13
Watching a stranger at the library taught me how to actually read a book
I was at the downtown branch last Tuesday, trying to get through a dense history book for a project. This guy, maybe in his 60s, was at the table across from me with a paperback and a notepad. He'd read a page, then stop and scribble something down. Not notes, just a few words. I got curious and finally asked him what he was doing. He said, 'I'm just talking back to it. If I don't, I forget it by tomorrow.' So I tried it. I read two chapters about the Treaty of Versailles and just wrote down dumb stuff like 'harsh terms' and 'bad for Germany later?' in the margin of my legal pad. For the first time, I actually remembered the details a week later without re-reading. It's not about perfect notes, it's about having a quick chat with the page. Anyone else have a simple trick that made reading stick for them?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
felix_williams711d ago
My buddy Dave tried to get into chess and kept forgetting openings. His wife finally told him to just say the moves out loud like he was explaining it to a kid. He felt like an idiot whispering "pawn goes here to control the center" to his book, but it finally clicked. Sometimes you just need to make it a conversation, even a dumb one.
7