How to Read More Effectively: From Faster Reading to Better Recall and Notes

Many people encounter several very similar problems when reading:

After reading dozens of pages, they still don’t know what the author is actually saying; they feel they understand everything while reading, but recall nothing when they close the book; reading is very slow, taking a long time per page; even after spending hours finishing a book, they don’t know how to summarize it; when seeing a long article, they don’t know which parts are key and which can be skipped; when doing reading comprehension exercises, they recognize every word but always fail to find the correct answer.

These problems seem different, but they all point to the same thing:

Truly effective reading is not about reading words from the first line to the last, but about quickly judging information value, grasping structure, understanding the author’s logic, and retaining truly useful information in your mind.

Therefore, improving reading ability cannot be achieved by just practicing "reading faster".

A complete set of reading abilities at least includes:

Reading speed, key point identification, structural understanding, information filtering, deep thinking, memory, summarizing, note-taking, and information application.

Below, we start from scratch to build a set of reading methods that can truly be used long-term.

1. First, change a mindset: reading is not "reading every single word"

Many people develop a habit from their student years:

This approach works for novels, but not necessarily for knowledge-based books.

Because the informational value in a knowledge-based book is not evenly distributed.

For example, in a 300-page business book, the truly important content might only be:

• One core concept;
• Three or four key models;
• more than a dozen key conclusions;
• several very valuable cases.

much of the remaining content might just be:

cases, stories, background introductions, repeated explanations, citations, data, groundwork, and materials to enhance persuasiveness.

so the first principle for efficient reading is:

Read important parts slowly.

Quickly read simple places.

Skip at repeated places.

Skim through the places that are already known.

completely unimportant parts can even be left unread.

Truly excellent readers don't read all books especially fast, but can quickly judge:

where it's worth spending time.

2. Before reading a book, answer a question: Why should I read it?

Many issues with low reading efficiency actually start happening before you even open a book.

because many people have no idea why they read this book.

For example, you pick up a book titled "How to Improve Your Memory."

If your goal is just:

then it's easy for the author to lead you astray.

but if your goal becomes:

your reading habits will change immediately.

You will actively seek:

• Why would you forget?
• What content is easiest to forget?
• What methods can improve memory?
• When should one review?
• Is taking notes useful?
• Is active recall more effective than repeated reading?

At this point, reading changes from "receiving information" to "searching for answers".

The latter is usually much more efficient.

So before starting a book, first write down three questions:

1. Why am I reading this book?

For example:

To solve a specific problem.

To systematically understand a field.

For work.

For exams.

To write an article.

To acquire a certain skill.

Or purely for entertainment.

Different purposes correspond to completely different ways of reading.

2. What do I most want to get from the book?

It is best to write it as a specific question.

Do not write:

Instead, write:

Do not write:

Instead, write:

The more specific the question, the higher the reading efficiency.

3. What content can I skip?

This is a question that many people never ask.

But it is very important.

A book being published does not mean that every page is worth your equal time investment.

3. Don't start with the main text: spend 5 minutes first to look at the map of the whole book

Before reading a non-fiction book, you can conduct a 'reconnaissance.'

Don't rush to read the first page of the main text.

First, look at:

The book title.

Subtitle.

Cover description.

Who the author is.

Preface.

Table of contents.

Chapter titles.

The beginning of each chapter.

The end of each chapter.

Charts and tables.

Bold text.

Subheadings.

Summaries.

Index.

Then try to answer:

For example, a book has the following table of contents:

1. Why we can't concentrate
2. How phones interrupt our brains
3. The cost of multitasking
4. The principles of deep work
5. How to design a distraction-free environment
6. How to schedule deep work time
7. Establish long-term habits

Even if you haven’t read a single word of the text, you can already judge the author's general logic:

This is thestructural map.

of a book. Later, when you read any detail, you will know which part of the map it belongs to.

Reading without a map can easily lead to a situation where:

You understand every sentence, but you don’t know what the whole book is about.

4. The real core of speed reading is not "moving your eyes faster"

Many so-called speed reading trainings emphasize:

Expanding your visual field.

Seeing several words at once.

Reducing eye pauses.

Eliminating subvocalization completely.

Reading thousands of words per minute.

Some of these techniques can indeed increase browsing speed, but they can easily lead to a misconception:

In fact, reading speed must match the purpose of reading.

For example:

Novels can be read quickly and continuously.

News can be skimmed.

