5 Easy ways to get and retain more out of the Books You Read.

Well, I didn’t like reading when I was young. Back then, you would find people reading almost everywhere, be it on the train, coffee shop, mall, queues etc. Unlike today, when people spend more time on their phones.

Since reading books was the thing to do at the time, I had to change my attitude towards the book. Also, my parents had a bunch of books and dailies that I could not resist reading back then. That marked the development of my reading culture. With time, I developed an interest in non-fictional books and autobiography. My interest in these two genres was so deep that I unconsciously developed some skills or routines that would help me absorb much from the books I read.

Recently, am reading thrice as many books as I was reading back then. But it is important to note that, how many books you read I not as important as how much you absorb from the book you read. Very few people will have a strategy before they start reading a book. I had to develop my own strategy to help me retain the most from any book I read.

These strategies include:

1. Having a purpose for reading the book – before I pick a book from the books shelf, or order for it online, I love establishing my purpose for the book. I like listing (either mentally or on paper) what I would wish to achieve from the next book that I want to read. Doing this helps me to first of all select the right book for my goal. And secondly, it helps me in comprehending the content of the book because it is something I have anticipated.

2.Imagine yourself narrating the story to others – the wisdom you gain from books will only manifest itself and be useful to you if you use it or apply it in real life. When you share or teach someone else something that you have learnt and understood perfectly, you end up understanding the content of the book even more. Reading and narrating to others will help you have a shift in mindset that allows you to better internalize the content of the book.

3. Try to visualize and picture the scenes – I usually remember a book better when I put myself in the scenes. For example, for fictional books, I would pick a character I love and picture myself as that character. That way,

4. Summarize the book as you read – Another good practice that I developed is to take notes while reading the book. This should be done in a way that will not derail you from following the storyline. Writing will help you retain much of what you read. More so, if you review what you have written afterwards, you will notice that you will be able to remember most of what you have just read.

5. Read and Re-read the book – Just like watching a movie or a TV show for the first time, you will miss a lot of things. I noticed that when I read a book or watch a movie or TV show for the second time, I realize many scenes or aspects of the movie that I had missed when I watched it the first time. Also, reading a book the second time help you to connect scenes that you wouldn’t have linked in the first instance.

 

nice article,I also use the sumarizing method while reading, that's the best way to retain books for a long period of time, when you read and summarize it helps you to store it for a very long time .

 

7 Ways to Retain More of Every Book You Read

1. Quit More Books. It doesn't take long to figure out if something is worth reading. ...
2. Choose Books You Can Use Instantly. ...
3. Create Searchable Notes. ...
4. Combine Knowledge Trees. ...
5. Write a Short Summary. ...
6. Surround the Topic. ...
7. Read It Twice.

 

When I was in the college, I will try to summarise all that I have learnt during the day before going to sleep. I would repeat the same in the morning whenever I wake up
. It really worked and it's very efficient.

 

Actually it's a lesson for most of us. There are alot of people who can only read thousands of books but can not figure out something reasonable that will helped their life.
Actually you are right about that. Reading a book with a purpose is the most important because it will helped you to have more focus on what you want to achieved. summary and narrating the story to others helped stings into your memory.

 

This is a very good and help to many of us on this platform, Many of us have books in our house and don't even read one third of them have end up using them as decoration so I believe this will help someone here

 

I think if you use these five methods everyone will be able to read better

 

I understand that reading and practicing it is one of the best ways that you can get out of books. Having a small notebook where you are going to be taking notes and setting goals for yourself is very important.

 

Actually reading a particular book with understanding is very important. thete are alot of people who only read for a reading sake but don't try to understand what the content is all about.

 

One thing that have really worked for me wharn i am reading a book that helps me to retain things i hve read,is to visualise the things in focus,and i usually employ a metaphore approch to retain things i have read.

 

Five ways you can retain from book you are reading you need to summarize after reading in order to grab something after reading from the book, for me when I see a book that I like I use to download it in order read it my understanding.

 

Nothing makes a book more interesting than reading and re-reading it. With each read a new point is gained. I've read The Richest Man In Babylon multiple times but I still feel a particular kind of joy whenever I'm opportune to read it again because I always have that excitement that I'll be learning something new yet again.

That is exactly what you will get when you are going back to books you have already read before,there is always this new idea you will be getting fromthe books each time you go back to read,it will just be like a hidden fact you did not see.

 

I believe that having a for reading the book it's very important if you are to remember everything that is written in the book. there was a time in my life I was down emotionally so I began reading some books, but the books I could remember were the ones now speaking into my situation at that point in my life.

 

Actually there are quite number of ways to which you can makes impact from the books you read. To which you most have a purpose of reading the book, try to see yourself narrating the book to others and re read again most often.

 

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Well, I didn’t like reading when I was young. Back then, you would find people reading almost everywhere, be it on the train, coffee shop, mall, queues etc. Unlike today, when people spend more time on their phones.

Since reading books was the thing to do at the time, I had to change my attitude towards the book. Also, my parents had a bunch of books and dailies that I could not resist reading back then. That marked the development of my reading culture. With time, I developed an interest in non-fictional books and autobiography. My interest in these two genres was so deep that I unconsciously developed some skills or routines that would help me absorb much from the books I read.

Recently, am reading thrice as many books as I was reading back then. But it is important to note that, how many books you read I not as important as how much you absorb from the book you read. Very few people will have a strategy before they start reading a book. I had to develop my own strategy to help me retain the most from any book I read.

These strategies include:

1. Having a purpose for reading the book – before I pick a book from the books shelf, or order for it online, I love establishing my purpose for the book. I like listing (either mentally or on paper) what I would wish to achieve from the next book that I want to read. Doing this helps me to first of all select the right book for my goal. And secondly, it helps me in comprehending the content of the book because it is something I have anticipated.

2.Imagine yourself narrating the story to others – the wisdom you gain from books will only manifest itself and be useful to you if you use it or apply it in real life. When you share or teach someone else something that you have learnt and understood perfectly, you end up understanding the content of the book even more. Reading and narrating to others will help you have a shift in mindset that allows you to better internalize the content of the book.

3. Try to visualize and picture the scenes – I usually remember a book better when I put myself in the scenes. For example, for fictional books, I would pick a character I love and picture myself as that character. That way,

4. Summarize the book as you read – Another good practice that I developed is to take notes while reading the book. This should be done in a way that will not derail you from following the storyline. Writing will help you retain much of what you read. More so, if you review what you have written afterwards, you will notice that you will be able to remember most of what you have just read.

5. Read and Re-read the book – Just like watching a movie or a TV show for the first time, you will miss a lot of things. I noticed that when I read a book or watch a movie or TV show for the second time, I realize many scenes or aspects of the movie that I had missed when I watched it the first time. Also, reading a book the second time help you to connect scenes that you wouldn’t have linked in the first instance.

These are very good tips on how to remember things one have read in a book,one thing that has really helped me a lot is that i visualise a lot about books i usually read and then try to explain it in the terms that would be understandable to the common person.

 

I can't agree less with all your point. That aspect of teaching other what you learn from book is secret to become an intelligent person. One of the key you can use examine yourself by teaching others. Like Sir Isaac Newton says " if you can't explain it to 8 years kid, then you don't understand it yourself.

 

Reading a book repeatedly raises its interest level more than anything else.
A new point is obtained with every read.
I've read The Richest Man in Babylon several times, but each time I get the chance to read it again, I experience a special kind of joy because I know I'll be learning something new.