Get the Most Out of Your Books — Be an Active Reader

Keeping your library pristine will prevent you from getting the most out of it

“I used to always read with a pen in my hand, as if the author and I were in a conversation.”

— Tara Bray Smith

Have you ever heard of active listening? In short, it means that rather than passively sitting back and simply letting someone else talk while waiting for your chance to speak, you engage in the conversation without words. It requires full concentration, understanding, and recollection of the conversation. It helps to minimize confusion and forgetfulness.

I employ these same practices when I read. I am an active reader. I interact with the book. I underline and highlight. I fold page corners or have tabs sticking out of the side. I argue with the text, challenging the author, editorializing or asking questions in the margins, sometimes writing so much it encircles the page. This isn’t unusual. Stanley Kubrick’s notes inside The Shining is just one example of famous writers marking up the texts of other authors.