Instruction manuals can be searched for keywords.

Professional papers need to be read slowly.

A piece of philosophical work may require ten minutes of thought for just one passage.

Legal contracts may not allow even a single word to be missed.

So truly efficient reading is not:

always reading quickly.

But rather:

being able to switch reading speed at any time.

Reading can be divided into four speeds.

5. First speed: Scanning — looking for information

Scanning is not really "reading".

Its purpose is only one thing:

For example, if you are looking at a 5000-word article and just want to know:

There is absolutely no need to read from the first word to the last.

You should quickly look for:

"sleep time"

"hours"

"adults"

"7 hours"

"8 hours"

and other keywords.

It’s like looking for milk in a supermarket.

You wouldn’t examine every product on the shelf in detail.

Scanning is suitable for:

checking dates.

checking people's names.

checking numbers.

finding definitions.

finding a specific viewpoint.

Find a certain keyword.

Find a certain chapter.

Therefore, before reading a long article, first ask:

If it’s just to find an answer, scanning is often the fastest method.

6. Second speed: Skimming — quickly understanding the content

The goal of skimming is not to understand all the content, but to answer:

When skimming, focus on reading:

Titles.

Subtitles.

Headings.

The first sentence of each paragraph.

The last sentence of each paragraph.

Transition sentences.

Summary paragraphs.

Bold text.

Data and charts.

For example, there is a paragraph:

If you are just skimming, what you really need to grasp is:

Other content is supporting.

This is information compression.

7. Third speed: Normal reading — understanding what the author is saying

This is the most commonly used reading method.

The goals are:

Understand the main points.

Understand the reasons.

Understand the examples.

Understand the author's logical relationships.

At this stage, it is not necessary to analyze word by word, but you also cannot just skim through.

You should usually keep asking:

Reading in this way allows understanding to be much deeper than simply "moving your eyes forward."

8. Fourth speed: close reading—truly comprehending the content

Close reading is not about "reading very slowly."

True close reading is:

For example:

Normal reading:

Close reading further breaks it down:

What is the conclusion?

Sleep deprivation may affect learning.

What is the reason?

Memory formation does not only occur during learning.

What is the mechanism?

There is still information processing and consolidation occurring during sleep.

What is the practical significance?

Pulling an all-nighter to study for an exam may actually backfire.

This is what is called intensive reading.

9. What exactly is the difference between intensive reading and extensive reading?

It can be simply understood as:

Extensive reading is about increasing the amount of information.

Intensive reading is about deepening understanding.

For example, when learning a new field.

Suppose you want to understand artificial intelligence.

At the beginning, the most important thing is not to read a highly specialized paper.

Instead, you should start with extensive reading:

What is artificial intelligence?

What is machine learning?

What is a neural network?

What is a large language model?

What is the difference between training and inference?

Why do models hallucinate?

First, establish a basic map.

Then choose important topics for intensive reading.

Therefore, a good learning sequence is:

Many people do it the other way around.

When first learning about investing, they cling to a professional finance textbook and try to tackle it from page one.

As a result, the first page already contains a dozen unfamiliar concepts.

Every sentence is difficult.

In the end, they think they are 'not suited for finance.'

Actually, the real problem may not be intelligence, but:

the lack of a foundational knowledge network.

10. Should subvocalization be completely eliminated?

Many speed reading courses will tell you:

This phenomenon is usually called subvocalization or inner speech.

Indeed, if every word is pronounced in your mind as if reading aloud, speed is easily limited by speaking rate.

But this does not mean subvocalization should be completely eliminated.

Because language comprehension itself is closely related to language processing.

A more realistic approach is:

Reduce obvious pronunciation for simple content

For example:

You don't need to pronounce each word in your mind:

"To—kyo—is—Ja—pan..."

You can understand it directly as phrases:

Allow subvocalization for complex content

For example:

If such sentences are read too quickly, it's easy to miss the logic.

So don't force yourself to completely eliminate subvocalization for the sake of speed.

What really needs to be avoided is:

mechanical read-aloud style reading.

11. How to improve actual reading speed?

The truly effective method is not to move your eyes frantically, but to reduce three types of waste.

First type of waste: unconscious rereading

Many people read a sentence:

Their eyes have already moved to the next sentence, but the brain suddenly thinks:

So they go back and read it again.

Occasional rereading is normal.

But if you reread every sentence, the speed will be very slow.

