How to Read E-Books Correctly

<p>It all started when I decided to read the new novel by young Irish writer Sally Rooney, ‘Normal People’. It hasn’t been translated into Russian yet (I don’t know if they plan to — if you ask me, they should), so I’m looking for the original. I’m checking all the bookstores in Moscow (plus looking on Ozon) — no luck, and there never was. No worries, I think to myself, I’ll be in Estonia next week, where the shelves of English literature are bigger than ours, I’ll definitely find it. In the end, it turned out that a day before my arrival, someone quicker snatched the last copy off the shelf.</p>
<p>For several days, I try to resist ordering the book on Amazon (the previous one hasn’t been delivered yet), and then I give in and decide to read it in electronic format (by the way, it will only appear in iBooks in April, don’t ask me where I got it).</p>
<p>Why didn’t I do this right away?</p>
<p>The thing is, I try to read books in paper format, and the reason is purely pragmatic: it’s easier to remember that way. I wrote about this in detail on my Medium blog: it’s all about how our memory works. The text we read is remembered in the form of mental images, and they, in turn, are linked to other images that come to us while reading a particular passage: its location on the page, the texture of the paper, the smell, the surrounding environment. The more of these mental images there are, the easier it is for the brain to connect this with the information we receive while reading, and the more reliable the memorization process becomes.</p>
<p>That’s why knowledgeable teachers advise their students to prepare for exams in unusual places — new cafes, on different floors of the library, in another room, and so on — the memories of the unusual surroundings will be brighter, and they will help to remember more firmly what you are learning in that environment.</p>
<p>Back to our story. If you are reading a book in electronic format, on your phone, iPad, or e-reader, use a number of techniques that will ensure better memorization. It’s still not paper, but it’s better than nothing.</p>
<p>Here are some techniques I personally use — all of them facilitate memorization:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Highlighting quotes.</strong> Text highlighting works wonderfully on all devices — make use of it. I underline passages that seem ironic, key, or just very well written to me. Some of them go into a collection of quotes for the channel if I plan to make one, all the others are just for me. If I want to recall a certain episode from the book, I’ll open the section with highlighted text and instantly find the passage I’m interested in.</li>
<li><strong>Reading list.</strong> This year, I decided to keep a list of the books I’ve read, and I already see how cool it is: every time I glance at it, I skim through all the titles, and the main themes and postulates from each book come to mind.</li>
<li><strong>Creative journal entries.</strong> You’ve probably heard how useful it is to keep a journal (and not forget to write something there every day), and I confirm that it’s true. I honestly have a problem with this because I already write something every day, but don’t be lazy — write in your journal about what you’ve read and why it’s important.</li>
<li><strong>Go back and reread.</strong> During the reading process, there will definitely be moments when you forget the name of someone important, or what happened at the beginning, about which everyone is now arguing, or you missed some detail that is actually not a detail at all — go back to reread that very passage. In e-books, finding the right place is very easy, so don’t hesitate to “flip” back.</li>
<li><strong>Change the environment.</strong> What I mentioned at the beginning, a hack for students and teachers — with e-books, its value only increases.</li>
<li><strong>Do not disturb mode.</strong> I understand, this is the hardest part — but if you can’t remember what you’re reading, then why read at all? Try to read less in snippets (you won’t be able to concentrate) and turn off notifications while reading.</li>
</ul>
<p>I’m sure there are other techniques that can help you get more out of reading books in electronic format, but this list is the foundation.</p>