How Book Clubs Maximize Your Nonfiction Reading

Do you find it hard to remember what you read in nonfiction books?

It happens to me all the time.

Ask me to explain what I read in a book I finished 2 months ago and I wouldn’t know what to tell you. This bothers me because I read to learn. I don’t read for entertainment or pleasure.

So what’s the point of reading if you can’t remember what you read?

This is the first problem I have with nonfiction books. 

Problem number 2 is that I would love to discuss what I read but I never get to do it.

I’m usually alone on my couch when reading, and every time I come across an illuminating and inspirational idea, I can only look at my cat wishing he could speak.

Sadly, he can’t, but he always gives me a look that says, “No, man, I don’t give a damn about that.” 

Hardly any of my friends are interested in the stuff I read either. They don’t care about self-help tips, Stoic philosophies or what food is good for your gut.

That’s the second problem I have with reading nonfiction books.

And there’s one more: I never read enough.

I only read for about 30-40 minutes a day and I know that there are people who can’t even sit down with a book for that long. Sometimes I’m one of those people too.

So, how do we overcome these issues?

Book clubs.

I’ve been organizing book clubs for a while and discovered they can help me learn and read more.

Here are 3 reasons why they’re effective.

1. Book clubs help you absorb what you read

A book club consists of a series of discussion sessions where you share your thoughts on what you read.

This motivates you to interact more with the content of the book because you know that you’ll have to talk about it with others.

You no longer read passively.

Instead, you’re more likely to take notes and write down key points and thoughts as you read, so you’ll be probably highlighting interesting sections or ideas you find hard to grasp.

When you then meet with the other book club members, you present your views on the topic and listen to what they have to say about it too.

By incorporating active reading, note-taking and discussion into the process, you’ll be able to approach the information in multiple ways, which means your brain gets to store it in more than one place.  

This is great news for you. 

You’ll have different places in your brain where the information is accessible, which makes it easier to remember and understand it.

Imagine you’re learning about a new animal. 

If your brain stores information about that animal in only one place, it might be hard for you to remember everything about it. But if the information is stored in many different parts of your brain, it’s like having many copies of a book about that animal. 

None of this is my opinion. It’s written in scientific papers. 

Another thing that brain science tells us is that it’s absolutely normal to forget what you read if you don’t try to retain information.

So, can we say that book clubs are scientifically-proven ways to learn and retain more of what we read?

I’d say so.

2. Book clubs hold you accountable for reading

You might find it hard to read consistently. Or maybe you tend to fall asleep when reading because you do it in bed late at night.

Participating in a book club changes that.

Knowing you’re going to have a discussion with others holds you accountable. You’ll probably give yourself a kick in the butt and find time to read every day.

Knowing that someone is watching can be a powerful motivator. You are less likely to procrastinate or give up because there is an immediate cost. If you don’t follow through, perhaps they’ll see you as untrustworthy or lazy. Suddenly, you are not only failing to uphold your promises to yourself, but also failing to uphold your promises to others. – Atomic Habits (p.210)