Reading

I'm good at reading really fast. I'm not in the extreme super-league, I'm not sure if I'm a "fast-reader" by definition, but I get through books at an amazing speed. It's easy for me to remember what I read, too, and reading about stuff is a good way for me to learn.

When it comes to textbooks however, I have another skill, that's a bit paradoxical; I'm good at not reading the whole book. I never read a textbook from the first page to the last. Instead, I start by browsing through the book, starting with the last chapter. I notice headlines, image texts, and the general outlay. Then I check out the list of contents. After that I browse again, reading parts that stands out to me, getting hooked here and there, changing page when I lose interest. Sometimes there's parts I really need to know, and then I might underline a few things.

And then I'm done. That's it. After that, I add what I've read to what is said on lectures and seminars, cataloguing it in my mental library, and when the exam comes up, I usually pass without fuss. To me, this technique works, and it's something I'm good at.