Improvement method:

After finishing a paragraph, decide whether you need to look back, instead of immediately returning every time you see an uncertain word.

Second type of waste: giving equal attention to every sentence

For example:

If you just want to understand the main point, the exact year may not be important.

But many people will stop and ask:

2023?

Which organization?

How many people?

Which country?

As a result, the main line is actually lost.

When reading, distinguish between:

core information and supporting information.

Third type of waste: not knowing what you are looking for

Reading without questions easily falls into a passive state.

So before starting each chapter, ask:

Reading will naturally accelerate.

12. How to identify the main point of a passage?

This is one of the most important skills in reading ability.

A passage can usually be broken down into:

Opinion + Explanation + Reason + Example + Data + Supplement.

What you really need to prioritize is:

Opinion.

For example:

If compressed:

Examples can be deleted.

Explanations can be condensed.

In the end, only remains:

This is the main point.

13. A very practical method: ask "What happens if this is deleted?"

When identifying the main point, you can perform a deletion test.

For example:

Delete:

The article still holds.

So this is an example.

But if you remove:

The remaining content loses its focus.

Therefore, it is the core point.

You can repeatedly ask:

If it still stands, it may just be supporting material.

If the core meaning is gone, it is most likely the key point.

14. How to quickly find the main idea of an article?

To find the main idea, you cannot just look at which sentence "seems important".

You should look for:

You can use a very practical formula:

Main idea of an article = subject of discussion + author's most central judgment

For example:

Subject of discussion in the article:

The author repeatedly emphasizes:

So the main idea is not:

But closer to:

15. Key points are often hidden in these places

Although not 100%, you can focus on observing the following while reading:

Title

The title usually limits the scope of discussion.

Beginning

The author may directly raise a question or conclusion.

Ending

Often summarizes the entire text.

First sentence of each paragraph

Many expository and argumentative texts use topic sentences.

After a transition

For example:

But.

However.

In fact.

The real issue is.

It is worth noting that.

In contrast.

Most importantly.

For example:

The truly important information here is usually after "however."

16. When reading, you must learn to identify "logical words"

A big difference between expert reading and ordinary reading is:

Ordinary people mainly look at the "content."

Experts look at both the "content" and the "structure."

The structure is usually expressed through conjunctions.

For example:

Cause and effect

Because.

Therefore.

So.

Leads to.

Due to.

As a result.

Explanation:

Turn/Contrast

But.

However.

Nevertheless.

Although.

Explanation:

Example

For example.

For instance.

Take ... as an example.

Explanation:

Summary

Therefore.

In conclusion.

It can be seen that.

In other words.

Explanation:

Comparison

On the contrary.

In comparison.

Different from ...

Explanation:

As long as you start paying attention to these words, a long article will no longer feel like a wall of text, but will gradually turn into a logical structure.

Seventeen, how to truly understand a book?

Many people judge their "understanding" based on:

This standard is far from enough.

True understanding has at least four levels.

First level: recognizing the text

Knowing what the author wrote.

Second level: being able to retell

Without looking at the book, you can say:

Third level: being able to explain why

Not only knowing the conclusion but also knowing the reason.

Fourth level: being able to use

When encountering real-life problems, you can apply this knowledge.

For example, you read:

First level:

Knowing this sentence.

Second level:

Being able to explain what sunk costs are.

Third level:

Understanding why costs that cannot be recovered should not determine future choices.

Fourth level:

Imagine that you have already spent about $31 on a movie ticket, only to realize after 30 minutes that the movie is terrible.

You are able to realize:

This is the true understanding.

18. Test whether you have truly understood: no need to explain the original text once

After reading an important concept, close the book.

Ask yourself:

For example, you just finished reading "compound interest."

Do not memorize:

Try to use your own words:

If you can do this, it means you truly understand.

If you can only remember the original text but cannot explain it in your own words, it usually means your understanding is still shallow.

19. Why do we quickly forget a book after finishing it?

This is a very normal phenomenon.

Because "having read it" does not equal "remembering it."

Reading is mainlyan input activity.

while long-term memory relies more on:

retrieval.

association.

repetition.

Use.

For example, a name:

You might still forget it even after looking ten times.

But if someone suddenly asks:

You try to recall it once.

This active retrieval is often more valuable than simply looking over it again.

Therefore, one of the most important principles to improve reading memory is:

Twenty, immediately do a 'closed-book recall' after reading

This is an extremely simple yet very practical method.

