Reading in The AI Age: The Part Nobody Says with #1 Book Reviewer Alex & Books | 153

The Grateful Podcast with Jack Wagoner Episode 153 Guesting Alex Wieckowski, known online as Alex & Books  @AlexandBooks  Subscribe for more deep conversations with thinkers, seekers, and soulful creators.Alex Wieckowski has read over 750 books and built an audience of more than a millionpeople teaching other people how to read. So I asked him the question everyone isquietly asking right now: why not just let AI summarize it?His answer was not what I expected. He did not tell me to read more out of discipline.He told me the shortcut is slower. That reading at normal speed is the fastest way toactually get a book, that speed reading costs you more than it saves, and that theperson who benefits most from a summary is the person who writes it, not the personwho reads it.Then he told me about the 100 days he spent reading one book summary every morning,and what he had left at the end of it.If you have been reading less and feeling worse about it, this is the conversation thatmakes the case on your terms, not on guilt.Recorded live at BookThinkers Live 2026.⏰ TIMESTAMPS0:00 — The only legitimate shortcut left0:38 — "Why can't I just have AI summarize it?"1:30 — Information only moves one direction2:17 — 100 summaries in 100 days, and what was left3:03 — Why reading slower gets you there faster3:39 — Four years of experience, or four months repeated4:37 — What writing a book does to how you read one5:57 — What James Clear told him about the first 30 pages6:35 — What people are actually buying when they buy a book9:33 — The professor, the Carnegie book, and the shy kid10:41 — Hobby, side hustle, part-time, full-time11:38 — Read to live, do not live to read12:01 — The Englishman in the desert12:29 — Finishing the book is the halfway point12:53 — The famous book he is embarrassed he has not read13:44 — 75 books a year and the two windows that make it work14:42 — Long form attention is built, not born16:18 — The 8 month rule I set for my first business16:58 — Book a reading meeting🔗 GUEST LINKSAlex Wieckowski (Alex & Books)Website: alexandbooks.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexandbooks_/X: https://x.com/AlexAndBooks_YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/alexandbooksBook: Learn To Love Reading 📺 Listen on your favorite platform:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-grateful-podcast-with-jack-wagoner/id1725776061Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5EsTEpQAjU4BxUrDoFyZ6b🧠 InnerVue — a complete self-awareness tool:→ https://yourinnervue.comUse code GRATEFUL20 for 20% off a Tier 1 InnerVue, plus a complimentary coach-led debrief of your report.🧠 More from Jack:► Website: https://jackwagoner.co► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_wagoner_/► 1:1 Coaching: [email protected]📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jack_Wagoner⸻🎙️ About Jack:I moved to France alone at 16, started my first business at 17, and launched this podcast because I kept meeting people who had the answers to questions I didn't even know I was asking. My philosophy: you can set massive goals while being deeply fulfilled right now. That's the duality of gratitude and ambition.Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.Stay grateful, stay hungry.