How To Remember What You Read
It’s okay if you don’t remember what you read, and don’t particularly want to either. There are plenty of books I loved over the years that, if you quizzed me now, I wouldn’t even be able to name the main character. If a book provides exactly the escape you need at that moment, that’s just fine and dandy.
However, you might find yourself wishing to engage in more meaningful conversations about the books you read, longing to recall the quotes and themes that inspired you, or simply wanting to impress your friends with the interesting facts you’ve come across in your reading journey.
So, here are 5 tried and tested methods I use to help the contents of my favourite books stay with me for longer — here’s hoping they help you too, and maybe we’ll cross paths at a book club one day 😊
Read Without Distraction
When trying to read in an environment with constant background noise and interruptions, odds are a good chunk of information will only float around your brain for a few minutes before making a swift exit. So, take care to cultivate a reading environment in which you’re free from distractions and have enough time to get in the zone.
At home, that’s simple enough — silence your phone, play gentle background music (if that’s your thing), and get comfortable in your favourite reading nook.
In public, things get a little more tricky. Having a good pair of earplugs and/or noise-cancelling headphones (I love my Loop earplugs and Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones) on hand means that when you’re stealing the chance to read a few chapters in a café or on public transport, you can do so distraction-free.
Sometimes, even in a perfectly curated, distraction-free zone, you’ll find my attention span waning after so long. When this happens, make sure to take a break and come back with refreshed eyes.
Write Reviews
I’m a huge advocate for reviewing books, regardless of whether you want to share your thoughts with the world or keep them for your eyes only. Reviewing books won’t just help you remember what you read, it will enable you to think more critically about what you’re consuming and identify where you’d like to focus your attention going forward.
Rather than moving straight onto your next book, try and get into the habit of taking a few moments to reflect and write down your thoughts. Whether it’s a whole article or just a few lines, there’s a whole hold of methods and platforms out there to help:
Book tracking apps: There are plenty that allow you to attach reviews as you track your reading. Goodreads is probably the most well-known, but my personal favourite is The Storygraph, which allows more nuance in your reviews and greater diversity when it comes to tracking your statistics if that’s your thing.
Social media: There are huge communities of book lovers on sites like Instagram and TikTok who would love to hear your thoughts.
Reading journal: If the thought of sharing your reviews publicly puts you off, try keeping your reviews in a personal reading journal — this could be on paper or digital.
Try Commonplacing
In its most basic form, a commonplace book is a catalogue of the inspirational and informative snippets you come across while reading. Keeping a commonplace book can help you remember key themes you’ve read about, focus your reading niche, and identify the types of writing that inspire you day-to-day.
Many people preach the value of keeping a physical, handwritten commonplace book, but find the system that works for you — I’ve found that a virtual commonplace hosted in Notion suits me best.
Annotate Your Books
Before you panic about the amount of reading time that might be lost to annotating, don’t worry! Your annotation can be just as simple or extravagant as you need it to be. For instance, I keep my system minimal — I just keep an eye out for three things:
Profound, memorable or inspirational quotes (to later be transferred to my commonplace)
Vocabulary or phrases that are new to me
Further reading (usually reserved for non-fiction books)
If you’re a library book reader like me, this is available to you, too! I use a combination of index tabs and Post-it notes to make my annotations and transfer them to Notion once I’ve finished reading. As a bonus, I find this process of flicking through the book to make the transfer provides a nice refresher on the main points.
Join a Book Club
A deep discussion about a book with like-minded people is a surefire way to ingrain the plot into your memory. You might even uncover a detail you hadn’t noticed upon your read-through, and make new friends in the process!
If you can’t find a suitable book club in your local area, there are plenty of welcoming online communities. If you’re not sure where to start, I recommend checking out Fable.
Do you have any tricks for remembering what you read?
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