Plotlines .. How Much Do You Remember?

[poppyshake]

I'm quite shocked at how little I can recall of books that I've read. Even the one's that I've loved and enjoyed. If I re-read a book or listen to it being read then I'm ok .. it sinks in, I can recall the plotlines of 'Wuthering Heights', 'Harry Potter' and 'Great Expectations' etc no problem. But there are other books which I can hardly recall .. only last year I read 'Mariana' by Monica Dickens and 'Revolutionary Road' by Richard Yates and, despite the fact that I loved them and was engrossed, I can only remember the sketchiest of details about them now.

 

Worst still are biographies, I've read loads but can hardly recall anything about them except the odd bizarre fact (like Pepys burying his parmesan or keeping his gallstone in a box or the fact that Thomas Hardy's heart may have been devoured by his cat or was it his dog) I can't remember anything useful about them.

 

My OH says it's because I read a lot of books, and so I push all the old stuff out to make way for new stuff .. but Stephen Fry doesn't need to do that does he!?!

 

The biography thing annoys me especially because what is the point of reading about someone if you're not going to retain any of it.

 

It's so embarrassing to highly recommend a book to someone and then when they ask you what it's about you can't really tell them, 'well, it's about this girl in the 1920's or it might have been 1930's and she um went to drama school and then er eventually she got married' (the plotline according to me of 'Mariana') .. riveting isn't it!. Yet I know I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

I know that some of the books that I've read this year I won't remember much of by next year .. if I didn't particularly like it I won't remember it at all probably.

 

How much do you retain of a book's plotline?. Can you read a book once and remember the details clearly or do you need to constantly refresh your memory?.

[Janet]

I'm not good at retaining plot lines at all. The only ones I tend to are those I discuss in depth, at my bookclub, for example, or ones I've read more than once - which aren't many.

 

I remember bits, but not the entire plot. If I had time (and no 'to read' mountain) I'd have 100s of books to reread as a result!!

[poppyshake]

Exactly .. I need to re-read some books but new books keep getting in the way

[Steeeeve]

I'm the same as you. I have a horrible memory. I have to really concentrate to remember anything and even then it's usually just one fact that I can get stuck in my head (DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid WOOHOO!)

Stephen Fry has mentioned many times that he happens to have an exceptional memory so it's probably not fair to compare yourself to him. Some people are just lucky like that or have trained themselves to be that way since they were a kid.

 

I think your OH is right in a way though. Think about people in a certain profession. They're good at what they do because they do it every day. A physicist is a good physicist because s/he reads and practices it every day. I know for me, and I assume for most people, they'll flit from one subject to another and won't keep reading the same story over and over again so it will just naturally leave their head.

 

It's frustrating but I'm not sure there's a lot that can be done. Unless you want to take months reading every book or going over it again and again like Shakespearean actors.

[Kell]

I'm usually pretty good at remembering the generalities, but only keep some of the specifics and they seem to randomly return to me at the oddest moments.

[Nollaig]

I was actually thinking about this the other day when recommending some books to my brother. I arrived into the kitchen with a pile of five books, and couldn't tell him the first thing about any of them

[Coffin Nail]

Since I joined this forum I was shocked at how much I'd forgotten. I started keeping a reading journal just so that I'd have a record of what I'd read.

I've started reading books and got that reading deja vu.

I thought it was an age thing.

And I think that your OH has a very valid point. It makes me feel much better anyway.

 

I'm doing well to remember my name, number and that Gordon Brown is still Prime Minister.

 

He is isn't he??

[Jessi]

Exactly .. I need to re-read some books but new books keep getting in the way

 

Snap - I would love to have the time to re-read more but I want to read my new ones too!

[Raven]

I arrived into the kitchen with a pile of five books, and couldn't tell him the first thing about any of them

 

I'm guessing there were no Coldfire books in the pile!

 

Good thread, I was thinking about starting a similar thread to this just the other day.

 

I have a theory that the faster you read, the less you retain.

 

I have several friends who inhale books. A novel that would take me a week or so to read will be read by them in a day, but when asked about it a few weeks later they can rarely remember the detail well enough to discuss it.

 

I'm not as good as I used to be, but I can generally remember the plots - and quite a bit of the detail - of books long after I’ve read them (same for films and TV programs as well - useful in a pub quiz, is I!).

[I'mRose]

I feel much better now because I thought it was just me. I'm horrible at remembering things I've read. I remember how it made me feel and that I liked or disliked the book. But if you ask me what is was about I can hardly tell you anything. I think it is some part have to do with me reading as fast as I can when I really like the book and that makes me sometimes just glance over words missing small details. But now that I think about it I do that when I find the book boring as well....

[ethan]

I have a difficult time remembering the details of my own plot-line no less the plot-line of books.

 

But I do recall the feelings I experienced while reading books, even if I can't recall the narrative. How the story is told may be more important than the story itself. I have read Gravity's Rainbow twice but I would be hardpressed to coherently explain what went on during it's gargantuan length. But it occupies the most prominent place on my main bookshelf, and every time I take a glance in it's direction I feel really good.

