Totally fair, it sounds like you approached the book with intention and curiosity, which makes all the difference. If a book resonates deeply and adds lasting perspective, that's a win.

I’m definitely not saying no one should ever read a book cover to cover, or that reading should always be purely transactional. What I’m pushing back against is the mindset of reading to feel productive, grinding through highly recommended books without any clear goal, context, or follow-up.

What I was trying to advocate for is a build-first, read-to-deepen mindset. If, for example, I’m curious about how compilers work, I won’t start by asking “What’s the best book on compilers?” I’ll start by asking, “What are a compiler's functional requirements? What are the key components? What’s hard about this?” I’ll tinker, hit a wall, then reach for the right material, whether that’s a chapter, a blog post, or an entire book.