No matter how much you read, it can be hard to remember the content of those books. When I get asked about what I’ve been reading and enjoying lately, there’s often 1-2 standouts, and then a whole crowd of stuff I can’t entirely remember. But I want to be able to have the recall of the main characters, the plot, the details that made the book really shimmer.
I started tracking the books I've read in 2005. They are listed by year, the title and the author. Somewhere along the way I started to rate some of the books, mostly by love/hate. Then I started to write a few words about some of them. Rating them and writing a few words helps me remember something about the story and the author. Tracking them helps me to not pick up a book to read that I've already read-NOT.
I would also suggest reading your book along other media formats: maybe the book has a guidebook, tv program, or audiobook connected with it. In particular, I've found listening to an audio book while reading along definitely helps you remember and learn material. I had great success with this approach while reading War and Peace with the Book Group, and also reading Robert Alter's translation of the Old Testament. It also works extremely well with poetry--really help to capture the cadence of the poetry.
Any recs on programs that track your reading? Goodreads seems pretty simple but I was annoyed by the rating and suggestions to just get into the app. Any others?
4 Quick Tips to Remember and Encode What You Read
I started tracking the books I've read in 2005. They are listed by year, the title and the author. Somewhere along the way I started to rate some of the books, mostly by love/hate. Then I started to write a few words about some of them. Rating them and writing a few words helps me remember something about the story and the author. Tracking them helps me to not pick up a book to read that I've already read-NOT.
I would also suggest reading your book along other media formats: maybe the book has a guidebook, tv program, or audiobook connected with it. In particular, I've found listening to an audio book while reading along definitely helps you remember and learn material. I had great success with this approach while reading War and Peace with the Book Group, and also reading Robert Alter's translation of the Old Testament. It also works extremely well with poetry--really help to capture the cadence of the poetry.
Any recs on programs that track your reading? Goodreads seems pretty simple but I was annoyed by the rating and suggestions to just get into the app. Any others?