I would suggest that what you say is an excellent illustration of something implied by the OP: we're not reading the way that our learned ancestors did, we're p

I would suggest that what you say is an excellent illustration of something implied by the OP: we're not reading the way that our learned ancestors did, we're processing words. Books mean everything to me, but I can't really quote much if at all from the most recent or even cherished ones. I drive my wife crazy as I add bookshelves to our living room, arguing that I need to have physical books to refer to or I'll forget what I have read entirely. She reads as many books as I do but gets them from the library. But how often do I pick up Herodotus or Knausgaard from the shelf? Not often.