My friends often tell me that they prefer my explanations over reading a book. Since I can’t be with all my friends at all times, lol, I try to highlight key parts that I would likely mention if we were having a one-on-one conversation.

I focus on highlighting passages that convey key bits of information, such as specific concepts, definitions, dates, patterns, or quotations that I feel they should remember. By marking passages that are particularly meaningful or insightful, my friends can focus their attention on critical ideas and themes, making it easier to grasp the author’s message or argument, allowing us to have deeper conversations later down the line. 

When I was young, my mom would highlight vocabulary words in my school books to help me understand and comprehend complex, challenging, or simply new material. When she highlighted key parts, it encouraged active reading, prompting me to engage with the text actively rather than passively consuming information. I tried this technique a few years back with one friend, and she said the highlighted parts helped her so much that it became her favorite book. It made me so happy to hear that from then on, whenever I have time on a flight or by the pool, I highlight passages in books I plan on gifting to friends (for their birthday, Hanukkah, Christmas, or some occasion).

In books like this (technical or bitcoin-related), I try to avoid focusing on highlighting bits that have a personal connection to me (like a special date that also coincides with my birthday or something) because there is no point in them reading a book highlighted with my emotions as they can have this side of me when we go for tea.