Do not immediately turn to the next chapter after finishing one.

Close the book.

Ask yourself:

1. What is the main point of this chapter?
2. What are the three most important ideas?
3. Which idea is most useful to me?
4. What evidence did the author use?
5. Is there anything I disagree with?
6. Can I provide my own examples?

Even spending just two minutes is more effective than simply underlining dozens of lines.

For example, after reading the 'Procrastination' chapter.

Write with the book closed:

Just writing such a paragraph already completes a round of information processing.

21. How to Remember the Books You Have Read?

You can use a very simple four-step system:

Step one: Read

Acquire information.

Step two: Close the book and recall

Force your brain to retrieve information on its own.

Step three: Compress

Condense a chapter into a few sentences.

Step four: Use

Write articles.

Explain to others.

Solve practical problems.

Discuss.

Make decisions.

What truly makes a book stay in your mind is usually not "how many times you read it," but:

22. Don’t Try to Remember Everything in a Book

This is a very important concept.

A book has hundreds of thousands of words.

You don’t need to store all those hundreds of thousands of words in your brain.

What is truly worth remembering may be:

One core idea.

Three to ten important conclusions.

Several very useful methods.

Several models that can be used long-term.

For example, after reading a book on time management.

A year later, you may only remember:

If this knowledge truly changes your behavior, then even if you forget 90% of the examples in the book, it was still worth reading.

23. How to make truly useful reading notes?

Many people's reading notes look like this:

Copy one sentence on the first page.

Copy one sentence on the second page.

Copy one sentence on the third page.

In the end, you get 5,000 characters of excerpts.

The problem is:

This is actually not notes.

This is just copying.

Good notes should at least contain two things:

What the author said.

And:

How I understand it.

For example, the original text:

Poor notes:

Good notes:

This way, when reviewing notes later, you won't need to read the original book again to understand.

Twenty-four, A Practical Reading Notes Template

For every truly important book you read, you can just record the following content.

1. What problem does this book solve?

Answer in one sentence.

2. What is the author's core idea?

Preferably no more than three sentences.

3. The 5–10 most important points

Do not increase endlessly.

Force yourself to filter.

4. Which points changed my original understanding?

This is one of the most valuable parts.

5. Which points do I disagree with?

Reading is not about accepting everything the author says.

6. Where can it be applied?

Work.

Study.

Life.

Investment.

Writing.

Health.

Communication.

7. What will I do?

Finally, turn it into action.

For example:

This is more practical than copying twenty pages of content.

25. How should key points be highlighted?

Many people, after opening a book:

Highlight a line in yellow.

Highlight a line in green.

Highlight a line in red.

In the end, the whole page is covered with highlighter.

When everything is a key point:

Then nothing is really a key point.

A better approach is to control the quantity.

For example, for every 10 pages, select at most:

1–3 viewpoints that are truly worth keeping.

And ask yourself:

Only content like this is worth marking.

You can also use simple symbols:

! = Very important

? = Doubtful

→ = Can be practically applied

× = Disagree

★ = Worth remembering long-term

There’s no need to create a very complex color system.

If the note-taking system is more complicated than the reading itself, it loses its meaning.

26. How to summarize a book?

What many people call a summary is actually just rewriting the entire book in a condensed form.

A real summary is not:

Instead, it should answer:

You can use a five-layer compression method.

Layer 1: The whole book

Hundreds of thousands of words.

↓

Layer 2: One sentence per chapter

A 10-chapter book compressed into 10 sentences.

↓

Layer 3: Five core ideas of the whole book

↓

Layer 4: One summary sentence

↓

Layer 5: One action

For example, a book about sleep may ultimately be compressed to:

One summary sentence:

Three core ideas:

Lack of sleep affects the next day’s condition.

Having a regular schedule is very important.

Sleep environment and lifestyle habits affect sleep quality.

One action:

This completes the knowledge compression.

27. How to extract the core ideas of a book?

You can keep asking one question:

Then look for support.

For example, a book used:

Neuroscience.

Athlete case studies.

Entrepreneur case studies.

Experimental data.

Author's personal story.

Over 100 pages of content.

But all of it may be proving the same point:

So this sentence is the core.

Many books seem to have a lot of information, but in fact they just use many different materials to explain a few limited points.

Twenty-eight, how to improve reading comprehension?

Reading comprehension is essentially not about "knowing more words."

It mainly comes from five abilities.

First: Vocabulary

If you don't know what key words mean, it's hard to understand.

