I was going to address a question I got about my reading life with my April TBR tomorrow. Then I started writing, and it was longer than an intro to an already long post should be. So it gets its own post!
Question – How much do you actually remember of what you read?
If I’m recalling the conversation where this question was asked correctly (heh, irony), it came from someone who thinks they don’t read a lot. They read about a book a month (which is a lot, relatively speaking, as many people don’t read at all), and they really delve into it. That is, they read it slowly and also end up reading articles and listening to podcasts or watching interviews about the book, the topic, and/or the author. They join the fandoms of their favorite series and dabble in their own fanfic with their favorite characters. They go all in.
And that’s fantastic. I love that so much. What a thorough, beautiful way to approach reading!
I don’t do this with most of the books I read, but I typically have at least one deep dive going on at a time (e.g., my current hyperfocus babies are organ/music theory and Heated Rivalry). My brain does love a rabbit hole, and focusing on a book/series or a theme and reading/researching it so thoroughly definitely scratches that itch.
However, while this approach often helps with my memory, the main factor that determines how well I remember a book is simply how much I connect to it, regardless of the length of time it takes me to read it.
The books I really love (i.e., rate 4.25 and above on StoryGraph) – I remember vividly. I remember how it made me feel, where I was/what was going on in the world when I first read it (because I am likely to re-read it), what I loved about the characters and specifically why I disliked some of them, some obscure plot details, and maybe even a direct quote or two. I will be absolutely insufferable (or delightful, depending on whether you’re a person who likes joy at all) any time this book comes up in conversation. Which will be often, if I have anything to do with it.
Most of the rest? I remember generally – basic plot, favorite character(s), intersecting themes, etc. Enough to chat about it at book club, especially if I read it within a few months of discussion time. After that, I will need to google a character list and a brief synopsis before I can contribute effectively to the discussion beyond, “I really liked it” or “This scene was funny.”
And there are about a handful of books I finish every year that, even only a few months later, I could not tell you what they were about to save my life. But that’s rare. Most of the time, if a book is that lackluster to me, I don’t finish it and thus don’t count it toward my total list for the year. The exceptions to this rule are usually things I’m reading for book club that I would probably not have even started otherwise. I’ve noticed that as I get older, I’m more likely to slide a book over to the DNF pile (but not the official, public one on Goodreads…I have feelings about this) if it doesn’t hold my interest. I feel like this leaves more room in the library of the old mind palace for the books that do.
How about you? Are you an intentional deep-dive reader, a multiple-books-at-a-time chaos reader, or something in between?
M. Suzanne Terry 
I’m something in between a deep-dive reader and a multiple-books-at-a-time reader. I mostly consume audiobooks and I don’t remember everything. I’ll go back multiple chapters and reread if I’ve noticed I haven’t been really listening or if something really resonates and I want to get the most out of that portion of the text. I do the same with articles and comics. If I really like something or want to know more/am really invested, the. I will reread something or find similar stories.
One of the best ways for me to consume books now is to listen to podcasts and watch youtubes about the works and/or the author so that I can get multiple perspectives or different takes on these works. I do the same for movies, because I also like to know what it all means. This also feeds the imagination and greases those wheels that turn when I write something, because these texts and corresponding analyses help put current conditions into context sometimes.
For example, Death is Just Around the Corner has been great for understanding Stanley Kubrick films and unpacking the dense text that is Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. Ghost Stories for the End of the World has been great for unpacking nonfiction like The Devil’s Chessboard by David Talbot and fiction like 2666 by Roberto Bolaño. I really love using new media as a means to engage with texts and films. It adds weight to those things that I do remember that stick with me.
My current obsession is Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach saga. I’m listening to Absolution and it’s an excellent work that is both a prequel and sequel to the previous 3 books.
I love this aspect of new media, too. It’s like a well-informed book club I don’t have to leave my house for. I like a multi-layered perception experience, especially when I’m writing.