When reading non-fiction, the focus is on taking in information. So unlike fiction, where you want to immerse yourself in a story, non-fiction reading techniques can be built on so we’re getting the most out of those books.
Donald Latumahina at LifeOptimizer has some tips to help get the most out of your reading. Some of these you may have heard before [in Efficient Reading], but here Donald puts everything into a sequence that you can follow with some new ideas as well.
Create the book map
After reading the whole book, I’d suggest creating a book summary of your own. Creating a book summary helps you internalize the ideas you get.
A book map maps the structure of the entire book. Normally you can just use the table of contents as the book map, but don’t use a very detailed table of contents. The purpose of a book map is to quickly give you a glimpse of the structure of the book. Too much details may distract you from the big picture.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Books – [LifeOptimizer]
Craig, thanks for sharing this post. I find that “productive reading” is a lost art which we can all rediscover.
Mike
Thank you for directing me to this article. I do a lot of reading, and Donald’s steps will definitely help me.
I’ve been working on a series of articles with a similar theme lately. Instead of focusing on non-fiction, however, I focus on fiction, and take a less structured approach (reading fiction is often done for fun, after all).
My series:
Get More from Your Book – Secrets to Deep Reading
I think waiting till the end of the book is too late, by then a large chunk of the info is gone. I say add information chapter by chapter or section by section. That just seems to be the more strategic option for an efficient lifehack(er).
Consider audio books. With the prevalence of ipods and mp3 players its so easy to pick up a $10 copy of a book on iTunes or on audible. I think audio books save a ton of time if you focus on the subject matter.
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