Use These Simple Strategies to Retain Everything You Read

One of the benefits of reading is that it allows you to master the best of what other people have already figured out. Of course, this is only true if you can remember and apply the lessons and insights from what you read.

Reading is a way to discover new ideas. The question is, how do we do that well?

This essay outlines how to get the most out of your reading. Whether it’s a book, article, or academic paper — it doesn’t matter. The goal is to use our time efficiently.

In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time – none, zero.

Charlie Munger

Levels of Reading

Reading the words is the easy part. We learned how to do this in elementary school. But reading the words is not enough if you want to retain and apply what you learned.

The first lesson of reading comprehension is that not everything needs to be read the same way. Tailoring how you read to what you read saves you time and increases retention.

Some books deserve a skim, while others deserve your undivided attention.

How much effort you put in relates to what you’re reading, why you’re reading it, and how interested you are.

How to Read a Book explores four approaches to reading (from easiest to hardest).

1. Reading to Entertain — The level of reading taught in our elementary schools.
2. Reading to Inform — A superficial read. You skim, dive in and out, get a feel for the book, and get the gist.
3. Reading to Understand— The real workhorse of reading. This is a thorough reading where you chew on things and digest them.
4. Reading to Master  —  If you just read one book on a topic, odds are you have a lot of blind spots in your knowledge. Synoptical reading is reading various books and articles on the same topic, finding and evaluating the contradictions, and forming an opinion.

Reading takes effort. Choosing where and how to apply that effort makes the difference.

Writing Worth Reading

Most people pay little attention to the second component of reading: selecting great inputs. There is a lot of competition for what to read, and only a very small percentage of it is worth reading.

Just as it’s harder to make healthy choices if your house is full of junk food, it’s difficult to extract great insights from bad writing.

If you simply read anything that comes your way, you end up reading so much junk that you nearly stop reading entirely. A sure sign you might be on this path is that you wonder why others read so much.

The process of selection is becoming harder, not easier.

If you’re like most people, you’ll naturally be drawn to what’s new. New books, for example, are full of sex appeal, marketing, and … mostly empty promises. While a few new books might prove valuable, most will be forgotten quickly after you finish them.

Time filters out what works from what doesn’t. And there is no need to waste time on books that don’t last. Most of what you need from new books (skill development, recipes, etc.) can be found quickly and easily online in much more concise formats.

Read old books. Read the best ones twice.

One surprising benefit to reading that stands the test of time is that I’ve stopped reading the news.

Quit Books

The third component of reading is learning when to quit a book.

Good writing is effortless reading. Bad writing, on the other hand, feels like a chore. Good writing is felt instantly. It is packed with ideas and insight and has a certain momentum that compels you to keep reading.

Quitting is not as easy as it seems. If you were taught to finish what you started, that invisible rule is still with you today and might prevent you from quitting bad writing.

When it comes to reading, you don’t need to finish what you start. You can quit. Once you realize that you can quit without guilt, everything changes.

Skim a lot of books. Read a few. Immediately re-read the best ones twice.

All the time you spend reading something bad comes at the expense of reading something good. Reading a great book twice is better than reading ten average ones.

Reading Speed

Reading speed is a vanity metric.

In the real world, no one cares how fast you read or how many books you read last year or last week. All that matters is what you absorb and apply.

Reading one great book slowly is better than quickly skimming one hundred average books.

A good book, like a good wine, deserves to be savored. Find something worth reading, then chew on the ideas slowly and deeply.

Reading More

You can’t get where you want to go if you’re not learning constantly. One of the best ways to learn is to read.

Reading habits don’t need to be complicated; you can start a simple 25 page-a-day habit right now. While it seems small, the gains add up quickly.

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