Second: Sentence structure

Especially long sentences.

Third: Logical relationships

Cause and effect, contrast, condition, comparison.

Fourth: Background knowledge

This point is often overlooked.

For example, a sentence:

If you completely do not understand:

Central bank.

Interest rate.

Financing.

Asset prices.

Even if you recognize every Chinese character, it is still difficult to truly understand.

Therefore:

The more you read, the more background knowledge you have.

The more background knowledge you have, the easier subsequent reading becomes.

This forms a compounding effect.

Twenty-nine, what to do when encountering very difficult long sentences?

Do not repeatedly read from the beginning.

Directly break down the sentence.

For example:

It looks very complicated.

Break it down:

First part

The internet lowers the cost of obtaining information.

Second part

But the amount of information has surged.

Third part

Algorithms recommend content that easily triggers interaction.

Conclusion

More information ≠ more rational judgment.

Finally compressed into:

Next time you encounter a complex sentence, just look for:

The subject.

Conclusion.

Reason.

Contrast.

Condition.

Example.

Don't be intimidated by sentence length.

Thirty, how to read a completely unfamiliar field?

Do not directly challenge the most difficult materials.

It is recommended to use:

For example, if you want to study economics.

The first stage is to know:

What GDP is.

What inflation is.

What interest rates are.

What unemployment rate is.

What supply and demand are.

What the central bank is.

What fiscal policy is.

The second stage is to start building relationships:

Why might raising interest rates reduce inflation?

Why might unemployment increase during a recession?

Why does currency devaluation affect import prices?

The third stage is to read professional reports.

At this point, the difficulty will significantly decrease.

When learning an unfamiliar field, the biggest fear is not that the content is difficult.

But:

So first establish a foundational vocabulary and knowledge network.

31. How should reading comprehension questions be done?

Exam-style reading is a bit different from ordinary reading.

It is not for you to enjoy the article, but to:

The most important principle is:

Try to find evidence in the article for the answers, rather than relying on your own common sense.

For example, the article says:

Question:

You shouldn’t choose “yes” just because you personally think bicycles are great.

The article clearly uses:

So the answer is:

This is called:

textual evidence first.

32. Practical process for answering reading comprehension questions

You can follow the sequence below:

Step 1: Look at the questions first

Know what you need to find.

Step 2: Circle keywords

For example:

Reasons.

Main points.

Author's attitude.

"Why".

"Most appropriate".

"Cannot indicate".

Step 3: Return to the text to locate

Find the corresponding paragraph.

Step 4: Expand the reading range

Do not just read the sentence where the keyword is located.

It is best to read two or three sentences before and after.

Step 5: Come up with your answer first

Then look at the options.

This way you are less likely to be misled by distractors.

Step 6: Look for textual evidence

Question:

If you cannot find any evidence at all, be cautious.

Thirty-three, Most common wrong answers in reading comprehension

Exam options often use several methods to create errors.

Concept substitution

Original text:

Option:

"Some" is changed to "all".

Wrong.

Overgeneralization

Original text:

Option:

The original text did not say that.

Reversal of cause and effect

The original text only found:

But the option becomes:

Be cautious.

Scope expansion

Original text:

Option:

High probability of error.

Absolutism

When you see:

Definitely.

All.

Completely.

Always.

Only.

Inevitably.

You should be particularly cautious.

It doesn’t mean these words are necessarily wrong, but you must verify whether the original text really expresses such a strong conclusion.

Thirty-four, how to judge the author’s attitude?

Observe the words the author uses.

For example:

The author’s attitude is obviously not:

"Fully support."

It is not:

"Fully oppose."

But rather:

For example:

The attitude is clearly negative.

When judging attitude, do not just look at the subject.

Focus on:

Adjectives.

Adverbs.

Contrasts.

Tone.

Conclusion.

35. How to read news?

News is best divided into three levels.

First level: What happened?

Facts.

Second level: Why did it happen?

Background.

Third level: What does it mean?

Impact.

Do not mix:

Facts and commentary.

For example:

This is a fact.

This is an explanation.

The two are not the same.

Excellent readers constantly distinguish:

36. How to read long online articles?

It is usually unnecessary to read Internet articles from beginning to end.

You can use:

First time: 30 seconds

Look at:

Title.

Author.

Date.

Subheadings.

Conclusion.

Decide if it is worth reading.

Second time: 3 minutes

Quickly skim the entire article.

