During my podcast with @ScottHYoung (author of the bestselling book "Ultrealearning"), I asked:

• How can people remember more from the books they read?

Here's his advice.

(thread)

1) Apply spaced-repetition

Either revisit the book you read a few days or weeks later to remind yourself of the key lessons you learned.

You can also read related books that will jog your memory about the lessons you learned from past books.

2) Use retrieval practice

To remember something, you need to practice retrieving information.

This could be as simple as asking yourself "What did I learn?" after reading a chapter in a book.

OR before starting your reading session, ask yourself "What have I learned so far ?"

3) Summarize what you've learned

Scott will often write essays about the books he's enjoyed.

Writing an essay naturally requires practicing retrieval, synthesizing information, and teaching it to others (all of which helps you remember more in the process).

Note: Reading doesn't have to all work and no play

It's okay to read for pleasure and not apply any learning techniques.

There's a trade-off between reading for fun and reading for memorization.

It's up to you to decide how you want to balance that scale.

(continued)

If you're reading a fiction book for fun, you don't need these learning techniques per se.

But if you're reading a non-fiction book that is filled with a ton of great advice, then you probably want to put in the work to remember what you've learned.

PS:

You can watch the clip with Scott Young from my podcast here:

(Make sure to subscribe for more clips of the best lessons from my podcast)