i think one solution is to take notes while reading. maybe try and summarize the plot or write down some interesting things. I also read a lot and notes help keep things together. What I do after reading a book is to go through the highlights I made (which don’t take much effort in the moment) and see if I wanna make any of them permanent in my obsidian vault. That process takes from ten minutes to an hour per book, but that’s how insights stick. It gets you actually thinking about the book, instead of just experiencing it without much brain activity. But sometimes when I know I’m reading trash turning off my brain can be comfortable too.