TAMPA, Fla. (JUSTSARA) — Everything you’ve ever wanted to learn can be found in books. The problem is, most of it is hidden behind dense text and complicated ideas. So, how do you actually get through complicated books without giving up? Here are some of the techniques I personally use to get through them and stay motivated along the way.
Step 1: Before You Start — Know Your Limits
I don’t believe any book is impossible for someone dedicated enough to get through it. But, you should take your own ability into account when choosing books. Something too far above it will be hard to reach and will demotivate you, potentially to the point of quitting, and something below will stunt your skill growth. Always aim to read above your comprehension level but don’t shoot for the sun and stars unless you’re willing to risk the fall.
On the other hand, sometimes it’s an author’s writing style that stops you. If an author is more interested in showing off than making their ideas accessible, it might be best to put the book down and look for another one that covers the same topics. Struggling through rigorous text will build both your skills and confidence. But, if your comprehension is near zero or you’re so demotivated that opening the cover feels like laying down in your own coffin, then you aren’t doing much learning.
Step 2: Find Your Reason
Going into something you know is excruciating without a reason is a recipe for failure. To stay motivated, ask yourself why you’re doing this. Really dig deep and find the core of why you want to read this particular book. To gain a skill? To learn something new? Or maybe just to show off that you could read something as long as War and Peace (if this is your true reason then I think you might need to dig a little deeper)? Write it down on the inside cover of your book or on a sticky note attached to the back of your Kindle. Constantly remind yourself why you started reading it in the first place.
Step 3: Skim First Ask Questions Later — Practical Advice for Reading Dense Text
One of the most useful things I learned and now use every time I pick up a new book comes from reading Mortimer J. Adler’s How to Read a Book. It’s called skimming. Here’s how it works. When you first pick up your book you’ll want to look at the following things:
- The Table of Contents: A roadmap of the author’s main points
- Headings, Subheadings and Section Names: A more detailed roadmap, lets you plan ahead
- The first and last paragraphs of major sections/chapters
- The Preface and Introduction: The book’s history, why the author wrote it and what the author ultimately wants you to get out of it.
Once you’re in the thick of it you should be looking ahead while reading. When I finish a section I’ll peek at the title of the next section or two to see where the author and I are headed together.
You Don’t Have to Understand Everything
A huge mistake that I made a lot was stopping every time I didn’t understand something. If you’re stopping every few paragraphs to think or even worse to research, you’re losing valuable momentum in understanding the overall book as a whole. As soon as I stopped trying to micromanage every paragraph, I found that most of the questions I had about a section were answered just a few pages later. If you don’t understand something just make a small mark in the margin of the book, like a question mark, and then move on. Once you finish the book you can revisit those and see which ones you actually don’t understand.
Vocabulary — The Only Exception
The only time I advise looking something up right away are vocab words. Vocabulary can be a barrier to understanding something that, logically, isn’t all that complicated. So this quick fix could be the answer you’ve been looking for. And don’t make a vocab list. I’ve found them almost always useless. If a word is common enough across texts you will see it again, and you’ll probably be able to recall it better because you looked it up when you first saw it in a sentence.
Read Actively to Stay Engaged
Active reading is key when understanding dense books. To keep your brain from falling asleep you should annotate but lightly. Use annotation to ‘think through’ the text. Here’s my annotation system:
- Question Marks (?): Used for things I don’t understand or points I don’t agree with.
- Underlining: I will underline main ideas and good examples or just things that are interesting to me.
- Marginalia: In the margins I like to write any connections I make to other ideas, texts or sources.
Annotating is your chance to have a conversation with the author, ask them questions or argue with them.
TIP: Have a ‘Break Book’
Truly active reading takes a lot of brain power. It’s understandable to run out of juice. If you find your concentration waning you should stop. Have a rotation of books to stave off burnout. I have a ‘break book’ on standby, an exciting fantasy or romance book, something interesting and effortless that I can pick up to keep my momentum without reaching exhaustion.
Step 4: Make Your Goals Small to Stay Consistent
The biggest advice I can give you is that little consistencies outweigh long inconsistent reading sessions. My daily goal is to read 10 pages. Just 10. Having a small goal makes starting feel easy. I often go way over that 10 page limit but if it’s all I can really do I don’t feel guilty. If you’re consistent you will see progress.
Step 5: I Finished the Book, Now What?
So you finished your densest book. Congratulations! But what now? How can you be sure you actually learned anything? First, go back and revisit those “?” sections. See if you understand them now and make note of what they mean in the margins. Then, on a separate paper or in a word document, write down only the ideas that matter to you. Use quotes from the text to complement those ideas. Difficult books don’t get easier, you just get better at reading them.
