Eleanor Catton Quotes

The true art of memory is the art of attention.

We've forgotten how to remember, and just as importantly, we've forgotten how to pay attention. So, instead of using your smartphone to jot down crucial notes, or Googling an elusive fact, use every opportunity to practice your memory skills. Memory is a muscle, to be exercised and improved.

I just butcher a book. Everything I underline I assume is important to me.

We never read without profit if with the pen or pencil in our hand we mark such ideas as strike us by their novelty, or correct those we already possess.

You can either read something many times in order to be assured that you got it all, or else you can define your purpose and use techniques which will assure that you have met it and gotten what you need.

Always remember those things that tend to strengthen and improve your understanding. You cannot learn without attention, neither retain those lessons that you have once learnt without frequently reflecting upon and reviewing them in your mind; by this means, things long past will remain impressed upon your memory.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

You can research until you're falling asleep, but that still doesn't mean you're really fluent in the material.

I am a sponge. I don't write things down.

I'm definitely a note taker.

The power of concentration is the only key to the treasure-house of knowledge.

…she was discovering once again that reading and writing were not the same — you couldn't just soak it up then squeeze it out again.

We learn best with focused attention. As we focus on what we're learning, the brain maps that information on what we already know making new neural connections

Have read little and understood less.

A reader does not suddenly comprehend what is being read or studied, in a snap, miraculously. Comprehension needs to be worked forged, by those who read and study; as subjects of the action, they must seek to employ appropriate instruments in order to carry out the task. For this very reason, reading and studying form a challenging task, one requiring patience and perseverance.

Repeating is harder than anything else.

When I write a note, it sticks in my head differently.

I don't even have a computer in my office. If I had e-mail, I'd never take the time to read research or absorb information. I want to think about what I'm doing, and that takes time.

What I read, I read thoroughly and retain almost all of it.

The more one reads, the more one sees that one has to read.

Read a record number of books in a given month. If you're focused on intellectual growth, train yourself to study harder and longer than ever before.

Over time, I've paid attention, taken notes and forgotten easily half of everything I've gone through.

Even today, I am easily distracted by reading material and will pick up articles on virtually any factual material if I have the time.

It takes me a while to figure things out. I usually have to repeat a lesson or two - maybe three times!

I think it's imperative to keep your focus on why you're in school. You're in school to get an education.