Remember the Book You Just Read

Quick Win

These science-backed techniques make it easy to absorb information from a book.

Try This Today

• Stick to print. Reading on a digital device may be convenient, but reading on good old-fashioned paper may help you retain more information.
• Take notes — and breaks. To focus on your book and keep your mind from wandering, make notes in the margins or use a highlighter to mark text. Take brief breaks to reflect on what you just read, which research shows can help you learn more.
• Review what you’ve read. When you’ve finished a book, tell a friend or family member about what you read or create an outline from memory using the book’s main points. These actions will help move the details from short-term to long-term memory.  

Why

If you love curling up with a book, we've got good news: Adults who read at least once per week have better cognitive function later in life, according to a study published in International Psychogeriatrics in 2020 that followed 1,962 adults age​s​ 64 and older for 14 years. If you want to retain more of what you read — and shine at your next book club meeting — the techniques above are especially effective, according to research. For example, a meta-analysis of 33 studies published in 2019 in the Journal of Research in Reading found that people who read text on paper tend to understand and retain more than people who read on electronic devices. In three experiments with a total of 64 older adults and 80 younger adults published in Brain Sciences in 2022, researchers found that those who took 10-minute breaks — described as “wakeful rest” — were able to recall more information while completing memory tasks.