smarter reading

There's nothing nicer to me than an afternoon with a cold peach iced tea, in a sunny garden with a book. I know for a fact that my reading list this summer has spilled over a page already!

But looking back, although I know I love to read, I can hardly even remember the books I've read in the last year, or what I learned from them. This summer, I'm hoping to do a few things to make sure this changes.

find out what unknown words mean
I'm always finding jazzy words like "loquacious" or "supercilious" and not knowing what they mean, but finding them out (or keeping a notes page on your phone for fun new words) can boost your essay vocabulary!

write down important quotes
I like writing inspirational quotes from books in my journal. You can also use an index card as a bookmark, on which you write down quotes, useful ideas, and new words. For me, I also love highlighting favorite passages of books.

summarize it 
Especially if it's non-fiction, writing a little summary after finishing the book would be a super good way of reviewing what you learned.

link it to other books
Again, especially relevant to non-fiction: linking ideas from the book to other books you've read can help make links in your KNOWLEDGE.

write down when the book was read
I'm a little guilty of constantly rereading the Harry Potter series whilst my to-read list keeps growing, so pencilling in when you last read the book would be useful to keep track of just how often it is necessary to reread Goblet of Fire (the food descriptive passages keep me coming back though damn)

university reading lists
Now the time's approaching to apply to uni, reading lists are a bomb way of making sure you know loads about your course and can discuss it in any interview. There are some super good reading lists on the oxbridge applications website, and also sometimes on specific uni websites, like this one at oxford .

I hope that you find a lovely book that keeps you hooked to every page!
 -L✿