the current of our time. It's a declaration that you will determine how your mind works, not the algorithms and attention engineers of the digital economy.
It's a reclamation of your most precious resource: your attention.
Successfully majoring a textbook requires preparation. Here are some practical considerations:
Create a dedicated space free from distractions with good lighting, comfortable seating, and all necessary supplies within reach.
Turn off notifications or put devices in another room. Use apps that block distracting websites if using digital resources.
Take regular short breaks (5-10 minutes hourly) to stretch and change physical reading position. Rest your eyes. Prepare light, nutritious snacks that won't cause energy crashes.
Begin with a clear intention about why you're reading this book and what you hope to gain to sustain motivation through difficult passages.
Decide in advance how you'll engage with the material—detailed notes, mind maps, or simply reading and trusting your memory. Different approaches work for different people and materials.
Example of effective textbook notes
The majoring approach aligns with several principles from Optimal Pedagogy, particularly the Feynman Technique and mastery learning. When you read a textbook in one sitting, you're forced to engage with the material at multiple levels of abstraction, constantly testing your understanding as you progress.
This intensive approach creates the ideal conditions for Bloom's Two Sigma phenomenon—where the right learning methods can elevate average students to the 98th percentile. By combining deep immersion with active engagement techniques, you're creating a self-tutoring environment that maximizes retention and comprehension.
The most important factor is commitment. Once you begin, resolve to finish. The transformative power of this practice comes from the complete immersion—the unbroken thread of attention from beginning to end.