Methodology

ReadMinute exists to give you a non-fiction book's value in 20 minutes on your phone. The editorial process below is how we keep that promise honest.

1. Book selection

We pick non-fiction books that meet 3 criteria:

• Has earned 4.0+ rating across Goodreads / Amazon / book-clubs
• Treats a problem most readers can apply (not academic-only)
• Has at least 50 quotable passages — clear sentences, transferable ideas

We do NOT include: get-rich-quick books, books with unverified claims, books primarily memoir without transferable insights, books we wouldn't recommend to a friend.

2. Quote selection

Each book gets 50-200 pulses. We start by reading the book end-to-end and marking ~100-200 candidate passages. We then narrow to the 50-100 strongest using:

• Crossover test: would this insight work for someone in a different field?
• Memorability test: can the average reader remember this in 6 months?
• Action test: does this suggest a concrete behavior change?

Quotes are verbatim from source. No paraphrasing. No "as paraphrased" liberties. Page references are exact and verifiable.

3. Insight (one sentence, our words)

Every pulse pairs the verbatim quote with a one-sentence insight in our words. The insight is NOT a paraphrase of the quote. It's our synthesis of WHY the quote matters or HOW it connects to other ideas in the book.

Length: 8-15 words. Discipline: each insight is operator-edited (never AI-generated and shipped unchanged).

4. Action (concrete try-this)

Every pulse closes with one concrete action — something the reader could do today, not someday. Length: 1-2 sentences. Specificity: a clear who/what/when, not abstract advice.

Examples of GOOD actions:

• "Block 90 minutes tomorrow morning for one cognitively demanding task. Phone in another room."
• "Pick ONE small action you can do daily for 30 days. Don't aim for big. Aim for unbreakable."

Examples of BAD actions (we don't ship these):

• "Apply this to your life." (too vague)
• "Reflect on what this means." (no clear behavior)
• "Read more books on this topic." (deflection, not action)

5. Theme classification

Every pulse is tagged with one of 8 themes:

• Identity — who you are
• Systems — how you operate
• Behavior — what you do
• Focus — where attention goes
• Decision — how you choose
• Belief — what you assume
• Craft — how you make
• Story — how you frame

Theme color-codes the pulse and lets you read across-books by theme via /theme/identity etc.

6. Editorial review

Every pulse goes through 3 review passes before it ships:

1. Accuracy pass: verify quote is verbatim, page reference exact
2. Quality pass: insight + action meet the standards above
3. Coherence pass: pulse fits the book's overall thesis

Pulses that fail any pass are revised or removed before shipping.

7. AI assistance (transparent)

We use AI tools to draft initial insight + action attempts. Every pulse is then reviewed, rewritten, and edited by a human operator before shipping. No AI-generated pulse ships un-edited. This is editorial discipline, not anti-AI position.

8. Updates

When a reader flags an inaccuracy or a publisher requests changes, we revise within 7 days. The revision history of any pulse is logged in our git history (public when GitHub repo ships).

9. What this isn't

ReadMinute is NOT a substitute for reading the book. It's a way to:

• Decide if a book is worth your full time
• Refresh ideas from a book you've already read
• Carry a book's best ideas with you on your phone

For each pulse, we link to Amazon so you can buy the original. As an Amazon Associate we earn a small commission on qualifying purchases; this funds the curation.