<p>I have so much reading to do this semester and every night I have to read like 50 pages for this one class and then like 37843287 more pages for other classes. But when I read those 50 pages, after that, I don't remember or understand every detail that's going on in the book and then I feel really guilty and bad and feel like something is not right or I am behind and I read it over and over until I almost memorize the first few pages and then I get tired and it takes me so many hours to read a few pages because I try to remember everything that's going on and I run out of time and end up not completing the reading assignment. WHAT THE H E C K is my PROBLEM HERE? ON the other hand, I feel like what is the use of completing all the reading if I am not going to remember or understand everything that's going on in the book? If I am not to remember what I read after I read, I might as well not do the reading? That's why I read until I remember everything and understand except this tires me out and I don't have enough time. Do I have some kind of OCD problem or is everyone like this? Is it very normal not to understand or remember everything after reading 50 pages at once? Or is my reading ability somehow below that of average human beings? HOW OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHAT CAN I DO???????????? I AM IN COLLEGE What can I do??????????????</p>
<p>Read the text twice and skim a third time. Ideally, one should read the entire text before they even enter the classroom or at least finished with it by midterm. That is what many high performers do.</p>
<p>What was your high school reading load like? Usually college requires much more reading than high school although rigorous high school courses should include a fair amount of reading per night. Have you never been required to read 50 pages a night? If that is the case, see if there is a reading class offered on or near your campus - something that is geared to college students improving comprehension and speed.</p>
<p>If this is a new development and you used to be able to read more effectively, see your healthcare center and get assessed for anxiety disorders/depression etc. that may be impairing your ability to concentrate. If you are not sleeping well that may be a factor as well, but whether it is the source or the symptom should be assessed by professionals.</p>
<p>I have a similar issue. I’ll read a few pages and then suddenly realize that I’ve just kinda zoned out on what I’ve JUST read! Here’s what’s helped me… Write a quick summary out beside each paragraph (or page depending on the complexity). Just a one sentence like “this is what this is about”… This is mostly pertaining to literature, but could also be helpful with history and other heavy reading. If you don’t want to write in your book, keep a notebook for it. Also highlight important facts (names, events, etc). When you are done, consolidate your summaries and highlighted sections and read it over. It will be much shorter and remind you of all the important details that you might have forgotten by the end of the reading.</p>
<p>I’d say read it thoroughly once, do something else, then go back and skim it again awhile later. Or you could try taking notes as you read.</p>
<p>I am dreading this in college because I’m afraid I won’t have any time to read for fun. I’m currently in one double-enrollment Western Civ/English Lit class, and this semester especially, I’m having no time to read for fun. :(</p>
<p>Just be an engineer. We hate reading. In fact the phrase “reading for fun” makes about as much sense as “visiting the dentist for fun” or “getting kicked in the nuts for fun”</p>
<p>Depending on the class, you don’t necessarily need to read every word of the reading, either. For philosophy or English, profs generally want you to do all of it. But if it’s history or poli sci, there’s an expectation that you will just skim the reading thoroughly, haha.</p>
<p>Depends on the stuff you’re trying to master but a general guide is to read it once through just to get the jist of it and attend class the day you’re discussing it. Now go back and look over the parts that didn’t make sense before but hopefully will now. Commit it to memory, study it again when the quiz/test/midterm/essay/etc comes around. Rinse and repeat.</p>
<p>Of course there are notable exceptions… if this is reading from an English book or something depending on the class you may not need to go through it again. On the other hand if it’s Chemistry you should probably practice once a day or every few days. If it’s a language, you should probably be practicing every chance you get each day. </p>
<p>Maybe because I’m sardonic but I’ve never liked the idea of those reading courses… I’ve seen the how-to-study guides and even tried using one but maybe it’s in part due to my college’s way of advertising them “Too many books? Take Reading 050 to learn how to manage your time” and the first thing that goes through my mind is “Oh, wonderful! Hypothetical Student A already is overwhelmed by too many books and clearly not enough time to study them so now you want them to take a class which will likely have ANOTHER textbook to teach them how to speed through their other books… why does that seem like…Non sequitur?”</p>
<p>Anyway, just relax, don’t try so hard to memorize every last little detail. They’re rarely always important, focus on getting the main idea, the subpoints and the relevant info only. That make sense? It won’t help our understanding of history or why Columbus went genocidal on the Natives to know he was wearing a red coat on October 19th 1493, that’s filler data.</p>
<p>I have that problem also. Especially when reading very uninteresting books. My best advice is to read each chapter and then use Sparknotes to read the main idea. It helped me a llot when I was having a hard time comprehending the text. </p>
<p>I’m not usually a big fan of writing inside of books because I think it’s kind of pointless so when reading try to keep a notebook with you so you can jot down page numbers and what you found interesting on those pages. That way when you’re done with the reading you can go back to those specific pages and read in that general.</p>
<p>“no! I don’t have ADD! Do you even know how smart I am?”</p>
<p>It’s clear you’re, at the very least, not very well read. People with ADD often have much higher IQs than people like you, ie, the general population.</p>
<p>I had/have a somewhat similar problem. I try to curb it by taking in depth notes in my notebook if what I’m reading isn’t for lit, and if it’s for lit, I underline and write in the book my reactions to things.</p>
<p>This has helped me retain information (and focus) A LOT. Maybe it’ll help you.</p>