Hi, I’m Becca! I suffer from book series memory loss 😦
All book-bosomed buddies know the agony:
Book 1 releases. You read book 1. You love book 1!
One year later: Book 2 releases. You begin book 2. But then you realize:
How the heavens are we, hard-working, worn out ‘lil bookworms expected to remember everything from book 1 when when read book 2? Or book 3 or book 4?
Well, my coconut-crusted chums, I’ll tell ya how with the help of my handy friend: SCIENCE!!!
- When your yummy novel runs right into the VERY BEST PART, it sure is tempting to ignore sleep forever and read read read. Alas! No! Staying up ruins memory, so if you wanna retain every detail of such a scrumptious book for when you devour the sequel, GO TO BED.
- Handy dandy research supplies a handy dandy fact: physical practice is the handy dandiest way to remember. So gather folks and friends and feisty ferrets. You’ll need them all when you re-enact your favorite bookish scenes!
- GET YOUR BOOTY UP. Exericse grow neat new neurons for ya. Neurons that are just darlings when it comes to memory! If you’re workout wary, not to fret! I have a post on how to exercise WHILE READING!!!
- Science says “studying different kinds of information in a single session leads to better retention.” Ya know what that means? When it comes to reading and memory, literary polygamists have it best! So the next time you begin to belittle those caressing multiple book lovers at a time, remember that they’ll remember all the bitty series details while you forgot everything about book 1 when book 5 was released.
- “Talking to someone about what you’ve been studying is a great way to see exactly how much you really know about it,” says our darlingly qualified memory expert. So when you’ve finished the most delightful tale, CHAT ABOUT IT WITH EVERY FOLK. Bounce onto your parent’s bed and gab about the idiocy of the book’s protagonist. Meeting a friend for coffee? Then skip the small talk and dive right into the vivid political schemes jiving around the pages of the book. Mailman at the door?
Forceinvite him in for crumpets and sob over your ship with him. (Though I’ve noticed my house has hardly received any mail after this event)
- If none of these scientifically-proven tips boost your memory, not to fret! That’s what the wondrously useful site Book Series Recaps is for. Sara and Stacy (simply stunning ladies, really) readily recap reads for adoring little bookworms everywhere. So when book 5 releases and you’ve forgotten everything about book 1, one of these gals will be ready to jog your memory. How considerate!
What scientific reading tips are you hiding? For example, has science showed you the path to importing characters from books to our world? Or have you unlocked the physics to diving our human form into bookish worlds? IF so, SHARE YOUR SECRETS!! LET US PROSPER TOGETHER!! But first, just blabber with me in the comments 😊
Becca & Books 
This information is indeed very useful. I think I’ll have to hit the bed earlier from now on 😉
YOU’RE WELCOME MICHELLE 😁 It is!! I’ll fall madly in love with a book and by the time the sequel releases I’m like OK I FORGOT. *sigh*
THANK YOU BECCA AND SCIENCE. This is such a big problem. I open the book and I’m like ‘who are you’ ‘who is that’ ‘who is this’ ‘what is this’ ‘what is happening’ ‘WHY is this happening’ it’s a problem I tell you
[…] How to Remember Things Via Science: Book Series Edition […]
Ha! We can have awful memories together. 😀
What a rich and delightful comment! Same with me, I have to review a book before I start another or I’ll jumble ’em up and FAIL.
It sounded pretty weird to me too! You’d think multiple books would make it worse. But I guess there’s logic behind giving your brain new subjects instead of focusing it all on one topic. I mean, it’s science!
SAME. Memory fails me. Thanks very much, I hope the tips help! Haha, recaps are the neatest
*sings the song from moana ‘you’re welcome’ until your ears bleed*
Why thank you! I’m rather proud of my gif adding abilities
WOW THAT’S SO SMART!! Thanks for sharing that tip! I will definitely try it out. I’m also going to try taking notes as I read, which will also help for review. 🙂
I needed this comment like you don’t even know. Thank you so much for commenting! Don’t worry, you can’t possibly be worse at retaining bookish info than me 😛
Ooooohhh thanks very much for your lovely comment! I’m with ya there, bookish memory lost is my achilles heel. That’s smart! Skimming through and googling always help 😊
Wonderful comment, Marie, AS ALWAYS! These tips are my babies because without them I REMEMBER NOTHING. Like, not even the main character’s name 😦 I hope these work for you!
GO SCIENCE! I’m elated that these tips work for you! Memory must be mastered. Thanks for commenting!
GO BOOK SERIES RECAPS!! But it’s always too tragic when they haven’t recapped a book 😦 I’m with ya, sister! Memory is a cruel friend. I agree! Spoiler-y discussions imprint the bookish events.
Honestly, I need to use these tips too! I gotta practice what i preach and start remembering. So we’ll be on the journey together! Thanks for commenting!
What a fun and useful post! haha I have terrible emory with books, which is why I have review most of them within a week of reading them or I’ll do a terrible job. :p
The part about how reading multiple books at once helps you retain more information doesn’t make sense to me. But I guess I’ll trust the science. x)
[…] & Books is back at it again with another delightfully hilarious post! This time, Becca explores “scientifically” proven ways to remember the events of books in a series. You’re sure to learn a lot from Becca’s post and have a good laugh along the way […]
I have the world’s worst memory when it comes to anything so this post is SUPER helpful and really interesting. Recaptains has saved my life so many times haha.
Thanks
The gif made your post very interesting and added the zing into it
I write my own summaries in a word document so that I can keep it all straight. I did that so I wouldn’t have to reread books all the time because I don’t have the time. I remember things better if I write them down so it helps in that regard; but it is also nice to have something that I can look back on later 🙂
I needed this post like you don’t even know. Thank you so much for sharing this! Because yeah, anything I can do to improve my book-info retention rate is a godsend. =D
Oooohhhh great post! I suffered from bookish memory loss ALL THE TIME! I don’t know why because when it comes to school things, my memories are pretty intact. But it’s probably because I never need to wait a year until the next book came out hahaha I usually just re-read some important parts from the previous books or ask google :’)
Wonderful post, Becca, AS ALWAYS! I need to follow these tips, because well, sometimes I can’t remember A SINGLE THING about what I read, haha. It doesn’t help when we have to wait forever to get the sequel in a book series 😦
Hell yeh for science! I’ve learned and applied these to the letter and totally agree! People should definitely apply this to their daily lives, it will do wonders in the long-term. Great list! 😀
– Lashaan
Book Series Recaps is a live saver, honestly. Even when I try the tips you’ve mentioned here, my mind is just not geared towards remembering anything beyond major plot points. Writing reviews has actually be the most helpful for remembering what happened, for whatever reason. I think I need to do more spoiler-y posts and talk about what I’m reading more though.
I need to start using these tips ASAP, because I have definitely have issues keeping up with a series, and I’d rather not waste time rereading when I could use that time to start new books/series instead! Thanks for the tips! x
THANK YOU FOR SPREADING SWEETNESS, FADWA!!
That is a very smart thing to do!! I should probably listen to my own advice because I stay up veryyyy late reading…but hey, “do what I say and not what I do” lololol
WOW I WANT YOUR SISTER. APPLAUSE FOR FADWA’S SISTER. SHRINES FOR FADWA’S SISTER ❤️
THANK YOU FOR THIS, BECCA!
I stop reading as soon as I’m too sleepy to concentrate because I realized I forget what happened THE NEXT MORNING. What? hahahaha!
Also, my poor little sister is my victim when I need to rant about books eventhough she never knows what I’m talking about, she listens !!