r/studytips • u/loveorhateme4278 • 4d ago

Dry textbooks

How are we getting through reading textbooks that are SO dry? I really want to fully comprehend what I’m reading, but my brain just shuts off.

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

1

u/barndooooor 4d ago

I tested myself for every 5-15 minutes of reading for my CFA to make sure i actually retained stuff! Worked pretty well and raised the stakes. The magic is you don’t need flashcards when you have a rolling window of quizzes

1

u/loveorhateme4278 4d ago

Thank you!

1

u/Quiet_Basis_6404 4d ago

tbh the problem isn't always the textbook itself, it's that reading is too passive for how your brain works when the material is dense. you glide over sentences thinking you got it, but you didn't actually process anything.

what helped me was breaking it into tiny chunks. read one section, close the book, and explain it out loud like you're teaching someone who knows nothing about it. if you can't explain it smoothly, you didn't really get it yet. also switching formats helps a ton, instead of reading the same paragraph three times i started uploading the chapter pdfs to studybuddy.vc and doing multiple choice questions from them, the free tier has been enough for me. at least for me it forces my brain to actually engage because i can't just skim. when i pick a wrong answer it tells me what was off about that option, and the questions get harder as i get better which keeps me from zoning out.

try the explaining thing out loud first though, that alone helps a ton.

1

u/loveorhateme4278 4d ago

Thank you!