8 Tips to Become as Well-Read as John Adams

Lessons From The Polymath's Reading Life

John Adams was absurdly well-read.

His biographer, David McCullough, put it like this:

“In an age when educated men took particular pride in the breadth of their reading, he became one of the most voracious readers of any.”

Here are 8 insights from his reading life for those aspiring to such heights of erudition:

1) A polymath, he read widely

John Adams read everything, from political theory and history to agriculture and mathematics.

Such breadth of knowledge empowered him to make friends wherever he went.

As Jefferson put it:

“He was so widely read, he could talk on almost any subject, sail off in any direction.”

It’s long been my goal to become a polymath with a firm grasp of the major subjects of the liberal arts— from my true loves, literature and history, to those subjects more foreign to me, like the visual arts and the sciences.

My interests have always been wide. It’s nice to know Adams also sometimes struggled to focus on one subject.

Worried about having too many interests? Don’t be. And check out why you shouldn’t be in my article Dear Generalist, Don’t be Ashamed, It’s a Superpower.

2) He kept a book of poetry with him

In a letter of instructions to his son, Adams wrote the following:

“You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket.”

Refreshed by this idea, I began keeping a book of Wordsworth in my backpack. Does it beat my phone in the battle for my attention while waiting in line? Not always. I’m a 21st-century lad after all, doomed to a life fending off an insidious social media addiction.

But when poetry wins out, the world slows, my anxieties float away, and I’m right there with the great poet on a beach shore or forest path.

Plus, I get to feel like an anachronism, which is always somewhat relieving, as if flouting the norms of the society puts one at a distance from the worries its members so often have.

3) A single great book, mined deeply, can prove a powerful education

When he began practicing law, Adams read and reread Cicero’s speeches over and over again to teach himself rhetoric and oratory.

Especially the book, Cicero’s Orationum Selectarum Liber: Editus in Usum Scholarum.

But he not only read it. He studied it obsessively.

Hoping to dig out all the wisdom he could—and retain it—Adams made comments in the margins. In his diary, he reflected on Cicero’s methods and techniques.

“Tully, in that Peroration [in his defense of Milo], expresses the Passions of his own Mind, his Love, his Gratitude, his Grief and fear, and at the same time moves the Passions of the Judges, the Centurions and soldiers by appealing to them . . .”

Through this intense study and emulation of Cicero’s tactics, he became one of the most successful lawyers and orators of his time, even successfully defending the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre.

4) Even future presidents fall behind on their reading goals

You may be happy to know, as I surely am, that Adams often struggled to focus on his studies and was frequently angry with himself for being too distracted.

At twenty, he wrote in his diary:

“I have no books, no time, no friends. I must therefore be contented to live and die an ignorant obscure fellow.”

At one point, Adams wrote out a rigorous study plan:

“I am resolved to rise with the sun and to study Scriptureson Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings, and to study some Latin author the other three mornings. Noons and nights I intend to read English authors… I will rouse my mind and fix my attention. I will stand collected within myself and think upon what I read and what I see.”

The next morning, he slept in. A week later, he wrote in his diary: “Dreamed the day away.”

The number of times I’ve failed to hit my quarterly reading goals is upsetting, but at least I’m not alone.

5) Marginalia helps one learn and think

John Adams, like many great thinkers, knew that books were meant to be marked up.

Why?

• To force yourself to think.

• To engage in conversation with the authors.

• To save your thoughts and reflections.

Adams, an intense person, marked up his favorite book, Mary Wollenstonecraft’s “An Historical and Moral View of the Origin and Progress of the French Revolution”, with more than 10,000 words of comments, notes, and, as you’d expect from Adams, critiques.

6) One must make sacrifices for a strong education

In his diary, the young Adams wrote,

“‘Let no trifling diversion or amusement or company decoy you from your books,’ he lectured himself in his diary, ‘i.e, let no girl, no gun, no cards, no flutes, no violins, no dress, no tobacco, no laziness decoy you from your books.’”

This is why I keep myself (most nights) to less than 1 hour of television.

The other hours are for reading history and literature. For writing. For spending time with my wife, friends, or family.

Without such a rule, I’m afraid that the lazy version of myself, who sometimes rules over my body at night, would choose television almost every time.

Perhaps that’s why David Foster Wallace did not have a television at all.

7) Reading => awareness of ignorance => desire for more reading

Whenever I step into a bookstore I simultaneously feel the excitement of a boy in a candy shop and the anxiety of a person running out of time.

There is so much to learn, and so little I know!

A hundred books on European History. A hundred on nature and wildlife. A hundred on psychology.

Adams must’ve felt the same at times, having wrote:

“The more one reads, the more one sees we have to read.”

To fuel this engine of reading motivation, try filling your bookshelves with books you haven’t read. This is what Nassim Taleb calls an antilibrary:

“The library should contain as much of what you do not know as your financial means … allow you to put there. You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly. Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call this collection of unread books an antilibrary.”

8) Reading is essential for a well-functioning democracy

A statesman at his core, Adams’ opinions on reading expanded beyond himself and into society at large.

“The preservation of the means of knowledge among the lowest ranks is of more importance to the public than all the property of all the rich men in the country.”

He knew an educated populace is a vital and moral one. We would do well to remember that.

The Relationship Between Polymathy and Autodidactism

Polymaths like John Adams are almost always autodidacts—self-taught individuals.

Ben Franklin didn’t attend school every time he wanted to master a new subject, craft, or profession. That would be insane and economically unfeasible.

Instead, he studied and practiced on his own.

This commitment to lifelong learning, along with the valuable skill of self-learning, has enabled Franklin, Adams, and other remarkable figures to achieve success in many fields, turning their multi-passionate selves into true renaissance men and women.

The Autodidact Academy

If you want to learn the skills necessary to flourish as an autodidact, master new subjects, and get a well-rounded education outside of school, consider joining the paid tier of Knowledge Lust.

It has extensive how-to guides for powerful self-study methods like a topical reading, dialectical study, the 4-pronged approach to goal setting in self education, and much more.