Find the core idea.

Third time

Only read carefully the truly important parts.

This can avoid a very common problem:

37. How to read a practical book?

For example:

Efficiency.

Communication.

Finance.

Learning.

Health.

Career.

Psychology.

The most important thing about this kind of book is not:

Instead:

It is recommended that after finishing each book, you only choose:

1–3 actions.

For example, after reading a book on habits.

Do not set:

Wake up early every day.

Run every day.

Read every day.

Meditate every day.

Write a journal every day.

Memorize English every day.

Change everything at once.

A more realistic approach is:

A single book that can genuinely change a long-term behavior can already be very valuable.

Thirty-eight, how to read novels?

Novels do not require the same reading methods as knowledge-based books.

The value of novels often includes:

Plot.

Characters.

Language.

Atmosphere.

Emotional experience.

Worldview.

Therefore, there is no need to furiously summarize while reading.

If you wish to read more deeply, you can pay attention to:

What do the characters want?

Why do the characters make this choice?

What changes have the characters undergone?

Which images repeatedly appear in the author's work?

What is the core conflict of the story?

What does the ending resolve, and what does it leave unresolved?

The most important thing in reading a novel is:

Thirty-nine, how fast should reading speed actually be to be considered good?

Do not excessively pursue a single uniform number.

Because:

The speed of reading novels,

The speed of reading news,

The speed of reading high school textbooks,

The speed of reading philosophical works,

The speed of reading contracts,

Should not be the same at all.

A more meaningful metric is:

Suppose:

A reads 100 pages per hour, but forgets almost everything the next day.

B reads 30 pages per hour, but can summarize, explain, and use the information.

We cannot simply say that A has stronger reading ability.

Therefore, reading speed must be evaluated together with:

Comprehension rate,

Memory,

Reading purpose,

Together.

Forty, a very important reading principle: allow yourself to skip

Many people have an unnecessary reverence for books:

There is absolutely no need.

You can consider quickly skipping the following content:

Repeated explanations that you already fully understand.

Cases unrelated to your purpose.

A large number of similar cases.

Overly detailed but unimportant data.

The author's personal experiences.

Basic content you already have mastered.

Of course, if a part is key evidence for the author's argument, you cannot skip it casually.

Skimming is not laziness.

Being able to judge what is not worth reading is itself a reading skill.

Forty-one, when should you give up on a book?

If you read 50 pages of a book and find it boring, do you have to persist?

Not necessarily.

You can ask three questions:

Can it solve my problem?

If not, it's normal to give up.

Are there chapters later on that I really need?

If so, you can skip directly to them.

Am I continuing to read because the content is valuable, or just because I 'don't want to waste the time I've already read'?

If it's the latter, beware of sunk costs.

You spent two hours reading a book that has no value.

That doesn't mean you should spend another eight hours finishing it.

Forty-two, how to avoid 'understanding while reading, but forgetting after closing the book'?

The core method can be summed up in one sentence:

For example, after reading for 30 minutes, don't immediately continue.

Spend 5 minutes:

Reciting orally.

Writing a summary.

Answering questions.

Drawing relationships.

Giving examples.

Explaining to others.

All of these are forms of output.

You can use:

30 minutes of reading + 5 minutes of recall.

Instead of:

Continuously reading for 3 hours.

Forty-three, how to use questions to drive reading?

This is a very effective method to improve reading quality.

Before reading a chapter, first write down questions.

For example, chapter title:

First, guess:

It might be because:

The tasks are difficult.

Lack of motivation.

Fear of failure.

Immediate temptations.

Then read.

You will particularly notice:

Does the author validate your guesses?

Does the author present reasons you hadn't thought of?

This way of reading transforms from:

to:

Understanding is usually deeper.

Forty-four, should you look up every word you don't understand while reading?

Not necessarily.

They can be divided into three categories.

Category one: Cannot understand the article without looking it up

Must look it up.

Category two: Can roughly guess from context

Keep reading first.

Category three: Core technical terms

Must be fully understood.

For example, when learning about investing:

Price-to-earnings ratio.

Dividend yield.

Cash flow.

Debt-to-asset ratio.

These repeatedly appearing concepts cannot be left vague.

Because later knowledge will be built on them.

Judgment standard:

If yes, it is worth spending time to fully understand it.

Forty-five, how to deal with a large amount of data in a book?

Don't try to memorize the numbers.

