How to Own a Book

Reread it.

When I want to own a book, I read it then a week or so later, I reread it. Research says that we retain, at best, only 20% of anything we read the first time. Retention increases dramatically when we review what we have read (the sooner after the first read, the better). 

When I say I reread a book I am reading it really fast. I am sort of skipping from highlight to highlight.

Highlight it.

I use a highlighter or pen when I read a paper book or the highlight function in Kindle ( I like the options of colored highlights in Kindle, too). When I reread, I am trying to get the structure of the book in my head and to understand what the chapters mean...not just what they say. 

Marginalia in it.

I also add notes on my thoughts, ideas, and questions while reading, marginalia. I scribble on the edges or on a index card or use the note function in Kindle. Later when I will revisit my notes I may add to the note or, often times, I will delete or shorten the note to make it more cogent. Often times I will move these notes to my Evernote file where I can search them for later reference. (I keep an Evernote notebook on books I have read.)

Find the answer to the question.

My number one rule on highlighting is this. Any time an author asks a question in a book, highlight it. The first thing to figure out about any book, fiction or non-fiction, is what question is the author trying to answer. You can always tell a book where the author is not sure about what question they are trying to answer. If you have finished the book you feel pissed-off at yourself for wasting time on it. If you are smart, you have abandoned it before a total investment.  

Rereading always inspires me to write more about what I am reading. And the more I write about what I have read, the more I own the subject, not just the book.

And to really, really own it, I do this.

Once one of my old bosses told me, Sam if you want to really learn something, teach it. And he gave me a task in training a group of employees in a subject I knew nothing about. He knew that would be the best, fastest way for me to learn it.

So if you really want to own the book, teach a class on it.  This could be an official class at the local community college or this could be a class you start on your own at the local Bob Evans. You might call it a book club if you wish.