The Book Finds the Problem

The Reader’s Edge | Charlie Samways | September 20, 2026 |

If you tuned in to last week’s newsletter, it was all about finding the purpose of every book you read.

On the back of that one, I was asked how you apply those principles before deciding what to read next.

I suppose that boils down to: What is my method for choosing what I read? 

It’s a crucial question, and one that often gets overlooked.

10 years ago, I wasn’t a reader. And somehow, although I didn’t know it at the time, I started using certain principles which changed everything for me.

I went from an unenthusiastic reader to that person who bores everyone who will give them a chance to tell them about the latest book they’ve read.

In my non-reading phase, I would typically read a book because I was told to (school), or because it was popular at the time. I’d start the first 50 pages, and then give up. 

I’ve kept a personal reading log since my reading habit properly kicked in, back in January 2017, and looking back through it, I can see exactly what changed.

I started reading books that I felt had a clear benefit to where I was in my life.

This is probably easiest to see with non-fiction, but even with fiction books, I was honing an understanding of the types of books that helped me relax more than others.

The first book that kickstarted this change was Dr Dave Alred’s The Pressure Principle.

It was the end of 2016, and the start of my rugby-playing season hadn’t been going as I’d wanted. I kept picking up injuries, which were often on the back of feeling more nervous than normal before games.

I knew something had changed from how I’d played before, and I found this book as the antidote to those issues. It was probably the first time, too, that a book had actually given me the practical wisdom to make positive changes to an issue I was facing.

What followed from that moment on, which I can now see as clear as day, is a clear process for how I started to choose my books.

Reading to Grow 

I love goal-setting.

I set weekly goals based on tangible objectives that are completely in my control. So for my YouTube channel, that’s the content I release, rather than views or subscribers gained.

These goals deeply influence what I choose to read.

Recently, I recognised that I’d been struggling to be creative consistently. I would show up to work, but then I’d find myself procrastinating far more than I should have been.

I looked through my library and found The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, a book specifically written about this very problem.

I read The War of Art, and it provided me with the tools I needed to fight creative resistance.

With that simple decision to read something directly related to a problem in my life, I was able to correct it.

I started choosing books that I believed would positively impact my life, or challenge an opinion I held in a way I needed.

I don’t typically build my library on this principle. I tend to buy books that are critically acclaimed or popular when they come on offer, or when I want to support the author. And of course, these have to be books I can see myself reading.

This approach means that I now have a library which often contains at least one book to solve a problem in my life as it arises.

My library is built with quality in mind, stocked with books I want to read one day. But when I actually choose what to pick up, it's always with a specific benefit in mind.

This Week’s Question

How do you currently decide what to read next? Do you have a method, or is it mostly instinct?

Reply to me at hello@charliesamways.com. I read every one.

From The Channel This Week

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been testing the latest challenger to the Kindle Colorsoft, Bigme B6 Color. This video looks at whether this budget e-reader is worth adding to your setup.

Bigme B6 Color Hands-On: Don't Buy a Kindle Colorsoft Until You Watch This

And I’ve just updated my Free Kindle Guide with a bonus section on speed reading, which is available for all members to download here

Wishing you all the best this week, and choosing the books that will make the biggest positive impact in your life.

Catch up next week,

Charlie Samways