We all love reading books and discussing them with others. There are so many books on so many topics. We can read only a few of them in our lifetime. What happens after we complete the reading? Nevertheless, it is impossible to recall what we read in a book after a while because we fail to get the most out of reading a book.
As a result, many people avoid reading books for fear that they won’t be able to retain and remember what they learned. What is the most effective method of retaining maximum information from a book we read? This is what this article is about. Here we discuss the best tips to get the most out of reading a book. These tips are compiled from expert opinions and thorough research.
Decide why are you reading the book?
It is very important for the reader to decide the reason for reading the book. Because once you know the reason, it is very easy for you to get the most out of reading that book
Many people read books for the purpose of passing an exam. So such person needs to keep the exam pattern in their mind. Others read books for general information or analysis. Such readers may highlight the points that interest them the most.
So it is the base of reading any book to know the reason because it gives you the roadmap for the entire book.
Understand the book’s main idea
All books are centered around the main idea. All chapters of the book examine and explain the main idea. Once the reader understands the main ideas, it will be very easy for him to distinguish between the main arguments and supporting details.
By doing so, it becomes very easy for the reader to remember only the main ideas and skip the details that support the arguments.
Take Notes
If you take notes while reading a book, it helps a lot to remember the key points. Whenever you find an interesting point or an argument just note it down. You can also add your comments on the argument.
It is very easy to better understand and remember when you engage with the content while reading. Reading the notes later helps you recall the content and you don’t need to go through the complete books.
Reflect on and analyze the main arguments
There is no need to rush while reading as you are not reading to complete as many books as you can. It is important to prefer quality over quantity. Therefore when you read an argument made by the author, take a break from reading and think about it.
Once you start practising this, you’ll discover that there are multiple ways to look at a situation. This habit also increases your analytical skills. You just don’t read the book but also praise and criticize where needed.
Identify the author’s bias
Bias is not necessarily a negative thing. All of us are biased. When you read a book on a certain topic of political, cultural or religious nature, it is very important to identify the author’s bias.
It helps you better analyze the main idea of the book. It also helps identify any exaggerations and flaws in the author’s argument. By following this method, the reader is fully aware of the topic.
Summarise and review
After completing the reading of a book, write down a review and a book summary. In the book summary just write a summary of all the events and arguments that you read.
During the book review, critically analyze the author’s point of view and mention why you agree or disagree with certain points. This will enhance your overall understanding and memory of the content.
Share what you learnt
Sharing your knowledge doubles your learning and memory retention. Therefore, whenever you complete reading a book, must share it with others. It also helps others learn about new things.
There are many ways of sharing. You can tell your friends, you can post it on social media or you can record a video review and post it on youtube. This will also increase your audience as people like to connect with book readers.
Implement and integrate the lessons
All books offer lessons. Reading is of no use if it does not change us for the better.For example, reading biographies offers you many lessons. You must be able to enlist lessons after a careful reading of the book. You cannot implement all of them.
Take lessons that will help you more in your life and that you can easily implement. Integrate those lessons into your lifestyle and daily routine.If you do that after reading every book, you can change your life for better within a few years.