Here’s how I used to read:
Choose a book
Read it for a few days/weeks.
Finish the book.
Put it back on the shelf or in the library and gradually forget about it.
*sad face*
Then I made a book repository, and something changed.
Call it commonplace book, archive, digital shelf, etc. In here, you can search and reread your book summary, highlights, and essential quotes.
Basically, you don’t need to remember what you read. Instead, you’re building a second brain that will keep track of the books for you.
Why Keep a Book Repository?
There can be multiple reasons:
If you’re the forgetful type of person: You can jump back to the summary you’ve created, and say: “Oh! Yes, that’s what the chapter was about”.
If you’re a writer/researcher/creator: You can scroll through your references to generate new ideas. You can also choose some nice quotes for your future articles.
If you‘re the “knowledge/inspiration hoarder” type of person: You can have a collection of insights, all in one place. You’ll gain clarity about the topics you value, and an overall sense of progress.
What Does a Book Repository Look Like?
It could be anything from a Word document to a Notion page, a Wikimedia account, or a simple website.
You can use a paper journal if you prefer, though I personally find digital tools to be less time-consuming (especially if you need to copy long quotes).
For instance, I have a personal wiki with the following structure:
Essentially, a repository is like a book of your books, with only the gems (what you think is important) shown to light.
Repositories can look different depending on their creator. Therefore, feel free to experiment and find what works best for you.
How to Start
Step 1: Have your book ready with a pencil and/or a highlighter.
This might seem fairly obvious, but I was reluctant to do it in the beginning. After all, I like reading as a distraction, and having a pencil at hand felt like I was breaking the escapist mood.
Therefore I‘d recommend starting with the non-fiction genre, which is less grounded in imagination and more in the real world. As I knew my goal was to acquire new knowledge, I felt more inclined to have a pencil next to me.
Note: If you don’t want to stain your book, you can put some post-its or a notebook to write on instead.
Step 2: Whenever you find a cool sentence or paragraph, capture it.
Ask yourself: “Am I gaining new wisdom with this information?”
If yes, allow yourself to take it. Mark it in pencil, highlight it, reference its page number, etc.
But there’s also the temptation to highlight everything, and maybe you’ve heard the saying: “If everything is important, nothing is” (Patrick Lencioni). Sometimes though, it’s hard to un-highlight. Especially with broad subject matters such as history.
If you struggle with that, it’s okay to add more than necessary to your archive. Over time, you‘ll be able to shorten it as much as you want.
That’s another benefit of going digital: you have an ever-changing repository.
Step 3: Once you finish the book, transfer your highlighted text to a platform.
Write the book title, the author’s name, and a short description.
Then comes the hard part: type in the text you’ve highlighted.
I’ll admit this might take some time, unless you have the ebook version where you only need to copy-paste. But it’s the main reason why I created a repository in the first place: I needed quotes!
Another option is to just take a picture of the pages, and put them in a computer folder.
Step 4: Briefly summarize what each quote is about.
I call that a “quote summary”; a short sentence is usually enough.
If you need to provide more explanation, bullet points can be a good format.
You could also provide additional comments, such as your opinion about the quote, and how you would connect it to your own life/perspective/other books you’ve read.
Step 5: Use your new repository.
Now you have a book summary. As you add more publications, you’ll be able to:
Have a bird’s eye view of all your highlighted books.
Search for a book title and read all its quotes.
Search for a keyword and get various quotes on a same topic.
Reading With More Purpose
To the question “How to remember EVERYTHING you read”, I ask:
Is it necessary to recall everything, when you have a personal archive that you can come back to?
Besides, a book has the power to influence you on a subconscious level; even more so when your intention is to extract its interesting gems.
“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
To that, I wish you a nice and cozy treasure hunt.
Thank you for reading! ✿