When Santiago advises the Englishman to study the caravan more, the Englishman uses a simile comparing books and the caravan. What is he telling Santiago?

At one point Santiago tells the Englishman that, "You should pay more attention to the caravan... We make a lot of detours, but we are heading for the same direction." The Englishman counters that books are like caravans. Books have detours but, in the end, they reach an overall goal.