Do you read books, but after a week you don't remember what you read? Believe me, it happens to practically everyone - it's natural.
But one tool will help you increase the part of the book you remember: try to find stories about you in the book.
Yes, this is also the responsibility of the author - to write in a familiar, relevant way. Bad is the author who writes only for himself, not for the readers. But you can help the author.
Books (and other media) can be pulled close to you:
- Remembering - when in my life has this example happened before?
- When planning - when could this example be in the future?
- Fantasizing - what would I do if I were in the situation of the character in the book?
- Giving - who among the people I know would be interested in this story?
Yes, what I am saying is not something new.
...But you'd be surprised how many people "devour" books without paying attention to what exactly they're reading. Especially us fans of speed reading techniques. We try to "beat" as many books as possible, but we forget to keep something from those books for ourselves along the way. 🙂
Why am I reminding myself of these book-tightenings? This will help you to memorize the contents of the books better. Reflections and retellings to others, yes, will prevent you from reading very quickly. But you probably agree that it is more important to use the book than to put it on the shelf?
In my experience, the following model works for me:
- I take the book, turn on the music, read for about 5-8 minutes - how long it typically takes to read a chapter;
- I put the book aside, rest my eyes, do XYZ work (even if I water some of the plants) in the next 5 minutes, in the process I think about how this chapter was familiar to me;
- I jot down new ideas in junk mail and anyway, I'll leave you with some leaves OR I'll share with my friends what I found interesting, I'll ask what they think;
- I read on.
From my experience, taking such "reflection" breaks is more optimal than rushing to read and think only once at the end. This is how I rest my eyes and generate more ideas - I make better use of the content of the book.
Of course, you might find it easier to read differently. I don't argue, I understand. I'm just sharing my method of reading books. 🙂
Additionally: Based on this, you can also find which books are not worth reading.
If I see that there are no relevant topics in the book - somehow familiar to me... I just stop reading this book.
Because why waste time on a book that isn't meant for you?
However, there are many, many, many more books than we will ever get through. You have to choose. Sometimes by author and cover, and sometimes simply by familiarity. There are a lot of very good books that you just can't get your hands on. Natural.
Well, or at least that's my reading method.
(Of course, this does not apply to fiction books, because these are not read for information, but only for entertainment. Although I agree that some may disagree, that is just my opinion.)
