Getting Started with Avid

Everything you need to begin your first conversation - from importing highlights to starting your first serious thread.

What is Avid?

Avid is a thinking companion for readers. It helps you turn passages, questions, and reflections into conversations that compound over time.

It is not a reading app and it is not just a place to store notes. It is where your reading gets processed into insight.

Step 1: Bring in source material

Today, the two primary ways to add reading material are:

• Readwise integration - connect your Readwise token and import selected books
• Kindle My Clippings upload - upload a My Clippings.txt file from Kindle

Start small. One book is enough for your first session.

Step 2: Pick one unresolved idea

Do not start with the easiest passage. Start with the one that still bothers you, confuses you, or keeps resurfacing.

Good starting prompts:

• "I highlighted this and I still do not know what I think about it."
• "This sounds right, but I do not trust my first reaction."
• "I keep seeing this theme across different books."

Step 3: Use the conversation to think, not perform

Avid is most useful when you are candid about uncertainty. You do not need polished answers.

Try to:

• name where your thinking is fuzzy,
• test counter-arguments,
• connect this idea to something else you have read,
• and return to the question instead of rushing to closure.

Step 4: Save what becomes clear

As your thinking sharpens, save the insights that matter. Over time, this gives you a personal archive of ideas you can revisit and build on.

First-session checklist

• Pick one book
• Pick one unresolved highlight
• Ask one honest question
• Stay with it for 15 to 20 minutes

That is enough for a strong start.