First ask:

For example:

Unless you need to write a paper, you may not need to remember 31 and 47 six months later.

What is really important may just be:

Numbers are evidence.

Opinions are the core.

Of course, if a certain number is very important, for example:

Tax rate.

Dosage.

Price.

Legal standards.

Exam requirements.

Then exact recording is necessary.

Forty-six, how to determine if an example is important?

Question:

If not:

It indicates the example is just to aid understanding.

If it would:

It indicates this case itself may be the core evidence.

For example:

What should really be remembered here:

You don’t need to remember the software installation example.

Forty-seven, how to establish "connections between knowledge" while reading?

Isolated information is easy to forget.

Information that is connected is easier to understand and recall.

For example, learning:

Don't just memorize the definition.

You can link it to:

Time management.

Investing.

Career choices.

Travel.

Spending.

For example:

There are 3 hours tonight.

You could:

Work overtime.

Study.

Play games.

Meet friends.

Choosing one means giving up the others.

Thus, opportunity cost turns from an economic term into a life model.

Later, whenever you face any choice problem, you might recall it.

This is a knowledge network.

Forty-eight, the most valuable question when reading: What does this relate to that I already know?

Every time you see an important point, ask:

For example:

The book says:

You might connect it to:

Fitness:

Put your sneakers at the door.

Diet:

Don't keep a large amount of snacks at home.

Phone:

Move entertainment apps off your home screen.

Work:

Turn off notifications.

Once a viewpoint is connected to multiple scenarios, it is more likely to become knowledge that truly belongs to you.

Forty-nine, how to turn reading into writing material?

If you write blogs often, this is a very important step.

Don't just save the original sentences.

You should save:

Viewpoint + your own explanation + what can be written about.

For example, when reading:

Notes:

This way, when writing an article later, you don't need to go through the whole book again.

Your note library becomes a material library.

Fifty, how to determine in 10 minutes whether a book is worth reading carefully?

You can follow the process below.

Minute 1

Look at the title and subtitle.

Minute 2

Look at the author's background.

Minutes 3–5

Read the table of contents.

Minute 6

Look at the preface.

Minute 7

Look at the conclusion.

Minute 8

Randomly open a few chapters.

Minute 9

Find the core ideas.

Minute 10

Ask:

Then decide:

Read carefully.

Skim.

Read only a few chapters.

Reference.

Or give up.

This can save a lot of time.

Fifty-one, A complete efficient reading process

If you compress all the previous content into actual practice, you can use the following set.

Step one: clarify purpose

Write down:

Step two: raise questions

Write 3–5 questions you most want to know.

Step three: quickly look at the structure

Table of contents, titles, conclusion, subheadings.

Step 4: Determine Reading Strategies

Which parts need careful reading?

Which parts can be skimmed?

Which parts can be skipped?

Step 5: Start Reading

Continuously identify:

Opinions.

Reasons.

Evidence.

Cases.

Conclusions.

Step 6: Pause after finishing each section

Close the book and recall.

Step 7: Write your own summary

Do not copy the original text.

Step 8: Identify 3–10 core points

Force yourself to filter.

Step 9: Make Connections

How does it relate to previous knowledge?

Step 10: Turn it into Action

What can I do next?

This is complete reading.

Fifty-two, give a complete example

Suppose we are reading an article:

"Why Long Hours of Study Don't Necessarily Increase Efficiency"

Summary of the article:

Step 1: Find the topic of discussion

Study time and learning outcomes.

Step 2: Find the author's viewpoint

Not:

But:

Step 3: Find the reasons

The author gives two main reasons:

Attention affects learning outcomes.

Fatigue affects understanding ability.

Step 4: Identify examples

This is an example.

It is used to prove:

Step 5: Condense the text

The more than 50 words can be further condensed into:

Step 6: Active recall

Answer after closing the article:

Why might studying for five hours be less effective than studying for two hours?

Because:

Grasping the main idea.

Fatigue levels differ.

Study methods differ.

Effective study time differs.

Step Seven: Practical Application

Next time you study, stop recording:

Instead, record:

This way, knowledge turns from:

Reading content

into:

Behavior change.

Fifty-three, The most effective training method to improve reading ability

Do not only practice "reading fast" every day.

Four types of training can be carried out.

Training One: Summarize in one sentence

Read an article every day.

Force yourself to summarize it in only one sentence.

This can train:

Grasp the main idea.

Training Two: Three-point summary

After reading, write:

1.

