Do you read regularly but find yourself struggling to remember the author's name, book title, or even your protagonist's name a week later?

My husband and I both read nightly. He is a fast reader. He probably reads two huge John Grisham-sized novels to my one little 300-page historical fiction. As we talked about it over our nightly game of Rummikub, I asked him what his current main character's name was. He stopped, thought, and then laughed. "Point taken," he said.

He did scare the pants off me later, yelling from upstairs—"JAAAACCCKKK! His name is Jack!"

He also told me later that my question made him pay a little more attention to what he was reading. 

In our conversation, I asked him how his books were meant to impact him if he read so fast that he couldn't remember key details. The look on his face was priceless. "That's not why I read," he chuckled.

"Why do you read?" I asked.

"To fall asleep."

That's fair.

He reads for enjoyment more than almost anyone I know, so this is obviously not the only reason he reads, but it did give me something to chew on as he went off to read himself to sleep.

Why do we read? 

As the story about my husband shows, it can be different for all of us.

In our modern online culture, there is no shortage of short-form content where people share their year-end reading lists and their massive New Year TBR hauls. #ReadingGoals

I love goals. I am a daily goal setter, and a short-term and long-term goal setter. But is reading just for the sake of a number at the end of the year, even if it really is just skimming or skipping, and not changing you in any way, really worth it?

It might be if what you need most right now is a cozy sense of routine and stability to help you relax at night. But if your goal is to read to understand and be impacted on a deeper level, or possibly expand into the classics, this surface style might be worth rethinking.

Reading is never a waste of time, but if you are reading so fast that nothing is seeping in to stay, it may be diminishing the impact of what you are reading. What does an impressive end-of-year reading list actually accomplish if the books left no mark? Research shows that comprehension breaks down at high reading speeds because the brain simply cannot consolidate information fast enough to hold on to it (Rayner, 2016, as cited in Gulf News, 2025). 

We remember what we think about, and the best way we do this is to handwrite it or teach someone about it.

If we are racing toward the finish line of a TBR list, for the sake of keeping up with some YouTuber or being bullied by our own internal taskmaster’s demands, then we are not really thinking about what we are reading or caring about it—we are just racing for racing’s sake.

You know that saying... it's better to be excellent at one thing than mediocre at a lot. Something like that. 

If you find yourself skimming, skipping, or rushing, it is worth asking why. It could be that you have the wrong genre and you are trying to make the BookTok square peg fit in the hole shaped like a baseball diamond. It could also be that you are distracted. Is your phone is in the room tempting you, or are you reading on a device that is not allowing your brain to access those deeper flow states, or you are carrying something heavy and need to spend a few minutes journaling, praying, or talking to someone before you can settle in.

Are you reading too late and you can't keep your eyes open, much less care about character development?

If you’re like my husband, who after working all day long for the Army, the last thing in the world you want to do is think some more about anything at all, that's understandable. 

Keep reading just as you are, because that is what you need. There might come a time in your life where that will shift. 

But if you are someone who relates to not remembering character names or details even just a day after finishing a book, there are some wonderful things you can do to engage with what you’re reading on a deeper level.

Make Your Reading Time Sacred

Whether it is the middle of the day or snuggled up in bed at night, you can see your reading time as sacred. The cozy space, the cup of tea, that cardigan you always wear at bedtime, but add a few items in. 

First your mindset. We are not reading to keep up with the Joneses’ or BookTok's book list. Read what you want to read. And read at the pace that allows you to absorb and understand. Don't be offended by rereading. Limit distractions and have a pen, highlighter, and notebook handy. Put away the idea that you can’t write in your books (unless it’s a library book). 

What I would give to have a book with one of my grandparents’ handwritten notations.

See this time as a gift to yourself to slow down, on purpose, write down your thoughts and questions (they matter), journal or talk about what was meaningful, and allow yourself to be changed by beauty.

Your grandchildren will thank you.

Sources:

Gulf News. (2025, February 16). The memory battle: Speed versus slow reading, which helps you retain more? https://gulfnews.com/friday/wellbeing/the-memory-battle-speed-reading-versus-slow-reading-which-helps-you-retain-more-1.500038041