Steal This 6-Step Reading Process To Retain More From Books

13 May 2024 #books

Reading more books isn’t the answer.

In the last two or three years, I read dozens of non-fiction books. The truth is I don’t remember reading some of them, even when I took notes. I don’t even remember their front cover or why I decided to read them.

I was reading to increase a book count. Pure FOMO. Without realizing it, I was trying to copy those YouTube videos: “I read <insert large number here> books, here’s what I learned.”

After that realization, I adapted the slip-box or Zettelkasten method, described in How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens, and other reading techniques into my own reading system.

This is the six-step process I follow to read and retain more from non-fiction books:

Step 1: Intention

Start by asking why you want to read a book.

We don’t jump into a book with the same attitude if we’re just curious about a subject or want to answer a particular question.

That intention will set the tone for our reading. And based on that, we could decide if we want to read the book from cover to cover or jump into a particular section.

Step 2: Overview

Ask if the book you’re about to read can answer your questions or satisfy your curiosity.

For that, understand the purpose of the book and its content. Use reviews, summaries, or anything else to understand the overall book content.

Often book authors go on podcast tours to promote their books, and listening to those podcast episodes helps us understand what their books are about.

A good experiment to try is to use ChatGPT or Copilot for this step. We could use any of the two to generate an executive summary of a book, for example.

Step 3: Note

Create a new place for your notes, either a text file or a piece of paper.

For this step, I use old plain-text files. Obsidian, Notion, or any note-taking app works here.

For the new note, use the date and the book title as the note title. Then divide the note into two halves. The first half is for questions and connections, and the second half is for the actual notes.

Also, link to the new book note from a book index and a subject index. The book index is a note that links to all books you’ve read. And the subject index is a note that references all other notes related to a specific subject. These notes work like “index” notes.

Step 4: Question

Read the table of contents, introduction, and conclusion to look for the book’s structure and interesting topics.

Also, skim through the book to find anything that grabs your attention: boxes, graphs, and tables.

In the first half of your note, write questions you have about the subject and questions that arise after skimming the book.

If you decide not to read the book from cover to cover, in the first half of your note, create an index of the chapters and sections to read or the ones to skip. Keep this index for future reference.

I learned this idea of asking “pre-reading” questions from Jim Kwik’s Speed Reading program and the idea of a custom index from the post Surgical Reading: How to Read 12 Books at Once.

Step 5: Read

Then, read the book while taking note of interesting parts and quotes.

Use the second half of your notes to write down those interesting bits. Avoid copying and pasting passages from the book, except for quotes. Use your own words instead.

After every chapter, stop to recall the main ideas from that chapter.

If you find the answer to any of your questions from the “Question” step, go back to the first half of your note and write those answers there.

Step 6: Connections

While reading or after finishing a chapter, notice connections with other subjects. Ask yourself how that expands or contradicts anything else you’ve learned.

Use the first half of the note to write these connections.

If you’re familiar with the Zettelkasten method, to write your connections, we should use a separate set of notes: the permanent notes. For simplicity, I keep these connections in the same file but in the first half.

This way, the next time you open your note, you will find your connections and critique first.

Parting Thought

The key to retaining more is reading actively. Don’t just pass from page to page. Read with intention, not to grow a book count. Read for answers and connections.

The next time you’re about to jump into a new book, remember to set an intention and then capture and connect.

Reading more books isn’t the answer. Reading for retention and action is.

For more content, check my takeaways from Pragmatic Thinking and Learning and Show Your Work.

Happy reading!