You do not need to retain every sentence. After a chapter, close the text and create one chapter card in your own words.
Read with a question
Before the chapter, write one question: “What decision could this help me make?”, “How does this process work?”, or “What do I want to challenge?” A question separates useful output from page count.
Fiction may have a different goal: notice a character change, an image, or your response. Reading for pleasure does not need to become a compulsory memory test.
Complete a closed-book chapter card
CENTRAL IDEA
One sentence without the text:
ARGUMENT OR EXAMPLE
What supports it:
CONNECTION
What existing knowledge it connects to:
QUESTION
What remains unclear or debatable:
APPLICATION
One action or observation to test:
SOURCE
Chapter and page:Write from memory first, then reopen the book and correct inaccuracies. Retrieval-practice experiments using educational prose found better later retention than additional reading in the tested conditions (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006). That does not prove a summary automatically produces deep understanding or that fiction should be quizzed.
Revisit only what matters
A few days later, use the chapter title to retrieve the idea and application. Add a problem, discussion, or real example when the material matters for work or study. Do not build a permanent review queue for ideas unrelated to your purpose.
In Flammy, reading and producing a chapter card can be two separate actions. XP marks completion; later retrieval and use test memory.
If consistency is the problem, build a daily reading habit. For dense course material, use the separate textbook reading cycle.