How to Remember What You Read
The best way to remember what you read is to apply it. If you read a book about programming in python and you want to retain that knowledge, write a program in python.<p>Unfortunately writer&#x27;s writing advice for other writers but pretending like it&#x27;s for everyone is too common.<p>&gt;&gt; 1. Quality matters more than quantity. If you read one book a month but fully appreciate and absorb it, you’ll be better off than someone who skims half the library without paying attention.<p>Maybe, or if you read the wrong thing, get a bunch of dumb ideas in your head that you would have been better off not having and nothing to counter act that can mess you up.<p>Furthermore, quality is hard to gauge ahead of time.<p>&gt;&gt; Speed-reading is bullshit. Getting the rough gist and absorbing the lessons are two different things. Confuse them at your peril.<p>That&#x27;s hyperbole. When I read about speed reading it suggests that you vary your reading speed according to the subject matter.  e.g. if you are reading Atlas Shrugged(if that&#x27;s your cup of tea), I highly recommend speed reading through certain parts(you&#x27;ll know when you get to them).<p>&gt;&gt; Book summary services miss the point. A lot of companies charge ridiculous prices for access to vague summaries bearing only the faintest resemblance to anything in the book. Summaries can be a useful jumping-off point to explore your curiosity, but you cannot learn from them the way you can from the original text.*<p>Depends on why you are reading the book. (e.g. Unfortunately much of school was nonsense, this can help with that).<p>&gt;&gt; Fancy apps and tools are not needed. A notebook, index cards, and a pen will do just fine.<p>Fancy apps and tools can be a purpose of their own. If a fancy note taking tool helps motivate you to take notes, and note taking is useful for you, you should get a fancy note taking tool.  This is a personal decision.<p>&gt;&gt; We shouldn’t read stuff we find boring. Life is far too short.<p>Sometimes that nugget you need is in a boring book. I thought this wasn&#x27;t reading for entertainment.<p>&gt;&gt; Finishing the book is optional. You should start a lot of books and only finish a few of them.<p>Yes finishing the book is optional.