# Strategic Reading

Read a book, article, transcript, or case study through the lens of a specific...

- Repository: https://github.com/garrytan/gbrain (31427 stars)
- Category: Writing
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add garrytan/gbrain --skill strategic-reading -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add garrytan/gbrain --skill strategic-reading -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add garrytan/gbrain --skill strategic-reading -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add garrytan/gbrain --skill strategic-reading -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add garrytan/gbrain`

## Description

Read a book, article, transcript, or case study through the lens of a specific strategic problem you're facing. Produces an applied playbook that maps the source onto the problem and gives short/medium/long-term recommendations. NOT for general book summaries.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# strategic-reading, Applied Analysis from Source Texts

> **Convention:** see [conventions/quality.md](../conventions/quality.md) for
> citation rules (every recommendation cites the source) and back-link
> enforcement.
>
> **Convention:** see [_brain-filing-rules.md](../_brain-filing-rules.md), > output files by primary subject (concepts/ for general strategy, projects/
> for problem-tied playbooks).

## What this is

Take a large text PLUS a specific strategic problem, produce analysis that
maps the text's insights onto the problem. This is not book summarization.
This is reading with a mission.

Where `book-mirror` personalizes a book to the reader's whole life,
`strategic-reading` personalizes it to ONE current problem. Same shape
(extract → analyze → mirror), different lens.

**Canonical example:** a power-dynamics history book read against a
specific gatekeeper-vs-incumbent fight, producing a tactical analysis that
maps the book's playbook onto the situation with counter-tactics and a
short/medium/long-term playbook.

## Inputs

1. **Source text**, book (EPUB/PDF), article, transcript, historical case
   study, any large document.
2. **Strategic problem**, the specific situation to analyze through the
   lens of the text. The user describes this explicitly or it's obvious
   from context.

## Output

The brain page is the artifact. PDF is a rendering, never primary.

### Brain page structure

```markdown
# [Source Title], Applied to [Problem]

> One-paragraph executive summary: how the source maps to the situation,
> the key insight, the bottom line.

## The Core Parallel
How the source's central dynamic maps onto the user's situation.

## Chapter / Section Triage
For each major section of the source:
- 2-3 sentence summary of what it says
- Relevance to the problem: HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
- One directly applicable quote (if any)

The rest: https://github.com/garrytan/gbrain/blob/HEAD/plugin-variants/gbrain-daily/skills/strategic-reading/SKILL.md