Many people read books without actually learning things from them. Reading multiple books is a good thing, but how much do you get out of it? Of course, reading for entertainment and pleasure can be an excellent use of time but when reading to learn, you should get the most out of every book you read.
Here are some tips to learn the most out of the books you are reading.
Purpose of reading
Before starting to read, identify the purpose, why do you want to want to read a specific book? It is like planning. When you plan, there is no guarantee that your planning is going to be successful. But the process of planning is important not the plan. Similarly, in reading, when you know the purpose of reading, you know what you are looking for in a book. You know what to take from the book you are reading.
Quit books
When you start a book, it doesn’t take long for you to figure out if it’s worth reading. You know when the content is skilled and has high-quality thinking or not.
So, when you start a book, you do not always need to read it thoroughly. You can skim through the chapter titles and find an interesting one for yourself and then be done with the book after finishing that chapter.
Today we have very less time to waste on average books. Instead quit the book without shame and guilt and move on to a good one, so that you can learn from the one which is actually worth it.
Take notes
You should always take notes while reading. You should not just read the books but should take notes and jot down the ideas to keep notes of them.
- When listening to audible books, just type down the ideas and notes on your device, so they are seen when you open your audiobook next time.
- You can highlight sentences or paragraphs of the E-books to keep them as notes.
- You can write down your notes on a sticky note pad and stick the pages to the page of the book from where the note is written.
Taking notes will help you revisit the ideas, concepts, and incidences from a book and will help you find them when required.
Reread the books that catch your interest
You don’t need to always read new books. You should reread books that interest you. You always find something new when you reread a book. You can relate to different things at different phases of your life. Rereading a book can enlighten you in many ways that haven’t before. This helps greatly to get the most out of a book.
Write Summary
As you finish a book, summarize the entire book in minimum sentences. Mostly try to summarize your book in 3-4 lines. It’s just a game but works wonders in learning. Writing summary forces you to consider what’s most important in the book.
You can consider the following questions while writing summery
- What was the moral of the Book?
- Which one idea from the book can be implemented right now in your life?
- How would you refer to the book?
You can use this summery when you need it and you can refer to the note of the book to write its summary. Writing a summary helps you find your understanding of the book.
Learn the topic
Don’t ever restrict your knowledge on a specific topic based on just one book. You should take multiple opinions and multiple information on the topic to understand it. Always read a variety of books on the same topic to widen your knowledge and beliefs and to gain accurate knowledge.
Take action
Many books are not just about words, they are about exercises and actions laid out. Do them to understand the book.
Do the actions suggested by the author and try to execute the plan from the book. Not doing so would just lead to a waste of time with such a book.
These books have actionable steps and practical knowledge which you should implement instead of just reading.
Share the knowledge
Share the knowledge from the book. Try to share the concepts and ideas you learned from a book. This will help you remember those ideas and concepts while you share them. This is the best way to analyze what you got out of the book.
These tips will help you to get the most out of the books you read, it will help you to learn and gain knowledge, and will help you to remember it.
