Do you take notes? Do you also read the book while (at the same time) listen to the audiobook so you can follow along and get double the retention? Do you watch Youtube videos with summaries from a book? All ideas and tips are welcomed. Just trying to find new ways to retain more from books.
Ahsan Ali 17/03/2025 3:18 pm
@kenny I love exploring different ways to retain information from books! I often take notes while reading and listening to audiobooks simultaneously—it’s like engaging both the mind and senses, which really deepens my understanding. Watching YouTube summaries is another great tool I use to reinforce key ideas. Combining all these methods, like active recall and spaced repetition, helps me remember more and truly absorb the essence of what I read. It’s all about finding the right mix that works for you!
I love listening to audiobooks! I think I must have listened to over 100 audiobooks in the past 3 years or so. I like to multitask (yes I know it's not always recommended to do this but I feel great doing it :P). I often listen while I do chores around the house or when I'm out on a run or with the dog or while shopping. Sometimes I might even listen while I am working (it depends on the project and kind of work I am doing).
I often write things down (I have a notebook and pen close by) so I can look at them later. I focus on biographies, nonfictions mostly but I will also squeeze in some fiction from time to time to change things up.
Annie Harris 22/03/2025 2:14 pm
When I can or/and when I'm listening to something that needs more attention like something for work, I will sit down and also read the actual book so I am reading it while listening to it, pausing for note-taking. This dramatically increases the knowledge I retain. I often use different colors to highlight different things. It does take a bit of time but it's so well worth it. I can come back to my notes from a book months or even years later and in 30 minutes I can usually get back a lot of information I had forgotten or didn't remember well. So for me, it's about the long gains of writing things down and having "Files" on the important books.
Maya Miller 26/03/2025 9:46 am
@annie-harris You can use apps like Audible’s Whispersync which allow you to switch between reading and listening without losing your place. It can work well if you enjoy both reading and audiobooks but don't always have time for one or the other.
I like to use different apps to read books, like Kindle or Kobo. I'm mostly a digital book kind of gal 🙂
I also like to dive into Goodreads before reading something and just seeing what people think about it. It helps me to learn about different opinions and ways people see that book.
I make time for reading during subway rides or when I'm taking a break at work. I feel I get more out of life when I'm using my time in this way rather than doing something less productive.
Kenny Topic starter
27/03/2025 8:44 am
@annie-harris Researching a book on Goodreads sounds like a really good idea. Thanks for sharing that! I also try to use subway/bus trips for reading or listening to audiobooks. It makes the trip more meaningful and I get to learn new things. Are there any other tricks you use, Maya?
Great question! I learn best by teaching others and talking about what I've learned. Also, if I take what I've learned and apply it to life critically, it tends to stick with me as well. For my favourite book, The Places That Scare You by Pema Chodron, I used mantras from that book daily to help myself. That was another way to help cement what I learned.
I like audiobooks and listening to them at a higher speed. I will hit 1.5x or even 1.75x the speed on most audiobooks. It now takes me just under 2 minutes for my brain to start getting used to the new speed. If I then go back to regular speed it feels so slow to me. I can take in much more info this way and by also taking some notes (which are needed for certain subjects that I know little about) the information stays with me for longer and I can always come back to my notes and not have to listen to the audiobook all over again.
@James-Sanders - That’s cool! Do you also do other things to make sure you remember more? Maybe take notes in a particular way?
James Sanders 29/03/2025 10:31 am
@kenny I am a visual learner so before reading or listening to a book I will search for the summary of that book. It's usually a 15-30 minute Youtube video that goes into detail about the book. I like to know what I'm getting myself into before I start reading. And this is where I will decide if the book is worth my time or not.
Also, when I'm done reading the book I will sometimes go back and watch the Youtube book summary again (usually at 1.75x) to reinforce what I've just learned. I find that this works great for me but it can be different for others. Just my 2 cents.
One technique I've recently started using is to try to summarize a paragraph from a page (or even a whole chapter sometimes) of a book in 1-5 phrases. This puts my brain to use in finding the most important things outlined in a certain chapter. For some books this can be hard or impossible and then I don't do it, but for some it can work well.
So, instead of a page with 7 paragraphs I would have just 7 sentences and for a 200 page book I would get around 1400 sentences which I can go through quickly to retain the most important things. Try it and see if it works for you.
Also, when I'm reading novels I try to get into a characters' shoes and actually "live" inside the novel. This can bring up interesting points of view and makes the whole experience that much worthwhile.
Kenny Topic starter
24/03/2025 6:53 am
@claire-douglas WOW! That 1-5 sentences per paragraph is such a cool idea! I don’t know if I’d be able to do this for an entire chapter (yet, at least) but who knows? But summarizing things in so few lines must make the brain work overtime and I like it! Thanks for sharing this with us; I’m definitely going to use this from now on.
Claire Douglas 28/03/2025 2:55 am
You’re welcome, Kenny! Glad you liked it :)!
I found that sometimes a book might be harder for me to understand or to retain the most important things from it. This happens when it's something work related and then I just put the book down for a bit and try reading something easier like a biography. Then I go back and the first book seems easier.
Also, as I'm reading a book I will also start writing about what I'm learning. But I'm not taking notes but rather trying to write as if I was writing to a friend, explaining what the book is about. Writing in this way seems to be helpful for me and it cements the main ideas.
Another thing I've started doing is to read different books, from different genres like Science Fiction, Self Growth, Classic Literature, etc. so I change things up and not get bored while also expanding my knowledge.
@Kenny I have book goals for each year which I do my best to hit. I pick my book mostly in advance (except for those times when something really awesome comes out and I NEED to read it right away).
And I like to create flashcards with important quotes, concepts, or summaries of chapters. I don't always do this, but for the books I've found especially cool, I will make the effort 🙂
Thanks for sharing as these are all wonderful ideas <3
Not very good at remembering a lot of things from the books I read so these are helpful. I’m mostly a visual kind of guy or I think I am and like to SEE a video about a book where the information is presented in images or film rather than just words.
