Oh definitely, and I think part of the pushback is framing it as "writing summaries". That sounds like homework. :) But I would just call it engaging with th

Oh definitely, and I think part of the pushback is framing it as "writing summaries". That sounds like homework. :) But I would just call it engaging with the ideas after you read. So talking with a friend about a book is just as good, and even better. And writing a comment on a forum can be just as good, as it's an active thing too. I sometimes write comments and then link them from my wiki. I've had a GoodReads account in the past, but somehow it seems a bit shallow and artificial ... almost a bit like homework. It's better if the topics naturally come up, but if they don't, I still find writing notes to myself to enhance the reading experience. I mean you may spend 1 week or 8 weeks reading a book. I don't see why spending 5 to 30 minutes writing notes a few days after can be viewed as bad. I totally agree with the author in that those 5 or 30 minutes is way better spent writing about what you read, rather than 5 or 30 minutes reading something new that you may or may not retain. And again I'm focusing on reading non-fiction for retention, not literature. (For better or worse, I read WAY more non-fiction than literature)