Comment by ji_zai
Too many people fall into the trap of over consuming knowledge.
The only knowledge that matters at the end of the day is experiential: the kind that is learned by doing.
The kid who ships a product to a dozen users, learns and iterates with determination and focus, will have learned far more than the intellectual reading and waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
Of course there is value in intellectual knowledge, but most are far from the optimal balance - too skewed towards the intellectual vs. engaging with, and learning from, reality.
Books are an efficient way to transfer the experiential experience others have already gained over into your own reality.
I agree that direct experience is more powerful, but with zero reading, you don't know what you don't know. People can over-read, and I've seen inexperienced management teams pass books around like candy instead of leading and doing, but there is a healthy balance where you read some, do more, and grow.