A good book steals time. How should we feel about this fact? On the one hand, it’s wonderful when reading is exciting. On the other hand, if a person stops doing what he needs and immerses himself in reading, then he loses a lot. What does he lose? For example, bedtime, then at work he walks like a nerd, as well as communication with loved ones. One young mother boasted that when she reads another romance novel, she can no longer take care of her child. Well, he’ll yell a little, and when he finishes reading, he’ll feed him. This may be an extreme case, but it happens. How not to make a book a time killer. I propose to apply the criteria for the importance of reading. Any literature can be divided into three groups according to the importance and usefulness of reading. 1. Really necessary reading. What are the possible criteria? You gain knowledge that you can use in your life. Reading allows you to find a solution to a problem, answer a question, or solve a specific problem. The result of the reading should be obvious. 2. Generally useful. There are many useful things in life. A modern person should know literature, history, understand politics, technology, and many other interesting things. This is not a priority read, but is generally useful. 3. I just want to. Often I want exactly what I don’t need. For example, read a detective story and find out who will kill whom in the end. And how will this help you in life? You can read such literature when there is nothing else to do or when there is nothing more reasonable to do. For example, while sitting somewhere in line, it is better to read a detective story than to look at the wall. You can divide all the books you want to read into three piles according to the above criteria. Then it will be clear what to spend time on first, second and third. The main thing here is honesty with yourself. There is no need to put a detective story in the first pile of books and tell yourself that this is a really necessary read, simply because you wanted to. While there's nothing wrong with that, just know that the book is just a time killer right now. The same applies to reading on the Internet. What information should be mastered first, and what information should not be read at all. A lot of the time people just sit and stare at the monitor. They seem to be reading something, but the result is zero. But time passes quickly. Past. Past real and useful things. But, again, there is a state when the head no longer perceives anything, and for a while you can relax, just staring at the monitor, looking at new funny jokes. It’s good when you control your time, and no book will take away the minutes and hours that you can invest in truly worthwhile reading. Pichugin V.G., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.