4 ms·

I got this wakeup-call somewhat indirectly. I was looking at what books I want to read in the coming year (a constant struggle :-)) and I realized that at my c

• donatj 4y ago
  How’s your retention on 80 books a year? I manage 6 or 7 a year, and they really need time to ruminate.
  • shanusmagnus 4y ago
    Any tips that have been effective in that rumination? For people who want to get a lot out of the books they read, as you do, I'm always curious about the strategies they've come up with.
    • bborud 4y ago
      As I pointed out in a different comment I have three strategies: - note-taking including writing down my own ideas - use audio books and trying to associate what I'm listening to with where I am (for me, exertion increases retention :-)) - re-reading or re-listening to books/chapters I suppose if I could find people to discuss what I'm reading with, that would be even better. But I'd drive most people mad.
  • bborud 4y ago
    It depends on what kind of book we're talking about. A lot of the fiction I read is just for entertainment then and there. Not retaining it isn't a big loss. In fact, it is probably just good for me to forget. I read between 10 and 20 books per year that are worth retaining. The number of nonfiction books I read depends a lot on how much spare capacity I have for reading and absorbing them. They usually tend to take longer to read in total, and I often re-read chapters, make marginal notes, or take notes in notebooks. I don't often read my notes. I mainly take notes because note-taking itself helps me process and remember what I read. (In general I take a lot of notes and have notebooks going back a few decades). One thing that helps is actually exercising while listening to the audio book version. If I can listen to an audio book while hiking or bicycling, and I vary the route, I can often remember where I was when I heard something and thinking about a particular hike helps me remember what came next etc. The harder the physical exertion, the better I retain what I heard. (For instance, 8 years ago I was listening to the audio book version of an introduction to immunology and the chapter I remember the most of was the one I listened to while carrying my broken bicycle down a steep hill) Retention also depends a bit on how the book is written. Some authors write books that have low information density, which makes my mind wander. However, the real challenge isn't retaining the contents, but who wrote it and in which book. I remember ideas, arguments, and often quite a lot of detail - but I forget names and book titles. This is really inconvenient when recommending books I've read because I first have to figure out who wrote it or what the book's title was. (For work-related books I can usually check my notebooks).
• fullstop 4y ago
  I didn't do the math on it, but I used to finish a book just because I started it and felt compelled to do so. Now, if I'm not enjoying the book after the first 25% of it, I move on to something else.
  • bborud 4y ago
    That's good advice. I'm annoyed with myself for not starting to do that sooner.