I grew up in a home filled with National Geographic, Britannica Encyclopedias, atlases, Architectural Digest, self-help writing books, and novels ranging from the complete Nancy Drew series to Jane Austen's best work. During summer breaks I was expected to read a new book every month; complete with a chapter synopsis and analysis once a week for my parents to read.
It's no wonder, then, that I naturally picked up the habit years later as a method of sharpening my mind and broadening my horizons. Now, in my early twenties I've adopted a "Book of the Month" practice with the help of the FIU library system. Towards the beginning of each month (or whenever I finish the previous book) I make my way to the campus library and get lost in the seemingly endless aisles of books about any and everything. I often read excerpts or book cover summaries to make my month's selection.
The way I read books now, almost described as actively, is equal faults my parents for forcing me to analyze the books I read as a child and Noam Chomsky for a quote that will stick with me forever:
"And reading a book doesn’t mean just turning the pages. It means thinking about it, identifying parts that you want to go back to, asking how to place it in a broader context, pursuing the ideas. there’s no point in reading a book if you let it pass before your eyes and then forget about it ten minutes later. Reading a book is an intellectual exercise, which stimulates thought, questions, imagination." - Noam Chomsky.
I have a document for every book I read. They're each structured the same way: Book Title. Author. Vocab. Quotes. Notes. I keep a running vocabulary list of words I encounter that I don't know the definition of, I write down any quotes that stand out or had an otherwise impactful meaning at the time I read it, and I summarize topics or write down and then explore things I'd like to look into beyond the books confines.
Because I lean heavily towards books that educate me on specific global topics my documents tend to be lengthy with ideas and research. FIU's research system helps me expand my knowledge and create the necessary links between ideas to understand the meaning within the books I read.
My love for the school's library system led me to become the October 2016 Library Power User! As an advocate for the ostensibly lost treasure of libraries, I proudly stand as an example for others and offer fellow students my help with maneuvering around the campus libraries.
To read more about myself and fellow global learning peers as Library Power Users please see: http://libguides.fiu.edu/worldsaheadstudents/danielle