[Mojorisin99]

I love to read books but unfortunately I find after not long after reading one I have forgotten a great deal about them. I can typically provide a general outline of important information but cannot go into depth about them. This is usually specific to non-fiction works.

Does anyone have any advice or tips to help retain more of the information. Typically I just go from one book to the next. Do you typically take some time to reflect on what you have read. Should you write or summarize information after every reading session?

[sweepsubmit]

Highlight/underline sections you think are important or that you don't want to forget. Make notes in the margins.

[missrizz]

Read more about stuff you're extremely interested in. If I read a book that's just ok, I won't care to retain the facts. I'm reading a bunch of books lately about troops stories and battles of WWII and am learning alot because that's my fascination right now.

[piedra]

Reading several time some excerpts and taking notes.

[Ok]

it has been a long time since Ive benefited from reading a book cover to cover.

they are typically comprised of numerous ideas or interpretations, not all of which are relevant or useful. And chances are if you have read related material you are just going over the same in a different format.

gosh if I remebered more than half of everything I read just in the last few years I would be a computer..

which leads to the problem, is that a lot of books are content dense. It simply isnt realistic to suppose that all of the information will be retained in a cover to cover reading. You will need to devise strategies to organise information and be able to apply it in different configurations/situations.

do you have trouble remembering material from a page you have just read ? I have develped an interesting stragtegy for that problem..

otherwise the skill is learning to narrow down and discern the information required.

unless of course the book is related to an exam or test. In which case there are a range of techniques, but most of all time and dilligence are required.

[F. Todos]

In college, I would stop after every paragraph or 2 and paraphrase it taking notes on a computer. Then I would review the paraphrased notes before tests, etc. and retained it very well. Putting it in your own words requires that you understand it and process it at a higher level than just reading words. It will be easier to remember than with a lower level of mental processing.

I haven't read in this method after school, since I usually only read non-fiction for a very specific problem (computer related) but if I wanted to retain info I might not use immediately, I would use the paraphrasing/note taking method.

[$uperman]

Summarize in your own words.

[chokingvictim]

I realized that highlighting and underlining work well. If I don't have time to continue reading a book for a few days and I feel like I forgot what I already read, I go back and just skim the highlighted sections and it helps me remember.
For books I've already read, the same thing applies. Just skim through the highlighted sections.
Reading something and making sure it makes sense before continuing on also helps. I used to read something and just keep going if it didn't make sense, hoping I would understand it by reading on in the chapter. That only works sometimes. Stop and think things through if something doesn't make sense, and you will remember it better. Look up any word you don't understand, and underline it/write the definition in the margin.

[marcus4]

I have to do a lot of reading for uni and I read a lot for pleasure.

Its important for you to be clear why you're reading a certain book. It may be just for an overview, for simple pleasure, for research on a specific topic, for in-depth understanding or to critique the arguments of the author.

You said your reading non-fiction books, so I'm going to assume that its for both pleasure and to gain a certain level of understanding of the topic.

First I preview the book. This doesnt take long.

First I read dustcover. Then I look at the contents and the index of the book to get a general idea of what its about. I also take note of the author and when the book was published. I would then read the introduction and skip straight to the conclusion before reading the rest of the book. By now I should have a very good idea of what the book is about and sometimes I may decide not to read the rest as I might already have what I need or I'm not interested in what the author has to say. This stage is important because itsaves you from wasting time, and if you do read the rest of the book it gives you direction. If I jump into a book without knowing much about it, I find it easy to get lost and confused.

Now, when actually reading the book, its important to read actively and engage the material. You must always be asking 'what is the author trying to say?' 'Are they making an argument, or just introducing a theme or topic?'

At the end of each chapter I will stop and try to summarise in my head what the author conveyed. I find that it helps to pretend that I have to describe the chapter to someone. If I cant do that well, I re-read certain parts of it again. After I can summarise it, I right down the main points and move on.

Going through this process for every chapter doesnt take long. I will usually end up with no more than a couple of pages of notes.

Doing this usually works pretty well. I can recall the main themes or arguments of most books that I've read. If not, I just go back to it and it only takes 15 mins of previewing the book to refresh my memory.

[Maximus]

if it really interests you, you'll retain it