Podcast # 733: What a Man With 60,000 Books Can Teach You About Lifelong Learning and Structure Your House Library

Gary Hooverloves books. Among the nine companies he founded was the bookstore chain Bookstop, which was acquired by Barnes & Noble. He has a personal collection of 60,000 books, which he had to purchase an abandoned stripmall medical center to house. And he’s the author of his own book, which is about books, called The Lifetime Learner’s Guide to Reading and LearningToday on the show, Gary shares how his fascination with books was born in his youth, why the collection he amassed over the decades is almost entirely non-fiction, why he prefers physical books over ebooks, and why getting your hands on old books can be particularly beneficial in enhancing your knowledge of the world. From there we turn to Gary’s method for digesting a book, which allows him to glean its most valuable nuggets in just thirty minutes, without having to read it cover to cover. We also talk about whether Gary takes notes on the books he reads, and how to incorporate more serendipity into the way you do your own reading and build your home library.

Resources Related to the Podcast

Gary’s bio on WikipediaAmerican Business History CenterHow to Read a Book by Mortimer AdlerAoM Article: How to Read More BooksAoM Article: Culture You Can HeftAoM Article: 7 Reasons You Should Still Keep a Paper Map in Your GloveboxAoM Article: 100 Books Every Man Should ReadAoM Article: The Best Way to Retain What You ReadAoM Article: How and Why to Become a Lifelong LearnerAoM Podcast #493: 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die

Connect With Gary Hoover

Gary’s Website: Hoovers World

Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!)

Listen to the episode on a separate page.

Download this episode.

Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice.

Listen ad-free on Stitcher Premium; get a free month when you use code “manliness” at checkout.

Podcast Sponsors

Click here to see a full list of our podcast sponsors.

Transcript Coming Soon!

The post Podcast #733: What a Man With 60,000 Books Can Teach You About Lifelong Learning and Building Your Home Library appeared first on The Art of Manliness.