How I read a book

This summary of my reading “technique” unfortunately applies mainly to books I have checked out of the library. Books that I have bought I tend not to apply it too–maybe since I own the book I think I can refer to it anytime. The result is that I probably understand library books much better than the books I actually own.

When I am reading a book, I keep a stack of Post-it notes with me and I mark each page that contains something I want to remember. Then, when I am finished with the book I go back through all of the pages I have marked, and in a notebook I take notes of what I found interesting on that page.

I find that I typically mark about 10 percent of the pages in a book, and I usually end up with around five pages of notes on each of the books I have read. I intend to post some of these summaries on my weblog in the future.

I find this really helps me to remember what the book is about and helps make the effort of reading the book worthwhile. And, since the book has to go back to the library in three weeks, I have a summary of what I found important in the book.