[BookJumper]

My memory, though terrible on practicalities such as 'hang the washing' and 'buy milk', is on average stupidly good with plotlines/characters/quotes/etc. from books. I'll start forgetting details around the 10 year mark, which is why I'm planning to re-read a.s.a.p. all those books I really loved when I was 15.

[Ooshie]

I rarely remember much about the books I read, whether I enjoy them or not, which is why I keep all the books I have enjoyed as I know I will be able to enjoy them just as much again in a year or so!

 

As has been mentioned, I do read very quickly, so maybe there is some connection with that.

 

I also don't pay much attention to details - my mother could tell you the colour of eyes and hair of every character in a book, where I wouldn't even notice things like that, never mind remember them.

[beef]

I tend to retain only the very basics unless there is something that really stands out. I am considering making notes on books after I read them using the book software I have.

[Raven]

I tend to retain only the very basics unless there is something that really stands out. I am considering making notes on books after I read them using the book software I have.

 

What software is that?

[beef]

It is simply called Book collector it is the same software that generated the web page in my Signature, it can do all kinds of things, get covers, prices, page numbers as well as allow to keep track of loans and make notes on books. Best software I ever bought.

[nicholbb]

I always thought I remembered most plots if not every detail, then I reread some Eddings from my childhood and was shocked by how much I forgot (like the ending).

 

I guess reading is a lot of information to take in, in a fairly short amount of time. Also gripping books tend to make me read longer so less likely to take it all in. I think they say after 15 minutes the amount of information you absorb drops, which is why they recommend short study periods with frequent short gaps between.

[Ruth]

I remember certain books vividly - The Handmaid's Tale, To Kill A Mockingbird, American Psycho, for example.

 

Other books fade from memory, and I usually have a vague recollection of the story, but nothing too exact. I do review every book I read though, and when I read my reviews back, it jogs my memory. I do think that some books are meant to be just enjoyed at the time of reading (for me anyway); they're not going to make a lasting impression on me, and nor are they meant to. But some - like the ones I listed above, amongst others - do resonate with me for whatever reason, and linger in the memory for a long time.

[poppyshake]

The points made about reading quickly is probably true and relevant ... the quicker you read the more books you get through and that in itself tends to make a lot of plotlines merge unless they are really stand-out.

This is a good reason, if any were needed, to keep a book journal .. I guess then you can flick through that and remind yourself of the basic outline of the book. I know I'm never going to remember everything but to remember the main storyline would be an improvement.

 

Yes, I must buy a book journal and I must do some more re-reading of favourite novels.

[corina]

Thank God someone brought this up. I was beginning to wonder about myself.

And, like someone on this thread mentioned (can't remember their name now ) I am going to start taking notes. This I feel will be necessary when I read "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"- my next read

[Univerze]

I have a theory that the faster you read, the less you retain.

There might be something to that theory.. I am one of those that read very fast.. especially if it's a new book of a series I enjoy or something. Think, finishing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in a few hours. The dutch version would take me about maybe 4 hours, and the english one took me slightly longer. But when I read books this fast I notice I have a hard time remembering some things. So sometimes, I intentionally try to read slower. Is hard though. But really, when it comes to descriptions etc, I have learned myself to read slow, word for word think of how someone or something looks, to form a picture in my head.. or else by a chapter more, I'll be thinking, wait, how did that one look? Who was that?

 

But generally, I don't remember all that much of plots. On one hand, too bad, on the other one.. when I do re-read those books, it's like, amazing. Coming back to someplace that's familiar, without knowing everything about it.

Even with books like The Stand, which I have read about 6 times now, I still can't recall a lot of what happens. Might also have to do with the lenght of the book, because I remember less of longer books.

 

Oh, and then there's the classics.. reading books like Frankenstein, I read to have read them, wanting to know the original. But now, even though I have read that less than 2 years ago, I can't remember much anymore, besides from what everyone knows. Didn't find the book all too good, so that plays a part too.

 

But yeah, we should start our own support group, for all of us forgetful people.

[Mexicola]

I have this problem (so glad it's not just me) and have now decided that a book journal is a MUST! Certain books on my shelf are begging for a re-read but I can't bring myself to when I've got so many new ones

[Cookie]

I have a terrible memory for details. Unless the story featured something so weird or horrible I can't forget, then I do.

[Kreader]

I've managed to remember many plots of books I've read over the years. Sometimes I'd need a trigger though to jog my mind. At times I do literally inhale a book and do remember bits of it. I can't remember every detail and I'm sure there are books I have forgotten but in general most books and films tend to stay with me. I can recall books I've read in childhood and I'm in my 30s. I say my memory is average. I can forget to return a phone call on a daily basis but what I read stays longer.

[Raven]

It is simply called Book collector it is the same software that generated the web page in my Signature, it can do all kinds of things, get covers, prices, page numbers as well as allow to keep track of loans and make notes on books. Best software I ever bought.

 

Thanks for that, I'll take a look this evening.

 

Even with books like The Stand, which I have read about 6 times now, I still can't recall a lot of what happens.

 

That's bad!

 

But yeah, we should start our own support group, for all of us forgetful people.

 

Any support group of this type should be called "Lost the Plot"!

Edited March 25, 2010 by Raven