I'm Learning How to Read Again!

I was never much for watching YouTube for the sake of scrolling through and discovering the newest trends or viral videos. As an adult, I have come to see YouTube as a nice tool for learning new things. My husband watches way more YouTube than I ever have, and he loves to show me his most interesting finds. I have no idea how he stumbled upon this genre, but lately he has been delving more into the world of how to learn more efficiently. We both have been enjoying some of the advice about how to get the most out of your reading, how to learn differently for better retention, and how to manage time wisely.

This has become of more interest to me lately because I have been trying to return to my bookworm roots and read things besides medical journals. Since 2012, my world has revolved around disease pathology, human anatomy, peer-reviewed journals, and anything and everything related to practicing medicine. Of course, this is essential to my career, but there was always a part of me that longed for the days when I would sit down for a whole day and just read whatever I wanted to, just for the fun of it. I did try to keep up on my leisure reading in medical school, but after marriage and starting a family, it fell to the wayside even further.

Like many bookworms, I adore the feel of a physical book - the smell of the dust cover, the texture of the pages, watching your bookmark change day to day as you physically move through the story. I did eventually give in to the convenience of e-books when the reality of having to move all my physical books became too intimidating. The electronic consolidation just made sense for my lifestyle. I could read on the go and spend less on e-book versions of literature I wanted to read.

For a very long time, I basically told myself I am an audio-visual learner, because if I tried to listen to a podcast or a lecture without diagrams or a script to follow, I lost track of what I was listening to when my mind started to wander. Eventually, when I found myself frustrated with the lack of mental stimulation driving to and from work and elsewhere, so I finally caved and subscribed to Audible. Talk about a game-changer! My reading volume has tripled since I started incorporating audio books, even if I have to go back to listen to parts I missed, and listening at 1.5x normal playback speed helps make up for it.

Volume of reading is great, but I found that the major thing lacking in my leisure reading was what made my medical reading different: retention. I made it a point to highlight and scribble in my medical journals so that I could retain the information to use in my practice. I was not doing the same with my leisure reading. Why on earth would I? I'm not in high school English anymore! But the point of reading is to take something away from the story, regardless of how utilitarian it is.

So I joined a book club. I figured the discussion would help solidify major points of the book, and participating in the club itself would help me branch out of my usual book genres of choice. The first book I read for my book club was great, but I found that when I tried to participate in the discussion, my responses were brief, more vague opinion than arguments solidified by evidence from details in the novel, as others presented. Maybe others had physical copies to highlight and take notes, whereas me simply listening to the audiobook was as fruitless as I once feared.

We’re a family of readers!

Then, my husband told me about....a YouTube video. It was a video about note-taking, specifically using a certain writing app, but aside from that, the essence of the creator's point was that taking notes was OKAY. As a speed-reader, I was worried it would slow me down, but the video made a point that had already occurred to me: what's the point in speed-reading ten books a month when I can't remember a single thing I read?

Instead of slowing down and trying to remember every sentence, now I will highlight/virtual-bookmark any major points, and at the end of each chapter or page depending on what I am reading, I write a few sentences about what I just read, in my own words. I write down any questions that may pop into my mind, circle concepts to research further, all to solidify the content of what I am reading. This was just a different application of what I already have my medical students do: after every clinic, research one disease from a patient who was particularly outstanding from the day, and present the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment for said disease to me and any other students on rotation the following clinic day. It's a fantastic strategy for retention of medical knowledge, why not apply a form of it to my leisure reading?

It’s never too early to start loving reading!

I have only been using this technique for a month, but it works! I am getting so much more out of what I am reading, and as a writer, what I read is essential for my personal creativity, as well. The note-taking app I am using is very new to me and I am still learning the ins and outs of it, but it is a nice way to make connections between seemingly unrelated reading material and help inspire my creativity. I may post about the Obsidian app later on, so stay tuned.

Once again, my husband has inadvertently help me re-learn something I thought I was good at! As a physician, I consider myself a forever-student. I had no idea how much I was actually missing by failing to take a couple extra steps by actively reading - just like I actively listen when my patients tell their stories, I needed to engage with my reading material, have a conversation of sorts with the author, think critically about the information I was receiving. The note-taking works! For any fellow bookworms out there who want to read for more than volume, look up Odysseas on YouTube for his videos on getting more out of your reading with various note-taking techniques. You may even be inspired to write more when you realize how your reading content stimulates your thought and creativity!