Reading books is one of the favourite pastimes of people today. Are you a wide reader who wants to remember what you read? Then, you’re on the right path. In this article, I will reveal to you some book reading tips to remember what you read. With that, you can make the best of your reading habit. In addition, you can also improve your reading skills.
Reading a book is fun and entertaining. It can help you learn new ideas which you can apply in life. Meanwhile, it is sometimes challenging to remember what you read. So, you should know how to remember what you read. Fortunately, there are various ways to remember what you read. These include skimming, reading with a purpose, writing a short summary, making searchable notes and more.
Do you want to learn more about how to read books effectively? Then, keep reading. I will explain each technique to help you understand what you read. With these tips, you can easily remember things you read from your favourite books.
Writing a short summary
If you want to remember more of what you read, I suggest you write a short summary. For example, you can summarize it in just three sentences. By summarizing the book, you can learn the essential things from it.
As you summarize a book, you can consider the following questions:
- What are the main ideas of the book?
- How can I describe the book to others?
- If I’m going to implement an idea from this book, which one would it be?
Skimming
Skimming is another effective method to help you remember what you read. I assure you that proper skimming can help you learn the main ideas of the book. Skimming involves putting an emphasis on pictures, key paragraphs, graphs, headings, and tables. These are usually found at the beginning and end of the book.
You can slow down and carefully read the parts that can fulfil your reading purpose based on your purpose. Skimming is beneficial to prime your memory to remember as you read it for the second time easily.
Knowing your purpose
Before you read, I recommend you to know your purpose. Then, you can fulfil that purpose on the actual reading. It allows you to concentrate on the more relevant parts of the book.
Take notes
Taking notes is essential to integrate and reflect what you read to your mind. In note-taking, you can choose one technique that will work for you. Some prefer to take notes on index cards, while some choose a digital system.
Stay focused
One way to remember what you read is to stay focused. As you read, make sure to focus on the book only and nothing else. There should be no distractions like tv, cellphone, and more. It is helpful, especially if it has a complex or dense subject matter. You should be engaged in an active reading to understand the idea it conveys.
If you struggle to stay focused on a lengthy book, I advise you to read about 25 pages of it daily. With this method, you can complete reading the book without being bored or overwhelmed.
Stop reading if you get bored
Reading can be fun, but there are some instances that you may get bored. Well, you should stop when bored as you read. You can try the Rule of 50 by Nancy Pearl. With this rule, you will read the book’s first 50 pages and then decide if it’s worth finishing.
Read the book twice
Another way to remember what you read is to read it twice, especially if it’s a great book. According to philosopher Karl Popper, “Anything worth reading is not only worth reading twice but worth reading repeatedly. If it’s a worthwhile book, you can always make new discoveries in it. You can also find things that you don’t notice before.”
Choose books you can instantly use
You can improve your reading skills by choosing books you can instantly use. Putting ideas into action is among the most effective methods to secure them in your mind. Remember that practice is an effective learning form. By selecting a book you can apply, you can give your full attention. As a result, you can remember the material.
Quit more books
As a reader, you always want to read valuable books. You can start reading more books. Well, it doesn’t mean to read the books page by page. You can skim the chapter titles, table of contents, and subheadings of the books. With that, you can find out whether a book is worth reading.
You can quit most of the books that you think are not worth finishing. Meanwhile, you can read great books twice.
Get the mechanics right
It is also essential to get the mechanics right to retain what you read. It means that you need to understand what the words mean to get the main idea of the reading material.
Other tips to remember what you read
Another tip that I suggest to remember what you read is to consider three elements. These include impression, association, and repetition.
Impression
You can picture a scene in your mind and add elements such as greatness or cameo from yourself for a strong impression.
Association
You can associate the text with something you know. It can be a good method for memorization.
Repetition
Keep in mind that you can remember more of what you read as you repeat it more often. So, you should read the valuable book again and again.
By applying these tips, you can enhance your comprehension skills. In addition, you will also enjoy your reading habit and avoid being bored.
Conclusion
To sum it up, there are many ways to remember what you read. With the tips I mentioned above, I hope you can choose the best techniques that can help you retain and understand what you read from your books. By learning to remember relevant areas in the book, you can apply them to your daily life.