2.

3.

Only three key points.

This can train:

Information filtering.

Training Three: Recite with the book closed

Read for 10 minutes.

Close the article.

Say:

This can train:

Comprehension and memory.

Exercise Four: Structural Breakdown

After seeing an article, mark:

Main points.

Reasons.

Examples.

Evidence.

Conclusion.

After practicing for a while, you will find:

The article is no longer just a bunch of sentences.

It becomes a structure tree.

Fifty-four, 20-minute daily reading practice

If you want to improve your reading ability in the long term, you can practice like this.

First 5 minutes: Skim quickly

Choose an article.

Look at the title, subtitles, beginning, and ending.

Guess:

Next 10 minutes: Normal reading

Look for:

Core points.

Reasons.

Evidence.

Turnarounds or transitions.

Last 5 minutes: Summarize without looking at the original text

Write:

One-sentence main idea:

……

Three key points:

1.

2.

3.

One thing I learned:

……

Persisting for a period of time is more practical than simply pursuing 'how many words you read per minute.'

55. After finishing a book, you can ask yourself 10 questions

If you can answer most of the ten questions, it usually indicates that this book has truly entered your knowledge system.

1. What problem does this book aim to solve?
2. What is the author's most important viewpoint?
3. Why does the author believe this viewpoint is valid?
4. What evidence did the author use?
5. Which three viewpoints are most worth remembering?
6. Which viewpoint surprised me the most?
7. Which viewpoint do I disagree with?
8. What is it related to that I already knew?
9. Where can I apply it?
10. If I could only introduce it to others in one minute, how would I do it?

56. The ten most common reading misconceptions

Misconception 1: You must read a book from start to finish

Wrong.

Many knowledge books are suitable for selective reading.

Misconception 2: The faster you read, the better

Wrong.

Speed must match comprehension.

Misconception 3: The more you highlight, the more seriously you learn

Wrong.

Having too many priorities equals having no priorities.

Misconception 4: Taking notes means copying the original text

Wrong.

What really matters is reprocessing.

Misconception 5: Understanding means remembering

Wrong.

Understanding and long-term memory are not the same thing.

Misconception 6: Forgetting means you didn't read clearly

Wrong.

Forgetting is a natural part of reading.

The key is to retain the truly valuable parts.

Misconception 7: Every book should be read thoroughly

Wrong.

There really aren't that many books worth reading thoroughly.

Misconception 8: A book must be finished in one go

Wrong.

Important books can definitely be read in multiple sessions, tackling different chapters.

Misconception 9: Reading is only input

Wrong.

High-quality reading must include output.

Misconception 10: The more books you read, the better

Wrong.

What really matters is:

57. Eventually, reading can be understood as a funnel

After a 300-page book enters your brain, it should be continuously compressed.

300 pages of content

↓

30 Important Points

↓

10 Truly Important Points

↓

3 Long-term Ideas Worth Remembering

↓

1 Thing That Can Change Behavior

If nothing is retained in the end, even reading 300 pages may just be an act of reading.

If in the end only three points are retained, but these three points repeatedly help you make decisions, then the book has already created great value.

Conclusion: A true reading master is not the one who reads the fastest, but the one who knows when to read fast and when to read slow.

Truly efficient reading is not a magical "speed-reading technique".

It is more like a set of abilities:

Knowing why you read.

Knowing what is worth reading.

Knowing where you can skip.

Knowing how to quickly find key points.

Knowing how to understand complex content.

Knowing how to distinguish between viewpoints and examples.

Knowing how to identify the author's logic.

Knowing how to condense a book into a few core points.

Knowing how to reduce forgetting through active recall.

Knowing how to connect knowledge to existing experience.

Ultimately, also knowing:

Therefore, rather than pursuing:

It is better to pursue:

The ultimate goal of reading has never been to simply turn more pages.

It is to use words to quickly gain the experiences that others have summarized over several years, a decade, or even a lifetime, and then turn the truly valuable parts into your own knowledge.

If you only remember one reading process from an entire article, remember these eight characters:

Expanded, it is:

First clarify why you are reading → quickly skim the structure → read with questions in mind → distinguish opinions from evidence → adjust speed according to importance → actively recall after reading → summarize in your own words → apply the genuinely important knowledge to reality.

After achieving this, you may not become someone who reads thousands of words per minute.

But you will become a trulyfast-reading, well-understanding, memorable, and usableperson.