It has been found that writing book reports increases retention of the material. You don’t have to actually write a formal report to take advantage of that, though. Try to work up a habit of talking to people whom you see often (coworkers, family and friends) about what you read. Listen to them for ideas and be their sounding board and then use them in the same way. Reiterate what you learned, try to extrapolate into new ideas, make criticisms and practice oral book reporting. Humans are linguistic creatures, thinking and verbal expression are closely connected in content and quality.
Ask HN: How Do You Read?
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Re: Ask HN: How Do You Read?
#22If it's not technical book I usually go for an audiobook while doing other things, e.g running, gym. Then I open the section in Play Books and skim through what I've listened, highlight important stuff and it creates a document with my highlights automatically and saves it to drive. I've found that doing this way really helps with information retention and I can do much more books with this method.
Also, if anyone knows good open source alternative which would work on mobile and web in a way Play Books works - would be great to try. I've seen few libraries e.g epub.js and also NextCloud has its way to display uploaded books, but couldn't find a fully working alternative.
Re: Ask HN: How Do You Read?
#23Sorry OP to hijack your thread
I skimmed through the comments and folks have said they read slowly, but also say they average about a book a week. Is that really true? How many books would you say you finish on average per year?
I read quite quickly but I average about a book every 2 weeks because of other commitments (consistently ~25 per year)
Re: Ask HN: How Do You Read?
#24In my opinion, reading is more for shaping your thoughts over time. I generally don't read for recall value except for technical things, and even there, it's better to build a good mental model of the subject through a combination of reading and exercises, then use a book as a reference.
For non-technical books, I've very rarely seen any value in taking comprehensive notes (except highlights). I read those on a Kindle, so it's easy to highlight and reference highlights later.
Re: Ask HN: How Do You Read?
#25Reading for reference and reading for pleasure are two different things, and I'm only going to address the latter.
Reading is an experience, not a chore. The value of reading comes from the reading, not from the "have read". The fraction of information you retain from your hobby reading is essentially irrelevant.
Re: Ask HN: How Do You Read?
#26I feel like I’m an outlier here on HN, but I read very slowly. My mind constantly switches back and forth between other stuff, and frequently have to repeat (sections of) a page just because I wasn’t paying enough attention. Needless to say, I don’t read a lot. Once in a while I find a book that interests me, and usually it takes me around a week or two to complete (when reading around 30 - 60 minutes a day).
I do the forgetting what I just read thing too. I've now gotten to the point where I know it's time to put the book down if that starts happening. It's crazy how our brain and read words but not actually do anything with them.
Re: Ask HN: How Do You Read?
#27If it's a good book I resd it as fast as I can, enjoying every moment of it. 6 years later I forgot everything and get to read it again. Twice the fun and bang for the buck! :)
Re: Ask HN: How Do You Read?
#28I feel like I’m an outlier here on HN, but I read very slowly. My mind constantly switches back and forth between other stuff, and frequently have to repeat (sections of) a page just because I wasn’t paying enough attention. Needless to say, I don’t read a lot. Once in a while I find a book that interests me, and usually it takes me around a week or two to complete (when reading around 30 - 60 minutes a day).
Same here. Compounding that, I usually can't justify reading things for enjoyment, such as various fiction or non-fiction books. Thus my go-to is usually technical literature, which suffers even more from the phenomenon you described.
At the same time I'll bounce around on the web and voraciously read a wide spectrum of things on a daily basis. Anything from programming topics to spending an afternoon reading a neurology systemic review.
I think it's the format. With books I really have to have a singular focus, and I can't periodically task switch or indulge in nervous tics like repeatedly clicking the page background as I read.
Definitely used to read a lot more physical books. Guessing prolonged computer/internet/smartphone/game use tends to fracture one's attention span in weird ways.
Re: Ask HN: How Do You Read?
#29I feel like I’m an outlier here on HN, but I read very slowly. My mind constantly switches back and forth between other stuff, and frequently have to repeat (sections of) a page just because I wasn’t paying enough attention. Needless to say, I don’t read a lot. Once in a while I find a book that interests me, and usually it takes me around a week or two to complete (when reading around 30 - 60 minutes a day).
Have you every tried listening to content. I’m adhd and dyslexic and have found that I retain content I listen to far far better than sight reading.
Re: Ask HN: How Do You Read?
#30I just read a chapter or two a night so that I always make progress and have time for reading.
As for remembering, you won't remember everything. I think the commentor that said it's about shaping your mind over time is correct.
It's just like how you want to surround yourself with smart/successful people. You might not remember everything they say or do but it shapes you.
"iron sharpens iron"